Fantasy Football: Justin Boone's takeaways from the Yahoo Fantasy Expert League Draft

The Yahoo Fantasy Expert League is officially underway! This is an actual league that we'll be competing in this season featuring 12 teams in a half-PPR format with the following roster spots: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, FLEX, DEF, K, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, IR, IR.

Let's dive into how it all played out over 15 rounds.

My Round 1 pick was the most controversial, but we'll get to that in a moment. The only other selection that went against the grain in the opening frame was St. Brown being taken ahead of Smith-Njigba. While that's not the way I'd play it, you can't really argue with the Sun God's consistency as a high-end producer. St. Brown has finished as a top-five fantasy wideout on a per game basis in three straight seasons.

My pick: I knew going into this draft that the top-two running backs would likely be off the board, forcing me to pick between an elite receiver (Chase, Nacua) or reach slightly for the next tier of running back. I was also well aware that in a draft with this crew of sharp analysts, RB values would be tough to come by later on. That led me to go against my rankings in this instance and take Taylor at 1.03. I've said this before, but rankings should be a guide to navigate your draft, not a list that you pick from without thinking. I'm higher than most on JT this season after he was the highest scoring fantasy back through 13 games last year while Daniel Jones was healthy. Getting him in this spot was important, since I'm expecting a major drop off at the position before my next pick at 2.09.

Running backs went off the board early and often here — as they should. The collection of Brown, Hampton, Walker, Achane, Henry and even Jeanty are strong Round 2 selections, regardless of the direction you went with your first pick. The only reason Jeanty fell to 2.08 is due to the questions about his early-season health, coming off the ankle injury in August. The one running back who was a bit of a surprise selection here was Williams, but Team Pianowski again chose a player with an excellent record of consistency. Williams has been a top-10 fantasy RB for three consecutive campaigns.

My pick: My fears about a massive run on RBs in the late first and early second came to fruition, with even Williams being added to that lengthy run. If Jeanty had made it just one more pick, he would have been the name I clicked here, since I'm not overly concerned about his injury status for Week 1. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case and I instead pivoted to my best player available in London. While some people seem concerned about the quarterback situation in Atlanta, let me remind you that London finished as the WR7 in fppg last year. Through 11 weeks, London was the third-highest scoring fantasy WR behind only JSN and Puka — and that was with Michael Penix Jr. serving as the starting QB.

The third round is where things started to get more interesting and strategies began to emerge. Etienne going off the board at the top of the third is a round earlier than his ADP, but I recently made the case for him as an important fantasy target. If you're planning to take a running back in this range, you have to accept that they come with more risk than the top 12 at the position. That's why most managers elected to take receivers, while Team Loeb broke the quarterback seal. Allen is an amazing fantasy asset, but even as a Bills fan I can admit that it's tough to justify a QB this early when there's so much depth at the position. Keep Allen at the 3.07 spot in mind when we discuss some of the QB values in later rounds.

My pick: I considered Javonte Williams here, but ultimately went with Olave. We're starting three receivers in this league and Olave gives me a chance to field two of the top-10 players at the position. He finished as the WR9 in fppg last season, while averaging the sixth-most targets per outing in Kellen Moore's fast-paced offense. We also saw the best version of Olave down the stretch, when he was the second-highest scoring wideout in the fantasy playoffs. Rookie Jordyn Tyson will miss time in the first half of the season, setting Olave up for monster volume once again.

With the current RB landscape, you can make a strong argument for Breece Hall and D'Andre Swift as third-round values. So, seeing them slip to the early fourth round was rough knowing they wouldn't get back to me at the end of the frame. Team Norris is the only roster with three backs through four rounds and it's going to form an impressive core for his starting lineup. However, he's also one of two squads that only has a single receiver so far. The other is Team Loeb, who put himself in a very difficult build with only one RB and one WR in his first four picks. He's facing an uphill battle the rest of the way, given the expected cliff coming at running back and the format featuring three wideouts in the starting lineup.

My pick: I wasn't in love with the value of the RBs in this range and knew I could get one of my WR targets with a future pick, so I spent up on a potential elite TE in Loveland. Though his 713 yards and six touchdowns made for a solid rookie year, his real upside emerged in the second half of the season, when he was the TE5 overall over the final nine weeks. The 22-year-old became a focal point of the Bears' passing attack over his last four outings (including playoffs), posting stat lines of 6-94-1, 10-91-1, 8-137-0 and 4-56-0 — while earning at least 10 targets in each of those contests.

It was a mixed bag in Round 5, with players going off the board at every position. Team Allen getting Jackson as his QB two rounds after Allen is nice value for a player with an equally high ceiling. Team Harmon grabbing a potential elite TE in Warren at 5.08 was one of my favorite picks in this draft. Receivers tend to be my most frequent target in this area, but Round 5 is often the last train out of the station for anyone in search of guaranteed RB volume mixed with upside. Irving, Judkins, Montgomery and Tuten come with red flags (which is why they are fifth-round picks), but all four are solid low-end RB2 options.

My pick: Can you believe I didn't take a running back with this pick? Though I debated scooping up Judkins or Montgomery in this spot, I decided to secure my third receiver in Watson. There will be a few intriguing wideouts selected in the next couple rounds, but Watson showed us what he's capable of last year when he was the WR16 in fppg while suiting up 10 games. I expect the Packers to increase their pass volume this season, while featuring a more condensed receiver depth chart. A healthy Watson has top-12 potential at his position, thanks to his big-play ability and TD scoring.

