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:

Which player, currently low in fantasy value, do you believe will emerge as a significant fantasy starter over the course of the exhibition season?

DAVID DOREY

David Wilson is currently going as the 34th RB in the average draft position but is going to show up in fantasy lineups, particularly as a flex player. The Giants are a committee backfield team and Ahmad Bradshaw has been healthy only once in his five year and has taken more than 50 percent of the RB touches just once. Plenty of work for Wilson.

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.

SCOTT PIANOWSKI

I'm curious to see what Laurent Robinson brings in Jacksonville. He was the most consistent Dallas receiver last year (a feather in his cap given the other options there), and I'm not expecting Justin Blackmon to be a major contributor in 2012. The Jaguars obviously have a mess at quarterback, but at least one receiver should post decent numbers by volume alone. A sneaky 1,000-yard season from Robinson is possible.

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.

SAM HENDRICKS

I will give you two WRs and both of them are named Baldwin. Jon Baldwin (KC WR) is a 2nd-year WR who finally gets to play with a starter QB (Matt Cassel), not the backup’s backup; plus Dwayne Bowe has some holdout issues and could be a trade candidate. At WR60 he offers plenty of upside with little downside. The other Baldwin WR (Doug, WR52) plays for SEA and unfortunately I see them running quite a bit this year. The bright side is he only has Sidney “Injury risk” Rice and recently signed Braylon Edwards/Terrell Owens to compete with for balls. He offers a great upside as well. As a deep sleeper in the last round, take a flyer on the other Steve Smith (STL WR), who could be the starter on day one. Watch these position battles closely!

Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at www.ExtraPointPress.com, at all major bookstores, and at Amazon and BN.com. He is a 20-plus year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the 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). Follow him at his website, www.ffguidebook.com.

ALAN SATTERLEE

Randall Cobb comes into 2012 as a fair sleeper but he's still undervalued. He's the 44th WR selected on average at fantasyfootballcalculator.com and is 49th WR selected on average in ADP at MFL.Com. Some preseason action could change that, particularly if he gets added reps with Greg Jennings sitting due to a recent concussion. Cobb has the potential to be fantasy gold this season. Cobb can carve out yards in an instant and brings an added dimension for leagues that score punt and kickoff return TDs for skill-position players. He looked absolutely dynamite in limited action last year. Cobb has far better hands than Jermichael Finley over the middle and there are plenty of yards to go around regardless in Green Bay. Cobb averaged a somewhat scary 15 YPC last year out of the slot mainly and he caught 25 of his 31 targets -- an 81% catch percentage is simply sick. Cobb is too talented to keep off the field.

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 won the 2008 Fantasy Index Experts Poll.

IAN ALLAN

I will circle back to the New England running game, which I have used in multiple other questions already. Sorry. The Patriots should run the ball well. There’s some balance in their running game. They’ve scored a league-high 56 rushing touchdowns over the last three years. Stevan Ridley (I think) should be the main back and put up big numbers — good numbers anyway. If he’s not the guy, then Shane Vereen (a second-round pick last year) or Brandon Bolden (the undrafted rookie who’s been a surprise for them). Vereen and Bolden should come awfully cheap, so I like the idea of selecting all thre of these backs, then potentially cutting one or two of them in mid-September after the pecking order becomes clear.

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.

KEVIN NELSON

Nobody can pinpoint the reason, but whatever it may be, Coach Mike Shanahan just refuses to do what seems conventional to everyone outside of his camp. We all believed Roy Helu was destined to do great things this season after a rookie year that saw him garner over 1000 total yards and flash great potential that seemed a perfect complement for incoming quarterback RGIII. Alas, here we are heading into the preseason and Helu is fighting for a place on the depth chart as it is Evan Royster earning the first-team reps and all the praise of the coaching staff. While this could be typical Shanahan coach speak, or motivational, or the result of coin-flipping, the fact remains Royster might not be a fluke. Before anyone knew who Arian Foster was, he was low man on the totem pole on the Houston depth chart until injuries gave him a shot over the final two weeks of the 2009 season to prove himself. He finished those two weeks with 39 carries for 219 yards, 3 receptions for 26 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Royster found himself in a similar position last season. He got his chance to start the final two weeks and check out some of the similarities: 39 carries for for 245 yards, 6 receptions for 59 yards, but zero touchdowns. Now, obviously the odds of Royster becoming the next Arian Foster are slim but we all know running backs can surprise from nowhere. Nothing should surprise with Mike Shanahan, and whoever is given the starting job in Washington could be poised for solid success. Royster gets the first shot this weekend and I think he could certainly own it.

