X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Terminator Tournament Challenge: The Future Is In Your Hands

Pierre Camus explains the Terminator Best-Ball Tournament Challenge for FFPC fantasy football leagues and reviews his recent draft picks, explaining what unique strategies must be implemented.

Many of you are familiar with best-ball leagues. You draft a full squad, then sit back and watch your optimal lineup each week accumulate points. No lineup decisions, no waivers, no in-season management. No muss, no fuss. Some people love the appeal of putting all their eggs in the draft basket and constructing multiple rosters to see which ones perform best. Some miss the hands-on aspect of traditional leagues and want an opportunity to tweak their team throughout the year.

What if you could have the best of both worlds? The FFPC (Fantasy Football Players Championship) is not just the leader in high-stakes fantasy leagues, they are the originators of the most unique version of best-ball - the Terminator Tournament. In this league, you don't add, you terminate! Over a full 16-week schedule following typical best-ball rules (no H2H, total points only, no waiver adds or lineup changes), you must drop one player each week. What if you forget or simply don't want to drop anyone? Failure to do so terminates your team!

The good news is that each draft goes 26 rounds, so there should be plenty of options. The strategy really comes in to play once the bye weeks get heavy and then again toward the end of the season when rosters are thinner. So, how does one approach this type of league, based on this unique wrinkle? Allow me to share my draft results and reaction in order to give you some encouragement before you take the leap yourself!

Editor's Note: Dive into RotoBaller’s Best Ball Fantasy Football content — featuring expert rankings, draft strategies, sleepers, and player targets. Whether you're new to Best Ball or a seasoned pro, our tools and insights will help you build winning lineups.

Best Ball Rankings and Advice

Editor's Note: For a limited time, we are offering all new FFPC players a $25-off coupon for any contest! You can play a $35 contest or a $70 contest, we'll give you $25 off either one! Whether you want to play a Best Ball challenge, join a Dynasty Startup, or try FFPC's unique Terminator challenge (best ball spin-off), there's a $25 discount waiting for you! All you have to do is be a new FFPC customer, sign-up for any game on FFPC through one of the above links, and the $25 discount will be automatically applied to your account!

 

FFPC Terminator Draft Results

Here is the draft board, showing results from last weekend's Terminator Challenge draft. For a full-size image, click the board below or visit the site directly here.

One important note - FFPC best-ball leagues utilize a TE premium, which includes 1.5 points per reception. For that reason, ADP for the tight end position skews much higher in general. As expected, Travis Kelce was a first-round pick, going fifth overall. There weren't too many big surprises early on, as the top running backs flew off the board, George Kittle and Zach Ertz were second-rounders and then high-end receivers followed.

In a scoring system where passing touchdowns are worth four points, not six, it might seem as if the third round is a bit early for Patrick Mahomes. In each league there is always someone who wants to grab that elite QB though. What was more surprising is that Baker Mayfield was the second QB selected, a full round ahead of Aaron Rodgers and Deshaun Watson. That same drafter took Chicago's defense in the seventh round and was the first by far to select a kicker, so maybe there's a correlation.

 

Notable ADP Risers and Fallers

If you're playing in an ultracompetitive league, you really don't want to draft before September. This draft took place on the first of the month, so cutdowns had already occurred, as had the news of LeSean McCoy signing in Kansas City. This led to Devin Singletary and Shady himself being taken in round eight.

Damien Williams was a third-rounder, which is about where he is going these days. Some are still keeping the faith, despite the writing on the walls.

Justin Jackson and Tony Pollard could find themselves with much bigger roles than expected if these holdouts continue. As of now, it looks like the ninth round is where owners feel comfortable taking a chance on them.

The Darrell Henderson hype has thankfully died down. Instead of a fifth-round ADP which he was seeing months ago, he dropped to round 10.

It's hard to imagine how Carlos Hyde, starting RB in Houston, was taken the same round (12) as Dare Ogunbowale, who hasn't been named starter in Tampa Bay. Even if he were, it would be in a timeshare with Peyton Barber (don't talk to me about Ronald Jones) and it's hard to understand why fantasy owners expect Ogunbowale to suddenly break out after two years doing nothing in the league. By the way, Barber in the 14th round is a steal in best-ball, as he presents a decent floor if nothing else.

He may not light the world on fire but why is Kirk Cousins going as the QB22? He completed 70% of his pass attempts and threw for almost 4,300 yards with 30 touchdowns last year. I was on the verge of taking him as my backup QB before I was sniped and settled for Derek Carr.

 

Draft Recap: Lessons Learned

Here is my final roster, more than half of which will be cut by the time the season is over. Can you identify the players that might be first on the chopping block?

