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 has impressed you most this preseason?
DAVID DOREY
Preseason has become almost nothing more than a tryout for the 40 guys that are on the bubble trying to make the final 53. There is precious little to draw from it and it is also very easy to overvalue what is seen while everyone is playing against defenders that mostly will be building fences or selling insurance in two weeks. That all said, Xavier Worthy with that jaw-dropping speed playing with Patrick Mahomes was very nice to see. Marquise Brown is there now as well, though he's never met expectations in the past. Worthy is almost certainly going to be drafted too early as a rookie learning the ropes, but I will be one of those early drafters.
Dorey co-founded The Huddle.com in 1997. He's ranked every player and projected every game for the last 26 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.
MIKE NAZAREK
I'm happily surprised that Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix has shown such quick development. He seems ready to start immediately, making wide receivers Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick have increased fantasy value in 2024.
Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc, celebrating 29 years online! His company offers a preseason draft guide, customizable cheat sheets, a multi-use fantasy drafting program including auction values, weekly in-season newsletters, injury reports and free NFL news (updated daily) at its website, www.ffmastermind.com. 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 $36K in recent seasons of the FFPC High Stakes Main Event. Nazarek can be reached via email at miken@ffmastermind.com.
SAM HENDRICKS
Rome Odunze. The rookie appears to have a special connection with fellow rookie Caleb Williams. This week Odunze caught a scramble drill pass for 45 yards and ran a reverse for 16 yards. He also made some mistakes but hey he is a rookie. Williams to Odunze is an intriguing stack. He has consistently impressed me with his work ethic and attitude. Definitely worth the WR50 he is getting drafted.
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.
IAN ALLAN
I like the look of these rookie quarterbacks. I’ve seen a few plays from Caleb Williams in each game that have been thinking he’s going to be an early success. Jayden Daniels looks like he’ll be running a bunch, and he audibled into a 42-yard completion on his first pass attempt. Bo Nix, as far as I can tell, is going to be better than Russell Wilson right out of the box. Sean Payton’s last two teams (with lesser quarterbacking) have finished with 29 and 28 touchdown passes, making me think that Nix (like those other two) should be drafted as a second quarterback in a typical 12-team league.
Allan co-founded Fantasy Football Index in 1987. Since that time, he’s written and edited most of the content published in the magazines, newsletters and at www.fantasyindex.com. Allan is a member of the FSGA Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.
JASON WOOD
These days it seems that most teams are keeping their key starters on the sidelines for most if not all of the preseason. With that in mind, Malik Nabers stands out for the Giants. He’s looked every bit the alpha receiver he was drafted to be, and should be a 25 percent-plus target hog for Daniel Jones.
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.
KEN HOLIZNA
With the veterans not playing much it’s hard to include them on assessing preseason games. So my thought went to a rookie who had the fastest 40 time in NFL combine history. Since Tyreek Hill was traded to the Dolphins in 2022, KC has tried to replace him. They drafted Sky Moore 2022, Rashee Rice 2023. Traded for Kadarius Toney signed MVS, JuJu and Hollywood Brown. Rice, a different style receiver has shown some promise, but could be facing suspension. Worthy is similar in size, speed, and weight to Cheetah. He has a 25% target rate with Mahomes in the first 2 preseason games and a higher rate with combined QBs. The way the coaches and Mahomes are talking him up, I am getting Hill vibes. I was not totally sold on Worthy before training camp and preseason because of the Al Davis syndrome (speed kills), but his stock is shooting up for me in the last month. with his performances and issues with his fellow receivers. It also appears his route tree is more versatile than a one-trick pony. Having the best QB in the NFL doesn’t hurt either.
Holizna is a 29-year fantasy football enthusiast and founder of Faith-Family-Fantasy Football in 2019, a family-friendly, faith-based, G-rated fantasy football platform. Rankings contributor to the 2023 Fantasy Index magazine. Find him on Twitter @holihandicapper
SCOTT SACHS
Really hard to ignore Xavier Worthy, especially his performance in the last game. Wow, shades of Tyreek Hill! The rookie wideout had a short, yet incredibly productive outing, with 3 receptions for 62 yards, to include a 39 yarder, plus a 22 yard touchdown. He also added 11 rushing yards on one carry. With Rice missing time and Kelce still drawing a lot of attention, the X-man looks fantasy ready for 2024.
With 2 perfect seasons and multiple league championships to his credit, Scott 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.
SCOTT PIANOWSKI
The rookie quarterback class is impressive. Caleb Williams never looks harried. Jayden Daniels is already a fun destination pick, the more affordable version of Anthony Richardson. Bo Nix might not immediately be a fantasy option, but he makes me more confident targeting Courtland Sutton. A lot of arrows pointing up.
Pianowski has been with Yahoo Sports since 2008, covering a variety of sports. On the rare occasions when the computer is turned off, he enjoys word games, poker, music, film, game theory, and a variety of condiments. He lives in suburban Detroit. Pianowski was inducted into the FSWA Hall of Fame in 2021.
ANDY RICHARDSON
Watching both Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels play, it appears that quarterback is even deeper in fantasy leagues than anyone thought early in the summer. I would legitimately be comfortable with either guy (especially Caleb, from what I've seen in the first two games, but Daniels has even more rushing upside) as my starting quarterback. The poise and confidence from both has been really impressive to see. Unless you're in a SuperFlex league, there's even less reason to select a quarterback early in drafts this year, creating a potential advantage for those who wait and opt for one of these rookies.
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 writes a weekly gambling newsletter, Index Bets, during the NFL season and also previews all the games on Saturdays and writes a wrap-up column on Mondays.
