Ask the Experts

ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them:

Would you rather have a featured player in a bad offense, or a committee or secondary player in a great offense?

CORY BONINI

Unfortunately, I don't think there is a steadfast answer to this question. Each scenario has its merits. Production can vary greatly based on the league's scoring format, your team's needs and the players' matchups. Another factor to consider is whether your team can afford to take a chance on a risky player in a less than becoming situation. The best-case situation is to have a diverse team with legitimate scoring threats across the board. All three scenarios can produce fantasy-worthy players, but none of them should be consistently relied on.

Since 1996, KFFL.com has been combining its award-winning news service with top-notch fantasy analysis. KFFL.com offers industry-leading services, including daily news, draft guides and in-season advice. Now 100 percent free, KFFL.com is your destination for fantasy baseball, football and NASCAR cheat sheets, tips, sleepers and much more. KFFL.com has won more than a dozen expert championships and was listed as "One of the 10 essential sports-related online destinations for fans, athletes and fantasy owners" by Time.com. KFFL.com has provided content to USA Today, Yahoo! Sports, FOXSports.com and many other quality organizations.

JEFFREY KAMYS

Wow that's a really tough question, I think myself I would rather have a guy that I can count on getting 20-25 carries, so a featured RB, rather than a player who is on a better offense that is part of a committee. At least if you have a guy who is getting the majority of the work you can count on him when the team has a good matchup, with the committee guy it's always hit or miss.

Kamys is president of Dr. Stats Fantasy Sports. His company, via the web, offers player news, injury reports, cheat sheets, projections, weekly matchups, statistics, and a customized team tracker. Dr. Stats Fantasy Sports also e-mails preseason newsletters and reports throughout the season. For more info visit www.docstats.com or send email to webmaster@docstats.com.

PRETZEL MAY

Well as long the lesser offense can still move the ball somewhat I would rather the go to featured guy over the committee guy. I do not like to play the guesing game and wonder every week whether the guy I put in is going to get the ball. I would rather have a back that gets me 10-12 points a game over a guy that will get me 25 some weeks but 3 in other weeks.

The May brothers have more than 16 years of combined fantasy football experience and are the co-founders of FantasyDraftMaster.com. The cornerstone of FDM is the UberRank which is a revolutionary approach to the traditional fantasy football cheat sheet. FantasyDraftMaster.com also offers insightful and humorous commentary on football happenings as well as recommendations on waiver wire pickups, line up submissions and weekly pick em' pools. For more info, visit www.fantasydraftmaster.com or email us at info@fantasydraftmaster.com.

DAVID DOREY

This is a question we have to answer in every draft we have. And the bottom line is always – “where are the most points likely?” For instance, you could have Carnell Williams who is the primary back in TB and shares only minimally (why we do not know) but there are plenty of other backs who are No. 2 on their teams but will post more points. The same thing is found with wide receivers and to a far greater degree. The only advantage a featured WR will have over a No. 2 WR on a high-powered offense is that a featured guy will sometimes be more consistent at a lower level of production whereas you get lower points on a few games from the No. 2 guy but then get many more points in most games from him. Bottom line – evaluate each player purely in terms of expected projections.

Dorey is the co-founder and lead NFL analyst for The Huddle and author of Fantasy Football: The Next Level. He has projected and predicted every NFL game and player performance since 1997 and has appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, radio and television.

MIKE NAZAREK

I'd rather have Pierre Garcon or Austin Collie than Louis Murphy because of the talent and stability at the QB position. Without Bruce Gradkowski, Murphy is worthless and you know Manning never gets hurt.

Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc. His company offers an online rookie draft kit, preseason draft guide, customizable cheat sheets, fantasy auction & regular drafting programs, weekly in-season fantasy newsletters, injury reports and free NFL news (updated daily) at its web site. He has been playing fantasy football since 1988 and is the one and only 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. For more info go to www.ffmastermind.com. Nazarek can be reached at miken@ffmastermind.com.

SAM HENDRICKS

It depends on the league format. In H2H leagues I will take the go-to, featured guy on a lesser offense since there is no doubt he will get the touches. In the NFL it is all about skill and opportunity. The go-to player will always get his chances during the game. It might be carries to run out the clock or garbage catches against a prevent defense when his team is well behind. But those opportunities go to the featured player. A player in a running back by committee (RBBC) approach or the No. 2 WR will be less consistent. They may score the same as a go-to guy from a lesser team over the year, but it will be filled with goose eggs and a few high scoring games. Give me a consistent FF player in a H2H league. On the other hand in a total points or draft masters league, the high risk/high reward player takes on a bigger role on my cheat sheet.

Sam Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at his website, www.ffguidebook.com, at all major bookstores, and at www.amazon.com. He is a 20-year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF), National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th and 16th overall (out of 228 competitors) in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

ANDY RICHARDSON

Tough decision because I can find examples to make both cases. If Pierre Thomas were healthy right now, he'd probably be a better start than Maurice Jones-Drew. Then again, Frank Gore is better than either of them. These days I'd rather start Tampa Bay's Mike Williams than New Orleans' Marques Colston, but Carolina's Steve Smith was barely usable even before getting hurt. I'm starting to believe that the featured guys -- the guys you keep playing because of their talent and roles, figuring this will be the week they break out -- are the ones that really kill fantasy teams.

Richardson has been a columnist and contributor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and web site for the past nine years. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual draft and auction leagues since their inception. He previews all the NFL games on Saturdays and writes a wrap-up column on Mondays during the NFL season.

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