Ask the Experts

September 18, 2014

Which player should fantasy teams "buy low" on?

ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Which player should fantasy teams be looking to "buy low" on?

SCOTT PIANOWSKI

Eddie Lacy and Keenan Allen are obvious answers to this question, but I don't think you can pull it off in a league where people are with it (and if you can pull it off, you don't need anyone's outside advice). I'd make a play for Torrey Smith or Marques Colston. Both players are coming off quiet Week 2 games (Colston wasn't even targeted), and Smith in particular did nothing on National TV - that generally leads to the public overreacting to some degree. There's a new coaching staff in place in Baltimore; eventually they'll unlock their best receiver. I don't expect the Steve Smith Sr. revival to run all season.

Pianowski has been playing fantasy football for 20 years and writing about it for 17. He joined Yahoo! Sports in 2008 and has been blogging 24/7 on RotoArcade.com ever since.

MICHAEL NAZAREK

Tom Brady will have to start producing more TD passes and carrying his team once his schedule gets a lot tougher in a few weeks.

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.

MICAH JAMES

If you're in need of depth at wide receiver, Keenan Allen is a player to target. While he has started slowly this season (10 receptions for 92 yards in the team's two games) Allen has been matched up against two top passing defenses in the Cardinals and the Seahawks. I expect the Chargers to throw more in upcoming weeks, and Allen should quickly elevate into the borderline WR1 we expected during fantasy draft season.

James, the Fantasy Football MagicMan, currently hosts the weekly FFToolbox Fantasy Football Radio Show. In 2012, the FFMagicMan won the Fantasy Sports Trade Association’s Preseason Accuracy Rankings Challenge, and followed that performance with a Runner-Up finish in 2013. James posts his in-season rankings on the FantasyPros Experts’ rankings every week, and you can find his latest musings at ffmagicman.com. Follow him on Twitter at @FFMagicMan.

IAN ALLAN

I think Tom Brady will be fine. He’s started slowly (just like he did last year) but they’ll get things ironed out, like they always do. He’s got the necessary talent around him, and that’s an offense that almost always gets better as the season drags on. In the second half of last year, Brady averaged 315 passing yards per game, with 16 TDs and 5 interceptions, and I see no reason he can’t get back to being that kind of quarterback.

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.

JAMES SELTZER

Two names come to mind immediately. The first is Eddie Lacy. Lacy has had an abysmal start to the season, with only 77 yards rushing -- and no touchdowns -- through the Packers' first two games. This is not what you want from your first-round draft pick. However, it is important to note that Lacy's first two games have come against the vaunted Seattle defense (in Seattle no less) and a Jets defense which currently leads the league in run defense. Furthermore, the Packers were playing from behind in both games, so there was less work for Lacy to do. While the early season concussion worries me a little bit, the on-field performance does not. Buy low on Lacy. The second name that came to mind for me was Keenan Allen. Like Lacy, Allen has had two very difficult matchups to start the season, facing Patrick Peterson in Week 1 and Richard Sherman in Week 2. Can't have a much tougher start to the season than that. Even with the tough matchups, Allen has still been targeted 15 times by Rivers through two games, a number which is sure to rise when Allen is facing weaker cornerbacks. Now is the time to go out and buy Keenan Allen.

James Seltzer is a Writer of NFL content for Rotowire.com. Since 1997, RotoWire.com has been one of the leading fantasy sports resources on the web. Seltzer can be found on Twitter @JamesSeltzer975.

DAVID DOREY

I still like Bishop Sankey as a buy-low or even grab off the waiver wire. The Titans new regime made drafting him a priority and he was the best running back to come out of the NFL draft. He was moved up to being the No. 2 guy on the depth chart last week. It may take a few more weeks but with only Shonn Greene to beat out, it is only a matter of time.

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 SACHS

When it comes to a slow start, Eddie Lacy is this year's golden turtle. What a brutal start! Bypassed for goal line carries, zero touchdowns, bonked on the coconut for his 2nd concussion in his young career, 2 tough run defenses to start the year -- many Lacy owners have to be pulling their hair out in desperation! However, take heart; the Pack's schedule lightens up a bit, and their divisional opponents have crappy run defenses. This is a great window to make a trade proposal to take him off a disgruntled owner's hands for a reasonable value. His fortunes should take a big upturn beginning in Week 3, so I wouldn't wait too long. Honorable mention goes to Slow & Slower: Larry Fitzgerald & Marques Colston.

With 2 perfect seasons to his credit, Scott Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, featuring LIVE Talk & Text consulting, advice, and opinions. Serving as one of the "Experts" for Fantasy Football Index, was 2011 wire-to-wire winner in Mock Auction Draft League. Also, was named winner of the 2012 Fantasy Football Index Expert's Poll! In 2013 Fantasy Index Leagues, finished No. 2 in Mock Auction, No. 3 in Draft.

ALAN SATTERLEE

Eddie Lacy is a good buy low target (although smart Lacy owners won’t be selling after two disappointing games). Lacy was my No. 2 running back for the season and while we shall see if he can ascend to finishing that high, Lacy has no business being ranked as the 41st best running back like he is through two weeks (he has fewer points than Antone Smith so far!). Over the final 11 games last year Lacy scored 10 TDs and I think he will score at that pace over the final 14 games and I still think 12-13 TDs is likely for Lacy playing in this offense.

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.

SAM HENDRICKS

After a nothing Week 1 Davante Adams had five catches and 50 yards on seven targets in Week 2. Jarrett Boykin has three targets and one catch for the year. The WR3 spot is his for the taking. Buy Adams low now before he has a big game. As the WR3 he will benefit from the inevitable injury to Jordy Nelson or Randall Cobb. In that scenario, later this season, when he is the WR2 with Rodgers as his QB -- look out!

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.

ANDY RICHARDSON

Reggie Bush leaps to mind as someone who is going to get things going. Brutal matchup with Carolina, and a down game against the Giants (with Detroit putting up some easy passing production. I'm not a huge fan of the guy, but I think Detroit will get him going. As long as you can find a spot on your bench, I like the idea of going after an injured player like Charles or Ingram for a cheap price. If your lineup is good enough to hold serve in the first half of the fantasy season, get someone now who can maybe star for you in the second half.

Richardson has been a contributor and editor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and www.fantasyindex.com since 2002. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual experts 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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A little feedback from a long time customer.

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