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: Who has impressed or disappointed you most this postseason?
SCOTT PIANOWSKI
I don't see why the Seahawks would bring Marshawn Lynch back next year; heck, he might retire. There's a ton of mileage here, a pricy contract, a prickly relationship, and younger talent ready to go. If you're in a keeper league, it might be "take whatever you can get" time.
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.
IAN ALLAN
I liked what I saw out of Jeff Janis. He caught 7 passes at Arizona, coming up with the two really important, difficult catches at the end of the game — the 61-yarder on fourth down, and the tying touchdown on the final play, where he had to outfight Patrick Peterson for the ball. Earlier in the year, he had a couple of long kickoff returns. He’s got good size and speed. With the problems Green Bay had with their wide receivers, he probably should have been playing more all along. He’s more athletic than James Jones, and Davante Adams really underachieved for them. It’s a crowded situation, with Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson and the others. Maybe Adams turns it back on. And they’ve got the other young guy, Jared Abbrederis, who’s in the mix. But Janis, I think, is now definitely on the map.
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.
MICHAEL NAZAREK
Marshawn Lynch is said to be done in Seattle, and I believe he's done for good in the NFL.
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
There is no doubt that Martavis Bryant has done his fantasy stock a world of good. He was mostly a deep ball threat last year and struggled at times this season. But in the playoffs he’s stepped up with a touchdown in Cincinnati and then going 9-154 against the No. 1 pass defense on the road in the Divisional Round as an all around receiver.
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.
JOSHUA SIMMONS
Larry Fitzgerald won a good many games for fantasy owners, over the first half of the regular season. He went cheap in fantasy drafts, but has had much to do with Carson Palmer's impressive passing numbers. Down the stretch, Larry went from often catching eight or more passes to generating very little production. Fellow wideouts John Brown and Michael Floyd shouldered some of the load, meanwhile David Johnson ran the ball when called upon that sometimes they didn't need to lean on their passing attack. We've seen Fitzgerald elevate his game in playoffs past, and we're seeing it happen again this postseason.
Simmons has been a contributor for FantasySharks.com since 2007. His responsibilities include dynasty rankings, weekly projections-driven content and staff representation in various leagues.
SAM HENDRICKS
Marshawn Lynch. He was a no factor in the second half of the season. The sports hernia sidelined him for eight games and brought up serious questions about his continuation with Seattle. Even in the game this past weekend that he started Lynch managed just 20 yards rushing and 2-15 receiving. Instead the Seahawks see Thomas Rawls as the heir apparent. Seattle will no doubt try and trade the 30 year old in order to save $6.5 million.
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 in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC). He won the Fantasy Index Open in 2013. Follow him at his web site, www.ffguidebook.com.
ANDY RICHARDSON
You had to be impressed by Martavis Bryant the last two weeks. He stepped up his game, and it looks like he will do great things in that offense next season. On the other hand, Ronnie Hillman sure didn't look good against Pittsburgh. Gotta figure he is back to just a change of pace guy next season (whether it's behind Anderson or some other back entirely). And not as much of a fantasy issue, but Carson Palmer has a lot to prove at Carolina. He finished with good numbers, but played very poorly against Green Bay.
Richardson has been a contributing writer 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.