DeAngelo Williams burst onto the NFL fantasy football scene last year with a season that put him in some pretty impressive company. The list of running backs that have scored twenty plus touchdowns in one season is fairly short. In 2009, DeAngelo Williams has found the road a bit harder, however, and many fantasy football owners are starting to panic. What is wrong with this powder keg of a running back?

The short answer for this question is nothing, but that is far from the answer owners are looking for. The bottom line is if you drafted Williams in fantasy football this season, you likely drafted him in the top ten picks. That means you paid big money for him in your draft. The return on that investment has been very bad so far through four games.

The reasons for Williams struggling has less to do with Williams and more to do with the Panther’s struggles on the whole. The Panthers have played from behind the entire season, and quarterback Jake Delhomme is a big part of the reason why. Delhomme has been an interception machine, and this has put the Panthers behind over and over again. Once behind, Coach Jon Fox has had little choice but to go to the passing game in an effort to catch up. This means fewer carries for Williams.

Another reason for the struggles has been an inexplicable move on Fox’s part of virtually splitting all the carries with Jonathan Stewart. Stewart has been fantastic since being drafted last season, and it is certainly understandable why Fox would want him out there. The problem is that when the Panthers get inside the twenty, it seems that Stewart is in the game every time. This kills William’s chances of scoring. Why Fox is not playing Williams more inside the red zone is a question nobody seems to know the answer to. Williams is actually pretty great at sticking it in the end zone as evidenced by last season. True, the majority of his scores came from long distance, and Stewart is more of a goal line back.

For those fantasy football owners that drafted Williams, they should relax. Williams has shown signs of waking up the last couple of games, and so too have the Panthers. The best match ups for Williams are still out there, so sending him packing now makes little sense unless you can find someone that is dumb enough to give you Peterson. Williams will have some huge weeks over the next two to three games. Like any investment, sometimes you have to wait for it to come to fruition.

DeAngelo Williams and the Panthers are about to face the Bucs, Bills and the Cardinals. These three games should be great for Williams. The run defenses here are not exactly stoppers, and Williams is known to go on hot streaks. These match ups could be the jump start he needs to get going. Look for his first huge game up next against the Bucs on Sunday. The rest should be gravy for this outstanding running back.