The current season has been an interesting one. For example, Matt Ryan is the top fantasy quarterback, DeMarco Murray and Melvin Gordon are 2nd and 3rd among RBs, and Marvin Jones and Michael Crabtree are in the top 10 WRs.

If these statements were made prior to the draft, you may have laughed, or you may have run with it and drafted some of these first-half studs while laughing at your league-mates. In either case, we’re enlisting the advice from the top ranked experts in our accuracy competition to make bold predictions for the second-half of this fantasy season. You can agree or disagree, but based on the first half, surprises are bound to happen.

Q. With half the fantasy season complete, give us one bold fantasy prediction for the rest of the season.

“Thanks to a cream-puff schedule, Jameis Winston will be a top-3 fantasy quarterback over the balance of the season. Futhermore, with Week 14 and Week 16 matchups against the Saints, Winston will finish as the top-scoring passer in the fantasy playoffs.”

– Greg Smith (TwoQBs)

“Tampa Bay’s remaining schedule is full of cupcakes (games upcoming against Oakland, Atlanta, Chicago, San Diego and New Orleans twice during the fantasy postseason) so I could see this offense absolutely rolling to close out the season. Jameis Winston, Jacquizz Rodgers, Mike Evans are all very capable of big things — and Doug Martin when he returns. If you can acquire anybody from this offense, go for it, especially if you’re looking good for a spot in the playoffs. They are all must-starts practically every week from here on out.”

– Matt De Lima (ScoutFantasy)

“Jameis Winston will be a top five quarterback the rest of the season. From Weeks 8 through 16, the Bucs play eight of their nine games against opponents in the bottom 15 in points allowed to QBs, including five in the bottom eight. If you’re looking ahead to the playoffs, the schedule gets even juicier with two games against the Saints (25th vs. QBs) sandwiching a trip to Dallas to face the Cowboys (21st vs. QBs). If for some reason your league plays in Week 17 (*puke*), Winston will have the luxury of going head-to-head with the Carolina Panthers, who are 30th vs. opposing QBs. The Bucs’ remaining schedule is a fantasy dream, and it kicks off with three straight home games to whet Winston’s palate.”

– Seth Klein (The Fantasy Fix)

“Every year we see a running back come out of nowhere and set the fantasy world on fire down the stretch. Last year, that player was David Johnson, and this year it’s going to be Kenneth Dixon. He’s a dynamic three-down player who racked up prolific numbers at the college level. Stash him now, before it’s too late.”

– Jeff Ratcliffe (Pro Football Focus)

“Donte Moncrief will finish the rest of the season as a top 10 WR. Prior to getting hurt, Moncrief was on pace for over 100 targets, 100 receptions and 1,000 yards. He may return this week and faces 4 of the bottom 12 fantasy defenses against WRs over his final 8 games; and those that are good at limiting WRs to fantasy points, will have their eyes on TY Hilton. He’ll also spend weeks 14 and 15 indoors on turf.”

– Scott Whitfield (Roto Rankings)

“With Brian Hoyer’s season-ending injury, Jay Cutler’s return means that Alshon Jeffery will be a top-10 fantasy wide receiver in the season’s second half. Jeffery is a pending free agent and it looks increasingly unlikely that Chicago will re-sign him. He’ll be plenty motivated to play for his first lucrative contract. Cutler, who also could be playing elsewhere in 2017, has a long history of heavily targeting Jeffery. The Bears also still have four games on the schedule against teams that are in the bottom half of the league in pass defense. Jeffery has a real chance to end the season with a bang.”

– Jody Smith (Gridiron Experts)

“Despite barely offering WR3 production over the first seven weeks of the year, Alshon Jeffery will still finish the season as a top 20 fantasy wideout. He’s on pace right now to finish with 1,188 yards but has yet to find the end zone. With Jay Cutler expected to return under center and a favorable schedule for the stretch run, the free agent-to-be is still a good bet for 5-6 touchdowns.”

– Dan Clasgens (Get Sports Info)

“Alshon Jeffery finishes as a top-12 receiver in fantasy points scored over the second half of the season. He ranks 12th in receiving yards (520), and he is the only wideout who has more than 350 yards without a touchdown. With Jay Cutler returning soon, Jeffery should see more targets and the touchdowns should finally start to come. Assuming he stays efficient in the yardage department, he’ll have no problem putting up strong numbers the rest of the season.”

