Julius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders' Instant Fantasy Reaction After Week 1

There was never any doubt that tight end Julius Thomas and wideout Emmanuel Sanders would live up to the fantasy football hype train, and the two Denver Broncos stars proved it in a big way Sunday night against Indianapolis.

In the electric Denver offense led by Peyton Manning—keep in mind, against a horrific Colts' defense—Thomas exploded with five receptions for 90 yards and three touchdowns—before halftime.

Sanders, who joined the team this offseason after a career year in Pittsburgh that saw him score in double digits just five times, proved to be a viable replacement for Eric Decker (and technically the suspended Wes Welker) and caught five passes for 68 yards before the half.

Name	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	TGTS	Fantasy Points
Julius Thomas	7	104	14.9	3	8	28
Emmanuel Sanders	6	77	12.8	0	9	8

As Bleacher Report's Alessandro Miglio points out, Manning dipped into the Sanders well right off the bat:

It really comes as no surprise, especially upon the revelation from ESPN's Jeff Legwold that the front office had him rated so highly among a great free-agency class:

As for Thomas, the performance is just validation for those owners who made him the third tight end off the board behind New Orleans' Jimmy Graham and New England's Rob Gronkowski. As ESPN's fantasy Twitter notes, he was high up on the Week 1 leaderboard quite early Sunday night:

Earlier in the offseason, it was quite clear the Broncos envisioned an even bigger role for Thomas this season. The star tight end recited the words of tight ends coach Clancy Barone, per David DeChant of Broncos.com:

"

His persistence in trying to make me a great player – that’s something he hangs his hat on every day. He’s telling me, ‘Julius I’m not going to let it get any easier on you. I’m not going to make any excuses for you. You’re going to come out here and work every day and I’m going to continue to push you and we’ll see what level we can get you to.’

"

Thomas remains a matchup-proof option each week of the season. It matters little if or when Welker comes back. Manning looks similar to his 2013 form, and Thomas is just along for the ride. While it would be silly to think he can outdo either of Graham or Gronkowski, he is still an elite presence at a volatile position.

The same goes for Sanders at this point. He and Manning clearly have strong chemistry right off the bat, and Sanders' skill set as one of the best deep threats in the league is only being further brought out thanks to his quarterback.

As expected, Manning is creating elite fantasy options regardless of matchup. Some things never change, even if the names and numbers around him do.

All average draft positions courtesy of ESPN.  All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.