The NFL draft may still be two months away, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait for best ball leagues. They have already started up without this year’s rookie class, which makes things extremely interesting. You’ll want to secure four safe running backs earlier before the pickings run out, but besides that, the strategy remains essentially the same at this time of year. Today, I’ll give you my up to date best ball rankings along with four players I am especially fond of at this point.
Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
Josh Allen (QB – BUF)
Don’t hear me wrong, I still think Allen is the worst quarterback in the NFL. Yes, worse than Blake Bortles. He has a long way to go in real football, but for fantasy football, he will surely pile up the numbers. That doesn’t mean you’ll want to draft him in a standard re-draft league, but he makes plenty of sense as a streamer and especially in best ball leagues. You never know when he will put up 100 yards with his legs and toss a few touchdowns, so while you might never feel safe starting him in a re-draft league, you won’t have to worry about that in best ball since these leagues take your best score from the week.
David Johnson (RB – ARI)
Besides Chris Carson, who I have already written a ton about this winter, I think Johnson has the biggest chance to be a 2019 best ball league winner. Carson is often forgotten because of Rashaad Penny while Johnson is easily forgotten because of Josh Rosen. Chances seem high, however, that Rosen won’t be under center in Arizona this year. Rather, it looks as though Kyler Murray is going to be the guy. Granted, Murray can’t fix the offensive line problems, but you can bet that will be addressed under Kliff Kingsbury as well. Rather, what really matters here is how the production of running backs have substantially improved when a running quarterback takes over. Just look at Gus Edwards when Lamar Jackson became the starter in Baltimore last year. DJ could return to a top five running back with Murray playing in Arizona.
Curtis Samuel (WR – CAR)
Drafting Tyreek Hill as a top two or three wide receiver makes plenty of sense in best ball leagues, even if you wouldn’t touch him in the first two rounds of a re-draft league. The same logic applies to other big-play receivers like Samuel, who may not be consistent from game to game, but has a nose for the end zone and could take any reception or carry to the house. He will be a nightmare to own in re-draft leagues since he will kill you some weeks with 2 point performances, but those are fortunately ignored in best ball leagues. His 20 point outings, meanwhile, will count, driving him into my top 30 receivers.
Dallas Goedert (TE – PHI)
I would never dare draft a backup tight end in a re-draft league, but in best ball, you’ll need three players at the position which means some backup tight ends will be taken. I’ve actually got Goedert ahead of about 15 starters. Not because I expect him to suddenly cut into Zach Ertz‘ playing time, but because of how the Eagles offense works. Just like when Trey Burton was with the team, Carson Wentz still commonly throws to multiple tight ends, and this is especially true in the red zone. This is evidenced by Goedert getting in the end zone as many times as George Kittle last year despite seeing just 40% of the touches.