Ask the Experts

February 11, 2016

What is your preliminary top 10 for the 2016 season?

ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. This is the final question of the season. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: What is your preliminary top 10 for the 2016 season?

JOSHUA SIMMONS

I like LeVeon Bell, Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham, Todd Gurley, Julio Jones, Devonta Freeman, DeAndre Hopkins, Dez Bryant, Doug Martin and Adrian Peterson -- in basically that order, for the time being. Just missing the cut: Allen Robinson and David Johnson.

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

Rankings within the top 10 do change slightly based on scoring, number of teams, starting rosters, etc. I am going with PPR and throwing in a bakers dozen.

1) Antonio Brown
2) Odell Beckham Jr.
3) LeVeon Bell
4) Todd Gurley
5) Adrian Peterson
6) Rob Gronkowski
7) DeAndre Hopkins
8) Julio Jones
9) Devonta Freeman
10) David Johnson
11) Jamaal Charles
12) Dez Bryant
13) Allen Robinson

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.

IAN ALLAN

There are different scoring formats and league sizes, but I think the same names should wind up near the top. If you’re in the league where quarterbacks have some value, I see three that might make it into the top 10 — Cam Newton, Andrew Luck and Aaron Rodgers. Luck and Rodgers both come off down seasons, but I think those guys will bounce back. Rob Gronkowski definitely belongs in any top 10. Running backs tend to be coveted in most formats, but there aren’t many that I’m excited about. LeVeon Bell and Todd Gurley both look very solid. Devonta Freeman I suppose is in there, but let’s see what Tevin Coleman looks like — he could quickly progress into a time-share. Adrian Peterson I guess is in there, but he’s getting old. Thomas Rawls maybe as well, but he’s relatively unproven, coming off an injury, and there could be issues with that offensive line. Those are the only five backs I could come up with. The safer choices are at wide receiver, where you have lead-pipe locks like Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, Odell Beckham Jr. and DeAndre Hopkins. Just a little bit back, Brandin Cooks, Dez Bryant and Sammy Watkins.

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

Top 10 (for PPR Leagues): 1) LeVeon Bell - When he was healthy last season, he was the top guy. Yes, he's coming off a serious knee injury, but it's not an ACL issue. He will return to form healthy, making him the top PPR player to draft in 2016!
2) WR Antonio Brown - Brown caught 136 passes for 1834 yards and 10 scores and he did that without Big Ben for several games! Imagine what he could do with a healthy Big Ben for all 16.
3) Devonta Freeman - The new workhorse in Atlanta, Freeman is also a pass-catching specialist with a nose for the goal.
4) Julio Jones - He may have only scored 8 times, but you can't argue with 136 catches!
5) Todd Gurley - The guy is the new young BEAST in the league and would be higher if he caught more than just a pass or two each game.
6) Odell Beckham - He caught 9 of his 13 scores in the final 9 games of 2015, as he was just hitting his stride!
7) DeAndre Hopkins - He caught 111 passes for 1521 and 11 scores last year despite all the QB issues in Houston. Simply put, the kid is a STUD in a PPR league.
8) David Johnson - He took off as the lead back down the stretch and should return as the impressive workhorse back for the team in 2016, especially as a pass-catcher.
9) Adrian Peterson - He produced 1700+ total yards and 11 scores as a 30-year old in 2015. The old man ain't done yet!
10) Jamaal Charles - Assuming he will return to health coming off another torn ACL, Charles should be productive as the lead back for Kansas City. He did it the last time this happened!

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

1) Antonio Brown
2) Odell Beckham
3) LeVeon Bell
4) Adrian Peterson
5) Jamaal Charles
6) Todd Gurley
7) Julio Jones
8) DeAndre Hopkins
9) LeSean McCoy
10) Cam Newton

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.

ANDY RICHARDSON

I am assuming PPR scoring, although my rankings would not change dramatically even in standard. The bottom line is there has been a shift in the landscape. A few years ago you entered a draft hoping to be sure to grab one of the top handful of running backs. I think now it's more important to come away with one of the true elite wide receivers to give you an every-week edge, followed by the only couple of running backs who are heavily involved in the passing game as well as handling the majority of the rushing work. (I expect to shy away from Jamaal Charles, who could see more of a timeshare in 2016.) My rankings follow accordingly:

1) Antonio Brown
2) Julio Jones
3) Odell Beckham Jr.
4) LeVeon Bell
5) Devonta Freeman
6) DeAndre Hopkins
7) Rob Gronkowski
8) Todd Gurley
9) David Johnson
10) Dez Bryant

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.

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A little feedback from a long time customer.

Our fantasy pool is entering its 25^th year and I have used multiple books and on-line tools over the years.

I have locked on to Fantasy Index as my go to for the last 5 years and have won the pool 3 of those years and finished no lower than 4^th.

Interesting to see how much more accurate you were at the end of the year compared to other books my competitors used.

Having it in a format that allows me to work the forecasts to match our scoring system and then receive updates as the season approaches is invaluable. Whoever your sources are for the forecasts are the best. Hang on to them. Thanks for the help!!

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