As summer approaches, fantasy football enthusiasts gear up for the most exciting time of the year: draft season. Whether you’re in a relaxed re-draft league, a competitive dynasty league, or anything in between, ESPN Fantasy is your go-to source for dominating your drafts. This Fantasy Draft Guide is designed to be your comprehensive resource, providing all the essential tools and expert insights you need to make winning picks in every fantasy football draft.
We’ve compiled our top-tier content to ensure you’re fully prepared. This guide includes everything from detailed rankings and customizable cheat sheets to in-depth player projections and realistic mock drafts tailored for various league formats. You’ll also find crucial information on sleepers and busts, along with invaluable tips and strategies from our seasoned team of fantasy football analysts.
Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a rookie to fantasy football, we’ve got you covered. Our resources are designed to empower you with the knowledge and confidence to draft a championship-caliber team right from the start. Let’s dive into the essential components of your fantasy draft guide:
Essential Fantasy Football Draft Tools: Cheat Sheets, Projections, and Depth Charts
To kick off your draft preparation, these tools are indispensable:
- Cheat Sheet Central: Customize and print cheat sheets tailored to your league’s scoring format (PPR, standard, etc.). This is your central hub for draft day cheat sheets.
- 2024 Projections: Leverage Mike Clay’s detailed player projections across all fantasy positions, sortable by various statistical categories. Essential for understanding player performance expectations.
- Depth Charts: Stay informed on team lineups and potential player opportunities with the latest offensive and defensive depth charts:
Understanding depth charts provides a crucial edge in identifying potential breakout players and handcuff running backs during your fantasy draft.
Fantasy Football Rankings: Expert Consensus and Tiers
Rankings are the backbone of any solid fantasy draft guide. Here’s where to find the best:
- 2024 Rankings Hub: Explore a variety of rankings to match your league style, including staff consensus rankings by position, superflex rankings, IDP (Individual Defensive Player) rankings, dynasty rankings, and individual expert overall lists.
- Mike Clay’s “The 192”: Get a curated list of the top 192 players for 12-team leagues, organized into tiers to help you understand player value and draft strategy.
Knowing where player value drops off is just as important as overall rankings. Tier-based rankings help visualize draft strategy.
- Position-Specific Tiers (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Dig deeper into positional value with tier-based rankings:
ESPN+ logo indicating content requiring subscription access, emphasizing premium fantasy football resources.
Mock Drafts: Practice Makes Perfect for Your Fantasy Draft
Mock drafts are crucial for refining your draft strategy. Our fantasy draft guide includes a wide array of mock draft resources:
- The Mock Draft Project: Expert 10-Team PPR Mock Draft Results: Analyze results from over 30 expert mock drafts to understand average draft positions (ADP) and draft trends.
- The Mock Draft Project: Insights and Analysis: Gain valuable takeaways and analysis from numerous mock drafts to inform your own draft strategy.
- More Mock Drafts: Participate in or review a variety of mock drafts across different league sizes and formats:
Participating in mock drafts allows you to test different strategies, understand player flow, and identify value picks, making you more confident on draft day.
Expert Fantasy Football Advice and Analysis
Beyond rankings and mock drafts, expert analysis is vital in a fantasy draft guide. Here’s where to find it:
- NFL Nation: Position Battles, Usage, and Injuries: Stay updated on key NFL training camp developments that directly impact fantasy value, including position battles and injury updates.
- Don’t Be Surprised If…: 2024 Fantasy Predictions: Get bold predictions for the upcoming season to help you identify potential outperformers and undervalued players in your fantasy draft.
- Dopp: Players with Skyrocketing Draft Stock: Discover which players are rising up draft boards and why, helping you understand market trends and potential draft values.
- Loza’s Facts vs. Feelings: Draft or Pass: Get data-driven advice on whether to draft or pass on debated players like Kyler Murray and Puka Nacua.
- Schefter’s Cheat Sheet: Value Picks and Sleepers (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Adam Schefter’s insights on sleeper picks and value players to target in later rounds.
Image of ESPN analyst Adam Schefter, representing expert fantasy football advice and sleeper picks for the 2024 draft season.
- Bowen: Matt’s 2024 Draft Targets (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Matt Bowen highlights his favorite draft targets and value picks for the 2024 season.
- Yates: Field’s Favorites for 2024 (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Field Yates shares his must-draft players and favorite targets for the upcoming season.
- Staff: “Must-Have” Players Outside Early Rounds: Identify crucial players to target in the mid-to-late rounds of your draft.
- Clay’s Ultimate Draft Board: Perfect Pick for Each Round (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Mike Clay provides round-by-round draft pick suggestions to optimize your draft strategy.
- Staff: Sleepers, Busts, and Breakouts: A comprehensive guide to sleepers, potential busts to avoid, and breakout candidates for 2024.
- Cockcroft: Deep Sleepers for 2024: Uncover hidden gems in deep leagues with deep sleeper picks.
- Bowen: ‘Have Skills, Need Opportunity’ Team (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Identify players poised for breakouts based on skill and potential opportunity.
- Moody: My Favorite Draft Targets: Joe Moody shares his personal favorite draft targets and why they are valuable.
- Dopp: Top Late-Round, High-Upside Picks: Focus on high-upside players to target in the later rounds of redraft and best ball leagues.
