2026 Fantasy Football ADP: Exploiting Default Rankings on Yahoo

With the NFL preseason underway, RotoWire's experts are here to help you win redraft leagues with platform-specific strategy for Yahoo, ESPN and Sleeper.

The first article in this series explained how ADP-based default rankings on Sleeper set up pockets of value at each position, including Round 2 at RB, Round 4 at WR and Round 8 at QB (in 12-team leagues).

We'll now do the same for Yahoo, comparing their default rankings (xRanks) against an average of Underdog ADP (best ball) and my half-PPR ranks (pro-Raiders propaganda). We're leaving out high-stakes data, because all of the major platforms use full PPR as a default, whereas Yahoo's fantasy setup defaults to half PPR.

After the position breakdowns, you'll find a couple of my mock drafts that illustrate what I'm talking about in regard to adapting strategy to league settings. At the very bottom of the article, you can find all the ADP and xRank data discussed within.

If you haven't already, I highly recommend checking out Ian Hartitz's round-by-round strategy guide for Yahoo. He gets into the "if this, then that" type of strategy that helps us make backup plans for our backup plans.

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Yahoo-Specific Considerations

Default Yahoo Settings:

• Half-PPR.
• 1QB, 2RB, 2WR, 1TE, 1FLEX, 1K, 1DST.
  • The two-WR, one-FLEX default can have a big impact on strategy if we're accustomed to leagues where we can start up to four WRs (three WR slots + a FLEX).

Among the popular redraft platforms, Yahoo has the sharpest default ranks, listing players in an order that's not too different from ADP in high-stakes or best-ball drafts. The ranks are updated semi-regularly by Yahoo's highly regarded team of experts. As a result, ADP also tends to be sharper on Yahoo (though the numbers matter less because players aren't listed in order of said ADP when we open up draft rooms).

On ESPN or Sleeper, we'll often find ourselves looking at default ranks/ADPs that appear badly outdated or otherwise questionable.

There's a lot less of that on Yahoo, and yet we'll still find plenty of ways to exploit the default ranks below.

I'd even argue that Yahoo's default ranks may be too similar to ADPs from best ball and high stakes contests, unless our league nixes the default settings in favor of three WRs and full PPR. When we can only start a maximum of three WRs — instead of three being the minimum — it can impact strategy at all points in a draft due to associated opportunity costs. The distinction between full PPR and half PPR also has major implications.

Once we factor in some reasonable RB prices on Yahoo, there's a strong argument for a RB-heavy strategy that brings me a bit out of my comfort zone.

Quarterbacks

The Yahoo ranks put most QB1s about 5-8 picks earlier than where they go on Underdog. My personal rankings are more mixed, but it's generally the same idea; I rank most of the starting QBs later than where the Yahoo default puts them.

The obvious reaction — a late-round QB strategy — has an awful lot of merit, but I do think there are other ways to attack the position on Yahoo. 

Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott and Trevor Lawrence have reasonable default ranks relative to the other QB1s, making them strong picks in drafts where they slip even a little.

In drafts that roughly follow the Y! Ranks, there's a clear bucket of QBs that we want to avoid: Drake Maye, Joe Burrow, Jayden Daniels and Jalen Hurts. 

Nothing against those guys — all should be solid fantasy starters — but we can probably get 95% of their production a few rounds later or 92-94% of the production with a late-round platoon. I know a lot of best-ball drafters feel the same way on Underdog, but the prices there are better for taking a shot on Maye/Burrow/Daniels/Hurts.

The late-round QB strategy sets up nicely on Yahoo, especially in deeper leagues where we need to start three WRs and/or multiple FLEXs (or are playing with 14 teams).

If that's not your cup of tea, there's also another pocket where we can expect to find decent value...

Best Buys 👍

• QB Trevor Lawrence (Y!Rank: 82, +3.3)
• QB Dak Prescott (Y! 83, +5.8)

The Yahoo ranks for these two are very similar to the Underdog ADPs, placing both around the 7/8 turn in 12-team leagues. I still lean toward the late-round QB strategy, but I can make an exception if one of my preferred low-end QB1s (Prescott/Lawrence) is still available in the mid-to-late 80s.

I'm not opposed to Josh Allen — he's bounced between the low 20s and mid-20s of my ranks — but I do worry about falling behind at RB/WR if I take him in relatively deep leagues (or in leagues where I already drafted TE Brock Bowers).

In most cases, I'd only take Allen, Lawrence or Prescott when they last at least a few picks past the Yahoo default rank. If that doesn't happen, I'll happily wait until Round 10+ to draft one or two of these QBs:

• QB Patrick Mahomes (Y! 111 , +5.7)
• QB Jared Goff (Y! 115 , +2.5)
• QB Jordan Love (Y! 127 , +5.3)
• QB Baker Mayfield (Y! 130 , +3.4)
• QB Tyler Shough (Y! 133.8 ,+5.0)

I can't say I'm a Shough believer, but the price is right if you are. I'd rather go more boring (Mahomes/Goff) or more exciting (Malik Willis, Kyler Murray). Note that Willis and Murray are also decent values on Yahoo, and the supposedly risky profile isn't actually that big of a risk if we're drafting two QBs or playing in a league where waiver options tend to be pretty good.

