X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Best Ball Mock Draft Recap and Analysis

On March 30th, several veteran fantasy football players and RotoBaller contributors participated in a best ball mock draft and there were a few first-round surprises in this one. Diamond Mike went first overall and took Saquon Barkley over Christian McCaffrey. I followed up with Mike after the draft and he told me that he went with Barkley because he has a gut feeling that McCaffrey will regress from his 2019-campaign and he feels a bounce back coming for Barkley. The next surprise came when Joe Mixon went third overall to Warren. After the draft, Warren explained that the return of Jonah Williams and the likely addition of Joe Burrow through the draft has him extremely bullish on Mixon for 2020, but he never seems to fall to him, until now.

The third and final surprise from the first round came at 11, when Mike Florio selected Leonard Fournette. At the conclusion of the draft, Florio commented that he is bullish on Fournette this year because he was third in the NFL in 2019 with 792 yards after contact, he finished as the RB7 in PPR leagues and Florio expects Fournette to improve on the three touchdowns he scored in 2019. Florio wanted to get Fournette, and with an ADP of 21 overall, he wasn’t going to get him on the way back in the third round, so he pulled the trigger on him. Davante Adams going before Michael Thomas could also raise some eyebrows.

After looking these teams, it was apparent that several specific strategies were deployed. There were well-rounded teams, teams that went heavy at RB or WR to start, and then there’s the team that drafted Lamar Jackson in the third. Now I will take a look at some of these strategies and analyze how some of the teams panned out.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for the 2025 playoffs:

 

Best Ball Mock Draft Results

The entire draft board can be seen here (click image for full-screen) or you can visit the link here:

 

The Lamar Jackson Team – KC the Fantasy 401(k)

KC was drafting out of the nine-hole and started extremely strong with Nick Chubb at 1.9 and Julio Jones at 2.4. As the third round came back to KC, he had a difficult decision to make. KC needed to decide whether to take one of the less exciting running backs on the board (Mark Ingram or Le'Veon Bell), a wide receiver coming off a poor 2019 (Odell Beckham Jr.) or go with Lamar Jackson at QB, who is coming off a record-breaking season because of his ability to run the football. KC went with Lamar Jackson, and here is how his projected starting lineup shook out:

QB – Lamar Jackson
RB – Nick Chubb
RB – Le'Veon Bell
WR – Julio Jones
WR – Stefon Diggs
WR – Jarvis Landry
TE – Austin Hooper

When the dust settled, KC’s starting lineup appears to be very good. However, when you take a quarterback early in a draft, you miss out on drafting quality running backs and wide receivers in those earlier rounds and you must hit on some guys in the later rounds. In KC’s case, his depth is a little shaky as his bench running backs include Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Duke Johnson, Matt Breida and Devonta Freeman who isn’t currently on an NFL roster. Outside of KC’s starting wide receivers, only Tee Higgins and Donovan Peoples-Jones are likely to play this year, with both Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon currently on the street. In summary, the starters look good, but the depth is troubling.

 

Running Back Heavy Team – Warren

My buddy Warren drafted from the third spot and went with Joe Mixon. Warren opted to go with Mixon third overall because he’s extremely high on him this year and this was the first draft where he actually fell to him. Warren followed up the Mixon selection with Damien Williams and Miles Sanders before Warren started taking the best wide receivers that were still available. When it was all said and done, Warren’s projected starting lineup ended up looking like this:

QB – Jared Goff
RB – Joe Mixon
RB – Damien Williams
WR – Robert Woods
WR – Deebo Samuel
WR – Tyler Lockett
TE – T.J. Hockenson

Warren ended up with very strong running backs, each of which are capable of popping off long runs and will see considerable volume this year. Although this group of wide receivers lacks a legitimate WR1, they are pretty solid from top to bottom, and he did draft Diontae Johnson who is a big-play threat and Anthony Miller at 10.10 which could end up being a great pick if the Bears are able to throw the ball better in 2020. The weakness of this team is clearly the quarterback with Jared Goff projected as the starter and Sam Darnold on the bench. Warren took Jerick McKinnon at 9.3 when he could have had Carson Wentz, Josh Allen, Daniel Jones, or even Aaron Rodgers who went at 12.1.

