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 position battle are you most looking forward to seeing in the exhibition games?

TONY HOLM

It’s probably a strange answer, but for me, it’s the battle between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders for the Cleveland quarterback gig. Neither is “draftable” in fantasy except for in deep formats or superflex leagues, but I think very quietly, there are a lot of potential fantasy points on the table to be had with their trio of potentially quality wide receivers, Harold Fannin, and some running backs that can catch (especially Sampson) on a team that will likely be playing “catch up” in many games.

Holm works for Fantasy Sharks, whose rankings and content can be found at fantasysharks.com.

PAT FITZMAURICE

It has to be the running back battle in Jacksonville. Bhayshul Tuten is hyper-athletic, with 4.32 speed and a 40½-inch vertical jump. He has exciting splash-play potential, has handled goal-line work, and has potential as a pass catcher. I'd love to have the lead back in a Liam Coen offense, and Tuten could very well be the guy. But Coen was the offensive coordinator at Kentucky in 2021 when Chris Rodriguez had 1,300 rushing yards for the Wildcats, and now Rodriguez is Tuten's primary competition for early-down work in Jacksonville. Rodriguez is a bruiser and might be a better fit for short-yardage work. And LeQuint Allen is a wild card as the potential passing-down back for the Jaguars.

Fitzmaurice has been an editor and analyst at FantasyPros since 2021. He won FantasyPros' in-season rankings accuracy contest in 2020.

JASON WOOD

The preseason games have largely become irrelevant in terms of fantasy modeling. The real value in them is seeing who doesn't play at all/much in battles, because it tells you that the team values them too much to put them at risk. With that in mind, I'm looking to see which of the Raiders wide receivers are slotted into the starting group. I'm very curious to see how the Packers handle Chris Brooks versus MarShawn Lloyd. The Giants appear to have a wide open battle at WR2/WR3, so I want to see if rookie Malchi Fields can overtake Darius Slayton. Will rookies Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen get enough work early, look good, and then start getting rested with the key starters?

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.

IAN ALLAN

I would like to see where Braelon Allen is at. I was very impressed with him when he was a rookie. He's a big, violent, tackle-breaking back -- the kind of guy that people don't want to tackle. Back in 2024, he looked like a guy who'd be developing into a starter. Then he missed almost all of his second season with a knee injury. Let's see if he's healthy and running like he did back when I first saw him. If so, he'll be a backup running back I'll be looking to scoop up late in drafts.

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.

MICHAEL NAZAREK

I'm watching with great interest who wins the WR2 job for the Giants. I have rookie WR Malachi Fields in three dynasty leagues, but also have Darius Slayton. It should be an interesting battle.

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 more than $40K in recent seasons of the FFPC High Stakes Main Event. Nazarek can be reached via email at miken@ffmastermind.com.

HOWARD BENDER

We have to be looking at the quarterback battle taking place in Cleveland right now. Will it be Deshaun Watson, who seemingly has a leg up, or Shedeur Sanders. We know each one will start one of the first two preseason games and then we should have our answer by the third, but those of us drafting now need to know the value of players like Harold Fannin, KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston and even Jerry Jeudy. Their values are directly tied to who will be starting under center each week.

Bender is a highly respected veteran of the fantasy sports and sports betting industry, serving as the Head of Content for Fantasy Alarm. Bender writes a weekly sports column for the New York Post and hosts The Fantasy Alarm Show on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (airing Monday–Friday 6:00–8:00 PM ET and Sundays 10:00–11:00 AM ET). You can connect with him on X, Instagram, and Facebook @rotobuzzguy, and on TikTok @therealrotobuzzguy.

TOM KESSENICH

Ideally, I'm hoping for some clarity with the Denver WR2 situation. Courtland Sutton appears to be losing ground there with reports that Pat Bryant is having a superlative camp and may be moving into a starting role. I'm hoping we see signs during the preseason that will provide clarity on that situation.

And the primary one I'm going to be watching will be the Jacksonville running back situation between Chris Rodriguez and Bhayshul Tuten. I'm not sure how much we'll see in the preseason that will change what we already know or think will happen (this looks like a RBBC to me), but any signs will be helpful.

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.

LUKE WILSON

Hard to beat the intrigue of a quarterback battle. But the one in Minnesota feels a little staged to me: Even with his reported training camp struggles, I am having a hard time believing Kyler Murray won't break camp under center (update: Murray named the starter between this answer's submission and press time). Getting a similar vibe from Cleveland's perennial search for QB1, where I think it would take a(nother) injury to keep Deshaun Watson from starting Week 1.

Comparatively stone silent has been the QB situation in Atlanta. When Matt Ryan, Atlanta's new President of Football (which is itself a brand new position created just for Ryan) and new GM Ian Cunningham quietly, but very briskly swept into power in January the first thing they did was aggressively not issue any kind of vote of confidence on injured starter Michael Penix. Ryan-Cunningham then doubled down upon signing Tua Tagovailoa: 'This is an open competition' — Tagovailoa isn't just covering for Penix until he's able to return.

It's a weird situation all around. Atlanta replaced Raheem Morris with Kevin Stefanski who, when faced with a similar choice between a quarterback with minimal arm strength but who he trusted to execute play calls (Gabriel) and a quarterback who wanted to hold the ball and hit big plays (Sanders), clearly preferred the former. With Penix's return to play seeming to move at a snail's pace (Penix tore his ACL four weeks before Patrick Mahomes, who is already all but fully cleared for the 2026 season), a PUP stint is just about assured for Penix. At this point I won't be surprised if Penix winds up missing the season — things have gotten that weird. How Tagovailoa plays in the preseason could decide a lot about this offense.

Wilson is a writer and contributor to both Fantasy Football Index magazine and website www.fantasyindex.com, currently answering weekly questions while running the Fantasy Index Mailbag.

ANDY RICHARDSON

I'm really interested in the Washington backfield. That team has got to try to use its running backs, taking pressure off the passing game, and there's some talent. Jacory Croskey-Merritt looked good at times last year. Rachaad White has been very productive in PPR in the past and could be again; weird to me that he seemed to have no free agent market. And rookie Kaytron Allen seems like a better prospect than his draft capital suggested. I'm interesting to see how these players are used, and who might be most valuable.

Richardson has been a contributing writer and editor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and www.fantasyindex.com since 2002. He is responsible for various site features, writes a weekly gambling newsletter, Index Bets, during the NFL season and also previews all the games on Saturdays.