Bob Henry of Footballguys.com is the winner of our annual Experts Poll, becoming the first four-time winner in the history of the competition.
This is different than a traditional experts league. There are no draft picks, rosters or starting lineups. Instead, each expert – 20 content generators from the industry – submits a top 20 at each position. The higher a player is ranked, the more he counts towards their overall score.
Using our complex scoring grid, Henry put together the best player list, edging out Michael Nazarek (Fantasy Mastermind) and Jeff Ratcliffe (FTN Fantasy). It’s Henry’s first win in 10 years, but his fourth overall, moving him ahead of Scott Pianowski (Yahoo Sports) and Sam Hendricks (Fantasy Football Guidebook), who have each won three titles. Pianowski took 4th this year.
Henry won at the quarterback position, where his difference-making picks were Jayden Daniels and Baker Mayfield. Henry ranked Daniels 12th (only Brandon Funston slotted Daniels higher), and was one of only six who included Mayfield among his top 20 quarterbacks. Without Daniels and Mayfield, Henry would not have placed ahead of Nazarek.
Henry also scored well at tight end (4th) and kicker (5th). He finished 8th at wide receiver, 11th at running back and 18th in the defense and special teams category.
The field included three at-large berths, awarded to Fantasy Index readers who performed well in similar contests at our website, but none were put together contending entries. Mike Piotrowski and John Knebels (the top 2 finishers in the Fantasy Index Open a year ago) both finished in the bottom 5. Blackout champion Dennis Thurman placed 14th.
Injuries factor heavily in this style of a competition. When a player misses half the season, it can really gut the score of those who high on him. Other injuries tend to wash out (everyone was high on Christian McCaffrey, for example, so it didn’t matter so much when he hardly played).
Tony Holm and Cory Bonini both finished in the bottom 3 of the competition, underscoring the volatility of this kind of endeavor. Holm (Fantasy Sharks) placed 3rd in the overall last year; Bonini (USA Today Fantasy Sports) placed 5th last year and is a former winner).
Aaron Bland was the only contestant to win two different categories (wide receiver, tight end) but finished in the middle of the pack. Luke Wilson of the Fantasy Index Podcast had the most volatile entry, finishing 1st or 2nd at running back, tight end and defense, but just 14th, 17th and 19th at the other three positions.
FANTASY INDEX EXPERTS POLL, 2024 RESULTS | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Contestant | QB | RB | WR | TE | PK | Def | Overall |
Bob Henry | 1 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 366,909 |
Michael Nazarek | 9 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 366,695 |
Jeff Ratcliffe | 6 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 16 | 366,480 |
Scott Pianowski | 4 | 12 | 16 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 365,353 |
Andy Richardson | 5 | 18 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 364,831 |
Jason Wood | 13 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 364,803 |
Lenny Pappano | 15 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 364,440 |
Jody Smith | 2 | 17 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 364,205 |
Sam Hendricks | 12 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 363,934 |
Aaron Bland | 10 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 17 | 363,839 |
Tom Brolley | 8 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 19 | 13 | 363,837 |
Jeff Erickson | 3 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 362,869 |
Brandon Funston | 7 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 16 | 20 | 361,671 |
Dennis Thomas | 14 | 9 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 7 | 360,179 |
Luke Wilson | 19 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 14 | 2 | 359,969 |
John Knebels | 11 | 3 | 20 | 14 | 17 | 5 | 359,083 |
David Dorey | 17 | 19 | 10 | 19 | 10 | 14 | 356,359 |
Cory Bonini | 18 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 6 | 11 | 355,442 |
Mike Piotrowski | 16 | 15 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 10 | 354,382 |
Tony Holm | 20 | 20 | 6 | 20 | 8 | 19 | 346,829 |
Our Experts Poll is the oldest in the industry. It debuted in 1991, with scoring beginning the next year. The all-time list of winners appears below. Contestants who participated in last year’s poll are tagged with black dots.
EXPERTS POLL, ALL-TIME WINNERS | ||
---|---|---|
Year | name | company |
1992 | (tie) David Sturms | D & V Sports |
1992 | (tie) Paul Barnes | B2 Sports |
1993 | Mitch Sheffler | Sandlot Shrink |
1994 | John Laub | Audibles |
1995 | Brian Francisco | TFL Report |
1996 | Dick Giebel | FFFL |
1997 | Chris Reasor | Fantasy Fanatics |
1998 | Josh Albert | JTD Publications |
1999 | James Serra | First Place Sports Software |
2000 | Tom Stewart | Fantasy MVP |
2001 | Jon Millman | Fantasy Football Champs |
2002 | • Bob Henry | Red Eye Sports |
2003 | • Bob Henry | Red Eye Sports |
2004 | • David Dorey | The Huddle |
2005 | Ian Millman | Fantasy Football Champs |
2006 | • Scott Pianowski | FantasyGuru.com |
2007 | Dan Bakley | The Fantasy Point |
2008 | Roland Wood | Dynasty Rogues |
2009 | James Serra | First Place Sports Software |
2010 | Pretzel May | FantasyDraftMaster.com |
2011 | • Scott Pianowski | Yahoo! Sports |
2012 | Scott Sachs | Perfect Season Fantasy Football |
2013 | • Scott Pianowski | Yahoo! Sports |
2014 | • Bob Henry | FootballGuys |
2015 | • Cory Bonini | USA Today Fantasy Sports |
2016 | Chris Liss | RotoWire |
2017 | • Jeff Ratcliffe | Pro Football Focus |
2018 | • Sam Hendricks | Extra Point Press |
2019 | Paul Charchian | LeagueSafe |
2020 | • Sam Hendricks | Extra Point Press |
2021 | Chris Liss | RotoWire |
2022 | • Sam Hendricks | Extra Point Press |
2023 | • Brandon Funston | The Athletic |
2024 | • Bob Henry | FootballGuys |
—Ian Allan