1. Adrian Peterson — Not a bad opener for the consensus No. 1 fantasy pick, eh? I'm sure there are people out there who had Peterson in their lineup and yet somehow failed to win in Week One, but you could probably count those people on one hand. With Peterson ringing up 180 rushing yards and three TDs against the Browns, you could have surrounded him with Jake Delhomme, Santana Moss, Steve Slaton, Greg Olsen and various other opening-week duds and still remained competitive. After a juicy matchup against the Browns, Peterson now moves on to an equally juicy matchup against the Lions in Detroit. Let's see what he can do for an encore. (By the way, here's a public-service message to football fans across the country from the good people of Oklahoma: If you insist on using initials when referring to Peterson, instead of using "A.P.," use "A.D.," as in "All Day." And if that doesn't make sense to you, ask the Browns for details.)

2. Jay Cutler — There are no mulligans in the NFL, so after a forgettable four-interception debut with the Bears, Cutler must take a penalty stroke and re-tee. To make matters worse for the sour-tempered signalcaller, Pittsburgh defenders intend to put Cutler on a tee this Sunday and pound away, blitzing him from every conceivable angle. A date with the Steelers is no picnic for a quarterback, and if Cutler plays as poorly as he did in Green Bay last week, it will be interesting to see how the fans in Chicago react. Bears fans were giddy when the Cutler deal was consummated back in early April, and they clearly weren't expecting a Cade McNown-caliber performance from their new QB in Week One. Could Cutler actually be booed in his first home game as a Bear? And if so, how would it affect his already-grumpy demeanor?

3. Steve Smith — We know that Smith is a stud. He's had four consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons and has averaged better than eight TDs a season over that span. He managed to attain stardom with Jake Delhomme as his primary quarterback, and while Delhomme has never been an elite passer, he and Smith have nevertheless enjoyed a fruitful partnership. But now Delhomme is so far in the tank, a team of plumbers might not be able to get him out. Of his last 22 possessions dating back to last season's playoff debacle against the Cardinals, 11 have resulted in Delhomme turnovers. If the embattled quarterback isn't able to pull out of his tailspin, Smith's numbers are going to suffer. This weekend's matchup against Atlanta is mildly promising, since Smith torched the Falcons for 264 yards and a TD in two games last season, but Smith is largely at Delhomme's mercy, which could be a big problem for Smith's fantasy owners.

4. Dallas Clark — Peyton Manning figures to rely heavily on his ever-dependable tight end now that Anthony Gonzalez is on the shelf with a knee injury. With Gonzalez out, Manning's only two proven downfield targets are Clark and Wayne. It's possible that Pierre Garcon and/or Austin Collie could break out in the next few weeks, but the safer bet is that the Gonzalez injury leads to a spike in Clark's numbers.

5. Darren Sproles — You can bury your head in the sand if you like and postulate that LaDainian Tomlinson's uninspiring performance against the Raiders in Week One was attributable to L.T. twisting his ankle early in the game. But even the ostriches among us will soon have to acknowledge that Tomlinson is nearly out of gas. With the game on the line, the Chargers turned to Sproles on their final drive, and he came through in splendid fashion, making some clutch plays and scoring the winning TD. Tomlinson's status for this week remains uncertain, but even if he's declared fit, Sproles will still play a big role against the rugged Baltimore defense. If he can make hay against the Ravens, Sproles will no doubt earn an increased share of the workload.

6. Greg Olsen — The arrival of Jay Cutler was supposed to lead to a breakout season for this talented tight end, and it's way too early to suggest that the breakout isn't coming. But Olsen was a nonfactor in the Bears' opener, catching one pass for eight yards and being targeted by Cutler only a handful of times. One would think that against the Steelers' blitz-happy 3-4 defense this weekend, Cutler will often look for Olsen as an outlet receiver. On the other hand, the Packers now employ a blitz-happy 3-4 defense, and the Pack managed to make Olsen disappear in Week One.

7. Knowshon Moreno — The first-round draft pick made an uninspiring debut for the Broncos, splitting carries with Correll Buckhalter and rushing eight times for 19 yards against the Bengals. The rookie will play his first regular-season game in Denver this weekend, and the home fans have a right to expect a better outing from Moreno against a Cleveland run defense that was decimated by Adrian Peterson last week.

8. Tom Brady — If Brady was a bit rusty in his first game back following last season's major knee injury, the numbers don't reflect it. Brady completed 39-of-53 passes against Buffalo for 378 yards and two TDs, and his chemistry with WRs Randy Moss and Wes Welker was very much intact. But that was against the Bills, who have one of the more impotent pass rushes in the league. Brady faces the Jets this weekend, and you can bet that Jets head coach Rex Ryan will test Brady's mettle by blitzing the living hell out of him.

9. Willie Parker — Parker ran 13 times for 19 yards in the Steelers' opener against the Titans, but that performance isn't terribly alarming, given how tough the Tennessee run defense is, even with DT Albert Haynesworth now employed elsewhere. But Parker's fantasy owners have a right to expect better numbers this week when the Steelers visit the Bears, who just lost star MLB Brian Urlacher for the season and will also be without starting OLB Pisa Tinoisamoa.

10. Roy Williams — There were plenty of people with doubts about Williams entering this season (including yours truly), but he acquitted himself well in the Cowboys' opener, catching three passes for 86 yards and a TD. Still, it's too early to tell whether Williams is a true No. 1 wide receiver for Dallas, or merely one member of an ensemble cast. Perhaps we'll have a better idea this weekend when the Cowboys play the Giants, who should provide more resistance than the Buccaneers did last weekend.

In addition to the above "Ten most intriguing players," each week during the season Pat Fitzmaurice will post "Fitz's Five," his player rankings and "The 60-second rant" — all in the Fantasy section.