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 rookie quarterback will be best the rest of the way?
SAM HENDRICKS
Has to be Trevor Lawrence. He has looked the best so far. Has offensive players around him that can lead him to fantasy relevance and will definitely be the starter. Whether his coach stays with the team is another matter. Least likely to impress this season is Trey Lance, because he may not be the starter and looks to be gadgety until he is the starter full time.
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 25-year fantasy football veteran who 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 and 2018.
AARON BLAND
Trey Lance put up eye-popping fantasy numbers in a partial game when Garoppolo went down. He's an absolute must-own in all formats. His ceiling is significantly higher than the others.
Bland, a fanatical fantasy football player since 1992, has been a contributing expert to Fantasy Football Index since 2018 and appears regularly as a guest on the Fantasy Index Podcast. He is the Managing Editor at yourulz.com, a fantasy sports platform launching in 2021 that allows live in-game substitutions in every sport.
IAN ALLAN
To me, Trevor Lawrence seems to be coming along nicely. He can gun it downfield, and now he’s starting to work in his mobility, converting third downs with his legs at Cincinnati. I don’t think we’re far off from him developing to the point where he’s a reliable top-15 quarterback. He’s at home this week against a bad defense, and I think he’ll be pretty good in that one.
Allan co-founded Fantasy Football Index in 1987. He and fellow journalism student Bruce Taylor launched the first newsstand fantasy football magazine as a class project at the University of Washington. For more than three decades, Allan has written and edited most of the content published in the magazines, newsletters and at www.fantasyindex.com. An exhaustive researcher, he may be the only person in the country who has watched at least some of every preseason football game played since the early 1990s. Allan is a member of the FSTA Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.
DAVID DOREY
I am most interested in Trey Lance, though he may play less than the other four. The problem with Justin Fields is that he has no offensive line and questionable play calling. The problem with Zach Wilson is that he also has no offensive line and even worse receivers. Trevor Lawrence has a better O-line and receivers, but only marginally. Mac Jones has little run support, and an average O-line and receivers. But Lance plays for the 49ers, who have the best offensive line of the bunch, at least as good if not better receivers, a solid run game behind him and he is the best rusher of the group. That plays huge for a rookie quarterback. Lance is pretty raw as a passer with only one big season in college, but his ability to extend plays and pick up rushing yardage makes him more viable in fantasy football. I cannot see any of the other four first-rounders being in the top 12, therefore worthy of a fantasy start. But Lance could, in the right matchups, be worthy of starting.
Dorey co-founded The Huddle.com in 1997. He's ranked every player and projected every game for the last 23 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.
SCOTT PIANOWSKI
Although the coaching situation in Jacksonville is a mess, Trevor Lawrence still stands head and shoulders above this class. He has good skill talent around him and has become a more proactive runner with each passing week. It's a shame Mac Jones doesn't have better talent to work with, as he's shown poise and pocket awareness. But other than Houston, New England might have the weakest set of pass-catchers in the league.
An FSWA award-winning writer (with nominations in four sports) and podcaster, Scott has been with Yahoo Sports since 2008. 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.
ANDY RICHARDSON
There's a safety factor with Trevor Lawrence -- he's definitely starting the rest of the way, his defense is woeful; at no point will the Jaguars be grinding out lower scoring wins or anything. Justin Fields is intriguing because I think he's going to run a ton, ultimately, although it hasn't happened yet. But I'll take a stab on Trey Lance, who has both running and deep-passing upside on a competitive team and should have some big weeks the rest of the way. Unless he really struggles, which is possible, I don't think the Niners will go back to Jimmy Garoppolo.
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.