The first month of the NFL and fantasy football season will wrap up this weekend, putting a bow on a four-week stretch that has seen both stud players live up to expectations and new stars emerge.
For every Justin Herbert, Christian McCaffrey or Tyreek Hill that has rewarded managers for using high draft picks on them, a Jordan Love, Raheem Mostert or Puka Nacua has turned in elite fantasy value as a late-round pick or waiver-wire pickup.
While it is still early enough in the season to consider the possibility that some of the surprise performers could be flash in the pan, getting the job done consistently over the course of an entire month would be difficult to ignore.