When we compete in large-field fantasy football best ball contests with hundreds of thousands of opponents, there are many ways to differentiate our rosters from the field, but one that consistently proves worthwhile is scooping up the best value players and building around them. ADP will shift consistently throughout the next few months of drafting, and after pick 150, it becomes much of a dart throw on anyone, so here are the best fantasy football draft values in each round for the first 13 rounds based on current Underdog ADP.
Fantasy Football Draft Values in Each Round for Best-Ball
Round 1
CeeDee Lamb (WR – DAL)
The Cowboys were the third-highest team in pass attempts per game in 2024, despite losing Dak Prescott from Week 10 onwards. While Prescott was healthy, CeeDee Lamb was averaging 10.5 targets per game, which ranked third behind only Cooper Kupp (12.3) and Malik Nabers (12.0). This dropped to 9.5 once Prescott was injured, and Lamb’s PPR points per game also dropped by 2.0 points. Lamb had been the WR6 over those opening nine weeks but struggled without Prescott, scoring only two more touchdowns for the rest of the season. Lamb might not surpass WR1 Ja’Marr Chase, but are we sure he shouldn’t be ahead of Justin Jefferson, who has a rookie QB coming off a year-long knee injury?
Round 2
Brock Bowers (TE – LV)
You can make an argument that Brock Bowers should be going in the first rounds of drafts, akin to where Travis Kelce used to find himself not all that long ago. Bowers finished 2024 with 153 targets, 112 receptions, and 1194 yards, along with five touchdowns. All with terrible quarterback play. The Raiders’ ownership knew that the team badly needed an upgrade at the position, and trading for Geno Smith will provide that. Smith ranked fourth in completion percentage (70.2%), a notable improvement on Gardner Minshew‘s 66% and Aidan O’Connell‘s 62%. The Raiders also ranked 26th in Red Zone scoring attempts per game last year, finding their way to the end zone too infrequently to maximize Bowers’s ability. With no noteworthy additions in the passing game, this looks like Bowers can once again repeat as the best tight end in football, and if he adds a few more touchdowns, he can be even more dominant.
Round 3
Chase Brown (RB – CIN)
Starting in Week 9, Brown averaged 20.6 PPR points and 23.6 touches per game. While concerns remain about whether Zack Moss, Khalil Herbert, or sixth-round rookie Tahj Brooks might cut into his workload a bit, there’s a real chance one of them isn’t on the Bengals roster by Week 1. Brown has proven to be an explosive playmaker with the coaching staff’s trust. In best ball formats, we’re looking for players who can deliver big scores and change the game in an instant, and Brown fits that profile.
Round 4
Jayden Daniels (QB – WAS)
We’ve all fallen for the unexpected dynamite rookies before, but it feels like Jayden Daniels is being approached with a little too much caution right now. Daniels finished the fantasy season with more rushing yards than any other QB (864), and only Josh Allen (12) and Jalen Hurts (14) had more rushing touchdowns than Daniels’ total of six. With the addition of Deebo Samuel, there is potential for this passing attack to reach the next level and give Daniels a QB1 overall season.
Round 5
Jaylen Waddle (WR – MIA)
How confident are we that Tyreek Hill is still the WR1 on this offense? It might seem slightly hyperbolic, but Hill recently turned 31 years old and hardly seems enamored with being on the Dolphins roster right now, not to mention he continues to live an unsettled life off the field. Waddle had a woe-filled 2024, with only four double-digit PPR performances, but he’s not far removed from performances that led to the Dolphins giving him a three-year $84m extension in May 2024. The Dolphins believe in Waddle, and we’ve seen it before from him. It might not be the most comfortable click, but Waddle’s upside is clear to see.
Round 6
Sam LaPorta (TE – DET)
2024 was a disappointing year for Sam LaPorta when it came to fantasy numbers, with LaPorta averaging 7.1 points over the opening seven weeks of the season. Reports suggest that LaPorta was playing through injuries at this stage in the season, and it would make sense if that were the case with LaPorta turning things around from Week 8 and averaging 13.2 points for the rest of the season. Getting a four-round discount on LaPorta compared to Trey McBride and Brock Bowers feels like too big of a gap, and in the sixth round, when wide receivers dry up, he’s an easy click.
