NFL

Using Our Draft Kit to Win Your Yahoo! Fantasy Football League

Odds are, you play in a fantasy league on Yahoo. If you do, here are some players to target and to avoid there.

I'm willing to be that if you've played fantasy football for more than a year or two that you've played in a league hosted by Yahoo.

It's massively popular and pretty dang reliable, so I can't blame you.

But depending on your host site, you might have to reach an extra round -- or three -- for your favorite sleeper if he's ranked higher in the Yahoo draft app than he is in your typical mock drafts. All that preparation, all that planning, could prove fruitless if you aren't studying for drafting on your specific site.

Now, one of the coolest things about our  fantasy football draft kit is that it's easily customizable. If you set it to Yahoo's default league settings, then you can compare our rankings to what you see in a live draft application. Don't worry. I had the foresight to do that already.

One major variable with Yahoo's default league settings is that you start three wide receivers. There is is no flex position if you join a public league or leave your settings to the default ones. So your need for wide receivers grows compared to leagues in which you can start three running backs (if you choose to start one at the flex position). Then again, there are no points for receptions, so how does that factor in?

Our FireFactor scores have you covered. FireFactor it will help identify which positions -- and players -- are most important given your league settings.

Let's break this down.

Fundamental Differences

1. Yahoo starts three wide receivers. I mentioned this already, but it really does shift how you should approach your draft, provided that your commissioner doesn't customize your league on Yahoo.

2. We value mid-range wide receivers more than their draft list. This means that you can find value if you wait on wide receiver a bit -- but again, don't get caught with two quarterbacks before you have a solid wide receiver base or anything like that.

3. Don't get sucked into the tight end rankings. We know from our FireFactor series that tight ends are the least valuable position in most scoring formats. Yahoo lists plenty of them pretty early, but we wouldn't advise taking them at those costs.

4. You'll be fine if you wait on quarterback. There are plenty of good options you can get late in your drafts. Don't panic!

Overvalued Yahoo Players According to Our Projections

I'm going to hit you with some tables of notable players with some pretty big discrepancies between our ranks and what you'll see in your Yahoo draft -- which will change as we get closer to the season. That's why you should stay up to date with player updates.

Here are some players at the onesie positions that we think are overvalued based on where you'll find them in your Yahoo draft app.

Notable Overvalued Players Position Yahoo Rank numberFire Rank Difference
Jordan Cameron TE 86 177 -91
Robert Griffin III QB 126 177 -51
Ben Roethlisberger QB 47 94 -47
Rob Gronkowski TE 6 29 -23
Russell Wilson QB 31 53 -22
Tony Romo QB 58 80 -22
Jimmy Graham TE 32 52 -20
Travis Kelce TE 51 69 -18
Andrew Luck QB 15 26 -11


Those are some pretty big names, and it includes the top three tight ends -- Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham, and Travis Kelce. Nothing against those guys, but the importance and replaceability of the position limits their value in this type of league setup.

Same goes for a fair number of high-profile quarterbacks, including Andrew Luck. It's not that we don't see the importance of the quarterback in this setup -- we do, and you'll see two big names who are undervalued by a full round (based on 12-team settings) in just a second -- but the suggested draft slot for a few of these quarterbacks can cause you to miss out on some better picks in the same range.

What about backs and receivers?

Notable Overvalued Players Position Yahoo Rank numberFire Rank Difference
Jay Ajayi RB 134 240 -106
Davante Adams WR 119 157 -38
Giovani Bernard RB 74 100 -26
Allen Robinson WR 67 92 -25
Martavis Bryant WR 48 72 -24
Kelvin Benjamin WR 35 51 -16


Really, it was hard to identify many overvalued players at running back and receiver because these positions are the most vital in this format. This certainly isn't an avoid-at-all-costs list but rather a list of a few unproven players with more question marks than are baked into their Yahoo rank.

We  just don't know as much about Martavis Bryant as we might think. Allen Robinson has plenty of upside but plenty of question marks as well. And now that Kelvin Benjamin isn't the only wide receiver in town, his inefficiencies might get the best of him as a sophomore.

We see them all as top-100 players even with those concerns, but there are also plenty of undervalued receivers you can get at a discount.

Undervalued Yahoo Players According to Our Projections

But first, the tight ends and quarterbacks.

Notable Undervalued Players Position Yahoo Rank numberFire Rank Difference
Heath Miller TE 198 152 46
Matt Ryan QB 61 36 25
Coby Fleener TE 172 148 24
Jason Witten TE 99 77 22
Julius Thomas TE 109 90 19
Matthew Stafford QB 81 63 18
Drew Brees QB 39 23 16
Peyton Manning QB 43 30 13


Oh, look, there's Drew Brees and Peyton Manning to be had at a pretty good price (at least a full round's worth). There are also some staples at tight end who can be had later than they probably should be.

Even if you spend early draft capital on a Brees or Manning -- not really what I'm advising because of FireFactor -- there are some ways to make up for it later in the draft with these types of players.

Notable Undervalued Players Position Yahoo Rank numberFire Rank Difference
Brian Quick WR 146 91 55
Kenny Britt WR 161 110 51
Dwayne Bowe WR 149 98 51
Breshad Perriman WR 147 114 33
Rashad Jennings RB 78 45 33
Chris Ivory RB 96 64 32
Victor Cruz WR 105 74 31
Sammy Watkins WR 66 42 24
DeVante Parker WR 140 119 21
Jeremy Maclin WR 76 55 21
Golden Tate WR 57 43 14
DeSean Jackson WR 50 37 13
Jordy Nelson WR 21 9 12


You can get a piece of the St. Louis Rams passing attack -- sure it's nothing special -- for practically free late in drafts. And if you want a young receiver with upside and opportunity, then check out Breshad Perriman or DeVante Parker who is just as capable.

Oh, plus Jeremy Maclin could be a steal for the second year in a row. And don't be one of the people who are undervaluing Green Bay's Jordy Nelson this season, either.

Hidden Gems

In a lot of draft applications, you can still dig up some funny names to draft at the end of your draft -- like Tim Tebow, though it's not as funny any more. But down in the depths of Yahoo's draft application are a few hidden gems.

Three players inside our top 250 in the 1500-plus range on Yahoo are Markus Wheaton (221st), Devin Funchess (226th), and Matt Jones (246th), who might have an outside shot at third-down duties in Washington. For being ranked 2,081st overall, that's not half bad.