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 nobody will be a fantasy somebody in Week 17?
L.A. HALE
Tion Green will be the nobody that surprises in Week 17. The Lions are out of the playoff hunt, so this week is the perfect time to get a last look at seldom-used players before heading in to the offseason. The undrafted rookie runner from Cincinnati was impressive in the preseason and looked good in limited action last week (7 car/43 yds/6.1 avg). Look for the 232-pound bruiser to see an increased workload and shine in the final week of the season.
L.A. Hale is the Founder and President of Fantasy Gives, a 501c3 charitable organization that provides financial support to non-profit groups through fantasy sports.
SAM HENDRICKS
Bruce Arians is a lame-duck Head Coach. The Cards are out of the playoffs and every running back including Kerwyn Williams (broken ribs) is banged up. Elijhaa Penny is my what-the-heck lets throw out a nobody name and see if he gets a chance to show his stuff. I say let the undrafted rookie run wild. And have you seen the Seattle defense lately? Roger Lewis is not a nobody but he is often overlooked. He gets my runner-up choice after being targeted 11 times Sunday.
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 won the Fantasy Index Open in 2013. Follow him at his web site, www.ffguidebook.com.
ALAN SATTERLEE
I think the most obvious option has to be the Rams’ Malcolm Brown. Opportunity is everything in fantasy football and reports are the Rams will rest its marquee starters in Week 17. Brown isn’t going to come in and do what MVP Todd Gurley has done of course, but he looks likely to get a chance for a starter’s workload this week. It’s also a good matchup against a Niners’ defense allowing the 4th-most fantasy points to running backs. I’m also interested to see Derrick Henry get a starter’s workload this week (finally). It’s a small sample size, but in two seasons Henry has been quite productive when given the chance. He has just four games with at least 14 carries (that seems criminal), but his full-season pace over those four games is 1,608 total yards and 16 TDs.
Satterlee is the Fantasy Football Insider for the Charlotte Observer and is syndicated in a few other newspapers in the southeast. Satterlee first started playing fantasy football in 1990.
IAN ALLAN
Antonio Gates doesn’t have much left in the tank. He’s hardly played at times this year. But Hunter Henry is out for the season, so I expect they’ll lean on Gates to do a lot more. He caught 6 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown on Sunday against the Jets, and I don’t think that was an aberration. I think he’ll be a viable part of their passing game on Sunday. (With Melvin Gordon playing on a bad ankle, I think they’ll be passing plenty.) Gates can’t run like he used to, but he’s still got that chemistry with Philip Rivers around the goal line. Decent chance, I think that Gates catches 4-plus passes and a touchdown.
Allan is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame. A co-founder of Fantasy Football Index in 1987, he generates most of the writing, player rankings and analysis for that publication. His work can be seen in Fantasy Football Index magazine and also at www.fantasyindex.com.
DAVID DOREY
Malcolm Brown will be the starting RB for the Rams. That could be a sneaky Daily play.
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 thinking the 49ers will put up good numbers against a Rams team sitting a lot of starters. That has me interested not only in Jimmy Garoppolo and Carlos Hyde, but probably Matt Breida. In the third quarter when the 49ers are ahead 20-7, it should be Breida getting most of the carries. As for starters, I could see Rod Smith being productive for Dallas against Philadelphia, and maybe Wendell Smallwood in the same game against the Cowboys. Backups itching to prove something against opponents resting players or with cabs running outside the stadium -- those are the players I'm interested in starting in daily leagues in Week 17.
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.