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 solid, 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.
Editor’s Note: Our Bundle Package for the 2020 season is LIVE! It includes our Draft Kit and all our In-Season plus DFS content for the lowest price we’ll have all year. Click here for details.
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 in the applet.
Below is what you should be aware of heading into drafts on Yahoo. For the ESPN version of this article, click here:
*These rankings were found within Yahoo draft applet as of Friday, August 21.
YAHOO
PLAYERS LISTED HIGHER THAN EXPECTED
23. James Conner
27. Adam Thielen
30. Chris Carson
40. Mark Ingram
49. D’Andre Swift
56. Ronald Jones
70. Jordan Howard
75. Matt Breida
84. Matthew Stafford
96. Ben Roethlisberger
ADJUSTMENTS: No stealing Adam Thielen on Yahoo as he’s listed WR9. It will be much easier to show a profit on the price of WRs like Calvin Ridley (42 overall) and D.K. Metcalf (53). … I’m hoping to be able to get James Conner or Chris Carson in Round 3 of a lot of drafts. Yahoo will make that difficult with these aggressive rankings. … Speaking of aggressive, Mark Ingram is a whopping 41 spots ahead of J.K. Dobbins in the applet. I know Evan disagrees, but I actually prefer Dobbins straight up. … D’Andre Swift’s projected Kamara-esque pass-catching is exciting, but this is a steep tag given the WRs available in the 40-60 range. … Yahoo has somehow locked onto the Ronald Jones hype machine. It’s going to be really hard to get him cheaply here. … Hopefully someone else bites on these wildly high prices for Jordan Howard and Matt Breida. … Almost all the QBs on Yahoo are pushed up high. Still, Matthew Stafford ahead of Carson Wentz, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers isn’t what I want to see. Expect the QB run to start early in Yahoo formats. Ben Roethlisberger in the Top 100 speaks to that.
We've created the best Draft Kit on the internet.
Our fantasy football Draft Kit was created to prepare you with the highest-quality resources to help you win your league.
Our team of analysts, led by Evan Silva and Adam Levitan, create unmatched content and rankings to make sure you’re ready for draft day. While our Draft Kit is built for competitive fantasy players, we’ve made it fun and easy to consume.
If you aren’t satisfied with our Draft Kit for any reason, just email us within 48 hours of purchase and we’ll provide a full refund.
Full Draft Kit Overview » Already a subscriber? Log In
