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
Yahoo
I conducted two mock drafts for Yahoo. One using FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Simulator and one regular mock draft on the Y! platform. Note that when I used the Draft Simulator, I checked off only the Yahoo pre-draft rankings settings to get a more accurate reading on that specific 2024 fantasy football landscape on the Y! If you don’t want to wait for a Yahoo mock draft till fill, hop on the draft simulator with Yahoo’s pre-draft rankings to simulate the experience.
Main takeaways:
- In the draft simulation, the late-round QB/TE both provided strong values.
- Same suspects as on ESPN: David Njoku, Brock Bowers, Jared Goff, Brock Purdy, Jordan Love, Tua Tagovailoa, etc.
- The value picks included Keenan Allen, Joshua Palmer, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Godwin and Calvin Ridley.
- The biggest reaches (more RBs, of course) include Zack Moss, Brian Robinson, Derrick Henry, and Raheem Mostert.
- RBs overall went higher again.
- The most surprising picks included Mark Andrews in Round 6, Dalton Kincaid in Round 7 and Kyle Pitts in Round 7.
- Yahoo is the platform for the best value on the elite crop of tight ends.
Discount elite Tight Ends.
Mark Andrews, ADP 60 – Yahoo
Trey McBride, ADP 59 – Yahoo
Dalton Kincaid, ADP 74 – Yahoo
Evan Engram, ADP 88 – Yahoo
— Andrew Erickson™ (@AndrewErickson_) July 26, 2024
How did the simulation stack up versus the actual Yahoo mock draft? Pretty consistent. Our draft simulator rocks.
- Elite tight ends were readily available from Rounds 5-7.
- RBs went in the same range as the simulated draft.
- Best overall values: Keenan Allen (7.2), Diontae Johnson (7.9), Chris Godwin (7.10), Jayden Reed (8.5). Jaxon Smith-Njigba went in Round 11.
- Rookie WRs are also all values.
- Jonathon Brooks‘ price was back down to the 10th round. The Yahoo platform is where the Panthers’ rookie RB is the cheapest.
- J.K. Dobbins and Chuba Hubbard were 15th-rounders. They could be Week 1 starters. Jaleel McLaughlin was a 14th-round pick.
- Late-round QBs: Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, etc. all taken after Round 10.
- There’s a gap after the Kyler Murray– Dak Prescott tier among QBs. In both drafts, we had a massive gap after the last QB was selected in the Round 7 range. The simulator went all the way to Round 13 without another QB, while the real mock went QB-less until Round 10 after Brock Purdy.
- Other player values on Yahoo to monitor (again other than rookies)
Yahoo
- Elite TE Availability: High-quality tight ends are available in rounds 5-7.
- Value Picks: Keenan Allen, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Chris Godwin are solid picks.
- QB Drop-Off: After the seventh round, there’s a significant gap in QB selections.
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.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn
