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.
- 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
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.
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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