Fantasy Football 101: How to Draft in a Best Ball League

Recently, I wrote about the basics of a Best Ball league. Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty.

Just like every other type of league, there are dozens of ways to approach your Best Ball drafts. To me, there are only three ways and that depends on the league format. There are three main types of Best Ball leagues. Redraft, 1QB Dynasty, and SuperFlex/2QB Dynasty are the three most common Best Ball formats. Each one deserves a different approach.

Redraft

In Redraft leagues, you need to maximize your point variance. Using Underdog drafts as our basis, you should target Running Back (RB) early. In most Underdog drafts, I try to leave the first three rounds with at least two RBs. This will let you get a stable RB room with the best chance at boom weeks.

Recently I started with Christian McCaffery and Rhamondre Stevenson in the first two rounds. I filled out my RB room in rounds 6, 11, and 18 with Miles Sanders, Tank Bigsby, and Evan Hull. While these two of the three are backups, they all provide massive upside compared to their ADP (average draft position).

My first three Wide Receivers (WR) are ones who all could get a majority of their team targets. Brandon Aiyuk, Tyler Lockett, and Michael Pittman Jr. are all WRs who could see 100+ targets this year. With depth pieces who are boom or bust types like Allen Lazard and Rashee Rice to fill out my 7 deep WR room.

I took a quarterback early, which is uncommon for me. I just couldn’t pass up on Patrick Mahomes in the third round. If you take one of these top-tier QBs, you should punt the position for most of the rest of the draft. Guys like Matthew Stafford and Desmond Ridder will be there in rounds 15 or later.

I take the opposite approach with Tight Ends (TE). I try to get two or three of those TEs in the low-end TE1 range with players like Evan Engram or David Njoku. Then I’ll some deep shots like Tyler Conklin or Gerald Everett.

Overall, I try to load up early on workhorse RBs. Then I will target WRs with the potential to see 100+ targets or multi-touchdown games. I will either target an early QB or early TE but not both, and then round out the rest of the Best Ball draft with high-upside players.

1QB Dynasty

In a 1QB dynasty Best Ball league, I look to do the exact opposite of 1QB Redraft leagues early on. At the top of Best Ball drafts, I want two elite WRs in the first three or four rounds. I then try to fill in with three to five RBs who are starters or in a running back committee (RBBC) like Detroit or Jacksonville. Targeting older RBs that are still productive is my go-to. Grabbing RBs like Derrick Henry, Alvin Kamara, and James Conner can give you both stability and the chance at boom weeks.

Depending on who you draft, you’ll want to start filling in your other positions around Round 6 to 8. By that point, you should have two or three WRs and three to five RBs that could all see your starting lineup any given week. Here is where you should start to look for the best value.

You could look to draft a QB that would stack with your early WR. You could grab a rookie WR with a lot of upside. Maybe there’s a TE who’s fallen too far like Dalton Kincaid or Pat Freiermuth. From there, I look to fill my starting lineup.

Once you have filled your fantasy lineup, target high-upside players at WR and TE. If there’s a WR who’s the second or third on their team, but is the deep threat, draft them. Examples of guys like that could be Alec Pierce or Zay Jones. If it’s a full-PPR (point per reception) league, you could target slot WRs like Tank Dell or JuJu Smith-Schuster.

SuperFlex/2QB Dynasty

In a SuperFlex or 2QB Dynasty Best Ball league, I approach my draft differently. I try to grab three QBs in the first five rounds. In a recent startup I did, I drafted three QBs in my first six picks. With these types of drafts, I like to try and build around older, value players at RB and WR. Players like Saquon Barkley, Davante Adams, and Keenan Allen are all guys who give you the floor you need and the upside you want. Besides that, this fantasy team should be built similarly to the 1QB league, but with more QBs. Unless you want to get wild.

The most wild approach would be a QB horde. Trying a QB Horde can work out well if the QBs are falling to good values. I don’t mean hoarding QBs like Mac Jones, Kenny Pickett, and Derek Carr. I mean getting Justin Fields, Deshaun Watson, and Kyler Murray in the first three rounds could set you up long-term. The idea behind a QB Horde is purposely punting year one by taking more QBs than you should. If you do this right, you can starve out other teams who try to wait at the position.

Come the playoff push, they may get desperate enough that you can sell off QBs like Daniel Jones or Kirk Cousins for two 1st round rookie picks – which is more than they should be traded for. This is a bold strategy, Cotton. It may not payoff. I had one league that I tried a QB Horde and it is just now looking like it’ll pay off in year three of the league.

Best Ball Draft Strategy Conclusion

Every Best Ball league is different. Every draft is different. Play your cards right and you can maximize your chances in a Best Ball league. Look at the scoring for which position is the most valuable and target those guys early. Fill out your bench with WRs and TEs who could have high target or multi-TD games. In SF/2QB leagues, try loading up on QBs to choke out your opponet’s QB rooms. These are just some tips for how to win your bestball leagues.