Site-specific rankings are one of the least talked about topics when planning for a fantasy football draft. Rankings often differ significantly between leading fantasy football platforms like ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, etc.
Those nuances between platforms make tools like our Expert Consensus Rankings valuable because they give you the widest variety of opinions from various platforms and publications. And when we cross-reference one site’s ranking with the Expert Consensus Rankings, it can sometimes shed light on underrated or overrated players by a specific place.
When draft day arrives, fantasy managers can use this information to exploit the leaguemates who primarily stick to a site’s cheat sheet.
With that being said, let’s take a look at the players who are overpriced and should be avoided based on ESPN’s top 300 PPR rankings.
ESPN ranking: 12th overall, WR6
ECR ranking: 23rd overall, WR9
I’ll admit it. I’m scared of Deebo in 2022. That pains me to say, as he helped me win a fantasy title last year. But especially in this format, Samuel is probably overpriced.
Samuel’s fantasy value comes more from what he does after the catch than from how often he catches the ball. There’s a chance San Francisco uses Samuel less as a rusher, which would also hamper his fantasy value. Drafting Samuel in the first round as the WR6 is buying him at his peak.
ESPN ranking: 19th overall, RB11
ECR ranking: 30th overall, RB15
Drafting James Conner is an admission that you’re banking on another double-digit touchdown season. And while that isn’t impossible, we have to recognize that touchdowns can be fluky.
Conner scored 15 touchdowns last season. That’s a ton! And it was wonderful last season when he finished as the RB5 in an injury-plagued position. But I’m pretty confident he won’t reach that total again, and that’s when the holes begin to emerge in Conner’s fantasy value.
Conner doesn’t do anything but score touchdowns. He averaged 3.7 yards per carry on 202 attempts and caught 37 passes primarily on check-downs. With Arizona’s offense seemingly hinging on Kyler Murray’s happiness, I’m staying away and letting someone else chase last year’s touchdowns.
Cordarrelle Patterson (RB – ATL)
ESPN ranking: 62nd overall, RB27
ECR ranking: 94th overall, RB36
Patterson is arguably the most overvalued player on this list. His RB9 finish in 2021 was spectacular, and he likely won many teams’ leagues as the best waiver wire pickup of the season. However, the chance of this all replicating seems highly unlikely.
The situation around Patterson has somehow gotten worse in Atlanta, as Marcus Mariota replaces Matt Ryan at quarterback. Calvin Ridley is suspended, and the Falcons don’t have an outstanding offensive line. Patterson is ranked as a high-end RB3 or FLEX option by ESPN right now, and I don’t believe we can count on him again after his stunning campaign.
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