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: Who will be fantasy MVP the second half of the season?

ALAN SATTERLEE

At this point I think it’s hard not to say it won’t simply continue to be Patrick Mahomes and/or Todd Gurley as second-half fantasy MVP (for the first half, I think you can also make a case for Adam Thielen and James Conner, especially for where Conner was drafted). It’s hard to imagine a reason for any slow down to Todd Gurley so he’d be my choice. Gurley has been simply money every week, ranging between 23.7 to 36.5 in PPR fantasy points. The only concern might be if the Rams rest their starters in the final weeks of the season. Aside from those two I’ll give a shout-out to Ezekiel Elliott as a candidate. Elliott will remain a workhorse so you know you don’t have to worry there, and the Cowboys will likely be competing all the way through Week 17 in the tight NFC East. Dallas also just shook up their coaching staff with a new offensive line coach so maybe that will have impact along with the addition of Amari Cooper which should rise all tides some. Elliott and the Cowboys also have a very attractive schedule to close out the season. From Weeks 12-14 they play three straight at home, then to the dome at Indianapolis in Week 15 before back at home against Tampa Bay in Week 16. Elliott could definitely deliver fantasy titles here down the stretch.

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.

DAVID DOREY

It’s going to be tough to outdo either Mahomes or Gurley after their outstanding performances so far. Contenders for MVP are going to be either Drew Brees or Cam Newton since both are on winning streaks, both have great schedules the rest of the way that shouldn’t include any bad weather venues. Brees could see a reduction from allowing the rushing offense take care of business which we just saw. Newton is a part of the Panthers rushing effort and is immune to those ups and downs. Newton should surprise.

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.

IAN ALLAN

I don’t think either Gurley or Mahomes is slowing down. Gurley has 15 TDs at the halfway point of the season. Will they go after the single-season record (Tomlinson: 31 TDs)? Maybe. Similarly, Mahomes has 26 TDs at the halfway point. I think they’ll keep their foot on the gas, maybe helping Mahomes get up to 50 touchdowns.

Allan co-founded Fantasy Football Index in 1987. He and fellow journalism student Bruce Taylor launched the first newsstand fantasy football magazine as a class project at the University of Washington. For more than three decades, Allan has written and edited most of the content published in the magazines, newsletters and at www.fantasyindex.com. An exhaustive researcher, he may be the only person in the country who has watched at least some of every preseason football game played since in the early 1990s. Allan is a member of the FSTA Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.

MICHAEL NEASE

Comparing Patrick Mahomes to Todd Gurley as 1st half-MVP candidates is like asking which is better: barbequed ribs or fried chicken. I see no reason why they will not carry on their MVP battle for the rest of the season. In judging a potential MVP, though, my fundamental question is always what would the team be like without him? In this case, I believe that as great as Gurley is, the Rams could plug in another RB or RBBC and still be a dominant winner. Without Mahomes however, Kansas City would be lost offensively. Their backup QB is _________. Can anyone name him without looking it up? Sorry, but with the well-traveled Chad Henne playing behind center, Kansas City would be lost.

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 @mike-insights.

SAM HENDRICKS

James Conner. I would vote him first-half MVP and a great candidate for second-half MVP if Bell stays away. Even if Bell comes back and the Steelers take him back, Conner is in for a lot of touches to prove a point. Regardless he has saved many fantasy teams that were smart enough to handcuff him to LeVeon Bell and I predict he does more of the same for the rest of the season.

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.

ANDY RICHARDSON

I think it might be Aaron Rodgers. The Green Bay defense is really soft, and the team just doesn't have a running mindset. In Week 14, a playoff opener in many leagues, the Packers host the Falcons. On the other hand, Green Bay does have to play at Chicago (Week 15) and at Minnesota (Week 12), neither of which is ideal. So let's pivot to Cam Newton, who has an awesome late-season schedule. From Weeks 13-16, he plays at Cleveland and Tampa Bay and home against the Saints and Falcons. Got a feeling Newton and Christian McCaffrey are going to be on a lot of champions.

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.