FFBLife.com is a company started by fantasy football lovers, for fantasy football lovers. With rankings, forums, latest news and advice, mobile applications, draft tools, social networking and more; Fantasy Football Life solely exists to reach the goal of providing all fantasy football players with everything they need. Nelson is editor-in-chief of FFBLife.com and the Fantasy Football Draft Guide, providing rankings, advice and articles for the company.

LOUIS TRANQUILLI

Austin Collie Indianapolis Colts. We know the kid is good and we also know Bruce Arians (A BFD favorite offensive coordinator) will use his No. 1 and 2 WRs extensively. Collie made it through the 2011 season with some of the worst QB play in the history of the league and came out alright. I like him later in drafts to earn a significant role in FF lineups.

BFDFANTASYfootball.com is now in its 9th season of providing hard core fantasy football advice. Born out of the High Stakes games BFD has featured hundreds of draft reviews for subscribers. Our focus on advice designed to help players understand more of what's going on behind the scenes has made the BFD Coaching Tree one of the must read articles of the year, every year. Subscribers get hardcore advice that is worth using in their leagues.

SCOTT SACHS

Looking at the running back position, I am fully expecting -- as the expression goes -- for all the No. 2s to try harder. Although I would avoid Pittsburgh's Mendenhall anyway, Isaac Redman is now going to get the bulk of his carries through the exhibition and a minimum of 6 regular season games, if not more. While MJD stews, Jax's Rashad Jennings should be cooking. At Cleveland, T-Rich's boo-boo knee translates to significant reps for former 2nd round pick Montario Hardesty. While we have learned to steer clear of any RB under Shanahan, don't be surprised if Tim Hightower emerges in Washington this preseason. Look out Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter is hunting you. Hey Marshawn, you better watch out as hot rookie Robert Turbin turbines for your job. In Big D, Jerry Jones' favorite fellow Razorback, Felix Jones, lost his gig to injury last year and looks for redemption; while in the Big Apple, David Wilson looks to take a bite out of Bradshaw's workload. Sleeper alert: SD's ever-fragile Ryan Mathews lost goal line carries to Mike Tolbert in 2011, so here comes reclamation project Lumberin' LeRon McClain, looking poised to vulture the 6s in 2012.

Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, offering live personal advice from training camps through the Super Bowl. His 20-plus years of fantasy football experience includes his league’s only perfect season, as well as a wire-to-wire championship in Fantasy Index's 2011 Mock Auction Draft League. Visit "The Coach" at his website: perfectseasonffb.com and follow him on Twitter: at http://twitter.com/#!/ffbcoach.

PRETZEL MAY

Darrius Heyward-Bey finally found a quarterback he would play for in Carson Palmer and proved that Al Davis wasn’t completely senile in his decision to draft him when he clearly shouldn’t have. Heyward-Bey had 29 receptions, 456 yards and 3 TDs in the last five games of the season. If he can continue to get open and Palmer’s arm stays attached to his shoulder, Heyward-Bey could put up a 1200 yard season.

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.

MIKE NAZAREK

Detroit Lions RB Kevin Smith. Just a feeling.

Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc. His company offers a preseason draft guide, customizable cheat sheets, a multi-use fantasy drafting program 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.

ANDY RICHARDSON

I"m intrigued by a couple of backup running backs, due to both the talent I see in them and my reservations about the players in front of them. C.J. Spiller just needs an opportunity in Buffalo, as he showed late last year, and I think eventually aging Fred Jackson will give him one. I really like the tape I've seen on rookie runner Ronnie Hillman, so I think he has a chance to be a big contributor in Denver, either as a complement to Willis McGahee or lead guy if McGahee breaks down. Finally, James Starks has reportedly been unimpressive enough in Green Bay this preseason that just maybe Alex Green can make a play for that starting job.

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

• Comments [3]

Readers' Comments

Add a Comment

Already a registered user? Please sign in to add comments.

To add comments, you must become a registered user of our site. To register, please click here.