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 one mid- to late-round player you'd like to have on every fantasy team this year?

SCOTT PIANOWSKI

Russell Wilson looks special to me. Smart, works his tail off, wide collection of skills. He's going to run a whole bunch, too. Call me crazy, but I've moved him past Robert Griffin on my current cheat sheet. Go get the Seattle defense, too.

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.

CORY BONINI

I can't seem to get out of a draft lately without ending up with Ronnie Hillman, Robert Turbin, Jermaine Gresham or David Wilson. I'll go with Gresham, whose seventh-round ADP puts him on the lean side of this draft range. Turbin may be a better choice, but I have serious love for Gresham. A mild knee sprain has caused him to fall recently. He's a mid-range TE1 in my eyes, easily capable of catching 75 balls. Someone has to step up after A.J. Green, and Gresham has elite-level talent. He's better in PPR leagues, which is what I find myself playing in most often. At the risk of sounding preachy, this stage of the draft is where you build a championship roster. Anyone can pick Calvin Johnson or Arian Foster in the first round. Owners have to find season-altering gems by digging deeper than scratching the surface.

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.

SAM HENDRICKS

Justin Blackmon is an early 9th-round pick (12-team draft) and continues to move up cheat sheets. I like him so much I am willing to reach a round and draft this WR35 in the 8th round. Jacksonville traded up to draft him this year and that means the rookie is meant to play. He joins a Jaguars team in desperate need of WR help. Laurent Robinson can provide the short over-the-middle catches and Blackmon will get the deep balls if his QB can get some time in the pocket. You have to admit QB Blaine Gabbert had an impressive preseason. I like Blackmon for his upside with little downside (60/800/8 TDs). One note of caution, he does have some off-the-field issues and may face a suspension at some point this season of 1-2 games. On the plus side, he seems to be a grounded individual , i.e. not a diva, so that helps his work ethic.

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.

MIKE NAZAREK

WR Nate Washington. He's so underrated and you can draft him as your No. 4 or 5 wide receiver!

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.

DAVID DOREY

Love making Jerome Simpson one of my final picks. He is suspended to start the season and no one wants to touch him but after three weeks he returns and has been outstanding in camp and preseason games. He’s a deep threat and has Percy Harvin there to worry the safeties. Long as he can keep his personal life in order, Simpson will far outplay his draft slot.

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.

IAN ALLAN

Alfred Morris looks good to me. Rugged dude. Breaks tackles. Definitely looks the part. I think he’ll be the starter there, and I think he’ll be productive. Now that he’s had a 100-yard game in the preseason, the cat’s kind of out of the bag. No way will he be around in the late rounds. But with him being an unheralded rookie and Mike Shanahan having an iffy relationship with handling running backs, I think Morris will still be around in the middle rounds.

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.

ALAN SATTERLEE

For me it is David Wilson. I’ve been in three drafts where he's been available in the 9th round and I have selected him each time at that spot. Wilson has the potential to turn into fantasy gold. We love his talent. Wilson has exceptional feet and agility with elite speed, and is able to turn the corner without slowing down much. Wilson excelled at the Combine with a solid 4.49 forty, a freakish 11' broad jump and an elite 4.12 in the 20-yard shuttle and that talent has translated well in camp and pre-season. Wilson compares favorably to a younger DeAngelo Williams, although he has more natural wiggle. Wilson will be busy from the get-go as a 1-2 punch with Ahmad Bradshaw and Wilson is a fair flex starter in that capacity. However, Bradshaw is highly injury-prone and it is highly possible Wilson will be suddenly starting for the Giants at some point this season. In that scenario he is absolutely a RB1 option. Bradshaw missed four games last year due to a crack in his foot and in 2010 he had three different surgeries on his foot and also broke his wrist that season. It's only a matter of time before the David Wilson era begins in New York.

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.

KEVIN NELSON

The one mid round player that seems to continually find his way on to my teams is the Giants rookie running back David Wilson. The first reason, plain and simple, is that I just don't have any faith in Ahmad Bradshaw. Even if you try to pretend he isn't constantly injured, his production last year was quite sub par when he did play. His third highest rushing total was 59 yards and he ran for over 100 yards exactly one time. Now let's look at David Wilson himself. A first round selection, a knack for catching the ball on a team that is transitioning into a more pass oriented team, has been doted on for his recent progression in pass protection, and most recently some outstanding preseason performances against first teamers. Wilson is averaging 5.9 ypc during the preseason which includes 5 rushes for 49 yards and 2 catches for 26 yards while starting against the vaunted Bears D in the all important preseason game 3. The Giants tried to bring Wilson along slow, but it is clear he is ready quicker than the Giants could have anticipated. It might not be long until Wilson, not Bradshaw, is the Giants RB fantasy owners are clamoring for.

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.

SCOTT SACHS

Rather than naming a position player, I thought I would give out a guy that I go after every year, consistently delivering steady production 16 out of 17 weeks. When possible, I always pick Stephen Gostkowski. He is steady, resilient, and dependable, plus he can boot the higher valued 50+ yarders that can make a difference when you have a close match-up. Although I used to always pick dome kickers, e.g., Jason Hanson, Gostkowski is a bit of an anomaly as he is an outdoor kicker almost exclusively. Although Boston, NY, and Buffalo have very crappy weather, the elements don't seem to faze him. The major factor contributing to his high value is the simple fact that he plays on a high-scoring offensive-minded team like New England--it makes a world of difference as he typically gets a lot more scoring opportunities than most of his peers.

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.

LOUIS TRANQUILLI

Lamar Miller, Miami Dolphins. The kid is super fast and Reggie Bush is really all that stands in front of Lamar and a huge role for this offense that's in dire need of playmakers. The coaches were here to draft Miller, not Daniel Thomas (who looks like a slug) and the coaches added a big time QB in Tannehill. Before the season is over the Fins' will want their RB of the future playing football with their QB of the future/now...

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.

ANDY RICHARDSON

I've talked him up before: Rod Streater. Since the start of OTAs he's been making plays and running with starters, and in the exhibitions he looked completely comfortable out there. If Denarius Moore ever gets back on the field he's probably the No. 3 or 4, but can the Raiders keep him off the field? Maybe for Moore, but not for Jacoby Ford. I'm happily taking him late in PPR formats and dreaming of a whole lot of 6-7 catch games this season.

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.

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