Death Leagues are back at Yahoo Fantasy, and I’m pumped. It’s one of my favorite formats. Survive and advance, baby.
A Death League is a format where one team gets eliminated every week — the lowest-scoring team. So all you have to do is outscore one team a week and you move along. This means that Death Leagues are often about floor early. You don’t have to hit a home run, just get on base.
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Of course the other hook of Death Leagues is that the entire roster of each eliminated team hits the waiver wire every week. So the managers that survive are going to field All-Star teams by the second half of the year. We can dream about that upside later, of course. All that matters now is securing a safe foundation for September.
The spirit of this format plays to my fantasy strength, I suppose. I like “Play for Today” picks, and I often talk about the aim to play fantasy football with a microscope (focus on what’s immediately in front of us) as opposed to a telescope (target things in the distant future). I also don't mind making floor a more significant scouting factor.
Here are some players I’ll be targeting for my Death League drafts.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Lions
The Sun God has been Mr. Consistency in the NFL, durable and productive. His last four seasons are almost too good to be true, an average return of 155 targets, 114 catches, 1,335 yards and 9.8 touchdowns. He had nine or more targets in 12 different games last week.
The Lions offer continuity on offense, an indoor-heavy schedule and a relatively weak slate of opponents. Detroit’s Week 6 bye is pesky for Death League managers — we’d prefer a later-season option — but St. Brown is still a destination pick in the first round, perhaps even over Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
TL/DR: Consistent player, high-volume, perfect schedule (minus the bye week).
Omarion Hampton, RB, Chargers
Like many of you, I’ve spent the summer trying to draft into Mike McDaniel’s LAC offense. Hampton is an appealing way to check that box. He starts the season with three delightful run-defense matchups (Cardinals, Raiders, Bills), and the Chargers should be heavy favorites in the first two games, which are at home. We love dialing up a running back who should be playing with a lead.
TL/DR: Environment and early-season schedule make Hampton a proactive pick.
Jalen Hurts, QB, Eagles
The Eagles offense is getting a fresh coat of paint, so I understand anyone who wants to keep early expectations measured. But Hurts also has a dream schedule to start — Commanders, Titans, Bears — and I want a piece of that. We also like mobile quarterbacks in any fantasy format, and they’re especially useful in Death Leagues because they’re starting with a higher floor. The rushing backboard must be respected.
TL/DR: Soft schedule early, rushing chops present high floor.
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Tyler Warren, TE, Colts
I can’t say enough about how much I want to be chasing targets at the pass-catching spots, as those high-volume players are going to increase your chances of advancing. Warren was third among tight ends in targets last year, and he could easily bump that total given the current shape of the Indianapolis offense (Michael Pittman Jr. is gone, Alec Pierce is in limbo). The Colts also have a Week 13 bye, a delicious boost in this format.
TL/DR: Target-earning talent on escalator, has a path to being Indy’s No. 1 downfield option.
Chase Brown, RB, Bengals
There isn’t a format where I’m not thrilled to draft Brown, but let’s also include him here. Game scripts don’t matter to Brown because the Bengals will use him in all packages. Once he found his footing in 2025, he was absurdly consistent, finishing as the RB20 or better in his final 11 games. Brown does face Houston in Week 2 and there’s a Week 6 bye to contend with, but I still view him as a perfect second-round pick in any format.
TL/DR: Consistent three-down back tied to a Carnival team.
CeeDee Lamb/George Pickens, WR, Cowboys
I wish the Dallas schedule were more friendly for its wide receivers, although sometimes that sort of stuff doesn’t matter. By the middle of the season we’ll realize a handful of formidable defenses aren’t so hot, while some lesser-regarded units are better than projected. Lamb and Pickens make sense as high-volume players tied to a team with a Carnival setup (explosive offense, potentially leaky defense). Dallas also has a Week 14 bye week, a Chef’s kiss for Death League drafters.
TL/DR: Volume hogs, narrow tree, Carnival setup, late bye week.
J.K. Dobbins, RB, Broncos
Dobbins isn’t the type of player you expect a full season from, but he’s generally a fun “Play for Today” pick. He opened with RB4 and RB5 finishes at the start of the 2024 season, and last year’s rollout was RB13, RB15, RB12. In a seasonal league, you might prefer a “Hair on Fire” upside pick. But the boring but efficient Dobbins is the type of player who helps you survive September.
TL/DR: Boring veteran but solid bet when healthy.