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How should you attack fantasy football best ball drafts in 2024? Michael F. Florio breaks down his strategy in this format, which includes loading up on receivers early on.
Fantasy football best ball drafts get more and more popular every year. I remember playing this unfamiliar new style of fantasy football on MyFantasyLeague nearly 10 years ago. It was the only place you could play best ball at the time. Now, there’s no shortage of options, with the FFPC and a certain dog brand being the top-2 options.
If you are in the fantasy football community, you have seen no shortage of screenshots and strategy talk for best ball this summer. I have been no stranger to these draft rooms and with a ton of drafts under my belt, I want to pass along my strategy to you so that whether you are just playing best ball for the first time or a seasoned player, you can go into your drafts with confidence.
It is worth pointing out that ADP varies based on the platform you play, and while there are certainly differences between the two that I will be focusing on, much of the ADP is close enough. You can find FFPC ADP here and Underdog ADP here.
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Getting to Know Fantasy Football Best Ball
Before jumping into a best ball draft, you need to know how it differs from a regular fantasy football league. In best ball, you draft your team and then, well, that is it. There are no setting lineups, no waiver wires, no trades; no nothing. Once the draft is over, that is your team for the entire season.
Each week, your highest-scoring lineup is set after the games are played. If you have three QBs on your roster, whoever scores the most points in a week is your starter for that period. The same applies to RB, WR, TE, and flex spots to create your weekly optimal lineup. After each week, your optimal lineup score is added to your yearly total. Whoever compiles the most points at the end of the fantasy football season wins.
This changes how you draft because consistency is thrown out the window. You know those super frustrating players in seasonal leagues that can give you 25 points one week and five the next? Those players are awesome in best ball because they raise your ceiling when they have those big weeks, dubbed “spike weeks,” in the best ball community. That is why those types of players are often dubbed as “better in best ball.”
The goal is to draft as many points as possible; you do not care when they come. If a player gives you three massive weeks and not much else, that would be frustrating in redraft or seasonal leagues. That is exactly the type of production you want from a player you select in the middle or later rounds in best ball.
You need to pay attention to bye weeks because if all of your tight ends are on bye the same week, you will take a zero at the position that week. Besides that, it is similar to your regular old fantasy football drafts. Now that you understand the concept, you are ready to formulate a strategy.
Building Your Core in the Early Rounds
Just like in any fantasy football draft, the early rounds are vital. This is where you are building the core of your team. If your first-round players bust in best ball, it will be extremely difficult to win the league, just like in redraft. That is why I treat the early rounds like a regular redraft league. The goal is still obviously to draft players with high ceilings, but let's be honest; any player going in the first couple of rounds should have a high ceiling. It is the floor that I am more concerned about; even in best ball drafts.
In the early rounds, the goal is to build a safe foundation for the rest of your team. It is why I often will not take De’Von Achane in the second round, despite knowing the upside that he possesses. But the biggest piece of advice I can give you in the early rounds of these drafts? Heavily target wide receivers.
No position dries up faster in best ball drafts than the wide receiver position. In a perfect world, there are 12 WR1s, 12 WR2s, and so on. But this season, there are nine receivers I feel comfortable being my WR1. On Underdog, they are all gone in the first 13 picks. On FFPC, Marvin Harrison Jr., who is in my top nine at receiver, makes it to the 21st pick in ADP. But there is a big group of WR2s who I feel comfortable drafting. There are close to 20 who I would be comfortable with as my WR2. If you do not take a receiver in the first round, you will likely be selecting from that big group of WR2s to be your WR1.
The other key is that you can find stud running backs later in the draft. Players like Derrick Henry, Isiah Pacheco, and Travis Etienne are available in the third (sometimes fourth round) of best ball drafts. I feel perfectly fine with any of them as my RB1, especially if I am pairing them with two or three stud receivers. James Cook is going in the fifth round often, while names like Rachaad White, Joe Mixon, Kenneth Walker III, and David Montgomery are all going later than that. James Conner, Raheem Mostert, Jonathon Brooks, Zamir White, Zack Moss, D’Andre Swift, Brian Robinson Jr., and Austin Ekeler are some of the many running backs who are going in the eighth round or later in best ball drafts. Meanwhile, the receivers going in that range? Courtland Sutton, Curtis Samuel, Tyler Lockett, Khalil Shakir, and so on.
Those are fine receivers and certainly ones who I have drafted on my teams. But there is a huge talent and production drop-off between the two positions at that point in the draft. With receivers being pulled up more than ever, the position thins out extremely fast. It also leads to other positions being pushed down the board, which means you can wait and still find very valuable players who can contribute in a big way to your fantasy team at a discount. Some may suggest to zig while others zag, but if you wait on receivers, you are likely to be left just holding the bag. No position has ever thinned out faster than wide receiver currently is in best ball drafts.
