Kelvin Benjamin, Philly Brown's Instant Fantasy Reaction After Week 3

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has to feel good about the way rookie wide receivers Kelvin Benjamin and Philly Brown stepped up in the team's Sunday night matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Fantasy football owners will also be encouraged by the composed performances.

Benjamin continued his strong start to the season, racking up seven receptions for 80 yards through three quarters.

His fantasy night went from good to great with a 35-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter, leading to this excellent final stat line:

Player	REC	YDS	LNG	TD
Benjamin	8	115	35T	1
Brown	7	66	16	0

Max Henson of Panthers.com noted the high degree of difficulty on some of his catches:

Brown's performance essentially came out of nowhere. He benefited from an increased workload due to the injuries in the Panthers wide receiver corps. 

Jason Avant was limited in practice this week with a thigh injury, per the team's website, and notched just one catch for eight through three quarters. Veteran wideout Jerricho Cotchery was inactive for the Steelers game.

Mike McCarn/Associated Press

When the Panthers receiving corps is whittled down to just a couple of guys, Brown is a decent fantasy football option, but don't expect any long-term value out of him. It didn't help that pretty much erased all of the goodwill he had built up throughout the game with a costly fumble on a would-be punt return.

This isn't to say the 22-year-old doesn't have a future in this league, but he will need more time to develop into a receiver that deserves to play outside of basic necessity.

Benjamin's height makes him a red-zone threat and liable to score points in bunches, and with the depleted receiving corps, he's essentially the No. 1 option. He has somehow avoided the usual growing pains that afflict most young wide receivers and the future looks bright for him.

For fantasy football owners, this means keeping him on the team and playing him as a WR2 or WR1 against favorable matchups, such as Week 5 against the Chicago Bears.