Round 7
Tony Pollard (RB – TEN)
The Titans look like a team that could be a potentially value-worthy offense if they can take a step forward this year. The addition of Cam Ward should represent a sizeable upgrade from the comedy turnovers that Will Levis used to stumble into. The Titans made the 10th fewest plays per game last year and ranked 27th in points scored, any improvements in those areas could help Tony Pollard who led this backfield with over 700 more yards than Tyjae Spears as well as being more explosive and more reliable in other metrics like yards per carry and big run rate.
Round 8
Darnell Mooney (WR – ATL)
Last year’s WR27, Darnell Mooney, is currently available in the eighth round of drafts, having averaged 12.1 points per game in PPR. Mooney also had five games where he scored 17 or more PPR points, as well as a 30-point game in Week 5 that led to him being WR3 that week. Mooney might be dealing with a change at QB in Michael Penix, but they seemed to play fine together in Weeks 16 and 17, with Mooney catching seven of his 11 targets for 119 yards.
Round 9
Justin Fields (QB – NYJ)
2024 started with promise for Justin Fields, who was the Steelers de facto starter with Russell Wilson dealing with a hamstring injury. Unfortunately for Fields, he wasn’t able to keep the starter role for the entire season with Mike Tomlin too set in his wishes to see Russell Wilson as their QB1. Fields was up and down for fantasy in his time as the starter, scoring over 18 points in three games and averaging 13.1 in the other three. Fields had career bests in completion rate (65.8%) and interception rate (0.6%), but he managed only a disappointing five passing touchdowns in six games and was very much playing things safe at times. However, Fields was one of only three QBs with multi-rushing-touchdown games last year. The other two were Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen. That upside is hard to ignore.
Round 10
Rashod Bateman (WR – BAL)
When we get to this stage in best ball drafts, it can quite often be as simple as trying to draft players from the best offenses, and last year, Rashod Bateman was an integral part of the best offense in football. Bateman had his best year of his career with 756 yards and eight touchdowns. The Ravens only offensive addition this offseason was DeAndre Hopkins, who signed a modest deal, reflecting the fact that he’ll turn 33 this Summer and is firmly on the back nine of his career.
Round 11
Javonte Williams (RB – DAL)
There are caveats to this pick, and they shouldn’t come as a shock, but if Javonte Williams can stay healthy this year, then he has the best opportunity he’s had in a while to be relevant. Williams has played in 33 games over the last two seasons, and while his effectiveness hasn’t always been there, he still had eight games over 50 scrimmage yards last season. The Cowboys seem convinced that they can enter the season with only Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders in their running back room, and if Williams is healthy, volume alone might pay off this pick. Disgusting as it may be.
Round 12
Tucker Kraft (TE – GB)
This time last year people assumed Luke Musgrave was firmly entrenched as the Packers TE1, but those of us in the Tucker Kraft hive could point towards Kraft doing more when he was given opportunities in 2023 and that continued in 2024 with Kraft now firmly assumed as the TE1 on the back of almost 700 yards and seven touchdowns. Only George Kittle (8) and Mark Andrews (10) had more touchdowns. The Packers receiving room isn’t a fun one to try and decipher, but the tight end room is much more straightforward with all signs pointing to Kraft.
Round 13
Joshua Palmer (WR – BUF)
The Bills didn’t make many additions to the offense this offseason, but they did bring in Joshua Palmer during free agency, and it could end up being one of the better value moves. The Bills were a top-three offense in many metrics, including offensive DVOA and points scored per game, but they still felt like they needed a reliable pair of hands with Amari Cooper moving on. As Dbro pointed out recently, last year the Bills faced the highest percentage of man coverage (34.9%) and none of their wide receivers had above 0.104 separation or a route win rate above 21.7% against man coverage, but last year Palmer against man coverage ranked sixth in separation and 5th in route win rate (per FantasyPoints.com). If nothing else, this continues the mantra of drafting players on good offenses, and that shouldn’t be something we shy away from.
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