Ask the Experts

November 14, 2013

Which rookie will have the best career?

ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp to Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Which 2013 rookie will go on to have the best NFL career?

JAKE CIELY

I still believe Gio Bernard has the most talent and opportunity out of this year's rookie crop. It's tough to pick a running back given their short career life, but with the inconsistency at the wide receiver position, I think the cons cancel out. The quarterbacks don't even enter the discussion, and that holds to what I said in the preseason, and even during the draft. I don't think any quarterback has the talent to be a star and not one should have been a first round pick. But back to Gio, he has all of the skills you want in a running back, and he's shown with limited touches just how good he can be. The Bengals offense has plenty of receiver weapons to keep defenses honest, and once BenJarvus Green-Ellis is long forgotten (which he should have been by now), Bernard will become RB1 material.

Ciely oversees the fantasy football staff for Football.com and assists with social media, including Twitter and Facebook. He is an award-nominated fantasy writer with over 15 years of experience. He started his fantasy sports career with his own blog and eventually became the Managing Editor at RotoExperts.com. He’s also a poker enthusiast, which is why you see many poker references, including his nickname “All In Kid.” Jake has also introduced new metrics to fantasy football analysis.

SAM HENDRICKS

The NFL is a passing league. Just look at the passing records seen this year. Having said that I like Tavon Austin as he becomes more and more involved in the Rams offensive schemes. Tavon is so multi-talented, as seen by this weeks breakout game, that STL has to get him the ball in space in more ways. Next year with Sam Bradford back and in the years to come I see a Randy Moss like career. Hopefully without the controversy.

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 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 web site, www.ffguidebook.com.

CORY BONINI

From a fantasy perspective, it should Bengals running back Giovani Bernard. He is just so quick and electric -- a dynamic playmaker. A do-all back, Bernard's biggest enemy will be his own body holding up to the rigors of playing in the NFL. He struggled with durability issues in college, and he easily could have a similar path in the NFL. However, should he remain largely healthy, you could be looking at a top-five fantasy back for the next five or six years.

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. Completely 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 is property of USA TODAY Sports Media Group.

MICHAEL NAZAREK

Packers RB Eddie Lacy will have one of the better careers of any rookie offensively from 2013 moving forward.

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 via email at miken@ffmastermind.com.

DAVID DOREY

It is still early on all the quarterbacks who won’t be better known for another year, but so far I have to like Le’Veon Bell for running backs and Keenan Allen for wideouts. Bell is already a full-time back that is also a part of the passing game as well and most in his position don’t last more than five years anyway. Allen has already become the #1 wideout in San Diego and matches up with Philip Rivers very well.

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.

ALAN SATTERLEE

If we are talking career, give me Cordarrelle Patterson. If you want to win this year, Eddie Lacy is probably the right answer. Longer-term Patterson will develop into a truly special talent at wide receiver, although probably more of a "3rd year breakout" type. Minnesota needs a franchise QB and they almost certainly will have an elite rookie option under center next season from what will be an extremely impressive 2014 rookie QB class - so by the 2015 season look for Patterson to be a Top 5 WR.

Satterlee is Co-Owner and Chief Editor/COO of FantasyFootballWarehouse.com. FFW features comprehensive profiles for all the major 2013 skill-position rookies, its Trading Spaces series, the team Deep Dives, the Speed Bump competition plus draft strategies, rankings, projections and more. FFW runs in tandem with its dynasty site DynastyFootballWarehouse.com.

ERIC CATURIA

Fresh off a week in which rookie wide receiver Tavon Austin left a frisky Indianapolis Colts squad in tatters, productive position players abound from a class that was deemed weak due to a noted lack of an apparent franchise quarterback. Among league leaders, Eddie Lacy has racked up the seventh-most rushing yards per game (83.6), Andre Ellington's 7.2 yards per carry sits just behind Terrelle Pryor's absurd mark of 7.4, and the 50 receptions gathered in by Jordan Cameron rank in the top 15. The likes of Keenan Allen, Zac Stacy, Terrance Williams, Jordan Reed, and Aaron Dobson have all made their presence felt through 10 weeks, but Giovani Bernard continues to provide electric highlights and consistent output on a weekly basis, a combination that seems ripe to result in the most notable career from the 2013 draft. Bernard's dual threat status makes it difficult for Marvin Lewis to hold the running back on the sideline, as evidenced by a stuffed stat sheet that includes seven touchdowns (four on the ground, three through the air) in 10 contests. Moreover, with 419 yards rushing and 304 receiving, he resides fifth and 12th, respectively, among fellow first-year players on a per-game basis. As the Bengals continue to unleash him next to all-world wideout A.J. Green and the more-than-competent Andy Dalton, Bernard's outlook appears brightest in what is turning into a sneaky-good draft class.

Caturia is a writer/editor of NFL, MLB, and NBA content for RotoWire. He can be found on Twitter @etcat30.

ANDY RICHARDSON

I have come around to really like a lot of them. Eddie Lacy looks like the next Marshawn Lynch; he's going to be a top-level back for several years. I wish I'd been higher on Gio Bernard coming out, because he should be a key element of Cincinnati's offense for 5-7 years, as both a runner and receiver. But the guy who has impressed me as looking like he really belongs ever since he got his chance is Keenan Allen. I'm hoping he has a down week or two to make him easier to acquire in dynasty, because he looks like a No. 1 guy in San Diego going forward.

Richardson has been a columnist and contributor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and web site for 12 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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With Cam Ward drafted by the Titans, the AFC South likely will become the first division to have all four teams start a quarterback they selected with a top-5 pick. It had three last year, with Trevor Lawrence, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson. In the 32-team era, what’s the only other division that’s had three teams started QBs in the same season that they had drafted with top-5 picks?

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