Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Finding draft values based on Yahoo default rankings
By John Daigle, 4for4
Special to Yahoo Sports
Default fantasy rankings are not efficient. If the opposite were true, your league mates would just show up the morning of the draft and use Yahoo'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 are far too low based off our projections. Reminder to use our 4for4 Rankings as a guide based on your league settings within the Yahoo applet.
For players ranked too high and more players to consider at the end of drafts, click here.
Note: These rankings were within Yahoo as of Monday, August 14
Players listed too low
7. Tyreek Hill
37. Jahmyr Gibbs
45. Keenan Allen
47. Calvin Ridley
52. Lamar Jackson
64. Justin Fields
74. Justin Herbert
85. Darren Waller
92. Deshaun Watson
93. James Cook
101. Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Tyreek Hill should be in the same conversation as Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase, Cooper Kupp, Travis Kelce and Christian McCaffrey as a top-five pick; the latter is actually the one who should fall out given that Tony Pollard and Jahmyr Gibbs are typically available for WR-RB starts in the top half 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 Tyler Lockett (ranked No. 49 overall) in particular, it’s the perfect site to hedge with Jaxon Smith-Njigba at 101 overall — he’s being drafted 40-plus spots earlier on some other sites. Rookie RBs have also clearly been devalued for veterans here, making them all easy clicks (especially on deeper benches) in the later rounds.
For more players ranked too low, click here.
[Visit 4for4, where 92% of subscribers made the playoffs, for more]
Players to scroll down for
212. Sam Howell
218. Marvin Mims Jr.
223. Isaiah Hodgins
Undrafted: Ty Chandler
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).
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.
This article originally appeared on 4for4.com
More analysis from 4for4: 8 Sleepers to Target in Yahoo Leagues
John Daigle is an Emmy and FSWA award winner who has been covering the NFL and fantasy football for over a decade. He enjoys watching golf and Jon Moxley, not necessarily in that order. You can follow him on Twitter @notJDaigle.
