Welcome back to another summer of best ball drafting. There’s no better way to gear up for the start of redraft season than by drafting best ball teams to your heart’s desire.
This piece will break down the early rounds of fantasy football drafts. It’s Part I of a three-part series and is a part of the FantasyPros best ball draft kit.
If you want more best ball content, be sure to check out the weekly FantasyPros Twitch show, featuring me and the United Kingdom’s No.1 fantasy football fanatic/addict (his words, not mine), Tom Strachan. Tom’s also been doing a ton of best ball work for the site.
Welcome back to another summer of best ball drafting. There’s no better way to gear up for the start of redraft season than by drafting best ball teams to your heart’s desire.
This piece will break down the early rounds of fantasy football drafts. It’s Part I of a three-part series and is a part of the FantasyPros best ball draft kit.
If you want more best ball content, be sure to check out the weekly FantasyPros Twitch show, featuring me and the United Kingdom’s No.1 fantasy football fanatic/addict (his words, not mine), Tom Strachan. Tom’s also been doing a ton of best ball work for the site.
Enough housekeeping, let’s dive into the analysis.
Best Ball: Early Round Strategy
Let the Draft Begin
In the early rounds of fantasy football drafts, you must come prepared with an optimal and flexible strategy. It’s less about deciding which players are good/bad (they are being drafted at the very top of the board for a reason) but more about building a strong foundation for success that sets the standard for your roster throughout the draft. Thinking about your player targets in round two should already be on your mind before you make your selection at the start of round one.
This is the exact excerpt from last season’s article, and the principles remain the same. Especially in best ball, where you probably aren’t just drafting one team. You are likely building a portfolio of 1-25 teams (or 100+ teams for the true diehards).
Drafting a ton of teams is easiest on FastDraft (sponsor of the Best Ball DraftKit), given how quickly the drafts complete (six rounds in five minutes).
I try to think about the early rounds less about individual players and more about 1-2 pairings. I think one of the most commonly asked questions I get asked is what I should do on the round one/round two turn, etc.
We have 2025 player rankings that might differ slightly from your host site’s average draft position (ADP), but choosing the right player is just half the battle. Again, all these players are ranked this high for a reason. They are all exceptional and are expected to produce top-end numbers (injury withstanding).
That’s why tiers are so important in the early rounds. Because a lot of the time, it’s a coin flip between the top dogs.
Preparing your tier lists with knowledge of average draft position (ADP) — or leveraging FantasyPros’ built-in tiers and rankings — is so critical to success.
The question should be. How can I get the most players from my top tiers at running back and/or wide receiver?
Knowing you can grab a S Tier receiver first overall and follow up with a top-tier running back in round two makes it easy to go wide receiver first overall. Or perhaps you like starting with a top-three running back such as Bijan Robinson because you are confident in the second-round receiver crop.
I love Drake London this year, and think he’s one of the best picks you can make in the second round.
Team Construction
We draft players in each round. But to quote the greatest head coach in NFL history, “We are not collecting talent; we are building a team.” -Bill Belichick.
This is compounded in best ball where structure plays an integral role in team success. Because there are no changes to the team after the draft. No waivers. No trades.
You are going to war with that team, and it must be molded in a way to give you a chance of winning.
In the early rounds, it’s about building the foundation and identifying what this team wants to be.
And that is based on three factors. Your randomized pick, the ADP of the site you are drafting on and your own player rankings/takes (or the ones that you are using).
The holy trinity of fantasy draft rooms.
After your first two picks, a strategy might already be taking place.
Two wide receivers? Hello, Zero RB (No running backs until rounds eight or nine or later).
According to Tom’s article on Zero RB (in the best ball draft kit):
In 2023, Zero RB teams won millions of dollars in best ball, but it was quite possibly the worst strategy to implement in 2024.
It’s become a more popular strategy, which kind of goes against why it originally became a good strategy
But influx of rookies makes this really appealing.
Start with two running backs? Have you met my hyper-fragile, Robust RB or Superhero RB strategies?
Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each strategy (following the specific platform) will help you construct the foundation of a league-winning team.
Tom and I dove into all the strategies:
Put in the Reps
It’s also why mock drafts are still important. A few years ago, I felt that best ball drafts had the potential to make mock drafts obsolete. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth because of how mock drafts differ from best ball (and redraft). We can do fantasy football mock drafts for best ball drafts, though.
The more repetitions you get in drafting, the better off you will be come August. Practice different strategies and see which teams you like the most.
Also, consider a backward approach. Who do you gravitate toward in the second round?
I love Drake London as a dark-horse WR1 overall candidate.
Therefore, one of my favorite RB-WR pairings would be Christian McCaffrey in the middle to late first round, followed by London in round two.
