With the heart of Fantasy Football draft season right around the corner as we inch closer to September, it is imperative to maintain a competitive advantage against your opposition by monitoring your host provider’s latest rankings.

Training camp injuries, depth chart movement, breakouts occurring during preseason games and potential trades (looking at you, Brandon Aiyuk) have the distinct opportunity to affect player rankings dramatically. Comparing updates at your host provider to FantasyPros’ expert consensus rankings (ECR) is an easy way to keep tabs on where the value lies and how to seize it accordingly.

Over the past few months, I’ve been closely monitoring ESPN’s default rankings, which our friends at the site update frequently. As a whole, ESPN tended to favor running backs and rookie players in their rankings at the expense of quarterbacks and tight ends tumbling down instead. Of their current top 30 players, 14 were running backs, and 15 were wide receivers, with Travis Kelce being the lone tight end represented. Quarterbacks don’t enter the picture until nearly a dozen selections later, with the top five players squeezing in before pick number 50.

Pointing out values on ESPN is relatively easy if one knows how the site leans heading into fantasy football drafts.

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Fantasy Football Draft Values in ESPN Leagues

Quarterback

Honestly, take your pick.

• Josh Allen (QB – BUF) – ECR – 24th overall/ESPN – 42nd overall
• Jalen Hurts (QB – PHI) – ECR – 30th overall/ESPN – 43rd overall
• Lamar Jackson (QB – BAL) – ECR – 39th overall/ESPN – 50th overall
• Kyler Murray (QB – ARI) – ECR – 60th overall/ESPN – 83rd overall
• Jordan Love (QB – GB) – ECR – 72nd overall/ESPN – 99th overall
• Brock Purdy (QB – SF) – ECR – 82nd overall/ESPN – 140th overall
• Tua Tagovailoa (QB – MIA) – ECR – 93rd overall/ESPN – 201st overall
• Jared Goff (QB – DET) – ECR – 96th overall/ESPN – 202nd overall
• Trevor Lawrence (QB – JAX) – ECR – 102nd overall/ESPN – 188th overall

Throughout this series of articles, I’ve mentioned Josh Allen continuously as a major bargain for managers looking to prioritize the quarterback position in 2024. He remains the consensus QB1 on most sites despite several key losses in the wide receiver room during the offseason. FantasyPros has Allen finishing with slightly diminished totals compared to the gaudy numbers he has put up in the past, but still eclipsing 4,000 passing yards and almost 500 rushing yards with nearly 40 total touchdowns.

Beginning with Brock Purdy and continuing for the remainder of low-end QB1s, the value becomes through the roof. Purdy finished as the overall QB6 in 2023, and (as of the time this is being written) we anticipate his surrounding cast to be the same as last season. Even if Aiyuk were to move on to greener pastures, San Francisco would funnel additional targets to Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, with rookie Ricky Pearsall stepping into a more significant role.

Jared Goff might not have the same ceiling as others on this list, but the difference shouldn’t be a 106-player chasm in rankings. Goff has thrown for over 4,400 passing yards in the last two seasons with a 59:19 TD: INT ratio during that timespan. Our current QB14, Goff, only fell this low due to his minimal upside as a rushing threat. To provide further context on the absurdity of this territory, 16 defenses make ESPN’s list before Goff is mentioned. I’m befuddled.

Running Back

As mentioned earlier in the article, ESPN places a high premium on the running back position, so searching for any semblance of value is difficult. The best bet is to pursue backfields with an anticipated split in total touches as a committee situation and then focus on the likeliest candidate to break out. Denver, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Tennessee and Miami are ones to keep close tabs on.

• Tony Pollard (RB – TEN) – ECR – 80th overall/ESPN – 88th overall
• Raheem Mostert (RB – MIA) – ECR – 74th overall/ESPN – 96th overall

Even among the teams I listed earlier that face RBBC situations, Tony Pollard and Raheem Mostert were the only two players ranked lower in ESPN formats than ECR.

ESPN has continually ranked Tyjae Spears ahead of Tony Pollard in its rankings despite projecting Spears for 37 fewer carries and nearly 200 fewer rushing yards. I believe that this is likely a “wait and see” situation for them (as with the rest of us) to hash out what sort of split may finalize as we get closer to Week 1.

In the case of Mostert, ESPN currently has him projected for 153 carries for 715 yards and eight touchdowns, with 26 receptions for 188 yards and a touchdown in the receiving game. This would be a dramatic reduction of more than 60 touches, with that work essentially going to De’Von Achane instead. Touchdown regression is inevitable for Mostert following his absurd total of 21 scores last season, but we aren’t so quick to write off the veteran quite yet. Achane has dealt with an overwhelming number of injuries since college, and he only managed to make it through 11 contests total in 2023. Though he might have a more significant per-touch upside than Mostert, his slight frame can only take so many touches before breaking down.

Wide Receiver

• Deebo Samuel (WR – SF) – ECR – 25th overall/ESPN – 46th overall
• Christian Kirk (WR – JAX) – ECR – 57th overall/ESPN – 76th overall

Deebo Samuel and Christian Kirk have remained tremendous values at ESPN over the last two months, with little shift in their rankings.

Samuel is currently slated to play second-fiddle to Brandon Aiyuk in San Francisco. Still, rumors have swelled over the last several weeks that the team is prepared to move on from the disgruntled Aiyuk amidst his hold-in. Andrew Erickson has Samuel projected to finish just shy of 200 fantasy points on a 67/926/6 split — those totals would surely increase if Aiyuk moves on. Samuel has a lengthy, checkered past on the injury front 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 icing on the cake.

In the case of Kirk, it feels like his injury in Week 13 of 2023 left a bad taste in someone’s mouth, and they forgot what sort of upside he brings as an alpha option alongside Trevor Lawrence. With Calvin Ridley now gone, Kirk is in line for an even greater workload than last year, when he was on pace to finish as a mid-tier WR2. Jacksonville’s additions of Gabe Davis and rookie Brian Thomas Jr. are mainly serious threats that don’t overlap Kirk’s specialty as a short-to-mid-range route runner. We don’t anticipate them siphoning anything away from his potential upside. The Jaguars will continue to be a pass-heavy team under head coach Doug Pederson as they vie for a playoff spot in the suddenly competitive AFC South.

Tight End

• Dallas Goedert (TE – PHI) – ECR – 109th overall/ESPN – 139th overall

Those looking to find value at the tight-end position will need to wait until TE12-TE16 territory before separation begins between the two sites. Goedert is a ho-hum selection that won’t raise any eyebrows, but at nearly a two-round discount, he is worth targeting. Fantasy managers should have a firm understanding of Goedert’s outcomes at this point in his career. He is likely to miss several games with an injury, but when on the field, he performs like a low-end TE1, used to move the chains between red zones. Goedert isn’t a significant touchdown producer, but his steady volume of targets gives him a slight bump in PPR formats.

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