 

The Travis Kelce Team – Phil Clark

Over the last few years, there have been tight ends like Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz who have dominated at the position and as a result, they shot up draft boards the following year. In 2019, Travis Kelce was clearly the best tight end in fantasy football, and so far in 2020 drafts he has an ADP of 22 overall. Rotoballer contributor Phil Clark took Kelce at 2.9 in this mock draft, and constructed the following projected starting lineup:

QB – Dak Prescott
RB – Ezekiel Elliott
RB – D'Andre Swift
WR – Kenny Golladay
WR – Calvin Ridley
WR – D.K. Metcalf
TE – Travis Kelce

Phil’s running back depth ended up a little light and unproven, but he did lock up two of the most talented rookie running backs that are entering the league this year in D’Ande Swift and J.K. Dobbins. Additionally, Phil was able to lock up Zeke Elliott’s handcuff, Tony Pollard, which gives him some security at the position. If Phil had waited to draft a tight end until the ninth round, he could have had either Hayden Hurst or Mike Gesicki instead of Jamison Crowder who he did select in the ninth. Instead of Kelce, Phil could have drafted Mike Evans, Kenny Golladay, Damien Williams or Kenyan Drake in the second round which would have made his team better at RB or WR. At the end of the day, Phil put together a pretty solid team, but if you’re going to draft a tight end early, you better have a plan to draft solid depth at the other positions in the later rounds.

 

Wide Receiver Heavy Team – Troopa Tom

My guy Troopa Tom went with DeAndre Hopkins, Tyreek Hill, Odell Beckham Jr. and Michael Gallup with four of his first five picks. Tom took his first running back, Chris Carson, at 4.3 and his projected starting lineup looks like this:

QB – Daniel Jones
WR – DeAndre Hopkins
WR – Tyreek Hill
WR – Odell Beckham Jr.
RB – Chris Carson
RB – Zack Moss
TE – Evan Engram

At first glance, Tom’s running backs look poor, but if you take a step back, he may be alright at the position. Chris Carson has gotten a bad reputation because of injuries the last few years, but he did rush for over 1,200 yards in 2019 before he went down for the season. Tom selected Zack Moss and A.J. Dillon as his RB2 and RB3 and if those guys get drafted to a good situations, they could have decent rookie campaigns. Sony Michel was drafted at 9.10 and this is the pick that could really make Tom’s team, because if he rebounds after being a bust in 2019, he could help solidify a lineup filled with stud wide receivers.

 

Well-Rounded Teams – Spam King & Justin Carter

The Spam King and Rotoballer contributor Justin Carter took balanced approaches to their drafts. Spam King went RB-RB and WR-WR with his first four picks, while Justin Carter went WR-RB-WR-RB with his first four selections. Their projected starting lineups look like this:

Spam King                                         Justin Carter

QB – Drew Brees                             QB – Deshaun Watson
RB – Alvin Kamara                          RB – Aaron Jones
RB – Todd Gurley                            RB – Marlon Mack
WR – JuJu Smith-Schuster           WR – Michael Thomas
WR – Tyler Boyd                              WR – Amari Cooper
WR – T.Y. Hilton                              WR – D.J. Chark Jr.
TE – Zach Ertz                                   TE – Mike Gesicki

Both of these squads are lights out. Spam King’s starting lineup has proven players at every position and has a solid bench with Cam Akers, Curtis Samuel, Latavius Murray and Philip Rivers. Justin Carter has similar depth as he was able to draft Kerryon Johnson and David Montgomery, two running backs that had disappointing 2019 seasons and both could bounce back in a big way. He was also able to get some young, high-upside wide receivers in Christian Kirk, Darius Slayton and Jalen Reagor.

 

Late Bargains

Best ball drafts are often won by the picks made towards the end of the draft. Based on what we know at the moment, here are each team’s best picks coming in the 10th round or later:

Diamond Mike – Steven Sims Jr. 15.1 – Towards the end of 2019, Steven Sims showed the ability to break the long play, even with poor play from the quarterback position. Sims may take a step forward in year two, the quarterback play should be better, and his big-play ability makes him dangerous in a best-bell environment.

FF Bonnie – Will Dissly 14.11 – People may forget about Will Dissly since the Seahawks signed Greg Olsen this offseason. Even with the presence of Olsen, Dissly could be a touchdown monster.

Warren – Jace Sternberger 17.3 – Jimmy Graham has departed Green Bay giving way for Jace Sternberger who has potential to break out. The Packers haven’t had a great fantasy tight end since Jermichael Finley.

