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 returning player could be big in the fantasy playoffs?
SAM HENDRICKS
Obvious answer is Deshaun Watson, sidelined (suspended) until this week when he plays his former team the Houston Texans. But I like Green Bay's Jordan Love. Aaron Rodgers went out with a rib injury this week and the Packers season has tanked. There is a good chance that no matter what they bench Rodgers (for "injury" reasons of course) and try out Love in the hot seat as the starter down the stretch. If so, he could be in line for some good outings versus the Rams, Dolphins and Vikings in the fantasy playoffs. Keep him in mind.
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 30-year fantasy football veteran who participated 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 and 2018.
SCOTT SACHS
By Karma or weird coincidence, Deshaun Watson starts his first game back from suspension in the house of his former employer. Houston is terrible, Browns should roll. Whether he is rusty or not, Watson has the potential to put up numbers in the QB1 range this week, then he should be a solid QB2 going forward. Browns need to put on a good show week-to-week, and rest assured they will showcase their franchise-altering quarterback the rest of the way.
With 2 perfect seasons and multiple league championships to his credit, Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, featuring LIVE Talk & Text Advice. He is a 3-time Winner of the Fantasy Index Experts Auction League, as well as a previous Winner of the Fantasy Index Experts Poll.
DAVID DOREY
Very tough question. Certainly Cooper Kupp if he does return but it looks like that probably will not happen. The only one I can think of would be Jameson Williams who has been on IR in Detroit since he was drafted rehabbng the ACL he tore last January. Williams was a dominating wideout at Alabama that had 1,572 yards and 15 scores last year. He is a high-character guy that ran a sub 4.4-40-time prior to his injury. He's the only one I can think of that might show up big in the final month.
Dorey co-founded The Huddle.com in 1997. He's ranked every player and projected every game for the last 23 years and is the author of Fantasy Football: The Next Level. David has appeared on numerous radio, television, newspaper and magazines over the last two decades.
IAN ALLAN
Dallas Goedert, I think, looks like the best of the injured players. He can be a top-5 tight end when he’s on his game, and he seemed to be becoming more of a factor right before he got hurt. He says he’s expecting to be ready when he’s eligible to return in Week 15. If he checks out physically, I expect I’ll have him graded as a starter-quality tight end.
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.
JASON WOOD
I’ll give you two for the price of one, tight ends Darren Waller and Dallas Goedert. Neither are guaranteed to return but both are projected to be back in time for the fantasy playoffs (Week 15), and would slot into high-volume roles at a position with very few difference makers.
Wood is Senior Editor at Footballguys.com and has been with the company since its start in 2000. For more than 20 years, Footballguys has provided rankings, projections, and analysis to help fantasy managers dominate their leagues.
ANDY RICHARDSON
"Big" might be overstating things, since the Broncos don't score touchdowns. But I think Mike Boone might be worth a roster spot in some leagues. He's back in practice for Denver, and he's approximately 10 years younger (OK 5 but still) than Latavius Murray. Whoever coaches the team the rest of this sad season will surely want to give a youngster with some theoretical upside carries and passing downs work over the wizened Murray or ineffective Marlon Mack. If the Broncos don't at least see what Boone can do they should fire the coach. They should do that anyway, but especially if he wastes too much time running Murray into the line for the next month.
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.