That said, I don’t want to leave the first three rounds of my drafts without at least one running back. Yes, we see a ton of running backs hit late, but the top scorers still tend to be the highest backs selected. Therefore, I’m also less likely to wait until round three to grab my first ballcarrier. Chase Brown is probably the lone exception, as I think he can be a Hero RB (and the fit the build) despite his ADP.
Average Draft Position
And that brings me to a larger topic. Sometimes I also think about just throwing ADP completely out the window. Again, if most of these players are all studs, what’s the real difference? Understandably, from an exposure standpoint in best ball, you are somewhat tied to ADP, as constantly reaching will leave you heavy on one player over the other. I think this is fine with bullish takes, but if you are truly 55-45 or even 50-50 on two players, it’s usually just easier to take the one with a higher ADP when you get the opportunity to do so.
With a top-three selection, you are probably “stuck” sticking to the site’s ADP in some order, unless you have a strong stance against a player. I, for example, will not draft Saquon Barkley inside the top-three this season.
Although I do have Lamb over Jefferson, it’s not a stance where I feel the need to fully fade the Vikings superstar. I’d just rather have more Lamb.
In round one, you feel pressure not to stray too far away from ADP. And for the most part, this makes sense. Usually, there’s not much debate on who is in the top tier, but rather the order in which they are ranked inside the top tier. But as I’ve explained, you can bend ADP slightly if you view players in tiers.
But for unique builds in the early rounds, I’m more than fine flipping the script. Especially if it works more in line with your tiers. For example, let’s say you “reach” on London at the end of round one. Now, when you are back on the clock in the early second round, you can get another player with London that you usually can’t because their ADPs are usually close.
While we are on the topic of London, a great start from the 1.08 pick would be Puka Nacua in the first round, followed by London in the second round. The Rams play the Falcons in Week 17. Correlation for the win. And a different build than I will usually do.
Through the first two rounds, I usually want to get my Hero RB. Draft a stud and unearth value with late-round backs. There’s more “depth” in the RB2 slot than you can imagine as the most replaceable position for scoring. But waiting too long to draft your third and fourth receivers can be risky. There’s a reason why the “late-round wide receiver” strategy hasn’t caught on like its late-round counterparts at quarterback, tight end and running back.
Wide receiver is the one position it’s most difficult to “wait” on. It also doesn’t help that you need to start the most of them (usually three) every single week. The supply doesn’t meet the demand.
This is the approach I typically use for any draft (best ball and redraft). Subject to change in any live draft with the bullets flying. Because “everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” And I can’t tell you how many times I tried to mock draft a Hero RB build in the mock draft simulator to find that another strategy fit better.
There are many strong wide receiver profiles in the early rounds that I don’t want to miss on as I have outlined… especially in full PPR formats (DraftKings, Drafters, etc.).
This is less so the move in half-PPR formats because receivers can’t make up ground versus running backs as easily without being rewarded a full point per reception.
From 2018 to 2020, in PPR scoring, wide receivers have the highest percentage of top-12 finishes (55%). In 2021, seven of the top 12 overall finishers (58%) were receivers, with six finishing in the top eight. That was true in both PPR and half-PPR. However, the trend did not continue in 2022. Just six wideouts finished inside the top 12, with five backs and one tight end (Travis Kelce). Only four inside the top eight, and an even split between receivers/backs inside the top six. In half-PPR, five running backs finished inside the top eight overall, with just three wideouts.
In 2023, half-PPR scoring was evenly split between the top 12 finishers. For three straight seasons, fewer receivers have finished inside the top 12. Four running backs finished inside the top seven compared to three receivers. In the last two seasons, only three wideouts have finished inside the top eight of overall scoring. Current ADP has five wide receivers drafted inside the top eight, compared to three running backs.
In 2024, three wide receivers finished inside the top 12 in half-PPR (four in full PPR). The veteran running back renaissance smoked the wideouts. Now, for four straight seasons, fewer wideouts have finished inside the top 12. Last year, it was 8-4 overall. Inside the top seven, it was 5-2. In the last three seasons, only five wide receivers have finished inside the top eight of overall scoring.
Current best ball ADP has four wideouts drafted inside the top eight, with the other four being running backs.
There are some wide receivers being drafted early who will be outscored by running backs selected after them. Again, to be clear, it’s less likely in PPR than in half-PPR.
According to Tom Strachan (my best ball partner in crime), Hero RB failed in 2024 in part because of the running back success elsewhere, and also because the wide receivers largely failed to pay off their inflated ADP. The good news is that 2025 ADP looks much more traditional and should provide better opportunities to build strong teams on paper.
The Hero RB build fits perfectly into what the year has to offer. You access an elite and/or legendary ceiling with one of the earlier running backs (your Hero RB) and then hammer the backs in the later rounds (4-5 late-round running backs) — the “unsung heroes” and/or secret weapons.