I typically will have three wide receivers in the first four or five rounds. Most often, I start WR-WR and then I will take a running back in the third or fourth round. I am not opposed to taking one of the elite tight ends, but my favorite value at the position is Dalton Kincaid or Kyle Pitts in the fifth or sixth rounds. We'll detail more on how to attack QB below.
How Your Roster Should Look and When to Attack Positions
One of the biggest strategies with best ball drafts is how to configure your roster spots. Since you cannot make pickups or trades, you need to have a backup option at each position. You simply cannot draft just one receiver or tight end. You need to have a backup or two, not only for that pesky bye week but to cover injury as well. You want to load up on running back and especially receiver since you start them the most. Receivers tend to be the position most capable of having those blowup games or spike weeks, which is what we want in best ball.
In an 18-round draft, my favorite roster construction is: 2-3 QBs, 5-6 RBs, 6-8 WRs, 2-3 TEs
In a 20-round draft, my favorite roster construction is: 3 QBs, 6-7 RBs, 7-8 WRs, 3 TEs
Now, the roster construction also comes down to the players you draft. If you take an elite QB like Josh Allen, you can get away with having two QBs and using that extra roster spot to bolster RB or WR. If Allen gets hurt, your season is likely over already and by taking him in the third round, you may be a bit weaker at the two vital positions. The same strategy could be applied to tight ends if you walk away with one of the elite options. Each roster spot is so vital in this format that you need to use your roster spots wisely.
How to Maneuver QB
Quarterback is such a vital position in these drafts. They are likely going to be one of the highest-scoring players on your team, yet you will only be able to dedicate two or three spots to the position. While you do not want to swing and miss on any pick, you can take more chances at running back or wide receiver where you will have many backup options.
So, how should you be managing the QB position? I typically will not pay up for one of the top-4 QBs (Allen, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, and Patrick Mahomes). I do a lot of these drafts, so every so often I will take one just to have some exposure and mix things up. But QB is back to being extremely deep and there are QBs who could finish as a top-5 option -- if not ahead of some of these QBs -- who you can get rounds later.
My top QB targets this year are:
- Anthony Richardson (Fifth round)
- Kyler Murray (Seventh round)
- Jayden Daniels (Ninth round)
There is no shortage of value with names such as C.J. Stroud, Joe Burrow, Dak Prescott, and Jordan Love all going in the early-to-mid rounds.
In the double-digit rounds, you can get QBs such as Brock Purdy, Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, Jared Goff, Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, and Kirk Cousins. The key is to pair the correct two together.
If you take an upside QB such as Richardson or Daniels, pair them with a more proven QB2. One that I love to pair with either of those QBs is Goff. As you can see, there is no shortage of proven QB2s who can be had in the double-digit rounds. If you take a more proven QB1, someone like Stroud or Prescott, you can then take an upside shot with your QB2. You can roll the dice on Herbert or Deshaun Watson, for instance.
When talking QB3s, upside is the name of the game. You are never going to catch me drafting Derek Carr; however, there are plenty of upside options. My favorite in this range is Will Levis. There is also Bryce Young, Daniel Jones, and J.J. McCarthy available late as well. Don't forget Justin Fields, who won't be a starting QB to begin the season, but has top-5 fantasy upside if/when he does play.
How to Manage the Late Rounds
The late rounds are all about one thing and one thing only: upside. If you take chances in the early rounds, you can opt to take one or two safe options on your team. However, if you are not chasing upside, you are limiting the ceiling of your team. And the entire name of the best ball game is upside. It wins leagues.
I will be doing an entire article on my favorite late-round targets at each position. But for the most part, think youth. Rookies are lottery tickets. Many will not hit, but the ones that do have league-altering potential. Players like De'Von Achane, Puka Nacua, Sam LaPorta, C.J. Stroud, and Tank Dell proved that last year. Sure, there was a veteran in Raheem Mostert who also broke out, but I will often load my later-round picks with rookies. The key is they have to have a path to playing time. If they are buried on the depth chart, leave them be.
For running backs, the key is to find backups that have a path to playing time if the starter was to miss time. Injuries pile up at every position, but RB is the one that most elevates backups as volume is largely what matters. There are some situations with a clear backup who would take over and others that are murky and would likely be a committee. Another key for running backs is to chase the explosive ones. Even if they are inconsistent, the big-play ability can help them work their way into your optimal lineup.
Now, you should be ready to go jump in some best ball drafts. Keep an eye out for my best ball targets and sneaky late-round options.
Make sure to follow Michael on X, @MichaelFFlorio.
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