Best Ball fantasy football leagues are quickly becoming the fastest-growing way to play the game, given the ease of use and the ability to keep drafting non-stop. But without the proper strategy in place, your Best Ball snake draft could be doomed from the start. While topics like stacking and roster constriction play a massive role, there are several keys to nailing the correct Best Ball strategy.
How Does a Snake Draft Alter Your Approach?
Much like regular-season fantasy football, you will have a draft slot and make one selection per round. Depending on where the spot is will play a massive role in your draft strategy as being patient might not be feasible, and you might need to reach for a few players you want. Where you pick will determine your roster far more than who you actually like. Therefore, as with any fantasy football format, flexibility is the biggest key to any draft.
This is a bit more specific to Superflex Best Ball, but if you are in a snake draft, I would prioritize quarterback with the first two picks. While there is a philosophy of letting the draft come to you and taking the mid-round value at the quarterback position, you want to be as elite as possible.
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Rushing upside rules the day, and the same applies to Best Ball, where players like Jalen Hurts, Justin Fields, Lamar, Jackson, and even maybe Anthony Richardson this year will all see a substantial floor compared to a traditional pocket passer barring unbelievable efficiency and/or volume.
It’s also worth keeping in mind which quarterback you draft likely will lead you down a path of potential pass catchers to target and even some running backs to avoid.
Stacking in Best Ball Is Almost Required
This is where your slot in a snake draft becomes important. Depending on how soon your picks follow each other, whether you’re at the bookends or in the middle, you might need to take a few more risks, and rather than strictly hoping for the best value, you should be willing to get aggressive and get your guys.
As an example, I’m incredibly high on Justin Herbert this year for both redraft and Best Ball, given the new offense being installed by Kellen Moore. I think he could have an MVP-caliber season or at least be in contention. Therefore, if I’m drafting Herbert in the first round of a Superflex Best Ball snake draft, I’m now willing to take his wide receivers a round early.
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I will be heavily prioritizing a combination of Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Quentin Johnston at their respective ADPs. If, for example, you were in the middle of your snake draft, it’s easier to see the trends and the expected runs on a position.
But if you’re on the bookends, especially in a 12- to 14-team draft, that’s well over 20 selections off the board until it comes back to you. While not the most ideal in terms of round-based value unless the draft falls perfectly, more than likely, you’re losing out on your chance to draft some of the most critical stacks on your roster.
Running backs Remain Devalued in Best Ball Snake Drafts
Although they remain a made a critical part of every fantasy football roster, RBs don’t move the needle quite as much in Best Ball drafts. Simply put, they don’t have the upside of elite wide receivers. Their expected fantasy points on a per-touch basis fall short. On average, the expected fantasy points per rush hovers around 0.60 PPR points. In contrast, a target for a running back has been worth roughly 1.81 PPR points.
That’s a three-time difference, and, in fact, a wide receiver rushing opportunity has typically generated more fantasy football points than a running back rush attempt at 0.84 compared to 0.60.
Volume remains king, and sure, running backs do have a place, but most strategies you find, which are taking down large tournaments, are drafting nearly six wide receivers in their first nine picks. Of the remaining three, one, maybe two, are running backs, as the difference in value between your mid-RB2s and lower-end RB3s is minimal in Best Ball style formats.
Use your early draft picks wisely. Find receivers who complement your quarterbacks in a stack, and then utilize the mid-round value in the relatively flat efficiency curve in this range. This will allow you to maximize your snake draft, regardless of your draft slot.
Pay Attention to the NFL Schedule
It’s easy to look at teams and say, yes, they will be good this year. You will be 100% correct in saying that. But who are they playing? That’s just as important. While it does mean a bit less to the regular season, this will separate championship contenders from pretenders in the playoffs.
There is a high correlation between targeting the right matchups for your Best Ball playoffs. As an example, if the Chargers are scheduled to play the Kansas City Chiefs in the final game, we should expect an offensive explosion. Additionally, we can infer this will likely be one of the highest O/U projected totals for the week, making it probably the highest-producing game for fantasy.
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Think about the Lions last year. Their defense couldn’t stop points from being scored, but their offense kept them in games. Nearly every contest against them felt like a shootout. What if, in this example, Detroit ends up playing Minnesota in the final week of the season?
If that’s the case, perhaps in this Best Ball redraft, make a Vikings and Lions team stack. Take a shot at Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown and try to find a combination of Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson. That type of correlation might be what it takes to win one of these multi-million dollar tournaments that seem to pop up every single week.