– Tyler Loechner (Pro Football Focus)

“Ty Montgomery finishes top-15 among PPR WRs going forward. With Green Bay’s run game slumping, Montgomery gets there on the strength of high percentage routes and a consistent backfield role.”

– Kevin English (Draft Sharks)

“Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott (or Tony Romo, if he takes over) combine for more points than any other QB/RB combination from now on. They are past their bye and the schedule sets up beautifully. Prescott has slowly ramped up his rushing attempts (2, 1, 4, 5, 7, 1), and with Romo back, the coaches could unleash him even more often.”

– Patrick Thorman (Pro Football Focus)

“C.J. Fiedorowicz (ECR: 26 in ROS TE rankings) will perform as a top-12 fantasy TE the rest of the way. Barely involved in the first three games (two catches on four targets), Fiedorowicz has a minimum of five and a total of 27 targets over his past four games with 19 catches for 229 yards and two touchdowns during that span. As the schedule gets more favorable for the Texans offense, Fiedorowicz could continue to put up start-worthy numbers for those in 12-team leagues.”

– Kevin Hanson (EDSFootball)

“Jack Doyle will finish the year as a top 7 tight end. With Dwayne Allen sidelined a few more weeks, Doyle will see plenty of targets from Andrew Luck who trusts his 6’6″ tight end all over the field. He’ll be one of the most consistent producers at the position and one of this year’s most underrated waiver claims.”

– Bill Enright (FFChamps)

“With a 1st half to forget, patient fantasy owners will be rewarded as Blake Bortles, Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns all show why the fantasy community had such high hopes for them. The pressure of higher expectations got to everyone, now with that long gone, everyone relaxes and they throw the football all over the field.”

– Ken Zalis (Pressbox)

“Spencer Ware will be one of fantasy’s top five running backs over the rest of the season. I know everyone wants to see Jamaal Charles re-emerge, but it’s Week 8 and he’s having problems with both his knees. With a 5.3 ypc average over 170 career carries, Ware is more of a star than a temporary fill-in.”

– John Halpin (Fox Sports)

“Trevor Siemian turns into a quality QB1 and throws 20+ TD to close out the season. Not easy to stop the dynamic run game, as well as cover both Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Siemian is the second coming of Rich Gannon.”

– Muntradamus (Beast Dome)

“By the time we hit the fantasy playoffs, Latavius Murray will be considered a solid RB1. The potency of the Oakland passing game gives Murray room to run, as does an offensive line that’s been every bit as good as advertised. Rookie DeAndre Washington is a decent complementary back but doesn’t pose a threat to Murray’s workload. Murray might not be able to reach 1,000 rushing yards considering the time he’s missed due to injury, but he has five TDs already and will hit double digits.”

– Pat Fitzmaurice (The Football Girl)

“Devontae Booker will become a Top 5, (not Top 20, not Top 10), a Top 5 RB the rest of the way facing the league’s 6th easiest run schedule. After fumbling his first NFL career carry vs. Carolina, the time has now come for Booker to show the world why the Broncos selected him as a top 5 RB in the 2016 NFL Draft. At 5-11 and 219 pounds, Booker is a compact, versatile 3-down back who will grind down his opponents and frequently break tackles. Get ready fantasy world, “BookMode” has arrived!”

– Scott Atkins (ScoutFantasy)

“LeGarrette Blount will finish as an RB1 this year with 14 rushing touchdowns (the most since Arian Foster in 2012). Go ahead and “buy high” because even paying an RB2 price isn’t equal to Blount’s value. Too many were concerned that Tom Brady’s return would hurt Blount’s value, but it’s actually improved. Blount has 48.1 points in Brady’s three starts with at least one touchdown in each. It’s not crazy to assume Blount carries a high potential to score each week in this offense, which offsets the low-yardage weeks. Plus, he’s RB6 on the year thanks to eight scores already.”

– Jake Ciely (RotoExperts)

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Thank you to the experts for giving us their bold predictions. For more fantasy advice, check out our latest podcast below.



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