Although the name of the strategy comes from running backs posting “heroic” level numbers, I do think there is a narrative to craft behind any running back’s hero’s journey.
Have they already completed the quest? Or is there a story yet to be told? Write the story of this running back’s path to heroism. Can they score enough touchdowns, catch enough passes and equate enough volume to be your savior? If this story is more fiction than non-fiction, you might need to look elsewhere for your Hero RB. Chances are that you are better off waiting for a superior running back value later on.
Also, consider the back you would take the latest who could be your Hero RB. For me, it’s Chase Brown. Great offense, catches passes and has projectable volume.
So the optimal WR-WR-RB start for me would put Brown as my target in round three.
And for Hero RB builds, I need the receptions to have confidence in pulling the trigger. Therefore, if I went the Derrick Henry or Jonathan Taylor route, I’d probably take another back earlier than I would with a normal Hero RB build. Call it the Batman and Robin Hero-Sidekick build.
Because running back targets matter. And it’s why I’m just hesitant to label Breece Hall as a true Hero RB. Even though his skill set suggests he is a hero. I don’t feel overly confident that his receiving/target share will carry over in a Justin Fields-led offense.
Elite Quarterbacks
Round three is where we have typically seen the elite quarterbacks come off the board. In 2023, it jumped to round two with mixed results, as alluded to in some earlier best ball research. This year, it’s back up to round two with Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen.
But being the first to draft a quarterback doesn’t always grant you the highest return on investment (ROI).
Value is what matters, which is why I stress a pseudo-late-round “elite” quarterback strategy — getting the last or second-to-last quarterback with top-tier upside to capitalize on value. This will change based on where quarterbacks fall in ADP, but rounds 4-6 are the appropriate range: Jayden Daniels and Jalen Hurts in the late third/early fourth, Patrick Mahomes in round six, etc.
Typically, the elite quarterback who “falls” in round four is a great pick.
Note that with elite signal-callers, they are bigger separators in half-PPR than in full PPR. They score a larger percentage of points for your roster in the former.
On DraftKings’ full PPR platform, pocket passers rise because of bonuses and sheer volume.
Focus on the elite quarterback dual-threats that can separate from the pack.
I like the elite quarterback strategy more in best ball. It pairs well with other strategies, especially since there is no waiver wire in best ball. And typically, it helps you avoid the middle at running back. You’re probably “safer” taking the quarterback over a running back ranked between 10-20.
You can make the argument that waiting on Kittle makes the most sense, given the value. And his big spike weeks are awesome in best ball (especially in half-PPR with touchdowns being more important).
Bowers and McBride thrive on volume, so I prefer them more in the full PPR formats. They have weekly ceilings that just a handful of NFL tight ends offer.
These three tight ends combined for nine 100-yard games in the 2024 regular season. The rest of the field? Only 11.
The Raiders tight ends could be entering Travis Kelce-like territory. Even though his price is more expensive than McBride’s, we have to look at the opportunity cost.
A common cliche is that you can’t win your league in round one, but you can lose it.
And that’s where I think drafters make the mistake of drafting last year’s winning formula. New year. New teams.
Case in point: 2023. The biggest question entering fantasy football draft season was a debate between drafting a quarterback, running back or wide receiver (depending on format), or Travis Kelce at the top end of round one. The correct answer? Not Kelce. Not Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase. Nor Austin Ekeler.
Who was at the top of the board in 2024? The same three: McCaffrey, Hill and Lamb. The top three hits from last season headline the top three overall. Recency bias? No doubt.
Atop the board in 2025: Ja’Marr Chase, Bijan Robinson and Saquon Barkley. Chase and Barkley were the guys to draft last season. Bijan was the fifth-highest scoring non-quarterback. But Jahmyr Gibbs was the bigger cheat code down the stretch, and he went later in round one during draft season.
At running back, Jeanty is an easy bet to make that leap. Among the three wideouts, it’s Nabers if the quarterbacks come through in New York. The usage will be there. And Collins… we’ve seen his upside attached to C.J. Stroud the past two seasons when healthy. It’s top-five in receiving yards per game.
Sample Builds
If you focus on drafting the three best overall players inside the top 36 (which can vary by position based on scoring and ADP), you are setting a strong foundation for your team. Value is king. Then you just let the positions and archetype of those players you start with dictate your strategy throughout the middle to late rounds.
A great thing about having so many different platforms is that you can use so many strategies. The myriad of platforms means you can “shop the best prices,” akin to finding the best number on the player prop in sports betting.
Enter low-dollar amount summer best ball contests to practice strategies with a bit of skin in the game (use code FantasyPros on FastDraft).
