Ask the Experts

August 04, 2016

Which rookie receiver are you most interested in this preseason?

ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through the Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Which rookie receiver are you most looking forward to seeing this preseason?

ALAN SATTERLEE

There are a couple of rookie receivers I really look forward to seeing on the field -- a tie between Sterling Shepard (Giants) and Michael Thomas (Saints). The Giants have talked Shepard up and he could (should) be a big fantasy producer right out of the gate on a team that should be super productive. Likewise for Thomas, he's another dynasty gem that could be surprisingly effective as a rookie. In general though (and as an avid dynasty player too) it is always tons of fun to see the rookies in their uniforms and their pre-season work and how they look in their first NFL action.

Satterlee is a co-owner and senior writer for Dynasty Football Warehouse. DFW is comprehensive site covering dynasty, redraft, IDP and Daily formats. DFW has a large writing crew with many people from the DFW community contributing to the insights and discussion. Alan is also the Fantasy Football Insider for the Charlotte Observer and is syndicated in a few other newspapers in the southeast.

IAN ALLAN

I want to see Hunter Henry on the field. He had really good hands at Arkansas — didn’t drop any passes all of last year, and I saw him make some tough grabs in traffic. I want to get an idea of how long it will take to get him ready to take over for Antonio Gates. Probably their 2017 starter, I figure. And with Stevie Johnson now dealing with a knee injury, they might have some interest in using more formations with two tight ends. Johnson works in the slot. Henry, as a second tight end, could fill a lot of that void, working the middle of the field. I like Henry very much as a dynasty prospect. As he plays in the preseason, we’ll get some idea whether he can be counted on to fill much of a role in his first year.

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.

SAM HENDRICKS

Sterling Shepard's ADP is not the first rookie off the board but I think he has the potential to be the best rookie by the end of the season. Yes Rookie of the Year! Starter...sure. Who is he competing against? Recovering Victor Cruz. Pencil him in as the WR2 opposite OBJ. And with the pass happy Giants Eli Manning throwing to him. Questions none. I predict 70 catches, 900 yards and 7 TDs with the potential for more. Watch him in preseason and see how he develops with Eli then watch his ADP sky rocket. Draft him now for value.

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 25 year fantasy football veteran who 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 is drafting live in the FFPC in Vegas this year. He won the Fantasy Index Open in 2013. Follow him at his web site, www.ffguidebook.com.

MICHAEL NAZAREK

I'm excited to see Saints rookie wide receiver Michael Thomas. The Saints need a receiver to replace departed Marques Colston, and this kid has caught pretty much everything in camp to date. Should be great to watch him in action.

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.

JUSTIN ELEFF

Kevin White of the Bears has been in the league for a full year already, but 2016 is still his rookie season -- and I might have picked him had he been healthy a year ago, too. He's big, very fast and otherwise almost a complete mystery. At West Virginia the plan seemed to be to have him go however many steps straight down the field, then see if the quarterback could find him. Now he'll be running proper routes maybe for the first time in his life, and he becomes an experiment in whether sheer physical gifts can be grafted straight into an NFL offense. My gut says yes in this case. Recent reports have White as a diligent student of the playbook; the injury that kept him from playing a year ago (a stress fracture in his shin) isn't the sort that should linger; and Jay Cutler, for all of his faults, has shown some ability to feature the second of a pair of star wide receivers. Alshon Jeffery became a fantasy force with Brandon Marshall there drawing attention to the other side of the field. Now Jeffery is the guy on the proverbial other side, and White could be very good in Year 2 (ahem, as a rookie).

Eleff hosts the Fantasy Index Podcast, available in the iTunes Store now. He has worked for Fantasy Index off and on all century.

DAVID DOREY

Sterling Shepard has the perfect set-up for a nice rookie season. Eli Manning is a mature, productive passer and Odell Beckham’s presence ensures that defenses are not going to key on Shepard. He was a four-year starter at Oklahoma and was considered “pro ready” as any rookie. Oh yes, and he has one of the weakest strength of schedules for wide receivers.

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'm intrigued by Austin Hooper in Atlanta. The Falcons have just aging Jacob Tamme and Levine Toilolo ahead of him. I realize rookie tight ends seldom make an impact, but Hooper is a capable receiver who could be stepping into a big role with the Falcons right away. As for wideouts, it's clear Sterling Shepard has the most potential, but I'm personally intrigued by Laquon Treadwell. There are knocks against him, including speed and situation, but I think he could be Minnesota's No. 1 receiver right away and catch a bunch of passes. I am trying to buy him low in dynasty.

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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