Fantasy Index

Ask the Experts

Who will be the surprise present (Super Bowl MVP) of Week 17?

Rhamondre, Corum, Fannin earn mentions

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 lesser light will be the surprise present (Super Bowl MVP) of Week 17?

SAM HENDRICKS

Ok, I am feeling generous. Maybe it is because I am playing in so many Championship games this week. Or my recent sprained ankle restricting my movements. In any event here are two from each position: Jacoby Brissett AZ QB, Tyler Shough NO QB, Kenneth Gainwell PIT RB, Michael Carter AZ RB, WanDale Robinson NYG WR, Parker Washington JAX WR, Juwan Johnson NO TE, Brenton Strange JAX TE.

And the winner is.....with all the QB injuries, Jacoby Brissett a QB10 and perhaps QB6 in week 17. He was a Top-12 QB in 9 straight starts this year. Despite a less-than-great performance last week I am going with him for Week 17. For those who want to scoff Brissett as not a lesser light, then Brenton Strange TE gets my next vote.

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.

TOM KESSENICH

Blake Corum. He's on a bit of a heater, having scored TDs in four straight games. He has double-digit carries in three straight and he now gets to face the Falcons' 25th-ranked run defense in Championship Week. With the Rams' offense on fire, Corum could definitely reach his Week 14 season-high 26.1 point total or even surpass it and reward everyone who starts him in Week 17 with the best Christmas present they could possibly hope for -- a 2025 fantasy championship.

Kessenich is the Director of High Stakes Contests for SportsHub Games. He runs the NFFC, NFBC and NFBKC and is a fantasy sports Hall of Fame inductee.

IAN ALLAN

Kansas City is pretty shameless about mailing it in once they're no longer part of the equation. I think of the massive numbers Denver put up against them in Week 18 last year. So I wonder if we're going to get that kind of game again today, with Bo Nix and RJ Harvey producing way above their usual levels.

Allan co-founded Fantasy Football Index in 1987. He is a member of the FSGA Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.

JASON WOOD

If you've been around long enough, you can think of a fantasy championship that was won or lost thanks to a hail mary waiver pickup following a major Week 16 injury. This year, all eyes on the Vikings, Browns and Patriots. All three units are going to be down key runners. The Vikings are straightforward, Aaron Jones will be the bellcow with Jordan Mason out of the picture. If you're in your championship game and somehow have Jones on your roster, you want to favor him as no worse than your flex, for sure. The Patriots are likely without TreVeyon Henderson this week, re-opening the door for Rhamondre Stevenson to have a big week. The biggest X-factor is Cleveland as Raheim Sanders looks ready for a big workload against the Steelers.

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.

MIKE NAZAREK

If New England Patriots RB TreVeyon Henderson (concussion) can't play this week against the Jets, RB Rhamondre Stevenson could score multiple times against New York, producing RB1 numbers, especially in basic scoring leagues.

Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc, celebrating 30 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 $40K in recent seasons of the FFPC High Stakes Main Event. Nazarek can be reached via email at miken@ffmastermind.com.

SCOTT SACHS

New Orleans' Taysom Hill is usually one of my top roster stashes every season, and last week proved why. He catches passes, of course, but when he runs he is a one-man wrecking crew. Hill put up over 22 points last week at the TE position and his upcoming opponent is lowly Tennessee. Wrap up Taysom Hill and gift him to yourselves for this week. Seasons Greetings to all!

With 2 perfect seasons and multiple league championships to his credit, 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. Follow on X: https://x.com/ffbcoach

ANDY RICHARDSON

I think it might be both Steelers running backs. With no DK Metcalf, Pittsburgh might run the ball 30-40 times at Cleveland on Sunday. I’m not usually a big Jaylen Warren fan, but I expect both him and Kenneth Gainwell will be very good this week. And same game, Harold Fannin seems to be Cleveland’s only viable receiver these days, facing a defense that’s allowed only slightly fewer touchdowns to tight ends (10) than wide receivers (14).

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.

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