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:

Who is the most underrated player you've seen in fantasy drafts thus far?

MIKE NAZAREK

Fred Jackson is not only not getting respect from his team, but fantasy owners are also avoiding him. I've grabbed him a few times as my #3 fantasy RB in the middle rounds and will be happy to ride on the back of the real Bills starting RB this season when I need him.

Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc. His company offers an online rookie draft kit, preseason draft guide, customizable cheat sheets, fantasy drafting programs including auction values, 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 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. For more info go to www.ffmastermind.com. Nazarek can be reached at miken@ffmastermind.com

DAVID DOREY

Santana Moss. His current ADP is 32 behind both top rookie WRs who have never played and even Pierre Garcon. All Moss did last year was to come in 11th-best among all WR with 93 catches for 1115 yards and six touchdowns. Same system, same coaches and still no No. 2 WR to get in the way.

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.

TIM HEANEY

I've often seen Steven Jackson drop to the third round, with guys like Matt Forte (goal-line concerns) and Peyton Hillis (experience, backfield personnel worries) going ahead of him. I don't understand it. Maybe folks are scared of Josh McDaniels' system limiting Jackson's catches. Of course, Jackson's mileage and injury history loom over his stock. But McD is a logical, highly adaptive playcaller and would be unwise not to maximize SJax's full makeup. If anything, this aerial attack should open up more rushing lanes for this established yardage gobbler. You can't judge Jackson based on previous non-Martz Rams offenses; Sam Bradford and company are bound to take a giant leap forward. No. 39 could still be a top-7 PPR RB, and he's a steal in the late second round. Imagine the upside with him as your second carrier.

Since 1996, KFFL.com has been combining its award-winning news service with fantasy analysis. KFFL.com offers 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, and FOXSports.com among many other organizations.

SCOTT PIANOWSKI

I could see Earl Bennett stepping up as Chicago's top receiver. First let's discredit those around him: the Roy Williams experiment looks like a flop; the Bears don't seem completely sold on Johnny Knox; and Devin Hester has never developed into a bona fide NFL receiver. That leaves Bennett, who has a few years of experience in the league to go with his overlap season with Jay Cutler at Vanderbilt. Both Cutler and Mike Martz have gone out of their way to praise Bennett this summer, and while sound bytes don't always hold up as reliable, I'm buying in here. Grab Bennett as a late bench selection, especially in PPR formats.

Pianowski has been playing fantasy football for 18 years and writing about it for 15. He joined Yahoo! Sports in 2008 and has been blogging 24/7 on RotoArcade.com ever since.

IAN ALLAN

I don’t think Aaron Hernandez will be selected early enough in most drafts. He’s a great receiving threat, and I think he’ll be a big part of the New England offense. It wouldn’t surprise me if he finished with better overall numbers than any of that team’s wide receivers — Wes Welker, Chad Ochocinco and Deion Branch.

Allan is the senior writer for Fantasy Football Index. He's been in that role since 1987, generating most of the player rankings and analysis for that publication. His work can be seen in Fantasy Football Index magazine, and also at www.fantasyindex.com.

SCOTT SACHS

I think a case can be made for a member of my best-liked 2nd tier QB club. Out of Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Josh Freeman, and Matt Stafford, I can't understand the lack of enthusiasm and low picking of Joe Flacco, and consequently Lee Evans, who should finally have decent value this year with Flacco throwing to him. I have drafted and recommended Ryan, Flacco, and Freeman since they've all come into the league. All Flacco does is win games, take his team to the playoffs, show durability/toughness, and improve year over year (sort of like "Roethlisberger-lite"), plus he has arguably the best twosome of WRs in the AFC North in Boldin and Evans. Speaking of Evans, he was drafted as low as round 14 in one league I'm in, and wasn't even drafted in another.

Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, live talk and advice, and has 23 years of fantasy football league experience, including his league’s only perfect season. "The Coach" offers a free Chalk Talk Blog, plus subscriber options at his website: perfectseasonffb.com. Email questions or info requests to perfectseasonffbquestions@gmail.com, and follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/ffbcoach.

JEFFREY KAMYS

Seems like Felix Jones of the Cowboys is one of the more underrated guys in some of the drafts we have taken part of. The news out of Dallas is that Jones is a new man with Barber out of town. Now the leader of the backfield Jones is getting the goal line action as well with Barber gone, that was seen in the Cowboys 3rd preseason game, when Jones scored on a 5 yard TD run. In the past it was Barber running the ball in the red zone, now Jones will get those chances.

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.