Phil Clark – Corey Davis 19.4 – Corey Davis has been labeled a bust and he struggles against man-to-man coverage, and he plays in a run heavy offense which makes it difficult to predict when he will come through. In a best-ball setup, you don’t need to worry about the lineup decision, so you will get the points the one or two times he blows up in 2020.

Spam King – Latavius Murray 13.5 – Murray has some stand-alone value because he’s capable of scoring any given week, and he has added value to Spam King because he drafted Alvin Kamara.

Katz – Tarik Cohen 11.6 – Tarik Cohen doesn’t carry the ball much and does most of his damage in the passing game which is difficult to predict. In a best-ball setting, you will get Cohen’s points when he blows up.

Big Rigg – Sammy Watkins 15.7 – Sammy Watkins is one of the most physically-gifted wide receivers in the NFL, but he disappears at times. Once again, in a best ball, you don’t need to set the lineup, so if you have him, you will get his good games.

Justin Carter – Darius Slayton 11.8 – Golden Tate is aging, Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram are seemingly always hurt, which may leave Darius Slayton as the number one receiver for the Giants.

KC – Eric Ebron 13.9 – Ebron is touchdown-dependent and he will be playing with a great quarterback which is something he didn’t have in 2019.

Troopa Tom – Nick Foles 16.3 – Nick Foles and Mitch Trubisky are in a true position battle for the starting job in Chicago, and if Foles wins it, he could put up big numbers in the Nagy offense.

Mike Florio – Kenny Stills 13.11 – Best ball was created for players like Kenny Stills. Stills will get hurt, he will be unreliable, and just when you give up on him, he will catch five balls for 165 yards and two touchdowns. If he’s on your best ball roster, you don’t need to worry about giving up on him.

Tim Riordan – DeSean Jackson 16.1 – DeSean Jackson is one of the greatest deep-ball wide receivers to play in recent history and could win you any given week.

More Best-Ball League Strategy




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Alexander Canario20 mins ago

Could Contend For Spot On Opening Day Roster
Kevin Alcántara30 mins ago

Kevin Alcantara Could Be No. 2 Option In Center Field
Drey Jameson39 mins ago

Faces Live Hitters
Corbin Burnes47 mins ago

Starting In First Spring Game
Nick Yorke54 mins ago

Could Shift To First Base
David Bednar1 hour ago

Will Open The Season As Closer
Brendan Rodgers9 hours ago

Astros Sign Infielder Brendan Rodgers To Minor-League Deal
MLB9 hours ago

Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System To Be Used During Some Spring Games
Jesús Sánchez10 hours ago

Jesus Sanchez Will Get Reps In Center Field This Spring
Bryan Reynolds10 hours ago

Expected To Play Right Field; No Plans To Play First Base
Oakland Athletics10 hours ago

Athletics Set To Play In Las Vegas In 2028
Trey Sweeney13 hours ago

Makes "Minor" Swing Adjustments
Gleyber Torres13 hours ago

Expected To Hit In The Top Half Of The Lineup
Donovan Solano13 hours ago

Dealing With Visa Issues
Luke Little13 hours ago

Will Ramp Up Slowly During Spring Training
Robert Garcia13 hours ago

Completes Side Session
MJ Melendez13 hours ago

Revamps Swing
Jameson Taillon14 hours ago

Hoping To Regain Some Velocity
Justin Turner14 hours ago

Cubs Could Pair Justin Turner, Michael Busch At First Base
Will Smith15 hours ago

Won't Play Until Next Week
Joe Ross15 hours ago

Being Built Up As A Starter
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP
10
10
11
11
12
18
13
27
14
28
15
29
16
33
17
34
18
40
19
41

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
1
1
2
3
3
7
4
12
5
14
6
15
7
16
8
17
10
19

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Kyren Williams - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Dynasty Fantasy Football Avoids - Players To Trade Away and Fade in Dynasty Start-Up Drafts

There are always players that are overvalued in Dynasty fantasy football, and if you happen to take them in a start-up draft, you can be in big trouble. It's not always easy to predict how players' careers will go, though. They can seemingly rise and fall in drafts without much warning. And owning a player […]


Caleb Williams - Fantasy Football Rankings, QB, NFL Rookies, Draft Sleepers

Early 2025 Fantasy Football Sleepers and Draft Targets - Quarterbacks

The Super Bowl has come and gone which means there is officially a wrap on the 2024 NFL season. All that means is that the 2025 fantasy football season has essentially begun. It is never too early to evaluate who we may be targeting during this fall's drafts. Quarterback has been an interesting position to […]


