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Ask the Experts

Which rookie QB has the most value?

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 rookie quarterback and passing offense has the most value the rest of the way?

JAMES SELTZER

To be honest, I do not think any of these passing offenses will have significant value moving forward. Oakland is a mess offensively. Carr has looked competent through the first three starts of his career, but he is severely lacking in weapons around him. Bortles absolutely looks like he has a future in the league, as he is a very talented quarterback, however, he is entering into a no-win situation. Bortles will be playing behind, perhaps, the worst offensive line in the league. Add-in a stable of unproven weapons, and it is hard to see Bortles having much success this season. If I had to pick one of these new rookie starting quarterbacks to have legitimate fantasy value moving forward, it would have to be Teddy Bridgewater. Even without Adrian Peterson, the Vikings have some talent on the offensive side of the ball - Cordarrelle Patterson, Greg Jennings, Kyle Rudolph, etc. Furthermore, Bridgewater will be playing behind a much better offensive line than Carr or Bortles, which should play a big role in facilitating Bridewater's success. Ultimately though, I think the Vikings will be no better than average in the passing game, which will limit Bridewater's fantasy appeal. But again, if I had to pick one of these rookie quarterbacks to "break out," Bridgewater is the only one I can see being that guy.

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 am most looking forward to seeing what Blake Bortles can do on a team that has virtually no offense and that will be forced to throw early and often. He’s vastly talented and it is the quarterback that makes the receivers good – never the other way around. The Jags schedule is much kinder than the Raiders or Vikings as well. Bortles won’t get you the rushing yardage that Bridgewater can, but he’s likely to end up as the best QB in the bunch.

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

I would easily go with Blake Bortles of these three quarterbacks. Bortles has a lively arm and he gets the ball down the field – Bortles averaged a very healthy 9.3 yards per attempt and 15.9 yards per completion this week. Bortles also will add to the bottom line with above average rushing production (he had 30 rushing yards this week – note that Bortles had 17 rushing TDs in three seasons at Central Florida). I also like Teddy Bridgewater to a lesser degree, and Cordarelle Patterson owners should be thankful for the quarterback switch. Minnesota though is just lacking in play-makers outside of Patterson with Adrian Peterson out and now Kyle Rudolph dinged. I would put Derek Carr third on this list. Oakland did well by drafting Carr, but he’s only going to be good for about 196 passing yards and 1 TD on any given week (his average game through three weeks). Lastly, I continue to believe that Johnny Manziel will be an above-average fantasy quarterback someday, in not Top 10, but probably not this season but I continue to keep an eye out for Johnny Football in my leagues where we have open waivers in case Brian Hoyer goes down.

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

Teddy Bridgewater because he comes into a perfect situation. He has a great weapon in Cordarrelle Patterson (although I like him better if Kyle Rudolph were healthy). He will have to lead the team with his arm (and legs) now that Adrian Peterson is sidelined. He has the job locked up with no QB to challenge from the bench. At 1-2 and after a dismal 2013, fans are not expecting too much. All in all a perfect storm for a good fantasy season.

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

I'm going with Blake Bortles. Jacksonville can't run the ball, and their defense is horrible. It's a bad situation for the team to win, but a good situation for Bortles to have a bunch of games with 250-275 passing yards, 30-40 rushing yards, and 1-2 TDs in the weekly 28-17 losses. I am somewhat intrigued by Teddy Bridgewater, but that team can play some defense and may find its running game, so his ceiling looks a little lower.

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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