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 current backup could or should take over as a starter soon?
SAM HENDRICKS
Tyrone Tracy looks like a soon-to-be starter stud. He started the day sharing carries with Eric Gray for the injured Devin Singletary but a goal-line fumble gave Tracy the lead and he took it to the tune of 129 rushing yards. Not sure what the Giants are going to do with him and Singletary (who looked startable in the first 4 games). But my money is on more Tracy and less Singletary from here on out. I also like another New York player, TE Theo Johnson. The rookie seems to have carved out a role. Ok, technically he was the starter since Day 1 but has just not produced. Week 5 marks the start of a promising career IMO. Especially if he can find a connection with Daniel Jones.
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
Like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, Joe Flacco, due to injury at QB, put the city of Cleveland on his back last season and almost ran the table. Fast forward to present day Indy, Flacco put up another fantasy gem for the 2nd week in a row subbing for their starter at QB. Yes, Anthony Richardson is freakishly athletic, but with his raw skills wouldn't he be better served in the longer term by sitting and observing Flacco and how he approaches the game -- both during the week and on game day? Indy has an opportunity to challenge for the AFC South title this season and each week is important. Let's hope Indy doesn't fail to realize the "win now" potential that Flacco brings to the table.
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.
MIKE NAZAREK
It looks like Tank Bigsby is about to take over the starting job for Jacksonville after his 2-TD performance on Sunday. He runs with more authority than Travis Etienne and has a nose for the goal line.
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.
JASON WOOD
The Jaguars just got their first win, but they remain far below ownership expectations and the coaches need to be aggressive in turning the offense around. Based on how much better Tank Bigsby looks versus Travis Etienne, it seems a role change is in order. In Miami, Jaylen Wright has been more effective on a per-touch basis than either Raheem Mostert or De’Von Achane. The long-term future in Miami would be best suited to having Wright take over the lead role for Mostert and allow Achane to get back to his more selective usage, where his explosiveness can be more effectively leveraged.
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.
IAN ALLAN
It’s tough for running backs to stay healthy, so I like to focus on that position. I’m looking for guys who should get in at some point, and with some potential to do some damage in that role. Blake Corum had a couple of nice carries for the Rams last week. Previously, it was looking like he might have lost the No. 2 job to Ronnie Rivers, but I’m back to believing that Corum at some point will need to step in for Kyren Williams for a few games. (I think he’ll put up top-10 numbers when given that opportunity.)
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.
KEN HOLIZNA
Beside what I think are the obvious ones, Tank Bigsby, who put an exclamation point behind his most extensive playing time last week, and Drake Maye, who the Patriots announced this week will be getting his first start of the season. The Patriots said they are tired of losing, so my guess is they are not going to hold Maye back by being ultra conservative with the game plan. If they wanted to be conservative and play not to lose they could just stick with Brissett. My not as obvious choices are Chase Brown and Bucky Irving. I really would like both the Bengals and the Buccaneers to quit paying homage to their season opening starting running backs who they paid to be starters and give their so-called backups who have outplayed them the lion's share of the high value carries. Statistically both have outperformed the starters, Zack Moss and Rachaad White. I think they used a sun dial to time White's breakaway run last week. It’s just a matter of time until the change officially and formally takes place. There is also one QB that lost his job due to injury, who I think will take over soon, before it’s too late. There was a legitimate reason why Justin Fields was not getting much interest as a free agent and had to sign a very team-friendly contract with the Steelers. He is not that good at QB. He can run and is an athlete with a strong arm but that’s it. LET RUSS COOK! One thing I think we are learning from these old QBs, who had good careers, are still relatively healthy, but are past their prime is they have nothing to lose, so they go out and sling it without any concerns. Russ may be just what the Doctor ordered if they let him go out and cook, or if he doesn’t care and just cooks anyway.
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 PIANOWSKI
It sure looks like Tank Bigsby is about to shoot past Travis Etienne. Bigsby is probably the most improved running back in the league; he was lost as a rookie.
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.
DAVID DOREY
Tyrone Tracy has already proven that he belongs on the field after his 18 carries for 129 yards last week in Seattle. That's better than any game by Devin Singletary who is an accomplished receiver, but not the runner that Tracy is. After five games, Tracy has obviously learned enough to merit a heavier workload than Singletary who makes a better third-down back. Tracy did fumble once, but both Singletary and Eric Gray already have two fumbles on the season. The Giants need a spark and Tracy can provide that better than the always average Singletary who at 27 is about to "age out" of his prime anyway.
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.
ANDY RICHARDSON
Not to state the obvious, but for one reason or another, Deshaun Watson is not going to be starting in Cleveland much longer. I don't know if he'll get benched, injured or released (as financially impossible as that may seem), but either he doesn't care about playing or his receivers don't care about catching for him or his blockers don't care about protecting him. I think we'll see Jameis Winston in the lineup before long, and while Winston has his own considerable flaws, he should be putting up some passing production -- yards, touchdowns, interceptions. Winston himself and Cleveland's main pass catchers will look a lot better when the inevitable happens.
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.