- Karabell: “Do Draft” List (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Eric Karabell highlights undervalued players you should be targeting in your drafts.
- Karabell: “Do Not Draft” List (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Learn which players to avoid drafting based on potential risks and overvaluation.
- Loza: “Drumbeat” Players Generating Fantasy Buzz: Identify players gaining momentum and generating positive buzz in the fantasy community.
- Field Pass: Top Storylines, Rookies, Sleepers (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Get a preview of key fantasy storylines, top rookies, and sleeper candidates.
- Clay: Players Who Will Score More TDs in 2024 (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Target players projected to increase their touchdown production in 2024.
- Clay: Players Who Will Score Fewer TDs in 2024 (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Identify players likely to regress in touchdown scoring.
- Loza: Six Breakout Players for 2024: Discover potential breakout players who could exceed expectations.
- Bowen: Love Leads All-Upside Team (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Focus on players with significant upside and potential to outperform their draft position.
- Moody: Best Backups for Top RBs: Identify crucial handcuff running backs to protect your investments in top RBs.
- Dopp: Players Set for Greater Opportunity: Target players expected to see increased playing time and opportunity.
- Bowen: Five Teams Destined for Rushing Success (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Identify teams projected to have strong rushing attacks, benefiting their running backs and offensive players.
- Clay’s Sleeper Watch: This Year’s Puka Nacua? (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Search for potential surprise breakout players akin to Puka Nacua from last season.
- Dopp: Draft or Pass on Age-30+ Players: Strategize around drafting older players and assess their risk vs. reward.
- Cockcroft: What 2023 Stats Tell Us About 2024: Utilize past season stats to inform your 2024 draft decisions.
- Clay/Yates: Eight Storylines Defining 2024 Fantasy Season: Understand the key narratives and trends shaping the 2024 fantasy football season.
- Walder: Key Metric for WR Draft Decisions (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Utilize receiver tracking metrics to make informed decisions on drafting wide receivers.
- Bowen: Rookies with Immediate Fantasy Potential: Identify rookies who are expected to contribute immediately in fantasy football.
- Loza: Rodgers, Cousins Health Impact on Playmakers: Assess how quarterback health affects the fantasy value of surrounding players on the Jets and Falcons.
- Clay/Yates: Eight Breakout Players to Watch (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Get an early look at potential breakout players for the 2024 season.
- Karabell: Bounce-Back Candidates for 2024: Identify players poised for a rebound season after underperforming in the previous year.
- Loza: Ten Most Impactful Offseason Moves: Understand how key offseason transactions impact player value and team dynamics.
Individual Player Analysis for Draft Insights
Deep dives into individual players are crucial for making informed draft decisions. Our fantasy draft guide provides player-specific analysis:
- Karabell: Fields vs. Wilson (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Analyze the fantasy outlook for Justin Fields and Russell Wilson and their quarterback battle.
- Loza: Texans’ WR Trio Valuation: Understand how to value the Texans’ receiving corps of Diggs, Collins, and Dell in drafts.
- Karabell: Caleb Williams’ Star Potential (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Assess the immediate fantasy impact and star potential of rookie QB Caleb Williams.
Image highlighting rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and his potential impact on fantasy football, emphasizing early-career star trajectory.
- Karabell: Ezekiel Elliott Overlooked (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Discover why Ezekiel Elliott might be a valuable sleeper pick being currently overlooked in drafts.
- Moody: Falcons’ Offense Confidence: Evaluate the fantasy confidence level in the Atlanta Falcons’ offense led by Kirk Cousins.
- Loza: RBs on New Teams – Thrive or Dive?: Analyze the fantasy prospects of running backs like Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs on their new teams.
Fantasy Football Draft Strategy Guides
A solid strategy is as important as player knowledge. Our fantasy draft guide includes strategic resources:
- Clay’s Playbook: Strategy and Tips: Mike Clay’s comprehensive playbook for draft strategy, waiver wire management, and trade tips to win your league.
- Cockcroft: Best Draft Strategy – Zero RB, Hero RB, Elite QB?: Explore and compare different draft strategies like Zero RB, Hero RB, and drafting an elite quarterback early.
- Cockcroft: Drafting and Streaming D/STs: Learn the best approach for drafting and streaming defenses (D/ST) in fantasy football.
- Staff: Biggest Draft-Day Conundrums: Address and solve the most common draft-day dilemmas and questions.
- Kraemer: How to Play Best Ball Fantasy Football (ESPN+ Subscription Required): Understand the rules and strategies for playing best ball fantasy football.
- Moody: Dynasty Trade Targets: Get insights into players to trade for and away in dynasty fantasy football leagues.
- Positional Overviews: Get a brief strategy preview for each key position:
Injury Updates: Staying Ahead of the Curve
Injury information is critical for draft preparation. Our fantasy draft guide includes:
- Bell’s Injury Outlook for 2024: Get a detailed injury report for players recovering from major injuries like Achilles tears and ACL injuries, including prospects for Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, and more.
New Features in ESPN Fantasy Game for 2024
Enhance your fantasy experience with new platform features:
- New ESPN Fantasy Game Features in 2024: Explore the latest updates to the ESPN Fantasy platform, including an improved draft experience and new league management options.
This fantasy draft guide is your all-in-one destination for fantasy football draft domination in 2024. Utilize these resources, stay informed, and draft your way to a championship!
