Ask the Experts

August 01, 2019

Which rookie are you most eager to see this preseason?

Murray, Jacobs and several wideouts

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 rookie are you most looking forward to seeing on the field this preseason?

ALAN SATTERLEE

He was taken 1st overall so that’s part of it, but I am most looking forward to seeing Kyler Murray in preseason. I am bought into the hype to some extent plus the potentially high-end upside Murray could have even as a rookie in Kliff Kingsbury’s “Air Raid” offense which should produce a high volume of passing attempts. A close second, and also can’t wait to see David Montgomery on the field (and sort of all the rookies), but Montgomery’s talent also has me intrigued for a big rookie season.

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.

MICHAEL NAZAREK

I'm a big 'Bama fan since I lived in that state for more than 30 years, so I'm looking forward to seeing how Josh Jacobs looks in Oakland along with Damien Harris in New England this summer. Both could be starting for their respective teams before the season is over, as they both have a lot of talent. 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 mobile-friendly 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.

JUSTIN ELEFF

I assume DK Metcalf won't be completely uncoverable on deep balls (a la Randy Moss all those preseasons ago), so never mind the guy who was drafted surprisingly late. Go with the one who was drafted surprisingly early. The Manning brothers cover band that is Daniel Jones should play a lot in August, and every gig will be two shows in one. In this corner, confirmation bias -- every bad throw proves he was a wasted pick. In the other corner, wild hype swinging the other way -- every good throw makes him the greatest thing since, you know, Sam Darnold. Should be fun to watch.

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

SCOTT SACHS

Kyler Murray is the obvious choice for most intriguing rookie. The mold has been broken for what the ideal QB needs to look like. No more is the 6-foot-4, 230-pound, rocket-armed pocket passer the prototype. Rather, many previously under-emphasized and overlooked physical traits and soft skills have come to the forefront. Is he a winner? Intelligent? Fast/elusive? Accurate? A leader? Coachable? More importantly, can he adapt to the pocket when called for, and can he digest a pro playbook? The Cardinals have some offensive weapons, but also a new coach who doesn't run offenses with pocket passing. It will be must-see football for Arizona on offense, and interesting to see how opposing defenses handle it.

Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, offering LIVE Talk & Text consulting. He has multiple league championships including two perfect seasons. Sachs is a past winner of the Fantasy Index Experts Poll and a 2-time winner of the Experts Auction League.

IAN ALLAN

There’s a lot of parity at wide receiver. There were 13 chosen in the first three rounds, and the best might be somebody that nobody is thinking much about right now. But I expect the best in 2019 will be either DK Metcalf or Parris Campbell. They both have insane physical talent, and with both guys, there have been multiple stories about impressive things they’re doing in practice. I expect it will be one of those two finishing with the best numbers this year. If you’re going to hold me to just one, put me down for Metcalf. I’m pretty certain he’ll be starting for Seattle, and I like the way he fits into that offense.

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 the early 1990s. Allan is a member of the FSTA Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.

SAM HENDRICKS

Kyler Murray and the Cardinals Air Raid offense have me salivating. I am so looking forward to seeing the No. 1 draft pick and how he handles the starting job in Arizona. So far, Larry Fitzgerald has been heaping on some high praise for his rookie quarterback. That means something. Whether it translates into on-the-field greatness come September is another matter, but preseason indications will help slot Murray in the rankings. I have seen him go anywhere from QB5 to QB25 in rankings so far.

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.

DAVID DOREY

Easily and always the running backs. Josh Jacobs and David Montgomery have inside lines on being their team’s No. 1 running back but Miles Sanders and Devin Singletary could also surprise with a big preseason. Both Darrell Henderson and Alexander Mattison could also earn a bigger role with an impressive camp and preseason.

Dorey has been dealing out all the rankings and projections for The Huddle since 1997 and wrote up a preview of every game for the last 21 years. His specialty is schedule strength and he’s been in countless magazines, podcasts, and radio shows. He is the author of Fantasy Football: The Next Level.

TONY HOLM

It has to be Josh Jacobs, as he's arguably the top fantasy player for 2019 in this rookie class.

Holm owns and operates Fantasy Sharks, a multi-awarded site that began disseminating fantasy football content in 2003. The site emphasizes not only accuracy but community as many enthusiasts now call it their fantasy home.

SCOTT PIANOWSKI

Kyler Murray, by far, which is also a way to answer this question "The Arizona Cardinals." It's exciting that the old, dated, overmatched coaching staff has been cleaned out. Almost anything else is a theoretical upgrade. And what if Kliff Kingsbury and staff really know what they're doing? I'm intrigued. This is an offense with several draftable pieces.

Pianowski has been playing fantasy football for over 20 years and writing about it for 18. He joined Yahoo! Sports in 2008 and has been blogging 24/7 on RotoArcade.com ever since.

ANDY RICHARDSON

N'Keal Harry. I'm not necessarily expecting him to be great as a rookie -- it will probably take him some time to pick up New England's offense and earn his quarterback's trust. But Bill Belichick has never used a first-round pick on a wide receiver before, and the Patriots don't have any wide receivers certain to be on the team a year or two down the road. Is Harry one of the faces of this franchise a couple of years down the road? I'm interested to see him on the field.

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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