There are a lot of ways to approach best ball drafts. Certain philosophies or strategies have advantages over others as different players break out from different ranges within the draft. As best ball continues to surge in popularity we have more and more data to consider what might be the key to winning. Below, we’ll take a look at the ideal best ball roster construction and some overall strategies for building out your teams.
- 2024 NFL Draft Guide
- 2024 Best Ball Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Free Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
Best Ball Ideal Roster Construction & Strategy
Pick Allocations
Any good best ball roster starts with the understanding of how you choose to allocate your picks for that roster. There is no point in having an incredible quarterback room with five quarterbacks from the first 100 picks, as you now have no chance to compete with other teams at the rest of your positions. Before we break down the individual positions it’s best to take a zoomed-out view of what our final roster should look like.
Underdog
Using the data from Best Ball Mania II and Best Ball Mania III we can see the advance rates of all rosters in the competition, broken down by how teams figured when they had a certain amount of players at each position. The average is 16.7%, so anything above is good and below is bad. The table below shows that it was most optimal to have 2QBs, 6RBs, 8WRs and 3TEs. Unfortunately, that would require an extra roster spot on Underdog where drafts are 18 picks each. The reality is threading of the needle similar to that — 2/6/8/2 or 2/6/7/3 — is worth consideration.
| QB | RB | WR | TE | |
| 1 | 13.40% | 12.50% | ||
| 2 | 17.40% | 6.30% | 16.40% | |
| 3 | 16.00% | 11.90% | 3.60% | 17.30% |
| 4 | 13.40% | 15.20% | 9.50% | 15.70% |
| 5 | 7.60% | 16.90% | 12.50% | 10.80% |
| 6 | 2.00% | 17.40% | 16.00% | |
| 7 | 16.00% | 17.00% | ||
| 8 | 14.10% | 17.20% | ||
| 9 | 9.50% | 16.20% | ||
| 10 | 14.50% |
Data via RotoViz
DraftKings
Unlike Underdog, DraftKings doesn’t release as much contest data about their best ball offerings but we can still learn something from looking at the teams in the finals. In 2022, the average build of a team in the 969-team final had 2.69 quarterbacks, 6.26 running backs, 8.29 wide receivers and 2.75 tight ends. We don’t have advance rates for those teams, showing us how well they did against the rest of the teams drafting similarly but we can see how many players were most common on finals teams.
| QB | RB | WR | TE | |
| 2 | 39.20% | 0.20% | ||
| 3 | 52.90% | 31.30% | ||
| 4 | 7.50% | 1.50% | 62.20% | |
| 5 | 0.40% | 16.40% | 6.00% | |
| 6 | 46.20% | 3.70% | 0.30% | |
| 7 | 27.10% | 21.40% | ||
| 8 | 7.10% | 31.70% | ||
| 9 | 1.30% | 28.60% | ||
| 10 | 12.20% | |||
| 11 | 1.60% |
Here we can see that six running backs was a clear advantage over the rest of the pick allocations.
Across 2022 and 2023, 3/6/8/3 has been the most common build in the finals, followed by 2/6/9/3.
FFPC
The last of the three sites we’ll look at before diving deeper is FFPC, where scoring is full PPR with an additional TE-premium of 0.5 points per catch. FFPC’s main tournament is a $125 20-round best ball contest. Using advance rate data from 2020-2023, we can see optimal allocations. FFPC uses win rates instead of advance rates, with an average of 8.3%.
| QB | RB | WR | TE | |
| 1 | 6.70% | 6.20% | ||
| 2 | 8.50% | 7.30% | ||
| 3 | 8.30% | 3.40% | 8.30% | |
| 4 | 7.80% | 7.80% | 6.30% | 9.50% |
| 5 | 6.80% | 8.40% | 6.70% | 9.60% |
| 6 | 8.60% | 8.50% | 4.90% | |
| 7 | 8.30% | 8.60% | ||
| 8 | 7.20% | 8.60% | ||
| 9 | 5.50% | 7.50% | ||
| 10 | 10.40% | 7.60% | ||
| 11 | 7.50% |
Data via RotoViz
The optimal approach would be 3QB/6RB/7WR/4TE. Ten running backs result in a higher win rate for those rosters but make the rest of your lineup a trickier equation.
Implementing This Information
Now that we’re aware of the roster allocations we can be ready to weave that information into our drafts, while at the same time considering other roster construction tactics such as Hero RB or Zero RB. For instance, if you don’t take an RB till round eight, then six feels like the minimum you should be aiming for, but if you were to take three in the first six rounds, perhaps you’d want to aim for five total and adjust your roster around that information.
Ideal Draft Map
Round 1
WR or RB — allowing us to be open to any strategy
Round 2
If we opted for a WR in the first round then now is likely the time to decide if we want a Zero RB team. Or do we believe in any running backs in the dead zone? Taking another WR will force that decision process.
If we drafted an RB in round one then taking another here allows us a dual-RB start, like the one that won Best Ball Mania III, but we’ll need to go heavy on WRs through the next few rounds or risk falling behind the crowd.
Round 3-6
This is the traditional running back dead zone, where players tend to be less reliable and have more question marks than the wide receivers in this range. If you’ve started with zero running backs before this area, selecting one in the third-to-fifth rounds can be an ok choice. However, it’s best not to get too carried away on them in this range. Round three is typically when we might want to start thinking about elite QBs or TEs.
Round 7-10
By the time we approach round nine, we should be looking to have five wide receivers, as teams hitting that criteria have consistently faired better. This area of the draft, however, is also good for running backs. In 2022, this was an area of the draft where Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard, Dameon Pierce and Miles Sanders all crushed their expectations. In 2023, David Montgomery, Rachaad White, James Conner and Isiah Pacheco all finished inside the top 15 of RBs in half-PPR points per game. Further back in 2021, Leonard Fournette was a league-winner from this range.
Rounds 11+
By now your roster has taken most of its shape and it’s time to fill it out based on what it still needs. Remembering the ideal allocations should help this process. Remember, though, above all else, scooping up value and stacking your quarterbacks isn’t worth bypassing for other needs.
More Best Ball Draft Advice
- DBro’s Must-Have Best Ball Draft Targets (Premium)
- Hoppen’s Must-Have Best Ball Draft Targets (Premium)
- Best Ball Advance Rates
- Targets & Most Rostered Players
- 2024 Best Ball Draft Beginner’s Guide
- 6 Tips for a Winning Roster
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