I’d make a lot of changes if I was King of the season-long fantasy football world. But my No. 1 priority would be eliminating the default rankings from the online draft applets.
These default rankings are the enemy of hard work and preparation. If the defaults are solidly efficient, owners can just show up the day of the draft, use the site’s rankings as their “research” and emerge with a reasonable team.
At a minimum, we know our opponents use the default rankings as a crutch. That means they may be afraid to pull the trigger on X guy in the second round because he’s listed as a fourth-rounder in the applet. Or maybe they take Y guy earlier than they should because his name is on top of the applet. Even auto-drafters can have success if the draft applet rankings are solid.
The good news for us is that these default rankings are not particularly efficient. So there are edges for us to exploit against opponents who are relying on them. The best process for us is to draft off of our own personal rankings, but also be aware of and adjust to what’s going on the applet.
Below is what you should be aware of heading into drafts on ESPN. Do NOT rely on these rankings, use our ETR rankings as your cheatsheet:
* These rankings were found within the ESPN draft applet as of Wednesday, August 24.
* For Exploiting Sleeper Default Rankings, click here.
PLAYERS LISTED HIGHER THAN EXPECTED
3. Saquon Barkley
25. Terry McLaurin
30. James Robinson
32. Miles Sanders
55. Kenny Golladay
71. Damien Harris
107. Jonnu Smith
ADJUSTMENTS: There’s a bit of randomness on who ESPN has pumped up their rankings. Saquon at No. 3 seems stale, but James Robinson at No. 30 is obviously a recent change. … I really like Terry McLaurin, but more in the mid or late part of Round 3. He’ll likely go higher on ESPN, but that’s OK. There are other prime WRs listed too low (see below). … The tight end landscape on ESPN has some major leaks we can exploit. Ignore weird things like Jonnu Smith pumped up and focus on Kyle Pitts (see below).
PLAYERS LISTED LOWER THAN EXPECTED
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