If you already play Best Ball fantasy football then this article is not written for you, but feel free to continue reading or share it with your friends that should try playing Best Ball. This article is for anyone that hasn’t played Best Ball before but wants to try it or to learn more about it first.
What is Best Ball fantasy football?
Several people believe that drafting is the best part of fantasy football. If you feel this way then Best Ball is perfect for you. In Best Ball, you draft your team then you are done! There are no lineup choices, no waiver wire pickups, and no trades. Each Best Ball league has a starting roster requirement, and each week your optimal lineup automatically fills the starting roster after the games. At the end of the season, whoever has the most points scored wins! Your draft is all that matters.
Know your league settings
Just like in any fantasy football league, you must know your league settings. You need to know the starting roster requirements and the scoring. Certain players are much better in points per reception (PPR) scoring than non-PPR scoring. A great example is the top RBs in 2020, in PPR scoring Alvin Kamara was RB1 with 377.8 points (RB2 with 294.8 points in non-PPR) and Derrick Henry was RB3 with 333.1 points (RB1 with 314.1 points in non-PPR). Running backs that are projected to have 55+ receptions are more valuable in PPR scoring even if they do not get a bulk of the carries. Quarterback is important to know too because passing TDs worth 4 points makes running QBs more valuable because their rushing TDs will count for 2 extra points. If interceptions are -1 instead of -2 then a QB that is known to throw more INTs won’t hurt you as bad because interceptions are worth half as much. You need to adjust your player ranks based on the scoring because the player value can drastically change.
Here’s an example of typical scoring settings found on most Best Ball websites such as Underdog Fantasy:
Roster construction
Now that you know your roster settings that will impact how many players at each position you should draft to maximize your chance of winning. In 1QB redraft leagues, it is a common strategy to only draft one quarterback and you can pick up a bye-week QB off the waiver wire for that one week. There is not a waiver wire in best ball to pick up a bye-week QB, so you need to plan accordingly. It is not unusual to draft four QBs in best ball so you are covered for bye weeks and potential injuries. The same strategy can be applied to TEs. Pay attention to how many roster spots you have because you will need to load up on RBs and WRs. Best ball is the format to draft a handful of boom/bust players because you do not need to worry about guessing which game to start them. Whenever they have a boom game they will be in your starting lineup. You cannot predict injuries so it can be beneficial to draft your top RB’s handcuff. There are lots of best ball strategies so come to the draft prepared, but be ready to be flexible and pivot from your strategy in the middle of the draft.
Here is an example of what common roster construction looks like over on sites such as Underdog Fantasy:
Value is king
Value matters in the draft in every type of fantasy football league. However, in Best Ball, you cannot “fix” your roster after the draft since you cannot make trades or pick up from the waiver wire. Every pick you make at one position creates an opportunity cost of not selecting another position. For example, is it better value to select your second QB that is ranked in the top 10 or select your third RB that is ranked around 30, or select your second WR that is ranked around 24? This is why it is important to come into the draft prepared and be flexible to find value based on how everyone else is drafting. Best Ball takes zero effort after the draft so put in enough effort into draft preparation to give yourself the best chance to win
Best Ball is getting extremely popular and several great platforms support it. You can play for free or low stakes and give it a try. Once you get hooked on it the best part is you can play Best Ball all offseason and there isn’t a limit of how many Best Ball leagues you can join.
