Ask the Experts

ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them:

Assuming you've taken a kicker, what lightly regarded player would you select in the final round of a draft?

CORY BONINI

Depending on the scoring system and size of the league, I have a few players I like to roll the dice on this late in a draft. I like New Orleans Saints wideout Robert Meachem. Talent-wise, he is probably the best receiver on the team. The Saints love to pass, and it's up for debate if Lance Moore's 2008 season was a fluke. If given ample chances, Meachem could shine in this offense. I like Mike Walker, the No. 2 receiver of the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he is starting to get enough attention that I can't land him with my last pick anymore. I want to take a few chances on Cincinnati Bengals tailback Bernard Scott -- he is very talented and has only Cedric Benson to contend with. I don't believe in Brian Leonard, so there is little in the way that stops Scott from being an injury or failure away from a starting job, in my mind. Cleveland Browns running back James Davis is essentially in the same situation behind an aging Jamal Lewis and situational Jerome Harrison.

KFFL.com offers fantasy football, fantasy baseball and fantasy NASCAR content. We have captured well more than a dozen expert league championships. Founded in 1996, KFFL offers award-winning daily news feeds, preseason draft guides, player rankings, sleepers, busts, weekly newsletters and more. KFFL is completely free! For more information, visit www.kffl.com.

BOB HECK

We've always loved Laurent Robinson's talent ever since his 7-catch 114-yard game in week 16 of his rookie season. We're even more excited about his prospects once he was moved into a pretty good situation for him in St. Louis. With Torry Holt gone and Keenan Burton still young we feel Robinson has an opportunity to grab some decent playing time. With Donnie Avery now questionable for the first few weeks of the season, we're now even more excited about Robinson finally getting a solid opportunity to be a productive member of the Rams WR corps and a productive member of your fantasy team.

Heck is a founding partner at Dynasty Rogues, a fantasy football website filled with football enthusiasts, run by football enthusiasts. The company provides year-round dynasty and redraft fantasy football coverage and analysis, including Dynasty Rogues Radio and the Rogues Forum. The site can be reached at www.dynastyrogues.com.

LOUIS TRANQUILLI

Mike Goodson of the Carolina Panthers. He's fast, and has one RB with an Achilles injury in front of him and another that is best in a semi-committee. We've seen John Fox pull rabbits like Nick Goings out of his RB hat in the past. Goodson would be a real find should he be needed.

Tranquilli is the founder and the primary "brains" (if you stretch it) of BFDFANTASYfootball.com. BFD is about delivering the information players want, not fluff, just opinions that matter to fantasy football players. Lou has worked with NFL players and gives a unique perspective because of it. We'll be giving MORE teams away in 2009 to BFD subscribers!

JEFFREY KAMYS

I generally will reach on a backup RB on a speculation pickup, in a what if scenario, as in, what if the starter gets injured. This is only worthwhile if you know the backup has some good upside. For example a guy like Brandon Jackson of the Packers may be worth taking a chance on, sitting behind Ryan Grant who is oft injured.

Kamys is president of Dr. Stats Fantasy Sports. His company, via the web, offers player news, injury reports, cheat sheets, projections, weekly matchups, statistics, and a customized team tracker. Dr. Stats Fantasy Sports also e-mails preseason newsletters and reports throughout the season. For more info visit www.docstats.com or send email to webmaster@docstats.com.

PRETZEL MAY

To start, this scenario would never happen as I would never choose my kicker before the last round of the draft. Now to answer the question if I was silly enough to have a pick left after my kicker it would be "Cadillac" Williams. He has spend the last two seasons ripping apart both his knees and has some ground to make up on the depth chart but reports are he is in camp and running hard (which is always impressive for a guy who walks with canes). Seriously though, this former Rookie of the Year has a huge upside if he can get healthy and is definitely worth taking a flier on, especially that late in the draft.

The May brothers have more than 16 years of combined fantasy football experience and are the co-founders of FantasyDraftMaster.com. The cornerstone of FDM is the UberRank which is a revolutionary approach to the traditional fantasy football cheat sheet. FantasyDraftMaster.com also offers insightful and humorous commentary on football happenings as well as recommendations on waiver wire pickups, line up submissions and weekly pick em' pools. For more info, visit www.fantasydraftmaster.com or email us at info@fantasydraftmaster.com.

IAN ALLAN

Chris Brown and Chaz Schilens come to mind. I believe Brown will be the No. 2 tailback in Houston; that puts him an injury away from behind something pretty good. Essentially no difference, in my opinion, between Brown and Rashard Mendenhall, who’ll go something like seven rounds earlier. As for Schilens, he’s supposedly been Oakland’s best wide receiver so far. He might wind up outproducing Darrius Heyward-Bey, Johnnie Lee Higgins, and the rest of the Raiders’ pass catchers.

Allan is the senior writer for Fantasy Football Index. He’s been in that role since 1987, generating most of the player rankings and analysis for that publication. His work can be seen in Fantasy Football Index magazine, and also at the company’s website, www.fantasyindex.com.

COLIN DARLINGTON

I would love to grab one of the Chicago wide receivers that are still on the board out of Rashied Davis, Juaquin Iglesias and Earl Bennett. It looks like one of these three will be the starter opposite Devin Hester and that would be my first choice if they are still available with my last pick. With Jay Cutler starting, one of these three unknown WRs should have a great year and I’m keeping a very close eye on who is named the starter at the end of training camp and will target him with a late round or if I’m lucky…my last pick!

Darlington is the owner of MyStartEmSitEm.com and has been an owner, commissioner and consultant in Fantasy Football since 1992. MyStartEmSitEm.com provides weekly advice based on your league, your scoring system, with custom emails about your team, preseason cheat sheets, draft day assistance and much more.

RICK HAWES

Heading into the last round of a draft, I "normally" haven’t selected a kicker. But since the question was asked this way, I will cite a recent example of a player I drafted very late. In the 14-team ffWebmasters league (18 rounds), I selected running back Rashad Jennings with the 18.13 pick. At 6-foot-1 and 230 pounds, he is built like a Mack Truck. The Liberty product was a beast at the Senior Bowl, and has been impressive in organized team activities and training camp. He rushed for 1,000 yards in each of his last three collegiate seasons, averaging 5.7 yards per carry with 46 touchdowns. For a big guy, he has good athleticism and soft hands in the passing game. Obviously, he’s a long shot but who isn’t at this point in a draft? I love Maurice Jones-Drew, however, he has never carried the full load during his three-year career, making Jennings a reasonable shot-in-the-dark handcuff – if he can nail down the backup role.

Hawes is the Managing Editor of NFL content at Fanball.com. Fanball.com and OwnersEdge.com offer league management software, daily play fantasy games, Live Advice, up-to-date news, free and premium content, player rankings, custom projections and cheat sheets, in-depth IDP analysis, Fantasy Buffet Radio Show, NFL Draft Kit, Fanball Blog Network, daily newsletter, a vast array of fantasy football tools, including Draft Analyzer software and five magazines featuring the Pro Football Draft Preview, as well as four Fantasy Football publications. For more information send e-mail to rhawes@fanball.com.

MIKE NAZAREK

Good question. In fact, I faced this situation just this week, and took Colts WR Pierre Garcon. He's got a good shot to land the No. 3 WR position with Indy and with Peyton Manning at the helm, could actually make a significant fantasy impact!

Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc. His company offers an online rookie draft kit, preseason draft guide, customizable cheat sheets, fantasy auction & regular drafting programs, weekly in-season fantasy newsletters, injury reports and free NFL news (updated daily) at its web site. He has been playing fantasy football since 1988 and is the reigning four-peat champion of the SI.com Experts Fantasy League, a nationally published writer in several fantasy magazines and a columnist for SI.com. For more info go to www.ffmastermind.com. Nazarek can be reached at 702-568-7118 or miken@ffmastermind.com.

HEATH SEVIN

I do know his name doesn't end in Stallworth or Vick. I would have to go with Earl Bennett, Chicago Bears. Not a household name by any means but he is at worst the 3rd wide receiver in Chicago. The report on him is that he has caught everything that Cutler has thrown his way and with the expected explosion of passing yards expected from Cutler he could be a nice option. Devin Hester is considered ahead of him but I think he'll end up returning kicks again before season's end. This will be Bennett's time to step up.

Sevin is CEO of Draftwizard.com, which offers current player notes, player rankings, injury reports, and start/sit projections. The site is dedicated to preparing you for your draft and assisting you with the in-season tools necessary to win your league. Draftwizard's message board has a following of dedicated and knowledgeable fantasy footballers, along with industry experts, to quickly answer your questions and offer unique insight gained from years of "playing in the trenches". For more information, visit www.draftwizard.com or send e-mails to packerdogs@draftwizard.com.

SAM HENDRICKS

It all depends on my depth at other positions. Normally I look at my team and the big three positions: QB, RB and WR. Which of those three positions am I weakest? That will be the position I need to bump up with an additional sleeper that I can hopefully hit on. Having said that, if all else is equal, I will go with a WR since they are more likely to breakout and be the difference maker. By the last round, there are not too many RBs or QBs who can make a difference. This year I would snag Pierre Garcon or Austin Collie. Both have a chance at being the WR3 at IND and that has to mean some looks from Peyton Manning. If they do not hit, then you can drop them mid season if you need to free up room.

Sam Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Almanac 2009, all available at his website, www.ffguidebook.com, at all major bookstores, and at www.amazon.com. He is a 19-year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF), National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th overall in the 2008 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

ANDY RICHARDSON

One guy I'm drafting almost everywhere is James Jones of the Packers. He was very impressive as a rookie before injuries ruined his second season, but if he can beat out Jordy Nelson to be Green Bay's No. 3 -- a 50-50 proposition, probably -- he'll be playing a lot in the frequent three receiver sets in one of the league's best passing offenses. And that's assuming 34-year-old Donald Driver stays healthy.

Richardson has been a columnist and contributor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and web site for the past eight years. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections, as well as various site features. He has run the magazine's annual draft and auction leagues since their inception. His A DAY OF FOOTBALL wrap-up column appears Mondays during the NFL season.

• Comments [1]

Readers' Comments

Add a Comment

Already a registered user? Please sign in to add comments.

To add comments, you must become a registered user of our site. To register, please click here.