At one point in time, fantasy football was only an in-season game. However, we now have dynasty leagues and best ball leagues as well. Best ball is an excellent way to scratch the offseason fantasy itch without joining more season-long leagues. Unlike season-long leagues, in best ball you draft and forget until the season is over. It’s also a great way to have exposure to many players without needing to manage three dozen leagues during the regular season. Let’s take a look at eight tips that will help you win your best ball leagues.
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Understand How to Play
When drafting, you have to know the differences between a redraft league and a best ball league. Unlike season-long leagues, you don’t make waiver wire claims or lineup adjustments during the year. Each week, the league will create the highest-scoring possible lineup for you based on what your players did on the field. However, it’s more than just not having to make roster moves. You need to know how many teams are in your league. Is it three, six, 10, or 12 teams? The number of teams will impact your draft decisions. You also need to know if it is a slow draft or a quick draft. Don’t sign up for a quick draft if you aren’t prepared to sit down and focus on it and nothing else.
Have a Draft Plan
Don’t just start your draft with the mindset of winging it. That’s a great way to throw your money down the drain. The majority of your roster should be running backs and wide receivers. However, you don’t want to draft only one quarterback like you would in most redraft leagues. You should have at least three quarterbacks and three tight ends on your team, even if you spend an early pick on Patrick Mahomes (QB – KC) or Travis Kelce (TE – KC). If you plan to go heavy on running backs early in the draft, be sure to load up on wide receivers later on. Furthermore, prepare yourself before each round with potential targets. You don’t want to get on the clock and have no idea which player to pick.
Plan for Bye Weeks
Currently, we don’t have the schedule for the upcoming season, meaning we don’t know when teams will have their byes. You have to keep that in mind when drafting. While bye weeks shouldn’t be an issue for your running backs and wide receivers, it could become a problem for your quarterbacks and tight ends. If you only draft two quarterbacks or two tight ends, you could end up getting zero fantasy points from that position one week with both players on a bye. Furthermore, you should have at least three players at every position to avoid bye week and injury problems. Taking a zero at any position is a sure-fire way to lose the matchup for the week and possibly the league.
Upside, Upside, Upside
The name of the game when playing in best ball leagues is upside. Since you can’t make waiver wire claims for the Week 1 rookie breakout players, you have to draft them. Traditional safe-floor players like James White (RB – NE) and Jarvis Landry (WR – CLE) are great in redraft leagues. However, they are roster killers in best ball. Instead of drafting White and Landry, you want to target players such as Rhamondre Stevenson (RB – NE) and Donovan Peoples-Jones (WR – CLE). Both could end up playing big roles this year, depending on how things shake out this offseason. Meanwhile, White and Landry will rarely make your weekly lineup. Furthermore, you want to target high-powered offenses and stack players on those teams. It’s worth the draft capital to grab Aaron Rodgers (QB – GB) and Davante Adams (WR – GB) or Joe Burrow (QB – CIN) and Ja’Marr Chase (WR – CIN).
Handcuffs!
There is an argument to the value of handcuffs in redraft leagues. However, you should handcuff other teams’ running backs when playing best ball. It’s all about the upside. When you can’t drop the handcuff midseason for an emerging player, you don’t want a roster spot going to waste all year long. The most upside you can get with your roster is to handcuff another team’s running back. For example, if you draft Dalvin Cook (RB – MIN), you don’t want to spend a later-round pick on Alexander Mattison (RB – MIN). Instead, you want to draft Tony Pollard (RB – DAL) or Mark Ingram (RB – NO). The hope is Cook stays healthy while Ezekiel Elliott (RB – DAL) or Alvin Kamara (RB – NO) miss time with an injury. If that happens, you have maximized the upside of those two draft picks.
Late-Round Dart Throws
Depending on league size, you’ll probably want to spend the last few picks of your draft on high-upside players. If you are playing in a three-person league, your later-round picks will still net you impact players such as Darnell Mooney (WR – CHI) and Brandin Cooks (WR – HOU). However, in 10- or 12-team leagues, those final three rounds should be used on dart-throw players. Anyone who drafted Cordarrelle Patterson (RB,WR – ATL) in the final round of their draft last year likely won the league. When you get into the final rounds, you want the most upside possible, as those picks could turn into league-winners. A couple of dart-throw players to consider are Trey Sermon (RB – SF), Marlon Mack (RB – IND), and Brevin Jordan (TE – HOU).
The Unknown Isn’t Your Friend
While everyone loves the unknown when it comes to fantasy football, the truth is that it’s not your friend. Upcoming free agents, players likely to be traded, and rookies are hard to trust. They could end up in a great situation and see their fantasy value skyrocket. However, they could just as easily end up in a horrible situation and have their fantasy value plummet. If Breece Hall (RB) gets selected in the second round by the Miami Dolphins, his fantasy value jumps through the roof. However, his fantasy value takes a massive hit if he is drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles. If you’re going to spend a top-60 pick to get Hall (his current ADP is 61.5), you don’t want the uncertainty of what his future holds.
Avoid Injury-Prone Players
Unlike in redraft leagues, you want to avoid injury-prone players in best ball. Since you can’t drop players in Week 2 after they tear an ACL, you end up wasting a roster spot for the rest of the year. Let your opponents draft the injury-prone players and see a third of their roster worthless by Week 8. Rather than picking injury-prone players, focus on consistent healthy players. Instead of taking Christian McCaffrey (RB – CAR) in the first round, pick Jonathan Taylor (RB – IND). Don’t pick A.J. Brown (WR – TEN); instead, grab CeeDee Lamb (WR – DAL). Furthermore, let your opponents pick McCaffrey and Cook. Then, wait till the later rounds and grab their handcuffs. The way to win in best ball is simple: shoot for upside and avoid risky players.
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If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup, based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – that allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive follow him @Mike_NFL2.
