When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, it’s important to know which players to target and which to avoid. The amount of information available can be overwhelming. A good way to condense the data and determine which players to draft and which to leave to your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to average draft position (ADP) in fantasy football. This will help you identify players that the experts are targeting at ADP and others that they aren’t drafting until much later than average. Let’s take a closer look at some of the best fantasy football draft values at each of the top commissioner sites.
The best fantasy football draft values on every site
Best Fantasy Football Draft Values on Yahoo
Jaylen Waddle (WR – missing) – Yahoo ADP – 39.4 |
Waddle is coming off a disappointing 2023 season. He was the WR34 and averaged 11.6 half-PPR fantasy points per game. However, the former Alabama star missed three games due to injuries and left other games early. Still, Waddle averaged 7.4 targets per game, compared to 6.9 in his first year alongside Tyreek Hill. More importantly, the explosive receiver is an excellent route runner. Waddle posted the fifth-highest yards per route average (2.93) among wide receivers with at least 25 targets last season (per Fantasy Points Data).
Malik Nabers (WR – NYG) – Yahoo ADP – 69.3 |
New York will have one of the worst passing offenses in the NFL this year. However, Nabers will be successful due to his expected high percentage of targets. The Giants lack proven pass catchers following Darren Waller’s retirement. Meanwhile, Nabers ranked first in the rookie draft class in yards per route run (3.64) among wide receivers with at least 20 targets last season (per PFF). The former LSU star made several spectacular receptions during training camp. Don’t be surprised if Nabers is a top-12 wide receiver as a rookie.
Best Fantasy Football Draft Values on ESPN
Run back
As mentioned earlier in the article, ESPN places a lot of emphasis on the running back position, so finding a promising player is difficult. It’s best to track backfields with an expected breakdown of total contacts as a committee situation and then focus on the candidate most likely to break through. Denver, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Tennessee and Miami are ones to keep a close eye on.
Even among the teams I listed previously that face RBBC situations, Tony Pollard and Raheem Mostert were the only two players ranked lower than ECR in ESPN formats.
ESPN has consistently ranked Tyjae Spears ahead of Tony Pollard in their rankings, despite Spears projecting 37 fewer carries and nearly 200 fewer rushing yards. I believe it’s probably a “wait and see” situation for them (like the rest of us) to figure out what kind of breakdown might emerge as we approach Week 1.
In Mostert’s case, ESPN currently projects him to have 153 carries for 715 yards and eight touchdowns, with 26 passes caught for 188 yards and a touchdown in the passing game. That would be a dramatic reduction of more than 60 touches, with that work essentially going to De’Von Achane instead. A drop in touchdowns is inevitable for Mostert after his absurd 21 total last season, but we’re not so quick to write the veteran off just yet. Achane has battled an overwhelming number of injuries since college and has only managed to get through 11 total games in 2023. While he may have greater per-touch potential than Mostert, his petite frame can only endure so many touches before breaking down.
Wide receiver
Deebo Samuel and Christian Kirk have maintained excellent ratings on ESPN over the past two months, with little change in their rankings.
Samuel is currently slated to play second fiddle to Brandon Aiyuk in San Francisco. However, rumors have been swirling in recent weeks that the team is willing to part ways with the disgruntled Aiyuk while he’s on defense. Andrew Erickson projects Samuel to finish just under 200 fantasy points on a 67/926/6 split — that total would certainly increase if Aiyuk moves on. Samuel has a long, checkered injury history but has remained essentially healthy in two of the last three seasons. His added value as a kick/punt returner with touches out of the backfield is just the icing on the cake.
In Kirk’s case, you get the feeling his injury in Week 13 of 2023 left a bad taste in someone’s mouth and they forgot the upside he brings as an alpha option next to Trevor Lawrence. With Calvin Ridley now gone, Kirk faces an even bigger workload than last year, when he was on pace to finish as a mediocre WR2. Jacksonville’s new additions Gabe Davis and rookie Brian Thomas Jr. are mostly deep threats that don’t overlap with Kirk’s specialty as a short-to-intermediate route runner. We don’t expect them to siphon off any of his potential. The Jaguars will continue to be a pass-heavy team under head coach Doug Pederson as they battle for a playoff spot in the suddenly competitive AFC South.
Best Fantasy Football Draft Values on Sleeper
Rhamondre Stevenson (RB – NE) – Sleeper ADP – 69.9 |
Unfortunately, Stevenson was a fantasy flop in 2023. Still, fantasy players should expect a comeback season from the former Oklahoma star. Although he struggled last year, Stevenson played like an elite running back before suffering a season-ending ankle sprain in Week 13. The veteran averaged 91 rushing yards and 17.3 half-PPR fantasy points per game in his last three healthy games. While some are concerned about the arrival of Antonio Gibson, Stevenson will remain the primary running back after the Patriots recently signed him to a massive contract extension.
Zamir White (RB – LV) – Sleeper ADP – 81.3 |
White was the RB8 and averaged 14.1 half-PPR fantasy points per game during the four weeks Josh Jacobs was out with an injury last season. He had the fourth-highest number of yards after contact per run attempt (3.06) among running backs with at least 30 attempts during those four weeks, ahead of Christian McCaffrey and Jahmyr Gibbs (per Fantasy Points Data). More importantly, White had 20 or more touches in every game and totaled 100 or more scrimmage yards in all but one game. He is one of my must-have running back draft candidates.
Tank Dell (WR – HOU) – Sleeper ADP – 51.3 |
The Texans have arguably the most talented core of wide receivers in the NFL. Houston signed Stefon Diggs and recently gave Nico Collins a generous contract extension, but Dell can’t be forgotten. The explosive rookie missed the final five games of the year with a broken fibula. However, he was the WR16 on a points-per-game basis and averaged 12.9 half-PPR fantasy points per game, above the averages of Davante Adams, DK Metcalf and Chris Olave. While Collins should be drafted ahead of Dell, his WR26 ADP is underrated.
Chris Godwin (WR – TB) – Sleeper ADP – 79.6 |
Fantasy players struggled to have Godwin in the starting lineup, as he scored 9.6 or fewer half-PPR fantasy points in 64.7% of games last season. He also averaged fewer than 10 fantasy points per game for the first time since 2018. However, Godwin is primed for a comeback year as the Buccaneers have moved him back to the slot. The veteran averaged 0.41 fantasy points per route run in the slot, compared to 0.26 out of the slot last season (per Fantasy Points Data). He’s one of my favorite receivers drafted this year.
More value on every Commissioner site
Fantasy Football Draft Rankings
Check out our experts’ consensus rankings for the 2024 Fantasy Football Draft.
