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 is the Comeback Player of the Year?
ALAN SATTERLEE
Andrew Luck. He was buried in average draft position data even as late as July before rocketing up. Even still, Luck way outperformed his draft slot. It look so bleak really after he had sat out of football for an entire year and even in preseason he (and the Colts) looked rough. Pending your league scoring rules, Luck is probably a Top 4 quarterback, he went on a tear with three or more passing touchdowns in eight straight games and he’s on pace for over 4,600 passing yards with 42 touchdowns.
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.
SCOTT SACHS
Andrew Luck is the obvious answer to me. The Colts are actually in the playoff hunt this year, mostly due to Luck's resurgence and improvement of the offensive line. Even with a suspect running game, Luck is making the most of the talent he does have, and is back in the conversation of the top quarterbacks in the league.
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.
MATT SCHAUF
Adrian Peterson has slid lately, but it’s hard not to when injury shreds your O-line and the entire offense falls apart around you. I chuckled at Washington plucking Peterson off the street back in summer, though. I certainly was not betting on him turning back into a fantasy factor. He topped 90 rushing yards in 5 of their 1st 7 games and hit midseason as a RB1 — before things fell apart in Washington.
Schauf is a senior analyst with DraftSharks.com. He has been covering fantasy football since 2002, producing content for outlets such as Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon and Football Diehards before landing with DS. Draft Sharks has been online since 1999 and is a 4-time winner in the FSTA’s annual fantasy football projections accuracy contests.
MICHAEL NEASE
Three players immediately come to mind—Andrew Luck, Amari Cooper and Adrian Peterson. While Cooper and Peterson have had big seasons so far, my choice is Andrew Luck. While throwing for almost 290 yards/game and having a spectacular TD/INT ration of 34/13, Luck is looking great after sitting out the entire 2017 season. Many pundits feared he would never again reach the heights he had prior to his terrible injury and numerous surgeries. The proof is in the pudding, as they say. He is the No. 4 fantasy scoring QB through Week 14. I think anyone that dared to draft him has been very pleased with the results.
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
Tie between Andrew Luck and Adrian Peterson. With Luck getting the tiebreaker if forced to decide on just one. Both have exceeded ADP by large margins and returned to form in one way or another.
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
A month into the season, I was all set to vote for John Brown. That didn't really pan out in the long run. Andrew Luck is certainly the likely NFL winner; his career seemed to be in jeopardy six months ago. Not really a comeback, since he was decent a year ago, but Jared Cook's big season was unexpected. But I think there should be at least some votes for Josh Gordon. This is a guy who'd played a total of 10 games in the last four seasons, and here he is as a starter and near-1,000-yard receiver for a Super Bowl contender.
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.