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
NFL Fantasy
I conducted two mock drafts for NFL Fantasy. One using FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Simulator and one regular mock draft on the NFL.com platform. Note that when I used the Draft Simulator, I checked off only the NFL pre-draft rankings settings to get a more accurate reading on that specific 2024 fantasy football landscape on that host site. That draft is not depicted.
Main takeaways:
- Starting with the real-life mock draft (aside from some crazy positional takes), it was standard from a redraft PPR perspective, with more RBs drafted first.
- De’Von Achane and Nico Collins went later in Round 3.
- Joe Mixon went MUCH later than he has in the CBS/Yahoo drafts (Round 5), perhaps a sign that he could fall further in home leagues compared to other RBs.
- Malik Nabers also went late in toward the end of Round 5 (par for the course of most rookies).
- George Pickens is going to be much closer to a Round 6 pick in home leagues than the Round 4 range of best ball drafts.
- Brooks’ ADP is back up to Round 7.
- Keenan Allen continues to see a massive discount in these mock drafts.
- Kincaid fell into Round 6 along with Kyle Pitts.
- Speaking of which…Jaylen Warren is one of these late-round RB darling best ball drafters who might have to be “overdrafted” in their home leagues. He is consistently going in Round 7. He also went ahead of Najee Harris. By nearly 2 rounds. Najee’s ADP on NFL.com is the lowest in the industry. In an RB-starved platform, Harris is going near the double-digits. Tells you something…
- Speaking of Round 7 – we have another tier break with the QBs after this round. Ergo, if you don’t have a QB 7 rounds in, take that position completely off your draft board. Seems like a break spot for those following the late-round QB approach.
- Rashee Rice is beyond dirt cheap on NFL.com, as are all the Chiefs WRs.
- Understandably, some of these guys are going later with DST/kickers being drafted in the player pool, but it’s noteworthy regardless.
- In the draft simulation, I’d say it was in line with the actual mock draft.
- We see fewer massive fallers with the Draft Simulator’s AI bots waiting till the end to take Ks and DSTs. Smart.
- Jaylen Warren went again in Round 7. And the Chiefs WRs were super cheap.
- There was another quarterback drop-off after Round 7/8 until Round 12. Again, in that range, Round 7-8 seems like the last time to take an “early” quarterback in 12-team leagues.
- All in all, I estimate that the draft from the NFL fantasy mock simulation was “sharper” than the actual mock draft.
- Other player values on NFL to exploit (again, other than rookies)
- Rashid Shaheed, Joshua Palmer, Dontayvion Wicks, Roschon Johnson, Curtis Samuel, Rico Dowdle, Christian Watson, Jaleel McLaughlin, DeAndre Hopkins, George Pickens, Jameson Williams, Hollywood Brown, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Hunter Henry, Rashee Rice, Terry McLaurin, Calvin Ridley, Jerome Ford, Zay Flowers, Chris Godwin, Zach Charbonnet, Chase Brown, Nico Collins, Brian Robinson, Jaylen Warren.
NFL Fantasy
- RB Focus: More RBs are drafted early compared to other platforms.
- Late-Round WR Bargains: Players like Keenan Allen and George Pickens are available at discounts.
- Tight End Values: Dalton Kincaid and Kyle Pitts are selected in the middle rounds, offering value.
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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