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Ideal DRAFT Best Ball Roster Construction (2019 Fantasy Football)

Ideal DRAFT Best Ball Roster Construction (2019 Fantasy Football)

If you haven’t gotten into best ball yet, what are you waiting for? One of the best sites to try it out is DRAFT. The rules are simple on DRAFT — draft 18 players. That’s it.

There are no in-season moves such as trades or waiver wire additions. The players with the highest scores each week fill out your lineup automatically, meaning there is no guessing or playing the matchups on a weekly basis. Lineups consist of 1 QB, 3 WR, 2 RB, 1 TE, 1 flex (RB/WR/TE). Scoring is half-PPR, so players with high pass-catching abilities are particularly valuable.

On draft day, understanding roster construction in best ball leagues is key to a winning season. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Schedule – This one isn’t a perfect science, but you can usually get a pretty good idea of the good and bad matchups a player will have throughout the season. There are no in-season moves, so selecting players with favorable overall schedules or at least some favorable stretches is recommended.
  • Bye weeks – It’s highly unlikely that you’d select more than a couple players with the same bye weeks, but it’s still something to be aware of when drafting to avoid losing too many points.
  • Upside – This one seems obvious, but selecting players with high upside is crucial. Best ball weekly scores come from the players with the highest point totals, so it’s important to have players on your roster who can pop off at any time. Players like Calvin Ridley, Derrick Henry, and Robby Anderson fit the bill.
  • Nailing your first three picks – Again, you’re reading this and thinking, “duh.” But the first three picks should be selected very carefully. A top-three TE is a necessity to get a leg up on the competition, who will be scrapping for any semblance of scoring at that position. A top-tier WR and RB should be taken with two of the first three picks as well. One player at each of these positions should be selected with those picks, so that you have a WR1, an RB1, and a TE1, ensuring a rock-solid floor and filling the rest of the lineup with high-upside guys.

Let’s take a look at how many players from each position you should be drafting and some suggested player combinations and strategies.

Quarterback – 3
The quarterback position typically scores the most of any position on the roster on a consistent basis, so selecting a high-caliber signal-caller is vital. Just as in season-long fantasy, you don’t need to snag a QB early on. Over the last five seasons, guys like Patrick Mahomes, Andrew Luck, and Mitch Trubisky were taken in the later rounds of drafts and turned in QB1 production. Quarterbacks that should be available later in drafts in 2019 include Carson Wentz, Nick Foles, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Trubisky. A combination of any three of these QBs will provide a solid floor with a lot of scoring upside.

Taking several QBs in the later rounds means you have a revolving cast of players who will automatically get played when they have big weeks, and you won’t have to guess which matchups to exploit or worry about streaming. Because the position is so important and because you’re not selecting Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers at their ridiculous prices (second or third round), you’ll need some insurance in case you completely swing and miss on one player. Three is the perfect number of QBs because two are too few in case of injury or busts and four are too many because that leaves fewer available players at other positions.

Wide Receiver – 8
The WR position has the most required slots for the weekly lineup, so it makes sense to load up at the position. Because the scoring is half-PPR, you should target guys with high-volume pass-catching roles such as Keenan Allen and Julian Edelman. These guys can easily finish the season with 100 or more receptions, and they can each explode on any given night. Having a solid array of WRs allows you to fill out your lineups with the required number of players and cover the flex spot if needed. A combination of studs and streakers is recommended here.

For example, grabbing a top-tier wideout with one of your top two picks ensures a very high floor. You should then focus on picking up the receivers with the most “big-game” potential. As mentioned above, Calvin Ridley and Robby Anderson are two of those such players, as are DeSean Jackson and Tyrell Williams.

Running Back – 5
When drafting a best ball team, shoot for five RBs. You only have to play two a week, and if you can snag a solid pass-catching back, he can slide into the flex spot on occasion with the extra 0.5-points per reception. The half-PPR scoring means that there will be some very productive backs left in the later rounds of drafts, allowing you to take one stud back while picking a stud WR and stud TE with the first two picks. One stud at RB is enough here, and you can pair him with a group of pass-catching backs or guys with explosive abilities. Running back selection should be based on the draft order.

If you have a top-five pick, you have to select one of Ezekiel Elliott, Todd Gurley, Alvin Kamara, Saquon Barkley, or Melvin Gordon without giving it a second thought. These are the guys that can singlehandedly lead your team to victory. After that, the next tier is still full of stars, but you will want to have a WR, RB, and TE by the end of the third round so additional RBs can wait until Round 4 and later.

Tight End – 2
This is the easily the hardest position to predict, and it makes a lot of sense to pick a TE early in the draft to give yourself a noted advantage over competitors. There is no streaming in best ball because there are no in-season moves, so selecting a solid core is imperative. Any one of the trio of Travis Kelce, Zach Ertz, or George Kittle should be on your radar within the first three rounds of the draft because of their reliability and WR-type production each week. For bye weeks, injuries, and the occasional huge game, you should select a high-upside backup, ensuring that the bye weeks differ.

A sneaky-good option here is Jared Cook, who proved that he could be the number-one option last season for the Raiders, although given his recent production, you’ll likely have to pay up to get him. Ditto Evan Engram. The best values to pair with your top-tier stud include Vance McDonald, Jesse James, Gerald Everett, Mike Gesicki, Charles Clay, and Cameron Brate. These guys can cover your stud during a bye week or pop off for some big performances.


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Zachary Hanshew is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Zachary, check out his archive and follow him @zakthemonster.

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