An Expert's Cheat Sheet to Dominating Yahoo Fantasy Football Drafts
Default rankings are not efficient. If the opposite were true, your league mates would just show up the morning of the draft and use the site’s rankings as their “research" en route to taking down your league. It then becomes in our best interest to utilize our own rankings and leverage the default ones against our opponents. Knowledge, after all, is power.
Below is a list of players on Yahoo whose default rankings differ mightily from our projections. Reminder to use our 4for4 Rankings as a guide based on your league settings within the Yahoo applet:
* These rankings were within Yahoo as of Tuesday, August 29.
More Exploiting ADP Articles & Helpful Tools: ESPN | Sleeper | CBS | NFL.com | 4for4 Rankings | Draft Day Strategery
Players Listed Too High
19. Josh Jacobs
20. Jaylen Waddle
21. Jonathan Taylor
25. Travis Etienne
28. Aaron Jones
29. Najee Harris
36. Dameon Pierce
38. J.K. Dobbins
42. Breece Hall
43. Tyler Lockett
44. Miles Sanders
47. T.J. Hockenson
48. Cam Akers
51. Terry McLaurin
59. David Montgomery
64. Michael Pittman
66. Dalvin Cook
67. Javonte Williams
76. Khalil Herbert
93. Jamaal Williams
99. Rashod Bateman
104. Kenneth Gainwell
106. Jerick McKinnon
110. Chigoziem Okonkwo
117. Jakobi Meyers
124. Damien Harris
130. Raheem Mostert
137. Cole Kmet
147. Kendre Miller
150. D'Onta Foreman
Yahoo whiffed on the running back market, forcing Jonathan Taylor (guaranteed four-week absence amid an ongoing holdout), Breece Hall (recovery from last year’s torn ACL), and Najee Harris (touch-based floor option) into pockets that are unwarranted. We would opt for Nick Chubb (10), Tony Pollard (13), and the pool of elite wide receivers overall. T.J. Hockenson’s ADP is also unpalatable here: As explained in my Minnesota Vikings fantasy football preview, Hockenson is a player who won’t lose your league at his current cost but won’t win it for you either. There's no reason to take him at this number whenever Darren Waller is available 50 picks later.
J.K. Dobbins, Miles Sanders, Aaron Jones, and Alexander Mattison are all being drafted in ‘the dead zone’ a full round later in high-stakes leagues, making their ADPs on Yahoo ignorable—another by-product of their overvalued position on this particular site. The same can be said for Dalvin Cook, Khalil Herbert, and Damien Harris a few rounds later (but not late enough given their predictable committees).
Tyler Lockett is one of our favorite players at cost, but his ADP here is steep—he’s being drafted at 61 overall on Underdog. Same for Kenneth Gainwell, who’s listed 71 picks later (!!!) on Sleeper. I will be underweight on both of them on Yahoo if ADP has anything to do with it.
Reminder to scroll down in the app late into your draft and target the players listed below rather than settling for those with an arbitrary ADP from 130 on. Marvin Mims (133), for instance, is actually a better pick than Cole Kmet (137) at cost, especially if trying to fill your FLEX.
Players Listed Too Low
32. Josh Allen
35. Jahmyr Gibbs
37. Mark Andrews
45. Keenan Allen
49. Kenneth Walker
53. Diontae Johnson
60. Joe Burrow
75. Justin Herbert
78. Darren Waller
95. Deshaun Watson
121. Zay Flowers
133. Marvin Mims
144. De'Von Achane
155. Russell Wilson
Jahmyr Gibbs is typically available for WR-RB starts at the second-/third-round turn in the top of drafts. We would select Gibbs over both Najee Harris and Travis Etienne in the third round regardless of their ADPs.
Yahoo’s saturated RB market has also pushed QBs down aggressively, making it the perfect site to (gulp) pass on Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, and Patrick Mahomes for the next tier of players a full two rounds later. It’s arguably optimal to instead pick apart other skill positions while your league mates fall victim to the default ADP. Lamar Jackson, Justin Fields, Justin Herbert, and Deshaun Watson are all elite options in this market.
Whereas Yahoo made it hard to draft Lockett in particular, it’s the perfect site to hedge with Keenan Allen and Diontae Johnson, all who are being drafted ahead of Lockett at every other site. Rookie RBs have also clearly been devalued for veterans here, making them all easy clicks (especially on deeper benches) in the later rounds.
Who To Scroll Down For
166. Roschon Johnson
167. Sam Howell
168. Hunter Henry
181. Jonathan Mingo
186. Isaiah Hodgins
213. Jayden Reed
215. Justyn Ross
Undrafted: Rashee Rice
Undrafted: Ty Chandler
Undrafted: Evan Hull
I went in-depth on a majority of these players in my 21 Sleepers to Target After Pick 150 piece. A majority have since seen their ADPs rise if only because their usage became more clear during preseason Week 1.
Sam Howell has now recorded 19 carries on 137 dropbacks (13.8%) dating back to last year’s preseason as a last-round cheat code (assuming he can hold off Jacoby Brissett).
Justyn Ross worked with the second-string offense in Kansas City's first preseason game but is still the type of player we want to bet on in the last round—18-year-old Ross out-performed Tee Higgins in the same Clemson offense during their two seasons together (2018-19), averaging 3.74 yards per route run (YPRR) to Higgins’ 3.32.
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell applauded Ty Chandler for his pass protection and work during their preseason opener. In terms of ADP, Chandler is a significantly better pick than Alexander Mattison (46), whose every-down role is being assumed.
Yahoo is the only site where Rashee Rice is going undrafted. He can always be cut following Week 1 if he has no role among the team’s plethora of wideouts.
All of Evan Hull, Zack Moss (hand injury headed into Week 1), and Kareem Hunt (free agent who has already worked out for Indy) are worth taking last-round shots on in the event Jonathan Taylor does not return.
