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Fantasy Index Experts Poll

Pro Football Focus wins 28th annual Experts Poll

We’ve scored all 2,400 player selections – 20 experts listing 120 players each – and Jeff Ratcliffe of Pro Football Focus is the overall champion of the 28th annual Fantasy Index Experts Poll. This one was close.

Using our complex scoring matrix, scores averaged about 265,000 points, and Ratcliffe finished less than three tenths of a percent ahead of Mike Clay of ESPN. Bob Henry of FootballGuys also finished near the top, before a more sizable dropoff to the other entries.

FANTASY INDEX EXPERTS POLL (final standings)
AnalystCompanyPoints
Jeff RatcliffePro Football Focus270,252
Mike ClayESPN269,586
Bob HenryFootballGuys269,031
Ryan McDowellDynasty League Football266,521
Sam HendricksExtra Point Press266,218
Tony HolmFantasy Sharks266,156
Lenny PappanoDraft Sharks265,544
Jody SmithGridiron Experts265,245
Scott PianowskiYahoo Sports265,017
Justin EleffFantasy Index Podcast264,516
Michael NazarekFantasy Football Mastermind264,406
Chris LissRotoWire262,838
Alan SatterleeCharlotte Observer262,824
Ryan MurphyEast Berlin, Pa.262,161
David DoreyThe Huddle260,559
Scott SachsPerfect Season FF260,116
Cory BoniniUSA Today Fantasy Sports259,721
Ken ValisGaithersburg, Md.259,634
Paul CharchianLeagueSafe259,141
L.A. HaleFantasy Gives258,592

Ratcliffe was average at Kicker (11th) and Tight End (10th) but finished 2nd at Quarterback, 3rd at Defense and 6th at both Running Back and Wide Receiver. He was also a strong finisher last year, placing 6th in his debut season.

Clay (who formerly worked alongside Ratcliffe at PFF) finished 2nd at both Running Back and Wide Receiver, won the Defense category and finished a respectable 5th at Quarterback. But he ranked only 13th and 15th at Kicker and Tight End.

Henry finished 3rd, and he wasn’t far back – the only analyst to finish above-average in all six positions. Henry has been the most consistent performer in this competition in recent seasons. In the previous six years he finished 3rd, 6th, 4th, 1st (in 2014), 14th and 2nd.

Ryan McDowell (Dynasty League Football) finished 4th and had a well-rounded entry. He finished 12th at Tight End but was in the top 6 at every other position.

Like Clay, Sam Hendricks (Extra Point Press) was undone by below-average finishes at Tight End and Kicker. Hendricks won the two most heralded positions (RB, WR) and was in the top 8 at Quarterback and Defense.

Scoring such a contest can be subjective – results vary based on what you want to emphasize. Using “Waiver Wire Scoring” (which limits the damage of picks that go horribly wrong – Andrew Luck, Cairo Santos, etc. – Clay finished slightly ahead of Ratcliffe. Not much difference between those entries.

FANTASY INDEX EXPERTS POLL (Waiver Wire Scoring)
AnalystPointsStd Rk
Mike Clay46,7612
Jeff Ratcliffe46,6111
Sam Hendricks46,2205
Justin Eleff45,93810
Ryan McDowell45,7294
Jody Smith45,3718
Scott Pianowski45,3699
Michael Nazarek45,10611
Tony Holm44,8526
Bob Henry44,6603
Ken Valis44,52118
Chris Liss44,26912
Lenny Pappano44,1867
Paul Charchian44,11119
Ryan Murphy44,10314
Alan Satterlee43,89413
Cory Bonini43,82217
Scott Sachs42,42916
L.A. Hale42,39820
David Dorey41,27415

The field included two qualifiers from the Fantasy Index Open – the top 2 finishers from 2016 – but neither was a big factor. Ryan Murphy from East Berlin, Pa., finished 14th. Ken Valis (Gaithersburg, Md.) finished 2nd at Defenses and 5th at Tight Ends but ended up 18th.

All-time 10 qualifiers from the Fantasy Index Open (the sister competition – open to the general public) have won their way in to compete in this event. Three finished 5th, 6th and 8th, but none of the other seven have placed higher than 14th.

The top 11 finishers in this competition earn spots in the Mock Draft League that will be featured in the pages of Fantasy Football Index magazine. As the winner, Ratcliffe can start thinking about which of the 12 draft positions he would prefer in that league.

EXPERTS POLL, POSITIONAL RANKS (Standard Scoring)
RkAnalystQBRBWRTEPKDef
1.Jeff Ratcliffe26610113
2.Mike Clay52215131
3.Bob Henry1992310
4.Ryan McDowell6441256
5.Sam Hendricks71113148
6.Tony Holm3161618411
7.Lenny Pappano415153187
8.Jody Smith111111624
9.Scott Pianowski165581020
10.Justin Eleff15331965
11.Michael Nazarek88871215
12.Chris Liss1413134812
13.Alan Satterlee13171711716
14.Ryan Murphy187714913
15.David Dorey12121211519
16.Scott Sachs19181816114
17.Cory Bonini101414201618
18.Ken Valis920205172
19.Paul Charchian20101017209
20.L.A. Hale17191991917
EXPERTS POLL, POSITIONAL RANKS (Waiver Wire Scoring)
RkAnalystQBRBWRTEPKDef
1.Mike Clay22515161
2.Jeff Ratcliffe31101264
3.Sam Hendricks810125812
4.Justin Eleff557256
5.Ryan McDowell10324715
6.Jody Smith112112028
7.Scott Pianowski6161910207
8.Michael Nazarek77138153
9.Tony Holm126991718
10.Bob Henry14411135
11.Ken Valis13963916
12.Chris Liss9141811411
13.Lenny Pappano16154131020
14.Paul Charchian1711317129
15.Ryan Murphy19201761319
16.Alan Satterlee18181419114
17.Cory Bonini111715161917
18.Scott Sachs413161442
19.L.A. Hale208871110
20.David Dorey151920181813

—Ian Allan

Fantasy Index