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Ask the Experts

Which new QB will have the most value?

(Almost) everyone loves Baker

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 new starting quarterback will have the most fantasy value the rest of the way?

ALAN SATTERLEE

Give me some Baker Mayfield! It was hard not to be impressed with the way Mayfield came in off the bench and played (completing nearly 74 percent of his passes, around what he did in college where he had a 68.5 percent completion percentage over his final three seasons), leading the Browns to a comeback win and energizing everyone -- his teammates, the city in general. Mayfield looks like a star. He has such quick delivery, so accurate with his throws (several of his incompletions were flat-out drops) and so quick to process information and make decisions. Especially during bye weeks, Mayfield is a fine plug-in option and quarterback with a fairly strong set of skill-position players to throw too. Mayfield starting also significantly raises the fantasy value of Jarvis Landry, Antonio Callaway and David Njoku (and actually Carlos Hyde too, and Nick Chubb if he ever needs to start). Mayfield is going to collect fantasy stats not only through the air but he also rushed for a touchdown on average about every other game in college.

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.

JUSTIN ELEFF

If you’re a 49ers fan you really have to be excited to see C.J. Beathard back on the fie... OK, that was too mean. The answer for Week 4 is the same as Week 3: the most valuable switch any team made, both in fantasy and in real life, was the Browns moving from Tyrod Taylor to Baker Mayfield. The former led his team to the playoffs last year and still lost his job twice (once during the season, once after), because he doesn’t really do anything to lead a team to the playoffs. He’s a great teammate and a decent player, and the whole time he’s on the field you find yourself wishing those adjectives were reversed. The latter, Mayfield, made an immediate palpable difference both on the field and in the stadium — the NFL Network team was giddy about it at halftime — and he may in fact be a great player in the making. It isn’t just that you should have more interest in Mayfield than in Taylor. He also bumps the value of Jarvis Landry (a lot), David Njoku (some), Antonio Callaway (maybe some, maybe a lot) and probably Carlos Hyde as well (again, maybe a lot). The Browns were entirely reborn upon making the concussion-mandated switch from Taylor to Mayfield last Thursday. There will be rough patches along the way, but there is no going back from that.

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

MIKE NEASE

Hue Jackson has been telling us for months what a work in process Baker Mayfield is. That was either stupidity on Jackson’s part, or a stroke of strategic genius. When Mayfield entered the game, the team was energized. The stadium atmosphere rose to a level it has not seen in decades. At home, we were treated to a very enjoyable comeback victory, the Browns first win in 635 days. With the spirit he brings to the huddle and the fact that he has a better supporting cast than Rosen, Allen or Beathard, I say Mayfield has the highest 2018 upside of any of these new starting quarterbacks.

Nease is a member of the FSWA and has been playing the game since 1985, while also writing about it since 2001. He is a writer for Big Guy Fantasy Sports. Over the years he has sampled about all the playing scenarios that fantasy football offers, including re-drafter, keeper, dynasty, auction, IDP and salary cap leagues. You can contact Mike at mnease23@yahoo.com anytime and during the football season follow him @mikeinsights.

SAM HENDRICKS

C. J. Beathard, for a few reasons. One, he has no reason to look over his shoulder as no one else is there to take his job. Two, the other new starters this week are rookies and will have rookie mistakes. Three, he has some talent at wide receiver and tight end. Four, the others play for Buffalo, Cleveland and Arizona. Questions?

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.

SCOTT SACHS

Baker Mayfield shoulders the load of the Cleveland Browns' 54-year non-championship drought as he leads the team into Oakland's Black Hole in Week 4. In Thursday's cathartic and transformational win over the Jets, he was decisive and accurate with the ball. He exuded confidence and elevated all those around him. The offensive line, backs and receivers, and even the defense, all played better due to his presence and performance. The Stadium was electric from when he entered the game until an hour afterward. His 2-point conversion reception on a gadget play was the stuff that legends are made of. There's no going back now, the hopes and dreams of all Browns fans everywhere now rest in Mayfield's hands. So pick him up on the waiver wire along with the Browns Defense, trade for Landry, start Hyde, and add Callaway as a Flex -- the Baker Mayfield era has begun!

With two perfect seasons and multiple league championships to his credit, Scott Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, featuring live talk and text advice. Scott won the 2011 and 2016 Fantasy Index Experts Auction league, plus he was the winner of the 2012 Fantasy Index Experts Poll.

MIKE NAZAREK

I'm excited to see what Baker Mayfield can do. One thing is certain, he is a special player and will have a long NFL career. And the Browns will win more than just one game this season.

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 newly re-designed 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. He's also won in excess of $20K in recent seasons of the FFPC High Stakes Main Event. www.ffmastermind.com. Nazarek can be reached via email at miken@ffmastermind.com.

MATT PRICE

Baker Mayfield. The rookie took over for Tyrod Tayor in Week 3 due to injury, but as we were watching the first half of that game unfold it seemed like the writing was on the wall. Mayfield came in and energized the offense, leading multiple scoring drives. With an intriguing set of weapons around him, Mayfield should at the very least be a nice spot starter in redraft. In dynasty, you should be especially excited considering you may have found a long-term starter for the cost of a mid-late second round rookie pick.

Price is a Senior Writer for Dynasty League Football. He also hosts the DLF Dynasty Podcast and the Dynasty Game Night podcast. DLF was started in 2006 to provide the first dynasty-focused website to a small niche community of dynasty players. The site continues to be one of the leading sources of analysis, rankings and projections to that same growing community.

DAVID DOREY

Oh, give me Baker Mayfield. He has the tools to use in Jarvis Landry, Antonio Callaway, David Njoku and Carlos Hyde. His schedule is tough so he is going to have to throw more than most quarterbacks and he’s bringing a big arm with pinpoint accuracy. He only threw for 201 yards in the win over the Jets, but that was basically in a half of 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 a C.J. Beathard fan. I was disappointed when the 49ers traded for Jimmy Garoppolo last season, as I believed that Beathard would be a good, capable starter for them, in a good offensive system and with the running ability to have some fantasy value. The 49ers set that aside when they acquired Garoppolo, but here we are again. Beathard will put up some serviceable numbers in fantasy leagues, starting this week.

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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