I've done a ton of best-ball drafts but this was my first Terminator challenge. Knowing that we could actually cut players without adding them back meant a slightly different approach. The initial reaction might be to take more chances on fliers and sleeper picks since they could just be the first to go if they don't pan out. To some extent, that might be true. But too many chances could spell doom, as an injury to a key starter or two could ruin your squad if the bench is completely ineffective. My first reaction was to play it safe early on and build a strong core at key positions. Here are the strategies I implemented and my thought process behind them:

 

Starting Out Strong Is Crucial

Julio Jones isn't the most exciting first-round pick but that's not what matters. He is a near shoo-in to be a top-five player at his position and this averts risk in the beginning of the draft. In terms of production, he not only brings a high floor, but we know he has several games per year where he simply dominates. He surpassed 120 yards in a game six times last year and those worries about end zone production can be squashed now that he scored eight TD.

I could have gone RB, as most do in the first round, but had my reasons not to out of the eighth spot. I have too many shares of James Conner already. I'm not feeling David Johnson as a first-round value. I love Dalvin Cook this year and briefly considered taking him, but have been waiting to see if he would fall to me in the early portion of the second round. Of course, that didn't happen.

In the second round, I went WR again since the top 11 RBs were off the board already. Tyreek Hill is probably the first name you think of when it comes to big-game production. In a shallower format, I would have gone with JuJu Smith-Schuster or Michael Thomas, but I know that the occasional game where Hill disappears can be covered up by one of my other six bench receivers. In this case, roster construction mattered because I know you only have to start two WRs. That meant seeking out more "boom" plays rather than worrying about floor.

 

It's All About Balance

I'm not a ZeroRB, ZeroWR, or extreme drafter in any sense. I believe balance is an essential component of our existence, both in fantasy and reality. Yin and yang, my friend.

FFPC Terminator leagues have balanced starting rosters, with two RB, two WR, and two Flex spots (we'll address TE in a minute). That warranted a balanced approach in drafting, although it would be logical to stack one more RB than WR because of the attrition and volatility at that position. Seeing as how I started out with two wide receivers, it would also make sense to backload a bit more at RB. That's not what I did.

First, as has occurred in pretty much every draft I've done this year, the quality running backs are gone by the time the middle rounds arrive. You're looking at third-string ball-carriers, undrafted rookies, and players that you know won't sniff the ball unless a season-ending injury occurs to the starter. Even then, there's no guarantee that running back will be effective. I'm talking about players like Malcolm Brown, Chase Edmonds, Rex Burkhead, Benny Snell, Devine Ozigbo, etc. Sure, they can always be cut loose in the first few weeks. I'd rather take a player with a chance to actually contribute and save my potential cuts for injured players or extra K/DST that I won't need late in the season. I never pick someone who I plan to cut - that just seems like a waste of time.

 

TE Premium Matters... Sort of

I opted not to take one of the top three tight ends, despite having the perfect opportunity to snag Zach Ertz at 2.05 just after George Kittle was taken. Don't get me wrong, I like Ertz this year even if he regresses a little. I just don't love spending a second-round pick on a tight end when I can have an elite receiver like Hill. One of my bold predictions this year was that O.J. Howard would outscore George Kittle, so my plan was to wait until round four and take him instead. What do you know, it worked out! I have at the very least a top-five tight end, assuming good health, and am set at receiver. I believe the combined production from Hill and Howard will outweigh that of Ertz and either Lockett, Hilton, or any of the Rams receivers who would have been the best available to me in round four.

 

What About Running Back??

Suddenly the most important position in fantasy once again, I didn't completely forsake the position. I spent a third-round pick on Carson, who also is in my bold predictions and seems like a nice low-end RB1 at that spot. Phillip Lindsay in the fifth round still seems like a steal. He is totally healthy and will retain the same role as last year, when he ran for over 1,000 yards, caught 35 balls for 241 yards and scored 10 times. Royce Freeman would have to take a huge step forward and even so, he's not a pass-catching threat. The Denver offense as a whole should be better with Joe Flacco at QB and more experience at receiver.

In best-ball, stacking RBs on the same team is a great strategy, even if they come from the hapless Dolphins. Kenyan Drake had a fifth-round ADP not too long ago, but the recent buzz about him being on the trade block and firesale in Miami have cooled owners on him big time. Enough so that I took him in round nine(!!!) and was able to back him up with Kalen Ballage a round later. That means I own all the rushing production on that team, which will likely occupy one of my flex spots most weeks.