While the quality of running backs available in Round 6 has declined, the panic is setting in for managers who haven't secured enough talent at the position. If that's not a scenario you want to find yourself in, then make sure you have two or possibly three running backs through the first five frames. There is a flip side to that coin though. Team Norris is on a wild ride that's only resulted in one receiver through the first six rounds. If he can hit on some receivers moving forward, his roster will be tough to beat. But that's a big IF at this point in the draft.

My pick: Even knowing how running-back hungry the Yahoo analysts would be in this draft, I wasn't willing to overpay for my RB2 in the early rounds. Now that I have a solid Hero RB base for my lineup, I will take a shot on a boom-or-bust back in Lloyd. Josh Jacobs' situation is completely up in the air and could play out in many ways. The path that seems most likely to me is Lloyd opening the season as the Packers' starter, with a chance to establish himself as the lead back moving forward — if Jacobs doesn't return. Lloyd has impressed this summer, while finally staying healthy for an extended stretch. Whether he can keep that up during the season remains to be seen, but it's worth noting that he spent months working with the Meyer Institute of Sport in California this offseason in an attempt to solve his durability issues.

It's easy to question the potential for something when we've never seen it happen before, but in the sixth round I'm willing to take a chance on an explosive back who could be on the verge of a breakout.

Round 7 still has plenty of interesting players who could vastly outproduce their draft slots, especially at receiver. Harrison hasn't been as bad as the public perception would have you believe, Tate is an exciting rookie who needs to overcome a bad offense, Sutton always has TD upside, Pierce could be a fantasy WR2 if he gets back to 100%, Wilson is hoping to maintain his late-season momentum, Metcalf is a big-play waiting to happen and Godwin might be the Bucs' No. 1 WR early in the season while his teammates recover from injury. All seven of those wideouts can be solid fantasy WR3/flex options.

My pick: With most of my starting lineup filled out and no tight end or running back values catching my eye here, I took the fifth quarterback in this draft and someone whom I believe can challenge for QB1 overall status in 2026. Hurts is learning a different offense and getting used to some new teammates, but in a four-point passing touchdown league his rushing upside makes him more valuable. Offensive coordinator Sean Mannion has made it clear that the Tush Push isn't going away and Hurts will benefit from the easiest fantasy QB schedule that begins with the Commanders and Titans. As long as his offensive line stays healthy, Hurts will be a difference-maker in this league.

We've entered "Get Your Guys" territory, where managers should be filling out their rosters with the players they believe could vastly outproduce this draft slot. I was hoping to get Stribling or one of the running backs here (Croskey-Merritt, Mason, Dowdle), but other managers wisely scooped them up before I got back on the clock. Stribling is the exact kind of receiver that could turn Team Norris into a juggernaut if he hits. He's managed to backfill his WR room with Higgins, Metcalf and Stribling — and he's not done yet.

My pick: With all those names I mentioned above flying off the board before my pick, it left me in a spot where there were no values I wanted to draft at RB or WR. Instead, I took a different approach and chose a player I know will be more valuable than an eighth round pick in Kittle. We still don't know if Kittle will be active for the 49ers' opener in Australia (he's traveling with the team), but it's possible. If he sits out, we'll almost surely see him in Week 2. Let me remind everyone, Kittle has finished as a top-three fantasy TE in per game scoring seven of the last eight years. You don't win your league in the draft, you win it by drafting well and then managing your roster during the season. Kittle now gives me some trade options down the road. If he returns to form, I could deal Kittle or Loveland away for an upgrade elsewhere in my lineup. Though it's unconventional and takes some imagination, I will turn one of these tight ends into a quality RB or WR starter.

Quarterbacks have started to get selected more frequently in the last few rounds, with Prescott and Herbert joining the party in this frame. Being able to get a player like Prescott, who was the QB7 last year averaging 20.2 fppg in the ninth round, makes taking Allen (QB1 with 23.4 fppg) in Round 3 hard to justify. Herbert also has top-five upside with Mike McDaniel taking over as the Chargers OC.

My pick: Part of me wishes I had taken Jacobs here to guarantee I would have the Packers' starting running back no matter what happens. However, there were still too many useful options to roll the dice on a player who might not play at all in 2026. Instead I went with Gainwell, who is an underrated asset capable of offering weekly RB3/flex value as the Buccaneers' 1B back next to Irving. We also saw Gainwell's potential in Pittsburgh last year. In the four games where Gainwell saw at least 15 touches for the Steelers, he posted 134 yards and two TDs in the first, 105 yards in the second, 122 yards in the third and 126 yards in the fourth. If Irving misses time again, Gainwell will immediately be in the conversation as a top-15 fantasy back.

As much as it pains me to write it, Team Norris and Team Loeb did a good job filling out their receiver depth charts in the middle rounds. Norris ended up with Higgins, Metcalf, Stribling, Pittman and Diggs, while Loeb got Adams, Odunze, Pierce and Lemon. The bigger concern for Team Loeb will be his RB2 spot (Warren/JCM), so he'll likely be battling with me for the early-season waiver wire backs that emerge.

My pick: It's unknown when Tyson will return from his latest hamstring injury, but it won't be before October. The summer reports out of New Orleans were emphatic enough about his potential that even if he misses the first half of the season, I want him on my roster when he does return. This also insulates me against an injury to Olave at some point during the year. I can also stash Tyson away on IR for the opening month and pick up another late-round bench stash of waivers.

Here's how the rest of the draft unfolded, as managers took shots on late-round sleepers while also selecting their kickers and defenses.