An Expert’s Cheat Sheet to Dominating ESPN Fantasy Football Drafts

Aug 23, 2024

Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

We made it! Only two weeks until the 2024 NFL regular season kicks off when the defending Super Bowl Champion Chiefs host the Ravens on Thursday Night Football. That also means that we’re currently entrenched in peak fantasy football draft season. New fantasy football leagues are beginning every minute, with no platform hosting more leagues each year than ESPN.

2024 Draft Kit in One Place: Fantasy Football Rankings, Tools, and Draft Strategy

The worldwide leader in sports allows participants to customize fantasy football league settings to suit their scoring desires, with baseline leagues initially set to 10-team leagues with point-per-reception (PPR) scoring. Managers must start one quarterback (QB), two running backs (RB), two wide receivers (WR), one tight end (TE), one FLEX (RB/WR/TE), one defense/special teams (D/ST), and one kicker (K) and can stash seven players on their bench each week. That leaves fantasy football drafts on ESPN at 16 total rounds. After dissecting league settings, scoring, roster requirements, and current average draft position (ADP), here are three primary trends to help you dominate fantasy football leagues on ESPN.

Quarterback is Largely Overvalued

Drafters on ESPN have a fever and the only prescription is more quarterbacks. That’s how it seems by looking at drafting tendencies, at least. While it is true that the elites at the position return higher weekly floors than the rest of the quarterback pool, drafters would do well to recognize that the quarterback position is one of the most replaceable positions in fantasy football. If you are looking to remove the reliance on those pesky start-sit decisions at the position, might I suggest waiting on Jayden Daniels? Daniels is currently drafted as the QB12 and 97^th player off the board in the 10^th round. His rushing prowess adds significant weekly floor, and he is drafted after every other team has already filled their quarterback position. Simply sit back, watch as the rest of the teams in the league draft quarterbacks early, fill out every other starting position on your roster, and reap the benefits all season!