Best ball is a game that changes vastly yearly, much like the rest of fantasy football. As we react to what worked one year, the average draft position (ADP) of the following year can veer so hard in another direction that it becomes more prudent to go against what worked that year.
We have well over 20 weeks to hypothesize about the best roster construction tactics ahead of the NFL season, but we can also weigh that time remaining into how we want to build out our best ball rosters and use the mindset to take advantage.
Ideal Best Ball Roster Construction
Pick Allocation
In early best ball contests, nearly all platforms allow 20 picks per roster. Typically, your starting lineup will consist of QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, FLEX and then your remaining spots filling out your bench.
Quarterback
We continue to see Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen lead the way when it comes to quarterback scoring, with a second tier of Jayden Daniels and Jalen Hurts forming behind them. Daniels and Jackson accumulate more rushing yards while Allen and Hurts rush for more touchdowns. These quarterbacks are simply difference makers on every level and can easily separate from pocket passers like Joe Burrow and Baker Mayfield, who are also top-eight selections.
Quarterbacks are going quickly in drafts at the moment, with 12 boasting a top-100 ADP on Underdog. In theory, this means every person in your draft will have one by the time you get to round nine. If you’re waiting until after this point to take your first signal-caller, you’ll need three quarterbacks, as you’ll be depending on players who have less rushing upside and with potential job security issues or a simple lack of ability.
Generally speaking, if you select a quarterback before pick 72, you can be tempted to stick with just two, particularly if the second one comes before pick 140, which is where the QB20 currently goes off the board. Any later and we should go for a safety in numbers approach and get to three. There is no data whatsoever to support taking four quarterbacks in non-Superflex drafts.
Running Backs
In 2024, seven different running backs were inside the top two rounds of ADP on Underdog, with four inside the first round. Currently, three are inside the first round, while 10 go inside the top 24. This is in part because 2024 was a disappointing year for the wide receiver position, with many of the early selections getting injured or not living up to their potential, along with Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry having incredible seasons. The running back position is back in fashion, to an extent, and you’ll need to consider that when you start your draft.
As Mike Leone wrote in his Best Ball Manifesto, you can draft a lot of running backs or you can draft running backs early. You can’t do both.
Even in 2024, when wide receivers underperformed and running backs had a renaissance, most winning rosters in best ball tournaments were still Hero RB builds (one running back in the first two rounds) or at most Dual-RB starts (two backs in the first three rounds). Because of our roster requirements, which lean heavier towards wide receiver than running back, it’s hard to ignore that wide receiver is more important when it comes to volume.
Ideally, we want one or two running backs inside the first six rounds based on current ADP. We then end up with five to six in total or ignore the position and go Zero RB until round six, where we end up with a volume-based approach and seven in total. It can be easier to assign volume to the running back position if we’re going lighter at quarterback or tight end than the typical allocations of three.
Wide Receivers
In most best ball formats, we start three wide receivers as well as potentially starting a fourth in the Flex every week. This makes the position arguably the most important one in best ball. In years where drafts became wide receiver thirsty at the top, like 2024, it was hard to fight the tide.
While some of the top players failed to produce, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson both finished as the top two receivers. Values were found in Brian Thomas Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Terry McLaurin, Courtland Sutton, Mike Evans and Ladd McConkey, who were all taken outside the top two rounds but before round 10.
Typically, we’ll want at least seven receivers, even if we start a draft WR-WR, but if you do start wide receiver-heavy, you can ease off around round 10 and return to the position later on in rounds 15 or later to fill out the remaining roster spots. If you ignore wideouts in the first three rounds, it’s safe to say you’ll likely want at least eight wide receivers in total.
One of the rules of thumb that has more often than not proved helpful is to aim for five wide receivers by round nine. This doesn’t preclude us from drafting any other position, but it means we’ve secured not only our Flex spot but also a bench spot, meaning we’re not relying on later dart throws to pan out.
Tight Ends
Tight end is a simple position that never fails to disappoint. Brock Bowers is currently the only top-24 tight end, with Trey McBride just outside (27.9). Then there is a big drop to George Kittle at 52.9. Last year’s “disappointments,” Mark Andrews and Travis Kelce, find themselves much further down the board. It seems 2025 is the year people are finally done with drafting Kyle Pitts (148.2).
Elite tight ends can be contest-winners in best ball, with very few non-elite options proving able to have sufficiently massive spike weeks to be difference makers in tournaments. However, the cost of taking an elite tight end who fails to produce can be very detrimental to your roster.
Typically, we want to take either two within the first 100 picks or take a volume-based approach and select three overall.
Rookies
Year to year, we see rookie data flip-flop based on the performances of the rookie class, which isn’t a particularly deep insight, but we still want to prioritize the incoming class to an extent. Last year alone, we saw Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr., Brock Bowers, Bucky Irving, Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix and Tyrone Tracy Jr. all pay off their draft cost handsomely.
Pre-draft, we can look to have between 4-6 rookies per roster, but again, like the running back position theory, we might not want to splash too much of our draft capital on rookies within the first six rounds. Instead, we can form a high floor with those picks and then try to scoop value later on.
To try out some of the ways you can approach the current ADP, check out the FantasyPros Mock Draft Wizard, where you can customize it for any settings and mock draft in minutes with instant expert analysis.
