How to Use the Matrix Cheat Sheet to Maximize Draft Value
Our base rankings begin with median projections customized to your individual roster and scoring settings and using our unique value-over-average-starter concept to understand their true value. If everything plays out as expected, these are the results we anticipate. But fantasy football isn’t that clean — even the best projection systems are only about 50% accurate on a player’s final finish. That’s why we don’t just stop at projections.
Enter the Blueprint Players
We highlight Blueprint Players to guide your draft:
- Early rounds → safer players with top-of-position upside
- Mid rounds → undervalued players who outperform ADP
- Late rounds → high-upside players who can smash if given the chance
These are the players we feel most confident about, and they’re the backbone of a value-driven draft strategy.
Why Keep Everyone Else Ranked?
If Blueprint Players are our targets, why not just remove everyone else from the cheat sheet?
Because everyone is a good pick at the right price.
- Your league-mates will reach for players we don’t love.
- That means other players will fall past our recommended draft slots — sometimes far beyond where we ranked them.
This is why we leave them in: so you can recognize when a “fade” suddenly becomes a bargain and stay organized throughout your draft. And just as importantly, you need to cross players off as they’re drafted so you can clearly see which values remain and plan your next few picks.
Example: Rashid Shaheed vs. Keon Coleman
Take Rashid Shaheed. We ranked him in the 12th round — but in one draft, I got him in the 18th round with the last pick. That’s six rounds of free value.
Why didn’t I take him in the 12th when he was already a good pick? Because I could see from the Matrix Cheat Sheet that his ADP was still much later. That meant I could safely wait, build value elsewhere, and scoop him up later at a discount.
So who did I draft instead? Keon Coleman — a Blueprint Advantage Player. His ADP showed he was much less likely to be available on the next turn. By taking Coleman earlier and Shaheed later, I maximized the value of both picks.
👉 That’s the Matrix Cheat Sheet in action: it doesn’t just tell you who to draft, it tells you when to draft them.
The cheat sheet gives you two critical edges:
- Knowing who to target (Blueprint Players).
- Knowing how long you can wait (Matrix ADP vs. Rank).
That combination is what allows you to draft more value than your competition, every single round.
Quick Guide: How to Use the Cheat Sheet
At the top of the cheat sheet, you’ll see three different ways to view and use the rankings:
- Classic (Default) → Lists players in the order of their true value according to your roster and scoring settings . This view uses the Δ (Delta) column to help you find value. For example, if a player is ranked 15 spots higher than his ADP, you can draft another player first and still plan to scoop him before his ADP hits. This lets you double the value of your picks if you manage it carefully.
- Simple → Moves positive Δ players closer to their ADP, so you can just draft best player available without having to track every gap. Example: if a player is ranked 10 spots higher than his ADP, Simple mode shifts him to about 5 spots higher. You’ll still see the value, but you won’t risk over-waiting and missing him.
- Rank by ADP → Uses ADP as the starting point, essentially giving you a draft board of how players are likely to come off in your league. Here, you use the Δ column to decide whether to reach on a player. If someone shows up with a big positive Δ (dark green), you know you value him much higher than ADP. Rather than wait and risk losing him, this is your cue to grab him earlier.
👉 Three options to help guide your draft. Play around with them and see which approach works best for your style.