There aren't many lotto tickets I'm interested in this year at RB, but Qadree Ollison is one I'll gamble on. As much as I like Brian Hill, I believe Ollison is set to take on a short-yardage role that could make him an unpopular touchdown vulture to Devonta Freeman in many weeks. He's worth a shot in best-ball. I would have liked to acquire Hill too but ran out of space because I opted to take three kickers. Let me explain why...

 

Three Kickers? Really???

In 12-team redraft leagues, you can get away with owning one kicker. In deeper leagues and best-ball formats where kickers are actually accounted for, two should be enough. This is a 26-round Terminator. Not only do I have the luxury of dropping one at any time, I am also maximizing my scoring potential from the most unpredictable position. Jake Elliott and Josh Lambo should be enough to get me through the year but I took Eddy Pineiro instead of another running back because realistically he will outscore one of those two more often than Brian Hill or Ryquell Armstead will outscore Devonta Freeman and Leonard Fournette. Also, kickers are human and do get injured, so carrying one all year in this format is just too risky.

 

Final Thoughts

As you can tell, this draft took a lot more thought and planning (some might say "strategery") than a typical best-ball draft. Competition is at its peak as well. FFPC players know what they are doing and it was not often that I felt a great value pick fell to me. You have to stay on your toes and try to maximize the potential of each position. If you haven't jumped into a Terminator league before, I highly recommend giving it a try. It's a spin on the set-it-and-forget-it format that keeps you more invested than usual. It's not too late!

Try out one of these leagues before the season gets underway! Live Terminator drafts are still taking place Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 8:30 PM Eastern and Wednesday, Sept. 4 at 7:30 PM Eastern.

More Best-Ball League Strategy




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Cincinnati Bengals

Shemar Stewart, Bengals Continue Contract Talks, No Progress Made
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Potential Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade may not Happen Until "August, September"
Ha-Seong Kim

Removed Early During Season Debut
ARI

Christian Fischer Retires From NHL at 28
NHL

Spencer Martin Moves to Russia
WAS

Anthony Beauvillier Re-Signs With Capitals for Two Years
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Sitting Out With Foot Issue
Isaiah Neyor

Impresses at Minicamp
Houston Rockets

Jock Landale Waived by Rockets
Bo Bichette

Back in Blue Jays Lineup
Jonas Valančiūnas

Jonas Valanciunas Considering Returning to Europe
Miles Sanders

Works With Starters During Mandatory Minicamp
Jabari Walker

Signs Two-Way Deal With Sixers
Chimere Dike

Titans Could Move Chimere Dike Inside
Keandre Lambert-Smith

KeAndre Lambert-Smith not Guaranteed Roster Spot
Anthony Bradford

Working Hard to Win Back Starting Job
Byron Young

Still Improving?
Cody Simon

Jonathan Gannon has Been Impressed With Cody Simon
SirVocea Dennis

has Impressive Offseason
Trevor Penning

Could Still Have a Role in New Orleans
Jonathan Kuminga

Warriors Decline Recent Offer for Jonathan Kuminga
Orlando Magic

Moritz Wagner, Magic Agree to One-Year Deal
Clarke Schmidt

Placed on Injured List
José Soriano

Jose Soriano Throws Gem Against Braves
Robbie Ray

Earns Ninth Win in Complete Game
T.J. Watt

Likely to Reset the Edge-Rush Market
George Springer

Blasts Two Homers, Drives in Four
James Wood

Goes Yard in Five-Hit Night
Bradley Beal

Suns Discussing Potential Buyout
Los Angeles Lakers

Jaxson Hayes Staying with the Lakers
NBA

Damian Lillard "Open" to Signing With a Team This Offseason
Max Muncy

Out at Least Six Weeks
Clarke Schmidt

Leaves Start with Forearm Tightness
Colson Montgomery

Promoted to the Major Leagues
Pittsburgh Steelers

Omar Khan, Steelers Agree to Three-Year Contract
Max Muncy

Goes on Injured List With Knee Bruise
Max Muncy

Out of Thursday's Lineup
James Wood

Joining Home Run Derby
SJ

Sharks Claim Nick Leddy Off Waivers
Max Scherzer

Cleared to Start on Saturday
SJ

Sharks Sign Dmitry Orlov to Two-Year, $13 Million Contract
CAR

Nikolaj Ehlers Joins Hurricanes on Six-Year Contract
Kodai Senga

Could be "in Play" to Return Before All-Star Break
Ha-Seong Kim

Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim From Injured List
Christian Moore

