ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Who should be the top pick in a playoff fantasy football league?

JOSHUA SIMMONS

I like the idea of going with Adrian Peterson at the top. David Johnson also stands out, as compared to other running backs. ADP could potentially get you four games of production, however, whereas Arizona sits out wild card weekend. Antonio Brown merits our attention as well, although I'm not feeling Pittsburgh to advance.

Simmons has been a contributor for FantasySharks.com since 2007. His responsibilities include dynasty rankings, weekly projections-driven content and staff representation in various leagues.

SCOTT PIANOWSKI

In one of my playoff drafts (six teams), the owner holding the No. 1 pick couldn't trade out of that slot. That tells you a lot about the current landscape. I'd rather have a later pick. I lean towards Carson Palmer at No. 1 overall, feeling Arizona is a little better than Carolina (I'm also not holding Week 17 against the Cardinals). But there's also a case for Cam Newton or Russell Wilson in the top spot, and while I wouldn't take Tom Brady first overall, he has to be in the first round. I could even get behind Ben Roethlisberger, given how spotty the entire AFC looks. Trade down, my friends.

Pianowski has been playing fantasy football for 20 years and writing about it for 17. He joined Yahoo! Sports in 2008 and has been blogging 24/7 on RotoArcade.com ever since.

IAN ALLAN

Contests and rules vary, but in general I think you want the best player from the team that will win it all. I see four real candidates this year to win the whole thing — Carolina, Arizona, Seattle and New England. Of those teams, the Patriots are the only one in the AFC, so I suppose selecting Tom Brady gives you a good chance of being in contention at the end. Of the four, Seattle is the only one that might play four games; that’s a nice bonus for Russell Wilson (and also Marshawn Lynch). Cam Newton and Carson Palmer are in the mix. On my board, I’ve got Newton No. 1.

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 www.fantasyindex.com.

SAM HENDRICKS

Russell Wilson. Any playoff team that could play in four games has an immediate edge if they in fact do so. Russell Wilson is a great QB that could easily do that. I also like the fact that you are not losing much in other positions if you are limited to one player per playoff team as some formats dictate. In the case of SEA, you are passing on Doug Baldwin, Marshawn Lynch and SEA DEF. I can live with that. If it is the type of format where you need to go all in and pick the two teams that will meet in the Super Bowl and stockpile those players…well then Wilson and those mentioned go really well with say Gronk, James White/Steven Jackson and Edelman/Amendola in the NE vs SEA duel I predict.

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 20-plus year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates 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. Follow him at his web site, www.ffguidebook.com.

ALAN SATTERLEE

Generally speaking in playoff ball the best strategy is to take a player on a bye as they are most likely to make the Super Bowl (and have three games), so with that said Cam Newton and Carson Palmer to me are great picks (although only one of them can go from the NFC). This year, however, the Steelers and Seahawks are both great options to run the table potentially from the wild card playoff week and therefore have a 4th game. The AFC is so weak that I think the Steelers could win three in a row and make it to the Super Bowl. So with that, I would take Antonio Brown first or Ben Roethlisberger.

Satterlee is a co-owner and senior writer for Dynasty Football Warehouse. DFW is comprehensive site covering dynasty, redraft, IDP and Daily formats. DFW has a large writing crew with many people from the DFW community contributing to the insights and discussion. Alan is also the Fantasy Football Insider for the Charlotte Observer and is syndicated in a few other newspapers in the southeast.

MICHAEL NAZAREK

I'd have to say that you probably can't go wrong with Cam Newton. He not only throws for scores, but also runs for them too and his team has a really good chance to make it to the Super Bowl and win it all.

Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc. His company offers a preseason draft guide, customizable cheat sheets, a multi-use fantasy drafting program including auction values, 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 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. For more info go to www.ffmastermind.com. Nazarek can be reached via email at miken@ffmastermind.com.

DAVID DOREY

The top player in a playoff draft has to be Cam Newton without question. He’s so productive as a passer and rusher that he’ll the lowest-risk, highest-reward player and gets two home games as well. No other player is as central to their team’s success than Newton.

Dorey is the co-founder and lead NFL analyst for The Huddle and author of Fantasy Football: The Next Level. He has projected and predicted every NFL game and player performance since 1997 and has appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, radio and television.

ANDY RICHARDSON

I want a player from a team nearly certain to play two games, and I see only two of those in the playoff field. One is Seattle, who should handle Minnesota and have a good chance of winning its next game. The other is Arizona, who will open against either Washington or an NFC North team and should win that one easily. Carolina is great, but they get no favors from drawing Seattle in their first game. I think Russell Wilson is a strong choice, and my other favorite is David Johnson, who should play close to full-time for a team that should play two and maybe three games.

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.