ALAN SATTERLEE

It's hard to draw down to one specific player -- early in the draft, WR Vincent Jackson (25 overall on average) is undervalued, while late in the draft TE Lance Kendricks is a great sleeper and undervalued. For today's question however we'll hone in on RB Delone Carter of the Colts. There's a handful of great mid-to-later round RBs that will turn into fantasy gold and using rounds 10-15 is the time to add these players. While Carter isn't elite in any particular area per se, he has a thick compact build and the strength to run through arm tackles and be a 25-carry RB. When/if Carter gets the starting Indy RB job (Addai missed half the season last year), he won’t likely give it up. Carter should get goal-line work right out of the gate and has elite upside playing in a high-scoring offense and one without elite competition at RB.

Dynasty Rogues is the fantasy football information site run by fantasy football enthusiasts for fantasy football enthusiasts. The site includes a year-round approach to analyzing football information for those in dynasty and redraft leagues. Dynasty Rogues were the 2008 Champion of the Fantasy Index Experts' Competition.

LOUIS TRANQUILLI

Since I've seen in the area of 40 real money league drafts (BFD Subscribers send them to us for review) I feel very comfortable replying to this question. The most underrated player right now is Peyton Manning. I participated in a draft where Manning was selected late in the 8th round and reviewed another for the website that had him going in the 9th round. That's crazy value and a clear undervaluation of a player, even if he's not healthy the whole season he will post per game numbers better than an 8th round QB like Josh Freeman.

Tranquilli is the founder of BFDFANTASYfootball.com. This is the eighth season BFD will be offering advice. In 2010 their subscribers won over $500,000 in High Stakes Fantasy football events.

SAM HENDRICKS

Anytime you talk “underrated” what you really mean is who do you think will be better than anyone else expected. I will give you one at each position. Colt McCoy CLE QB: (148th overall, 23rd in QB)-the Browns will be behind all season long. McCoy protects the ball and can scramble, both will help him in fantasy stats in losing games. He has proven his ability this preseason. Tim Hightower WAS RB (92nd overall, 33rd in RB)-How can you pass on a starting RB in the 8th round of the draft? Sure “Skeletor” Shanahan flips RBs like Washington increases the debt limit and Hightower has been known to fumble a few starting gigs away. But at that value he is worth a pick. Steve Smith CAR WR: (85th overall, 32 WR) Smith has been a top 20 WR most of his career (except for last years Jimmy Clausen experiment). Cam Newton’s mobility gives Steve Smith more options. Honorable mention: Todd Heap AZ TE, Jason Hanson DET K and Atlanta Defense.

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).

PRETZEL MAY

I think this has to be Peyton Manning. Every year he is in the top 5 quarterbacks for production regardless of the situation surrounding him in Indy. Yes he is coming off surgery but he has come back from injuries before without missing a beat. Manning hasn't missed a game in his career and I don't think there is another QB out there that you can count on week in and week out to produce for your fantasy team. There is no way he should be falling into the bottom of the top 10 quarterbacks off the board like he has been thus far.

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.

JARED SMOLA

In non-PPR formats, Brandon Jacobs continues to fly under the radar. The Giants talked about wanting to get him more touches this entire offseason. And if preseason action is any indication, they fully intend to follow through on that. Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw have essentially been splitting 1st-team reps. And Jacobs has been the more productive back, averaging 6.1 yards per carry compared to Bradshaw's 3.2 mark. I still expect Bradshaw to finish with better numbers, but Jacobs is the better value pick with an ADP in the late-8th round.

Smola is the Senior Editor of DraftSharks.com. DraftSharks has been providing fantasy football analysis since 1999. The site provides its members with feature articles, daily email updates, in-depth player profiles and projections, its exclusive MVP Draft Board, and much more. This past year, Draft Sharks took home the Fantasy Sports Trade Association's award for most accurate preseason projections.

ANDY RICHARDSON

Aaron Hernandez is on of all my teams, and I don't get it. This apparent worry that Rob Gronkowski is a red-zone monster or something; Gronkowski had a 3-TD game against Pittsburgh and 3 more the last two weeks of the season -- when Hernandez was hurt. Hernandez has been cleaning up in the preseason and is loaded with talent; I'm not sure why others aren't taking him as early as I am.

Richardson has been a columnist and contributor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and web site for the past ten 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.

New this season! We'll post the weekly question on Facebook, and the best reader answer will get included in the column. Here's this week reader winner:

TOM DZIUBEK

Delone Carter. The Colts are looking for a messiah in their backfield to help keep the pressure off of an aging Manning. With Addai being an injury-prone, average back and Donald Brown being a disappointment, you can't help but think that Carter is going to get long looks when he's on the field and especially if (when) one of them gets injured.

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