Tyler Warren - College Football Rankings - NCAA CFB DFS Lineup Picks - NFL Draft

2025 Fantasy Football TE Rookie Rankings (Pre-NFL Draft) - Tyler Warren, Elijah Arroyo, Harold Fannin Jr., and more

The positional strengths of certain positions cycle every year. Last year, the quarterback and wide receiver classes were strong. This season, they give way to the running back and tight end positions. As prospects prepare to hear their names called at the NFL Draft, fantasy managers look to gain the upper hand on their competition […]


Travis Kelce - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL DFS Picks, Injury News

The Tight End Age Cliff: When Should You Fade Aging Fantasy Football Veterans?

In professional football, the "age cliff" of a player is the age at which their production takes a sharp downturn and never recovers. While plenty of players have down seasons and others suffer career-ending or career-altering injuries, these are different than simple declines due to their bodies not being able to handle NFL punishment or […]


Kenneth Walker III - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

NFC Players To Buy In Dynasty Fantasy Football Leagues

When it comes to dynasty fantasy football leagues, the work is never finished. The market fluctuates daily based on the slightest bit of news. This can create some great buying opportunities for savvy gamers. This is a slower time of year for most dynasty leagues. However, now is the perfect time for owners to acquire […]


Kirk Cousins - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Backup Quarterbacks To Buy In Superflex Dynasty Fantasy Football Leagues

Superflex dynasty fantasy football leagues have become increasingly popular in recent years. Many gamers prefer them as they believe the importance of quarterbacks is on par with that of the NFL. While that holds, this means it’s important to roster several backup quarterbacks as well. Signal-callers go down every year, and you don’t want to […]


Rashid Shaheed - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Dynasty Fantasy Football Values: Later-Round Targets For Dynasty Start-Up Drafts

The most important part of every Dynasty fantasy football league is the startup draft. There's nothing more impactful that you can do to boost your team in the short term than nail your picks in the drafts. But as the rounds wear on, less and less obvious picks are present. By the late rounds, it […]


Ladd McConkey - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Top AFC West Players To Buy In Dynasty Fantasy Football Leagues

While the 2024 fantasy football season is in the rearview mirror, the grind never stops for dynasty players. However, now is the perfect time for fantasy players to look into trade options in their dynasty leagues. Let’s look at eight players from the AFC West that fantasy players should explore trading for this offseason.Be sure […]


Travis Hunter - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Draft Prospects, NFL Rookies

2025 Fantasy Football IDP Rookie Rankings (Pre-NFL Draft) -Abdul Carter, Jalon Walker, Mykel Williams, and more

We are only a few days removed from the Super Bowl, but rookie drafts are already underway, and the fantasy football landscape is, once again, being reshaped. As we get closer to the NFL Draft in Green Bay, understand that the market will change several times. It'll change after the combine, during free agency, and […]


Derrick Henry - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

The Running Back Age Cliff: When Should You Fade Aging Fantasy Football Veterans?

The NFL and other professional sports leagues are all centered around collecting the most genetically gifted and physically talented athletes and having them compete against each other. The mental aspect of the game is important as well, but without the raw physical ability, one simply cannot compete in the big leagues. For running backs, toughness, […]


Isiah Pacheco - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News

Dynasty Fantasy Football Sells - Players To Trade Away (AFC Edition)

While knowing which players to buy in dynasty fantasy football leagues is essential to success, it’s equally important to know which players to sell. You never want to get stuck “holding the bag” on players who seem to be heading down the wrong path. Surprisingly, many dynasty gamers stubbornly refuse to move off their prior […]


Tre Harris - College Football Rankings, NCAA CFB DFS Lineup Picks, NFL Draft

Rookies to Target in Early 2025 Fantasy Football Best Ball Drafts

Best ball fantasy football formats are all about hunting for as much upside as possible. Drafting players who can produce explosive scoring games, like those in the 20 PPR point range or more, is massively important, especially in the later rounds. The uncertainty surrounding most NFL rookies and the constant whiffs by consensus opinions of […]


Rashee Rice - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL wr, Draft Sleepers

AFC Players To Buy In Dynasty Fantasy Football Leagues

The offseason is the most important time for dynasty fantasy football managers to improve their teams. This could mean acquiring a star player who might be coming off a down year or trading away a top dynasty asset for multiple first-round picks. Many of those decisions will come down to how your team is currently […]