Must-Have Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft Targets (2024)

Fantasy football best ball draft season is in full swing, and we’ll have you covered throughout the summer. Our analysts have each identified their must-have fantasy football best ball draft targets. You can find each of their articles just below. And in addition to these premium articles, we’re sharing one free pick from each of the experts. Here are a few fantasy football bet ball draft targets they’re each aiming for in their contests.

Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft Targets

Each of our analysts provides one fantasy football best ball draft target they are prioritizing in their contests this summer.

Pat Fitzmaurice’s Must-Have Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft Target

Khalil Shakir (WR – BUF)

The Bills traded away mercurial WR Stefon Diggs, who drew 160 targets last season. Second-round draft pick Keon Coleman, a 6-3 contested-catch specialist from Florida State, will get some of those vacated targets, but certainly not all of them. The 24-year-old Shakir saw an uptick in usage over the second half of the 2023 season, and he had 20 catches for 219 yards and two touchdowns over Buffalo’s last four contests, including a TD catch in each of their two playoff games. Shakir will be a fixture in three-receiver sets (and maybe two-receiver sets as well), and there’s a chance he leads the Bills’ receivers in targets. And, oh, by the way, those targets will be coming from one of the best quarterbacks in the league, Josh Allen.

Check out all of Fitz’s Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft Targets

Derek Brown’s Must-Have Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft Target

Trey McBride (TE – ARI)

My favorite stack in best ball right now. The Murray to-McBride connection will be electric again this season. It’s simple. McBride is too damn cheap. In previous seasons, a tight end with McBride’s profile would be selected in the first or second round of drafts, but that isn’t the case this year. McBride could easily be the TE1 overall this season. Last year in Weeks 8-18, among tight ends, McBride ranked first in weighted opportunity and target share, fourth in yards per route run, and fourth in red zone targets (per Fantasy Points Data). If you’re looking to stack Murray with Harrison Jr. (WR9, 13.2 overall), you’ll have to pay through the nose for it, but best ball zealots are leaving McBride as a screaming value.

Check out all of DBro’s Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft Targets

Andrew Erickson’s Must-Have Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft Target

Zamir White (RB – LV)

The NFL Draft came and went, and the Raiders invested zero high draft picks into RBs. This is a win for Zamir White, especially with Las Vegas bolstering their IOL with Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson. In Round 3, they also drafted OT Delmar Glaze.

The only RB they drafted was New Hampshire’s Dylan Laube in Round 6. Laube’s intriguing as a do-it-all running back. He produced from the get-go at UNH with a 23% dominator rating, showcasing his early proficiency as a receiver with four receiving TDs and 259 receiving yards. The elite pass-catching production didn’t go unnoticed and aided the 5-foot-10 and 206-pounder to get drafted. White, Alexander Mattison, and Ameer Abdullah round out the current Raiders depth chart. If Laube can show out as a pass-catcher, we could see him usurp Abdullah in that role.

But White is in the driver’s seat as the early down RB1 in this offense after he showed last season filling in for an injured Josh Jacobs. In White’s four starts, he averaged 14.1 fantasy points and just under 100 rushing yards per game while logging just under 70% of the offensive snaps and 23+ touches per game. Works in his favor that Antonio Pierce is returning as the head coach.

Check out all of Erickson’s Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft Targets

Sam Hoppen’s Must-Have Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft Target

Matthew Stafford (QB – LAR)

Matthew Stafford was playing some inspired football last season. That didn’t necessarily translate to fantasy football production, though, finishing as the QB15. He still offers more upside than his current average draft position (ADP) as the QB20 off the board. The Rams return largely the same pass-catching group from 2023 that propelled Stafford to four 20+ half-PPR performances in his last six games.

Looking at some of the other quarterbacks going around Stafford (Kirk Cousins, Drake Maye, Aaron Rodgers) I think he offers just as much upside with a fraction of the major downside (not coming off of an Achilles injury or potentially running for VP). Consider me bullish on another rejuvenated year for Stafford.

Check out all of Hoppen’s Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft Targets