The 2023 NFL season is right around the corner and that means fantasy football draft season is upon us. If you’re here, you’re probably seeking out draft advice for your best ball league. Well, you’ve come to the right place!
As a quick refresher, best ball is really simple. You draft a roster of players and the highest-scoring players are assembled as your starting lineup for the week. That means there’s no strategizing about who to start and who to bench. Your best performing players get counted toward your point total. It’s that simple! Because of its format, best ball also incentivizes you to take some risks in later rounds of the draft by selecting players who you think have tremendous upside. If they go off in certain weeks, that’s a huge benefit to your roster. If they don’t, then they’ll most likely just be slotted onto your bench. It’s a low-risk, high-reward proposition.
Below, we’ll go over some of the best sleeper names you should be considering during your best ball drafts.
Geno Smith, QB, Seattle Seahawks
Ok, so you could debate if the 2022 NFL Comeback Player of the Year could still be classified as a sleeper. I’ll still throw Smith in this category considering the value that you’ll get out of him in the tier right below the league’s elite. His career renaissance in Seattle was a sight to watch a year ago as he threw for 4,282 yards and 30 touchdowns while leading the team to the postseason. He was a reliable presence for fantasy managers as well, finishing the season as the fifth-ranked fantasy QB by accumulating 314.9 points throughout the year to the tune of 18.5 points per week.
Smith now enters the 2023 season with what could potentially be one the most explosive offenses in the entire league. Kenneth Walker III, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Noah Fant will be the primary weapons he’ll have at his disposal and that could mean even bigger numbers for the veteran.
Rachaad White, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
White’s stock is rising heading into his second year in the league and this could be the last team that you could categorize him into the sleeper category.
Within the mess that was the Bucs’ offense last year, White managed to get plenty of valuable snaps as a rookie. The Arizona State had 129 carries for 481 rushing yards, 50 receptions for 290 receiving yards, and three touchdowns on the year. With no Leonard Fournette to sit behind this season, he is the undisputed RB1 heading into the new campaign and has the potential to make a jump as the team’s primary backfield option. After you secure your top RB options in your best ball drafts, buy low on White and reap the rewards later.
Isiah Pacheco, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Another up-and-coming running back who won’t be in sleeper territory soon is Pacheco, who came out of nowhere to play a huge role in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl run last year. The seventh-round pick from Rutgers finished the year as the team’s top rusher, breaking off 830 yards on 4.9 yards per carry and five touchdowns. That was good enough to land him as the 34th-ranked fantasy RB, which is impressive for someone who was fighting for a roster spot at the beginning of the year.
With a full year under his belt, Pacheco is poised to get even more touches within the explosive Chiefs offense this season. That means he could threaten to break 1,000 yards and is someone you should be eyeing in the middle-late rounds of your best ball drafts.
Isaiah Hodgins, WR, New York Giants
The Giants’ receiver room was in a state of flux for a good chunk of the 2022 campaign and Hodgins emerged as a late-season revelation for the team. Claimed off waivers in early November, he made a huge difference for the G-Men by grabbing a touchdown in four of their last five regular-season games. He then showed out in the NFC Wild Card round, cooking the Vikings for eight receptions, 105 yards, and a touchdown in an upset victory. And he impressively did so while playing with a foot fracture.
Hodgins now poses to be a fixture for the New York offense heading into this new season, starting opposite Darius Slayton. There’s tremendous value to be had with him in best ball and he’s a name you should keep in mind for later rounds.
George Pickens, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh’s offense has a good chance of collectively taking a step forward in 2023 and a major peace at the center of that improvement should be second-year wideout George Pickens. The Georgia product had a productive rookie campaign right out the gate last year, hauling in 801 yards on 15.4 yards per reception and four touchdowns. He ended the year as the 40th-ranked fantasy wideout in PPR.
Pickens’ physicality and big-play abilities make him not just a best ball sleeper for the upcoming season, but an extremely fun player to watch as well. Want to watch someone bully opposing cornerbacks while racking up fantasy points? Take Pickens.
Cole Kmet, TE, Chicago Bears
Chicago’s passing attack was a mess last season, but Kmet still managed to end the year as a top-10 fantasy tight end. Starting all 17 games, he led the team in receiving with 50 receptions for 544 yards, and seven touchdowns, averaging a solid 8.7 fantasy points per game in PPR.
The Justin Fields-led Bears offense is expected to improve this season and Kmet should once again play a major role as one of his top, trusted targets over the middle. Heading into his fourth season, this could be the last time we look at him in the sleeper category. Keep him on your radar as you get deeper into your best ball drafts.