In the world of fantasy football, the platform you draft on can significantly influence your strategy. Drafters tend to be anchored to a site’s player rankings. Each site-be it ESPN, Yahoo, CBS, NFL Fantasy, or Sleeper-has its own Average Draft Position (ADP) trends, impacting player values and positional priorities. For example, Best Ball formats often favor wide receivers, while traditional leagues lean more towards running backs in the earlier rounds.
To uncover these nuances, I conducted several 12-team mock drafts on each platform and through FantasyPros Draft Wizard Mock Draft Simulator. This article dives into the ADP variances across these popular sites, sharing insights and strategies to help you dominate your league, no matter where you draft.
Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: ADP Variance
CBS
FantasyPros currently doesn’t offer a way to synchronize CBS ADP pre-draft rankings into the Draft Wizard (although you can still league sync), so I just did a normal CBS mock draft on their website to get an idea of the landscape.
Main Takeaways:
- This is by far the most hungry RB room among the mocks I’ve conducted. Kyren Williams went inside in Round 1, Rachaad White and Alvin Kamara in Round 2, James Conner in Round 3, Zamir White in Round 4, and Raheem Mostert in Round 4. Zack Moss went in Round 5 with Najee Harris, and Nick Chubb went in Round 6.
- Naturally, this pushed many WRs down the board. Drake London went 36th, Michael Pittman Jr. went 50th, Jaylen Waddle went 56th, Tank Dell went 85th, and Keenan Allen went 99th.
- Malik Nabers…101st
- TEs also went late because of the RB madness.
- This is the most aggressively drafted RB platform. Based on CBS ADP, it aligns with the variance of the underpriced player you can target.
- These players include (again not including rookies): Darnell Mooney, Rashid Shaheed, Joshua Palmer, Hunter Henry, Curtis Samuel, Dontayvion Wicks, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Keenan Allen, Terry McLaurin, Pat Freiermuth, Rashee Rice, Jaylen Waddle, Tank Dell, Chris Godwin, Chris Olave, Puka Nacua, Michael Pittman Jr., Jaleel McLaughlin and Rico Dowdle.
CBS
- RB Heavy Drafts: RBs like Kyren Williams and Rachaad White go earlier, pushing WRs and TEs down the board.
- Discounted WRs: Players like Drake London, Michael Pittman Jr., and Keenan Allen fall to later rounds.
Understanding these platform-specific ADP trends can give you a strategic edge in your drafts. Based on each platform’s tendencies, adapt your strategy to exploit undervalued players and secure key positions.
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