Like sand along a shoreline, players’ rankings will continue to ebb and flow throughout the summer. Training camp news, beat reporter tidbits, contract negotiations and the threat of holdouts will cause shifts towards viewpoints, causing some players to be a prospective value and others to be selected too early.
ESPN, one of the most popular hosts/providers within the fantasy landscape, also has its own default rankings that managers tend to gravitate towards, which has an obvious underlying effect on when players are selected.
As I mentioned in last month’s article (located here for those interested in comparing trends), ESPN has significantly devalued the quarterback position compared to our Expert Consensus Rankings on FantasyPros, which resulted in significant opportunities for savvy managers to capitalize on. Knowing that they could wait for a round (or, in some cases, several) before addressing quarterback presented the prospect of filling out the RB2 and WR2 slots instead.
Back in late June, running backs were the polar opposite. ESPN had 17 running backs ranked within its first 33 players, while our ECR formerly had just eight. A clear emphasis was placed upon loading up at running back to avoid the common pitfalls associated with the position-namely injuries and committee situations.
So, have things changed as training camps open and we are a month closer to the start of the season? Let’s check ESPN’s fantasy football draft values.
- 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2024 Fantasy Football Rankings
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
Fantasy Football Draft Values in ESPN Leagues for July
Quarterback
- Josh Allen (QB – BUF) – ECR – 23rd overall / ESPN – 35th overall
- Jalen Hurts (QB – PHI) – ECR – 25th overall / ESPN – 42nd overall
- Kyler Murray (QB – ARI) – ECR – 65th overall / ESPN – 82nd overall
For the top tier at the quarterback position, it appears that ESPN continues to have a slight drag in rankings by a full round, give or take. The divide tends to diminish slightly within the middle of QB1 territory (around Dak Prescott and Joe Burrow) before becoming even more egregious later. Jordan Love (ECR – 71st overall) is an excellent value, with ESPN ranking him 101st overall along with Brock Purdy (ECR – 84th overall) falling to 141st overall in their rankings. Love and Purdy may not possess the same upside as the top portion of the group, but they can be acquired at a significant discount. Keep in mind that Love finished as the QB5 last season and Purdy is one spot behind him at QB6.
Tight End
- Dallas Goedert (TE – PHI) – ECR – 109th overall / ESPN – 135th overall
The tight end position mirrors the wide receiver in ECR vs. ESPN rankings, with the top-tier options being identical. For those managers willing to play the waiting game at the position and explore alternatives with upside, Goedert is a flier worth taking a shot at.
When Goedert can stay on the field, he presents quarterback Jalen Hurts with a short-to-intermediate range safety net that outmuscles defenders in the secondary. A clear-cut third fiddle in the target pecking order behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, Goedert will search for a rebound year in new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s scheme. Health remains a central sticking point in projecting his final totals since Goedert has been unable to play more than 15 games in a season just once in the last four years. Our projections have him finishing with a 68/718/4 split, in line with his career averages.
More Values & Overvalued Players By Commissioner Site
- ESPN ADP
- Fantrax ADP
- Values (July)
- Overvalued (July)
- FFPC ADP
- Values (July)
- Overvalued (July)
- NFFC ADP
- Values (July)
- Overvalued (July)
- MFL ADP
- Real Time Sports ADP
- Yahoo ADP
- Sleeper ADP
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