Everything you need to know about the Best Ball format for fantasy football, including how it works, expert tips for crafting a winning draft strategy and where to play.
What Is Best Ball in Fantasy Football and How Does It Work?
Some of the most agonizing aspects of fantasy football revolve around gameday lineup decisions and waiver wire pickups. Are you starting the right receiver? Are you worried about benching the wrong running back, only to watch him go off from your bench? Did you blow all of your FAAB or use your waiver priority on the wrong target?
Remove all of that worry with just a couple of words: Best Ball.
The scope of fantasy football includes all sorts of formats, leagues, drafts and scoring structures, and Best Ball is the chief option for competitors who want to take the hard work out of managing a season. Read on for a closer look at one of the more unique lanes in which to play fantasy football, and one that is growing in popularity.
Explaining Best Ball in Fantasy Football
Best Ball takes the tinker work and roster management out of the game. It’s like bowling with bumpers, or playing golf with endless mulligans. You’ve got the squad that you’ve drafted and crafted, but when it comes to weekly scoring, you get the team’s optimized lineup. When it comes to adding, dropping or trading players, there’s none of that to be done at all.
There’s no more “welp, should’ve started him” after watching one quarter. You won’t have to worry about making that agonizing tight end decision and then sweating it out as the guy you benched has a great game while the player you started completely busts. And you won’t have to work through all of the waiver permutations on Tuesday night just to wake up in a cold sweat Wednesday morning to see how it all played out.
Instead, whomever you drafted will be your team, and whichever alignment of that team produces the best possible score each week is what you'll get. Of course, your opponents will have those same confines, so you aren’t guaranteed any victories. What you are guaranteed is to have the best possible outcome from the players you have under your umbrella on a weekly basis.
How Does Best Ball Work in Fantasy Football?
Best Ball is the ultimate set-it-and-forget-it mode of fantasy football. Here's a closer look:
Best Ball Draft
Once you’ve joined your league, you’ll embark on a snake draft, but it’ll go on for longer than usual since Best Ball rosters are typically as deep as 20 players. The big difference is that, barring a customized exception, there are no kickers and defense/special teams units to draft. It’s a quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end bonanza.
There’s no waiver/free agent process, either, so teams will be deep by design, and you’ll want to strike a balance between the week-to-week reliable stars and those who are capable of a huge game but not likely to pull it off on a regular basis.
Best Ball Tournaments
There are different kinds of tournament formats for Best Ball, varying in size and payout for those with cash prizes.
There are “sit-and-go” tournaments, where you play against the same group for the entirety of the season (league sizes can be as tiny as three teams or a more robust 14). The payout for those tournaments usually isn’t massive by comparison to what else is out there, due to the fact that you’re not up against that much competition. It also depends on the buy-in.
In larger tournament formats, you may play the fantasy regular season (usually Weeks 1-14 in NFL terms) against the same group, and then have that winner or a set number of top finishers advance to face other teams for each week of the fantasy playoffs (Weeks 15-17), with cash prizes doled out each step of the way.
The dream is turning a rather modest buy-in into major winnings, but you also need to be aware that ultimately competing against thousands of other players greatly reduces your likelihood of winning it all. Still, plenty of tournaments feature cascading payouts that trickle from the grand winner down to considerably lower finishers.
In small tournaments, head-to-head play may determine the winners, while in larger formats, it’s all down to total points.
5 Tips to Craft a Winning Best Ball Strategy
1. Be aware of bye weeks
When conducting your draft, you’ll want to pay attention to the bye weeks each player has. You don’t want to load up your team with five running backs who are all off on Week 8, for instance, as you’ll be putting yourself in a severe handicap (for that week, anyway).
You don’t want to pass on a stud or a great value pick solely because of his bye week, but just know that there are ramifications and limitations that come if too many players are off at the same time.
