It’s not just who you draft, it’s when you draft them. You’ve probably heard this or some variation 100 times, but it’s definitely true. Fantasy owners really need to be on their toes to guess when their competitors will take a certain player. There are a lot of things that can affect the general perception of a specific player. For instance, if every single “expert” is raving about the same guy as a great target in the middle round, you’re going to have to be very aggressive to pick him up.
Emmanuel Sanders ADP: Why Yahoo! fantasy football ranks him lower than ESPN
Emmanuel Sanders exploded in fantasy football last year. How do the two main sites rank him and where has he been going in drafts?
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Additionally, the platform for your draft is going to affect the average draft position. Not all sites feel exactly the same, so there will be some discrepancy on the ADP. For instance, if Yahoo! ranks Player X at 25 and ESPN ranks him at 75, his ADP on Yahoo! will be much higher than on ESPN. If some sneaky commish wanted to, he could choose his platform based on the rankings alone. If ESPN has his favorite guys higher than Yahoo!, he would want to do it on Yahoo!.
One other thing worth addressing is that ESPN uses two receivers and one flex while Yahoo! uses three receivers and no flex. This has very little impact on the rankings, but it’s just something to think about.
In this edition, we’ll take a look at Denver Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders.
ESPN rank: 27Yahoo! rank: 41Fantasy Football Calculator (FFC) ADP: 33
Manny blew up last season and anyone who drafted him made out like a bandit. As a result, it’s going to cost you a third-round pick in most formats, especially ESPN. Yahoo! is a little lower on him and his ADP is going right now in the middle of these two, which seems about right.
Sanders ranked fifth in the NFL in receiving yards last season, but the Broncos are making a change to their offensive system with head coach Gary Kubiak. Generally, Kubiak focuses more on the run and that may be the case with offensive coordinator Rick Dennison. What’s more, Peyton Manning is a year older, so perhaps he’s less likely to have as much success. Of course, there’s the injury risk, too.
With Carolina Panthers receiver Kelvin Benjamin (ACL) going down, that is going to make Manny more appealing. Both guys were going in the same neighborhood as a third-round pick. If you want Sanders in either platform, you’re likely looking at a pick in the 30-35 range.
