With the upcoming fantasy football season drawing near, best ball leagues have increasingly become a popular format for players to partake in. The concept is simple: draft your team but with the caveat of no in-season management, waiver wire, trades, or setting lineups on the weekly. Instead, your highest-scoring players are optimized to form your starting lineup.
If you’re new to the Best Ball format or need a refresher after staying away for more than a minute, we have a guide on how many players at each position you should draft as a sound strategy.
As a reminder, DraftKings Best Ball lineups require the following each week: 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, and 1 FLEX (RB/WR/TE). Your bench is then reserved for 12 additional players (QB
NFL Best Ball
How many players should you draft at each position?
Quarterbacks: 2 to 3
DraftKings mandates that only one quarterback can be in the lineup on a given week, and it’s historically the only position in best ball formats that limits you to one player. With the hopes of maintaining enough active players for the long haul of the season, you should draft at least two quarterbacks, but never more than three.
If you draft more than a trio of signal-callers the opportunity cost is too great, and the reality is that player will be holding up a valuable roster spot that could go to a running back or wide receiver. Truth be told if you have a quarterback that can score on average 20 fantasy points per game, you’ll never need more than two.
Running backs: 4 to 6
Given the wear and tear placed on running backs for the marathon of a 17-game NFL season, it’s a sound strategy to draft at least four in a best-ball league. DraftKings requires you to fill two running back spots in a lineup, with some added maneuverability at the FLEX position. One of the positives of Best Ball is that you can freely take that RB3 that you would otherwise have stashed deep on the roster because now you can benefit from that obscure week they happen to go off.
Similar to a standard fantasy football draft, the strategy here depends on how early you take a running back in your draft. If you happen to take at least four running backs within the first four to five rounds, chances are you’ll be set on talent level and don’t need to draft any more later on.
Wide receivers: 6 to 9
This is the position you should not skimp out on, and DraftKings’ mandate of having three wide receivers in a lineup should serve as guidance for your draft strategy. Between byes, the always likely chance of injuries, and of course the inevitable bust here and there, you will surely need more than five receivers on your team for Best Ball.
That being said, no one is recommending you go all in and reserve 10 roster spots for receivers alone. If you’re playing to truly win, between six and nine is the sweet spot, given that you’ll want at least two to three surefire studs alongside some possible breakout candidates on a given week. Overloading your roster with way too many WR4s that amount to nothing is impractical.
Tight ends: 2 to 3
Similar to the quarterback position, the tight spot is a mandate with one player slotted in for a weekly lineup. As a result, you should never draft more than three at this position, again, similar to that of the quarterbacks. What makes it tricky is that the tight end position is historically a top-heavy group, whether in Best Ball or in standard fantasy. So unless you snatch one of the few elite names, chances are you’ll be rolling with an average talent who can give you decent points.
However, if you happen to have a solid TE2 that could otherwise slot in as your starter, the great news is that he can easily fill the FLEX position in Best Ball. Thus, you don’t want to limit yourself to just one tight end drafted on the off-hand that your next best could go off on any week, on top of the need for a bye-week replacement.