Placed on Injured List With Thumb Sprain
Luis L. Ortiz

the Subject of Gambling Investigation
Jordan Lawlar

to Miss Multiple Weeks With Hamstring Injury
Yordan Alvarez

Receives Encouraging News on his Hand
Chau Smith-Wade

Having Stellar Offseason
Ace Bailey

Inks Rookie Contract With Jazz
Divine Deablo

Could be the Quarterback of the Defense
Isaiah Rodgers

a Likely Starter for the Vikings
Jacob Monk

Sees Plenty of Work With Starters
Avonte Maddox

has Impressed Dan Campbell
Boston Celtics

Josh Minott Inks Deal With Celtics
Chicago Bears

Ruben Hyppolite Shows Notable Improvement
Sandro Mamukelashvili

Heading to Toronto
Daron Payne

Commanders Coaches Impressed With Daron Payne
Danny Gray

Makes Impression During Offseason Workouts
Jared McCain

Not on 76ers Summer League Roster
Dane Belton

Should Have a Role in 2025
Dylan Harper

Unavailable for California Classic
COL

Brent Burns Inks One-Year Deal with Avalanche
STL

Blues Land Pius Suter on Two-Year Deal
Morgan Frost

Agrees to Two-Year Extension with Flames
WPG

Gustav Nyquist Moves to Winnipeg
Cody Glass

Devils Re-Sign Cody Glass to Two-Year Deal
PIT

Anthony Mantha Joins Penguins
Cleveland Cavaliers

Larry Nance Jr. Headed Back to Cavaliers
Eric Gordon

Remaining with 76ers
Los Angeles Lakers

Deandre Ayton Joining Lakers
Emil Heineman

Signs Two-Year Deal with Islanders
Simon Holmstrom

Re-Signs with Islanders for Two Years
UTA

Nate Schmidt Signs Three-Year Deal with Mammoth
UTA

Brandon Tanev Moves to Utah on Three-Year Contract
NJ

Evgenii Dadonov Joins Devils on One-Year Deal
BUF

Sabres Snap Up Alex Lyon on Two-Year Contract
Dallas Mavericks

Dante Exum Returning to Dallas
Ryan McLeod

Inks Four-Year Extension with Sabres
NAS

Predators Bring in Nick Perbix on Two-Year Deal
Jaren Jackson Jr.

Has Surgery to Repair a Turf Toe Injury
LA

Cody Ceci Moves to Los Angeles
Charlotte Hornets

Spencer Dinwiddie Lands With Charlotte
Bud Cauley

in Great Form Ahead of John Deere Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

a Player to Avoid at John Deere Classic
Jake Knapp

Riding Momentum Ahead of John Deere Classic
PGA

Sungjae Im Looking for Consistency at John Deere Classic
Ryan Gerard

a Solid Option at John Deere Classic
Rickie Fowler

Looking to Rebound at John Deere Classic
Cameron Champ

a Volatile Option at John Deere Classic
Jackson Suber

Staying Below 70 is Key to Success for Jackson Suber
Kevin Roy

Playing Better Heading into John Deere Classic
Justin Lower

Hoping for Something Positive in Illinois
Ben Kohles

a Long Shot at John Deere Classic
Stephan Jaeger

Attempts to Stop Roller-Coaster Ride
Beau Hossler

Needs a Challenge in Illinois
Harry Higgs

Has Potential at John Deere Classic
Nick Dunlap

Keeps Plugging Through Tough 2025 Season
Milwaukee Bucks

Taurean Prince Staying in Milwaukee
Kevin Yu

a Near Must-Play at TPC Deere Run
PGA

J.T. Poston Returns to John Deere Classic Looking for Another High Finish
Thriston Lawrence

a Decent Fit For John Deere Classic
Tom Kim

Not Finding Much to be Happy About Ahead of John Deere Classic
Si Woo Kim

is a Prohibitive Fade at John Deere Classic
Ben Griffin

is the Appropriate Favorite at TPC Deere Run
Daniel Suarez

and Trackhouse Racing Parting Ways After 2025 Season
Ilia Topuria

Becomes The New Lightweight Champion
Charles Oliveira

Knocked Out At UFC 317
Kai Kara-France

Alexandre Pantoja Submits Kai Kara-France
Kai Kara-France

Submitted At UFC 317
Joshua Van

Extends His Win Streak
Brandon Royval

Drops Decision
Renato Moicano

Loses Back-To-Back Fights
Beneil Dariush

Gets Back In The Win Column
Felipe Lima

Suffers His First UFC Loss
Payton Talbott

Bounces Back
Alex Bowman

Competitive Run Ends With Third-Place Finish at Atlanta
Erik Jones

Secures A Top-Five Finish After Adversity In Atlanta
Tyler Reddick

Collects A New Career-Best Finish At Atlanta
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF