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: What under the radar player should be very good the rest of the season?
MICHAEL NAZAREK
Steven Jackson. He's still the starter and sees the goal-line carries when the Falcons get in the red zone. As I said recently, I expected him to score at Tampa Bay, and he did. Best of all, the Falcons play CLE, ARZ, @GB, and vs. PIT during the stretch fantasy playoff drive. Only Arizona has a good run defense from those matchups. SJax has a good chance to score in the other games, and he should still come dirt cheap in a trade!
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.
JAMES SELTZER
I don't know if he is "under the radar," but with the injury to Brandin Cooks, and the apparent end of Marques Colston's ability to produce on a football field, I could see Kenny Stills making a decent impact over the last six weeks of the season. Stills is coming off his best fantasy performance since Week 5, and is the Saints' only real deep threat. There is a good chance that Stills might just have legitimate fantasy value, as we barrel towards the fantasy playoffs. Also, keep an eye on Latavius Murray. Granted, Oakland stinks, but Murray looked good in Week 11's loss -- 4 carries, 43 yards rushing -- and may have earned himself a few extra touches. With only Darren McFadden standing in his way for playing time, I could see Murray getting the opportunity to produce, over the final few weeks of the season.
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.
SCOTT SACHS
I'd like so much to say that Johnny Football will soon take over from candy-armed/game-managing Brian Hoyer, a former Tom Brady backup. However, I think a more prudent choice just might be the "other" more recent Brady understudy, Ryan Mallett. As long as Houston has a healthy J.J. Watt, their defense should keep them in most games. And with a record of 5-5, with some of 6-4 Indy's warts exposed, it would be hard to write the Texans off as a potential playoff contender, division or wild card. Mallett's cannon arm and reputation as a chucker is a given, but it seems he's improved on his touch throws, shorter patterns, and decision making. Houston has RB depth, too, so the play-action works well. Statistically, the Houston wide receivers and tight ends aren't spectacular, but they're pretty good, even though Watt has more TD grabs than Andre the Giant! Look, one start against the banged up Browns is no body of work, but there was lot to like about "Big Tex" Ryan Mallett's debut. And as forJohnny Football, it looks like it's wait 'til next year -- a phrase Browns fans have been uttering for 50 years!
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
I think RB Latavius Murray (Oakland) is a good answer to this question. Murray only had 4 carries this past week, but he turned them into 43 yards, and Murray also tacked on 3 receptions for 16 yards, while his 23-yard run was the longest by a Raider this season. For Oakland, why not give Murray a chance? They are 0-10 and they know what Darren McFadden can do: not much. Murray has nice athleticism and is built like a starting NFL running back. After not being invited to last year's Combine, Murray got on the NFL radar almost out of nowhere after a remarkable performance at the Central Florida Pro Day where he ran a 4.38 second time in the 40-yard dash and put up elite metrics in all the athletic drills. Additionally, add WR Kenny Stills (New Orleans) to this list. I don't know if he is "under the radar" but I like Stills to significantly outperform what he has done year-to-date with Brandin Cooks out the remainder of the season. Stills was a favorite of mine coming into the year after leading the NFL last year in yards per target -- among receivers with at least 50 pass attempts last year, Stills led the NFL with a 20.0 yards per catch average and he also had a very impressive 64.0% catch rate.
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.
ANDY RICHARDSON
I'll go really dark horse here with Charles Johnson, who got a chance for extended playing time for Minnesota last week and went for 87 yards. Minnesota's regular starting wideouts are not only injured but mediocre, and Johnson has moved ahead of preseason favorite Cordarrelle Patterson. Johnson could be Minnesota's No. 1 the rest of the season. For a little less under the radar, I'll go with Dan Herron. We've seen what Trent Richardson has to offer, so look for Herron to have moved ahead of Richardson within a couple of weeks, just like Donald Brown did a year ago.
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.