• QB Sam Darnold (Y! 154, +12.4)

If you somehow totally whiff on the position, Darnold can be a competent worst-case scenario survival handbook. He probably won't maintain last year's pace in terms of YPA, but he's a strong candidate for both positive TD regression and a bump in passing volume. I wish I'd been quicker to accept that Darnold is actually a pretty good real-life QB now.

Running Backs

The margins here aren't large, but I was nonetheless surprised to see the number of cases (highlighted below) in which my personal half-PPR ranks and Underdog ADP both were more optimistic than the Yahoo defaults for a given running back:

Best Buys 👍

• RB Derrick Henry (Y! 19, +4.5)

As much as I love Brock Bowers and Nico Collins, they're not quite justification for passing on Henry in mid-to-late Round 2 of a half-PPR format. Any chance to draft Henry in the late teens or early 20s should be jumped on, even if it means sacrificing our pre-draft plans. I'm usually not the biggest fan of RB-RB starts, but a half-PPR team anchored by Henry and Christian McCaffrey offers a ceiling that's well worth chasing.

• RB Breece Hall (Y! 33, +3.5)
• RB Javonte Williams (Y! 37 , +2.2)

Like most other best-ball fanatics, I prefer to draft WRs in this ADP range. But I've come around on some of the RBs, especially if we're talking half-PPR instead of full PPR. If we also add the impact of only having two WR spots in any of these Yahoo leagues, Hall suddenly looks like massive steal in the early-to-mid 30s. My enthusiasm for Williams is somewhat lesser, but I'll buy in occasionally if he's still available in the late 30s or early 40s.

• RB Cam Skattebo (Y! 46, +3.2)
• RB David Montgomery (Y! 53 , +12.8)
• RB Bucky Irving (Y! 59, +7.9)
• RB Jadarian Price (Y! 66, +5.1)
• RB Jaylen Warren (Y! 73, +4.3)

Your RB Dead Zone is my discount superstore. Montgomery is one of my universal 2026 draft targets, but the others listed here are price-based plays with Yahoo default ranks at least a few spots below their Underdog ADPs. At cost, Irving is my favorite of the group besides Monty. And I'll never put up much of an argument against Jaylen Warren, who is a much better real-life player than Rico Dowdle.

It feels weird to draft multiple RBs in this range, given my home league strategy of past years, but it really does set up nicely from a value standpoint, especially when we're picking in the later part of the so-called dead zone rather than risking a pick in the third round or early fourth.

• RB Jonathon Brooks (Y! 90, +7.9)

Brooks was already moving up in all rankings and ADP data before the announcement of Chuba Hubbard's hamstring injury. In other words, Brooks should soon be a top-80 pick pretty much everywhere across the fantasy industry

It's a fun situation, as he's a second-round pick with very clear opportunity ahead (even before the Hubbard injury). People have strong opinions about the player himself, but the truth is that he played fewer than 600 college snaps, two ACL tears ago, so any tape-based conviction should be met with a large saltshaker. And yet, I kind of like the price?

Wide Receivers

This is supposed to be the promised land for any comparison of redraft default ranks vs. ADPs from best ball or high stakes leagues. That's still the case on Sleeper and ESPN, for the most part, but on Yahoo we'll find better positional balance in terms of where value emerges. 

Given that reality, let's focus on WRs from the same ADP range as most of the RBs evaluated above:

Best Buys 👍   

• WR A.J. Brown (Y! 23, +3.1)

Yahoo's rankers have Drake London six spots ahead of A.J. Brown, but Brown is 2.3 picks ahead of London for Underdog ADP. Unfortunately, I'm a coward with no conviction here. I've generally found Brown to be overpriced across much of the fantasy industry, but he's a good enough pick at the 2-3 turn if he actually makes it there.

• WR Malik Nabers (Y! 31, +6.2) 
• WR Zay Flowers (Y! 32, +4.8)

Rashee Rice and Emeka Egbuka are also relative values on Yahoo, but I think the Yahoo rankers have it right and the UD drafters have it wrong. If you disagree with me, there's a good chance you can get favorable prices on Rice/Egbuka on Yahoo.

Otherwise, the debate between Flowers and Nabers is an interesting one. Flowers is a not-quite superstar who seems to have everything lining up perfectly for a career year. Nabers is a very-much superstar who has a slew of surrounding factors working against him. Get your popcorn ready!

