ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through the Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Which slow starter will turn things around the rest of the way?
JASON WOOD
There are an enormous number of players buried on the year-to-date rankings who will end up being much better, and justifying their preseason ADPs. JaMarr Chase and Terry McLaurin were WR40 and WR62, respectively, two weeks into last season. If I had to give you just one player, it's Brian Thomas Jr. He's outside the Top 60 at receiver through two games, but he has 19 targets out of 70 passing attempts, good for a 27% target share. Any receiver with Thomas' role, skill set, and pedigree that is getting 25%+ target share is going to rebound back into the elite quickly.
Wood is Senior Editor at Footballguys.com and has been with the company since its start in 2000. For more than 20 years, Footballguys has provided rankings, projections, and analysis to help fantasy managers dominate their leagues.
HOWARD BENDER
People need to be patient with Omarion Hampton. He was always going to share the job with Najee Harris to open the season. Now, it's then up to him to take that step forward and grab the lion's share of the touches. Once he gets his feet wet and there's a more consistent approach on the ground -- remember, the Chargers are throwing the ball a lot more here in the early weeks -- he should be able to grab the heavier workload. Don't sweat the slow start.
Bender is a longtime veteran of the fantasy sports industry and the 2008 runner-up for People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive. He serves as the Head of Content for FantasyAlarm.com, a weekly columnist for the New York Post and is the host of the award-winning Fantasy Alarm Show on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (M-F 6-8pm ET). You can find him on X, IG and Facebook as @rotobuzzguy and on TikTok as @therealrotobuzzguy.
JODY SMITH
A.J. Brown has a 22% target share but ranks 123rd out of 136 wide receivers with a 0.29 EPA. Philadelphia's passing attack has been a mess, but I believe that they'll make it a point to get Brown and the offense back on track.
Smith is an analyst and writer at Draft Sharks who is known for compiling some of fantasy football’s most accurate rankings. He has over 15 years of experience in the industry, which includes a stint on the sidelines covering the Houston Texans.
TOM KESSENICH
I still believe in Brian Thomas Jr. First I believe in the talent. That's the primary reason for optimism. His talent is going to win out over the long run. But also the 19 targets in two games is a clear indication the Jaguars understand that getting the ball to him is vital to their hopes for season-long success. Obviously, only five receptions is a huge concern but the target share is a big positive and there's no reason to believe that will change. He's clearly their No. 1 WR and as long as he continues to generate that healthy amount of target share the reception rate should improve as should his production as the season continues.
Kessenich is the Director of High Stakes Contests for SportsHub Games. He runs the NFFC, NFBC and NFBKC and is a fantasy sports Hall of Fame inductee.
MIKE NAZAREK
A.J. Brown. They need him to start to produce, so they will force-feed him the football sooner than later and he will EAT.
Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc, celebrating 30 years online! His company offers a preseason draft guide, customizable cheat sheets, a multi-use fantasy drafting program including auction values, weekly in-season newsletters, injury reports and free NFL news (updated daily) at its website, www.ffmastermind.com. He has been playing fantasy football since 1988 and is a four-peat champion of the SI.com Experts Fantasy League, a nationally published writer in several fantasy magazines and a former columnist for SI.com. He's also won $40K in recent seasons of the FFPC High Stakes Main Event. Nazarek can be reached via email at miken@ffmastermind.com.
IAN ALLAN
Brian Thomas is off to a miserable start. He's caught only 5 of the 19 passes thrown his way, and for only 60 yards. But I imagine they'll get him going. He's their No. 1 target, with a much more diverse role than Travis Hunter. And it's looking like that offense will be improved under Liam Coen's direction. I'm confident they'll get things dialed in.
Allan co-founded Fantasy Football Index in 1987. He is a member of the FSGA Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.
SCOTT PIANOWSKI
I'd buy low on Terry McLaurin if it's available. He's had slow starts before, and this year's slow open is understandable given his summer. There's too much back class here.
Pianowski has been with Yahoo Sports since 2008, covering a variety of sports. On the rare occasions when the computer is turned off, he enjoys word games, poker, music, film, game theory, and a variety of condiments. He lives in suburban Detroit. Pianowski was inducted into the FSWA Hall of Fame in 2021.
KEN HOLIZNA
A.J. Brown (currently WR83 ESPN scoring) and Nico Collins (currently WR46) immediately came to mind. I don't love Nico's surrounding cast and Stroud is really struggling under new OC Nick Caley. Most of us had them both ranked well within the top 20 going into the season. I had Brown ranked as a low end WR1 or high end WR2. He has the better opportunity to turn things around based on QB play, overall team talent, and a commitment to keep him happy. The Eagles have been willing to oil the squeaky wheel in the past when Brown's looks and targets have evaporated. The problem remains the same since they got Barkley. They are content to run with Saquon and the dreaded Hurts tush-push. Teams will start focusing on stopping the Eagles run game again, which will force them to pass. The Eagles will be in more shoot-outs with many high scoring offenses on their schedule. Despite the mortifying start, Brown will finish as a top 20 receiver.
Holizna is a 29-year fantasy football enthusiast and founder of Faith-Family-Fantasy Football in 2019, a family-friendly, faith-based, G-rated fantasy football platform. Rankings contributor to the 2023 Fantasy Index magazine. Find him on Twitter @holihandicapper
SCOTT SACHS
I saw every game TreVeyon Henderson played at Ohio State, including when he brought the Buckeyes back from the abyss with a clutch catch and long TD during their national championship run last year. He went 100 yards with a kickoff return the first time he touched the ball in the preseason. His other preseason TD went 70 yards. Henderson is a couple of Rhamondre Stevenson fumbles away from more touches and some big plays.
SAM HENDRICKS
I hate to answer because my confidence level is so low but Mark Andrews comes to mind. Week 1 1-5 1.5, Week 2 1-2 plus 2 rushing yards=1.4. Arggggggggggggg...... Reason for optimism? Lamar Jackson has looked Andrews' way as they flirt with the end zone numerous times. Anytime a team scores 81 points in 2 games there will be opportunity for a tight end to score. And with Isiah Likely dinged up Andrews should be excelling. He just needs to get his mojo back. Fingers crossed, but it might be hard to start him until he shows a flash of that mojo.
Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at ExtraPointPress.com, at all major bookstores, and at Amazon and BN.com. He is a 30-year fantasy football veteran who participated in the National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th and 16th overall in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC). He won the Fantasy Index Open in 2013 and 2018.
ANDY RICHARDSON
I'll go with Houston's tandem of C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins. It's not happening for them yet, with offensive line struggles and a couple of difficult matchups to start the year. But the team won't be doing a lot of running and eventually theyr'e going to want/have to sling it around some. Christian Kirk returning, which should happen soon, will make things easier for Stroud and free up Collins for some bigger plays. I still don't get why they traded away Laremy Tunsil, but I believe things will get better for the passing game.
Richardson has been a contributing writer and editor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and www.fantasyindex.com since 2002. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual experts draft and auction leagues since their inception. He writes a weekly gambling newsletter, Index Bets, during the NFL season and also previews all the games on Saturdays and writes a wrap-up column on Mondays.