Underdog Fantasy best ball drafts began before the Super Bowl, and I jumped into the action immediately. As a result, I’ve selected 23 teams. Twenty teams were in The Little Board, and three were in The Big Board.
Now’s an excellent time to look at the players I’ve drafted the most frequently to this point.
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2024 NFL Draft Guide
- 2024 Best Ball Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Free Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
Most-Rostered Best Ball Players (February 2024)
Tight Ends
The Packers went to the well twice for tight ends in last year's NFL Draft, picking Luke Musgrave 43rd and Tucker Kraft 79th. Musgrave had more yards per route run than Kraft, 1.41 Y/RR versus 1.13 Y/RR. However, running behind Musgrave to open the year depressed Kraft's full-season mark. From Week 12 through the Divisional Round of the playoffs, he had a more palatable 1.31 Y/RR.
Both players could improve in their second years, and it shouldn't be assumed Musgrave will be a lock to sit atop the depth chart. Moreover, there's room in the offense for both to succeed. According to Sumer Sports, Green Bay's 31.6% rate of using 12 personnel was the third-highest mark in the NFL last season. Guessing which week each tight end has a useful fantasy performance might be a headache in managed leagues, but that's not a concern in best ball formats, making them intriguing selections. Love's roster percentage also inflated the percentage of rosters I drafted them to.
Noah Fant's range of outcomes is vast. He's a free agent and, in the worst-case scenario, could be this year's version of 2023 Mike Gesicki. Still, Fant's career marks of 1.47 Y/RR and 5.7 yards after the catch per reception would have ranked 13th and fifth, respectively, among 33 tight ends targeted at least 40 times in the 2023 regular season. The former first-round pick is a post-hype sleeper and would benefit immensely from joining a team that uses him as a full-time starter and has a plan for his strengths in the passing game.
Trey McBride had an underwhelming rookie season in 2022 before erupting in his sophomore campaign. Among tight ends targeted at least 40 times, he was first in yards per route run (2.03 Y/RR).
Allen's roster rate partially inflated Dalton Kincaid's roster percentage. Nevertheless, he's also an exciting standalone pick. He settled into a groove following Buffalo's promotion of Joe Brady to offensive coordinator after they fired Ken Dorsey. As the following table will show, Kincaid's receptions and receiving yards slightly decreased under Brady's guidance.
However, he was targeted on a higher percentage of his routes, had a significantly deeper Average Depth of Target (aDOT) and boosted his yards per route run. The slight dip to his surface stats was because Brady flipped the offense's passing and running tendencies on their heads. According to RotoViz's pace app, the Bills had a 60% situation-neutral pass rate when Dorsey was the offensive coordinator, which plummeted to 50% with Brady.
Brady now has an entire offseason to assemble a playbook that caters to Allen's strengths after inheriting Dorsey's playbook during the 2023 season. Additionally, many pundits are projecting the Bills to pick a wide receiver early in the draft, and adding a field-stretching weapon would theoretically open up the intermediate area for Kincaid. Furthermore, a more consistent vertical option than Gabe Davis would incentivize Brady to crank up the passing attack more often than he did down the stretch last season.
Best Ball Draft Strategy
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- 2024 Best Ball Draft Beginner’s Guide
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Best Ball Draft Targets & Fades
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- 6 Best Ball Quarterback Pairings to Draft
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- 4 Best Ball Tight End Pairings to Draft
- 12 Best Ball Draft Stacks to Target by Pick
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.