• WR Tetairoa McMillan (Y! 41, +3.3)
• WR Ladd McConkey (Y! 42, +5.5)

These prices on McMillan and McConkey could make it tough for me to click an RB like Skattebo or D'Andre Swift in Round 4, even in leagues where I have a WR-heavy start or only need to fill out two WR slots. That said, I don't think McConkey will actually last into the 40s in any of my leagues. McMillan might, especially after the Darren Waller signing added a bit of target competition.

• WR Jameson Williams (Y! 58, +7.1)
• WR Parker Washington (Y! 63, +4.6)
• WR Carnell Tate (Y! 68, +6.9)
• WR Brian Thomas (Y! 70, +8.9)
• WR Jordyn Tyson (Y! 76, +13.5)

I haven't drafted Jameson Williams much this year, but a half-PPR format with a late-R5 price is the right place to take him for a spin. If not Jamo, there's no shortage of WR value in the middle rounds. That's another reason I find myself leaning a bit more toward the RBs in Rounds 3-5, relative to both past years and other platforms.

I'd also argue that Williams isn't as much of a "better in best ball" guy as people think. The guys that truly meet that criteria are the ones who have job security but are unlikely to average enough points to merit a lineup spot. Williams averages enough points to merit starting; there's just some frustration in terms of week-to-week consistency (which is highly overrated in any case, given that the variance of an entire team/lineup isn't actually impacted much by increased/decreased variance from a single input among the 9-10 lineup spots). I still greatly prefer Sam LaPorta, at cost, but Williams is a strong pick in his own right at this price.

• WR Quentin Johnston (Y! 85, +8.4)
• WR Jayden Reed (Y! 98, +17.3)
• WR Courtland Sutton (Y! 100, +5.3)
• WR Makai Lemon (Y! 102, +19.9)
• WR Matthew Golden (Y! 114 ,+14.6)
• WR Xavier Worthy (Y! 121, +17.5)
• WR Wan'Dale Robinson (Y! 126, + 11.4)
• WR KC Concepcion (Y! 128, +13.6)

The key thing to note here is that WR depth matters less in redraft than in best ball. That's especially true if our league only requires two WR starters. I'm not saying these guys are bad picks, but it'll often make sense to draft QB/RB/TE in this range anyway, inter-site price comparison be damned.   

• WR Denzel Boston (Y! 163, +26.1)

Ian Hartitz's recent article on Yahoo strategy correctly points out that we don't usually want to be drafting WRs in the final few rounds. Boston is my exception, at least for now. A buzzy camp is causing his price to rise, and he may eventually land in the same range as guys like Robinson and Concepcion above.

Tight Ends

(Full ADP chart is at the bottom of this article).

Best Buys 👍

• TE Brock Bowers (Y! 21, +3.1)

It's often the case that high prices at the onesie positions (QB/TE) don't apply to the very top or very bottom of the totem pole, instead hitting the middle hard. That's certainly the case when we compare Yahoo default ranks to ADP from Underdog. The conclusion, as always, is that it's a good idea to draft Brock Bowers. I especially want him in shallow leagues where there's not much concern about running out of viable starting options at RB and WR.

You won't find much else to like at tight end when comparing Yahoo prices to Underdog:

Mock Draft Time - 2WR vs. 3WR on Yahoo

Below I'll use RotoWire's customizable Mock Draft tool to show the difference between how I might draft for a league with two WR spots vs. a league with three WR spots.

Given my findings above, I thought it would be most instructive if I essentially forced myself to take a WR in the first round (by picking from the fourth spot and making the conventional pick: Puka Nacua). Instead of doing an RB-heavy build, I'll show how I want to play the position from a draft position that makes it challenging.

I prefer teams that open with Gibbs/Bijan/McCaffrey, but it's the situations we don't prefer that require more planning, right? Opening with Nacua or Ja'Marr Chase sets up a series of interesting decisions, whereas opening with Gibbs or Bijan feels like playing on easy mode.

The teams I ended up drafting are similar, but you can see with the two-WR build how a couple of key decisions shift toward TE or RB instead of a wide receiver in the early rounds. Namely, I took TE Brock Bowers in Round 2 and RB David Montgomery in Round 4, whereas both of those spots went to wide receivers (Nico Collins & Luther Burden) in the three-WR draft.

Collins and Burden are still perfectly good picks with two WR spots available, but it didn't really make sense to take both of them in the first draft when I already had Puka and also had a long list of breakout WRs that I like in the middle rounds. 

With Nacua, Collins and Burden on my roster, I'd have already filled out both WR spots and the FLEX spot, which brings about the threat of diminished returns for any additional WR picks (because they could end up stuck on the bench even if they perform well).

The end product is two very similar teams, only one has Parker Washington as the WR2 and the other has him as WR4. (I probably should've drafted another WR instead of Rodriguez/Tracy on the second team, but I do genuinely like both teams otherwise).

Full ADP Chart for Yahoo Comparison