Fantasy Football: 5 Players Undervalued on ESPN

You shouldn't go into a fantasy football draft with just players you like and players you don't at certain draft positions.

Which site you draft on also matters.

A vast majority of fantasy football managers aren't diehard zealots with their own individual rankings and in-depth knowledge of where a player should be valued on any platform. When on the clock, the masses are likely to peruse the top of the site-generated draft rankings. I do that exact thing a lot of the time when it's my turn to pick -- even as someone who does this for a living. It's hard for most of us to reach all the way down 15 spots lower than the pre-draft rankings on a given website, especially if there's not much time given to pick.

That's why knowing a player is vastly under-ranked on a given platform can be such a huge advantage. At any point in a round, you can scoop up a player most of your leaguemates won't consider for another 10 picks. It's easy value to find, which is the name of the game in fantasy football.

In a three-part series, I'm going to take a look at the predraft rankings of three of globe's largest fantasy football platforms and see where their consensus rankings differ the most compared to the rest of the fantasy football community.

This piece will focus on ESPN's fantasy football platform. Yahoo's undervalued players and Sleeper's undervalued players are also available.

Note: A player's expert consensus ranking (ECR) comes from FantasyPros' expert consensus rankings data. The ECR used for Sleeper Ranking and FantasyPros is for half-PPR scoring.

Undervalued Players on ESPN's Fantasy Football Platform

Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins

ESPN Ranking: 39th (WR21)
ECR: 24th (WR15)

Especially in PPR or half-PPR settings, the first thing to know about ESPN is that just about every running back is overvalued on this platform relative to consensus, inviting a "Zero RB" or "Hero RB" build if I've ever seen a particular site do so.

For instance, ESPN's RB10 is ranked 19th overall in their flex rankings. The RB10 is 38th overall on FantasyPros' consensus ranks.

The early-round wide receiver most buried as a result of this might be Jaylen Waddle. Waddle is one of my favorite third-round targets on most sites, but he quite often slips to the early fourth round on ESPN with a pre-draft ranking of 39th.

The former Alabama Crimson Tide star was sixth in yards per route run (YPRR) last year, demonstrating elite talent despite game scripts and injuries limiting his route participation (73.6%) overall compared to game's best wideouts. A worse version of the Dolphins' defense -- and fewer than 28 rushing TDs on offense -- could help him have more of a presence in potential South Beach shootouts.

Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns

ESPN Ranking: 67th (WR31)
ECR: 43rd (WR24)

Amari Cooper on ESPN tied a running back on Sleeper for the most undervalued player I found doing all three of these pieces.

Cooper is going 24 spots lower in their overall flex rankings than he's showing on FantasyPros' consensus ranks. In a tier with Malik Nabers and Stefon Diggs in most rankings, he's closer to Chris Godwin, Keenan Allen, and Jayden Reed on ESPN.

Finding a player like this is exactly why I wanted to do this project because, Cooper is someone I'm not super into this season -- for the most part. The Browns added former first-round pick Jerry Jeudy alongside David Njoku and Elijah Moore, creating plenty of traffic for a passing offense that was not exactly good with Deshaun Watson last season.

As mentioned in Deshaun Watson's fantasy football outlook, the oft-maligned QB posted -0.20 expected points added per drop back (EPA/db), per NFL's NextGenStats, as a whole -- even if that did improve slightly in the weeks before a season-ending shoulder injury.

Even with all of that under consideration, Cooper is still a talented top target for this offense. He's living proof that every player in fantasy football makes sense at a certain draft capital -- and ESPN is too low on him.

Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers

ESPN Ranking: 78th (RB27)
ECR: 74th (RB23)

Finding an RB undervalued on ESPN was an arduous task, but they're bailing on Najee Harris despite Harris' best environment to work since his rookie season.

Najee should be heavily deployed by new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who had the league's highest rushing rate over expectation last year with the Atlanta Falcons. Smith's goal-line antics in Atlanta aside, there's minimal doubt it'll be No. 22 in scoring range.

I'm not sure Russell Wilson or Justin Fields give Smith what he needs to open up this passing game, either. Nonetheless, both quarterbacks have carried fantasy-relevant RBs in the past, which might be hidden by the fact that the previous teams for both QBs leaned on a committee backfield a year ago.

Though the "overall ranking" value isn't too different, I believe that these rankings have dropped Harris from his correct tier around Zamir White and D'Andre Swift to a much lower tier with Tyjae Spears. Heck, even Jaylen Warren -- limited by size as his teammate -- is ranked above him. That's simply the wrong order for this Steelers running back duo when Smith authored 14 rushing scores a year ago.

However, this could all change with news of Warren suffering a hamstring injury. If Warren is set to miss time to open the year, Harris' stock will rise.

Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears

ESPN Ranking: 131st (QB12)
ECR: 88th (QB14)

Beyond the running back inflation, another key thing to note with ESPN leagues is the ridiculous inflation of top defenses and kickers to "fill out your roster." Do yourself a favor and wait as long as possible on either of those.

As a result, it's knocked some quarterbacks and tight ends into ridiculous overall rankings, and that includes a QB I'd generally be thrilled to nab in the top 100. Caleb Williams is a special talent who deserves a pick in those spots.

My colleague, Austan Kas, dubbed Williams the ideal late-round quarterback, and I agree. Most elite signal-callers are too highly ranked by ESPN, and if you miss one, you can wait to scoop up Williams, Trevor Lawrence, or Tua Tagovailoa outside the first 10 rounds.

Williams' 2023 season with the USC Trojans was a bit of a letdown, but he cemented his status as the 2024 NFL Draft's top pick in a 2022 Heisman campaign where he posted 9.1 passing yards per attempt (YPA) and 47 total touchdowns. He put up at least 375 rushing yards in each of his first two college seasons before making a business decision in the third, so discount his ability to scamper at your own peril.

I'd feel entirely comfortable with Williams as my top quarterback in single-QB or superflex formats. ESPN lets you load up on a boatload of skill players before you'd need to nab Williams.

Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles

ESPN Ranking: 135th (TE13)
ECR: 103rd (TE11)

At tight end, Dallas Goedert is a similar position to Williams, but he's also behind a couple of key names at a position that's arguably got the most clear "tiering" among consensus.

Goedert drops behind Brock Bowers and T.J. Hockenson in ESPN's rankings when both have significant questions in terms of offensive efficiency this season due to the quarterback play in their offenses. Even rating Bowers as a superior talent, it's pretty hard to turn away from Goedert as a big-bodied target in an offense that is third-likeliest to lead the NFL in scoring (+750), per FanDuel Sportsbook's NFL scoring special odds.

There's room to grow for him with Kellen Moore calling plays this season. Moore's Los Angeles Chargers had the seventh-highest pass rate over expectation (0.7%) in 2023, and Jason Kelce's retirement could always result in fewer red zone trips ending in a "tush push" for the Birds. It's not like Goedert's 9.7 FPPG in PPR formats last season are a poor starting point, either.

My colleague Skyler Carlin proclaimed Goedert one of his favorite late-round tight end targets, and he can be had even later than normal on ESPN.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.