2. Draft multiple players at each position
You’re going to want insurance policies all over your roster, so make sure you have multiple candidates to fill your lineup’s starting spots at every position. Covering for bye weeks is one thing, but you’ll increase your odds at a more prolific score if there are more options at each roster spot.
3. Go especially big on RB and WR
Unless your league is a Superflex, where you're able to start a second QB in a flex spot, then the bulk of your squad should be made up of receivers and running backs.
Those are the players who are going to provide the backbone to your big scoring weeks, and given that you’re going to likely be starting at least six RBs and WRs combined every week (2 RB, 3 WR and a flex is a rather standard lineup configuration), you’re going to want options there.
4. Seek out the “spike weeks”
It’s easier said than done, but what you want as a Best Ball fantasy manager are the players who put up the abnormally high, difference-making scores as frequently as possible.
You’re clearly seeking out consistent, high-output performances from all of your players, but since there’s no risk involved with rostering a high-ceiling, low-floor option — it won’t be on you to pick the spot when to start him — you can use some of your draft capital to roll the dice on a big-upside wild card in hopes of hitting the spike jackpot.
5. Don’t be afraid to stack
Stacking is when you roster multiple players from the same NFL team, and if you’re able to land the key stars from a consistent high-scoring juggernaut, you’ll reap the benefits from their assault on the scoreboard.
There’s less risk in stacking in Best Ball than in standard leagues, because if that real-life team flops on a given week, you’ll at least have alternatives that can take those players’ places in your optimized starting roster.
Where to Play Best Ball Fantasy Football
Sleeper, naturally, is a go-to platform for all of your Best Ball needs. While the default setting is for in-season roster moves to be disabled, those can be enabled manually by the commissioner, in the event that everyone (or enough managers) have the itch to alter their teams from week to week.
To join Sleeper and start playing fantasy football while using the Best Ball format and enjoying all its benefits, sign up on the website or download the app.
Best Ball Frequently Asked Questions
Still a little bit uncertain about Best Ball? Let’s address some more of the questions regarding the format.
So I just draft a team … and that’s it?
In the famous words of the late Chris Farley in Billy Madison: “That...is correct.”
How many QBs should I draft in Best Ball?
You should have at least two on your roster, to give yourself the best chance at a top performer while also covering for bye weeks.
If you’ve landed one of the top expected weekly studs like Jalen Hurts or Josh Allen, you might spend your more premium draft capital elsewhere, but you’ll have more cover if you own at least a second viable alternative, if not a third. Plus, you never know when the Will Levis-types will come out of nowhere with a four-TD performance that thrusts them into your optimized lineup.
Of course, if it happens to be a Superflex Best Ball league, then you’ll want to consider upping that quantity to at least three QBs.
How many roster spots are there for a Best Ball fantasy squad?
Depending on the platform, there are typically between 17 and 20 players on a Best Ball roster. What’s key and unique, though, is that it’s usually all quarterbacks and skill-position players.
How many TEs should I draft in Best Ball?
Since you’ll be starting more running backs and wide receivers than quarterbacks or tight ends, you’ll want to reserve your roster spots for players in those positions. But, as with QB, you’ll want proper cover for bye weeks and injuries at tight end.
The position can also be volatile with a comparatively small top tier, so giving yourself a couple dart-throw options in hopes of an occasional breakout week can only help your cause.
Time to Give It Your Best Shot
Best Ball might seem abnormal or unorthodox if you’re used to the hustle and grind of a more standard fantasy football setup, but it’s fun and easy (incredibly easy, actually) to play and gives you a different twist on a classic.
While it’s a very hands-off, inattentive version of fantasy football, you’ll want to make sure you’re on your game for the draft, because if you botch the picks, there’s no turning back. With no way to improve your roster throughout the season (unless your league is customized so it’s more of a Best Ball/standard league hybrid), you’ll become an also-ran real fast. But if you nail the draft, you’re golden.
Give it a try on Sleeper, or wherever you prefer to play fantasy sports.
