Best ball league popularity has been growing rapidly over the past several years. This shouldn’t come as a surprise because many people, including myself, love to draft. I bet you’d be in 100 leagues every year if you didn’t have to manage the team, once the draft ended. Well, now you can with best ball. These leagues don’t replace your typical mock completely but these leagues can be good to test different strategies for your leagues.
After the draft is completed, your work is done as the team manager. The site you use will automatically “start” the best performing players on your team for that given week. It’s that easy and after each week concludes, check the standings and see how you match up against your competition.
Best Ball 101
Let’s take a look at the most common strategy in best balls, stacking. Drafting players from the same team, stacking, has been a favorite of many fantasy players for years. Stacking is safer in best ball because if the team has a rough week, hopefully, you won’t be stuck with minimal points. The skill position players of the stack are normally drafted before the quarterback. Wide receivers and tight ends are the preferred position you should draft to go along with your quarterback. Some running backs are good for stacks too and a couple will be discussed later on.
There are several ways to draft your stacks and several stages of the draft where you can as well. No matter who or when, it is most important to not reach above the ADP (this article will reference ADP data from fantasypros.com). If you draft guys ahead of their ADP, just to get the stack, you’re only hurting your team.
There’s plenty of stacking possibilities that you will find as you continue reading, without having to reach. Drafting for value is always the best strategy and before I go off on that tangent, let’s start to take a look at some of my favorite stacks for the 2021 season, and be sure to check out GoingFor2’s 2021 Best-Ball Rankings Here.
QB Josh Allen, WR Stefon Diggs, WR Cole Beasley, WR Gabe Davis
The Bills provide great opportunity and great values. You may not want all of these guys but grab what you can. Josh Allen (ADP 39.5) can be drafted as one of the first quarterbacks off the board in the 4th round. If you go wide receiver early in the draft and take Stefon Diggs (ADP 14), this can be a stack easily obtained.
Drafting Allen and Diggs almost guarantees you big points on a weekly basis. If Diggs isn’t a part of your strategy, Cole Beasley (ADP 138.5) and/or Gabe Davis (ADP 185.5) are cheap options in the 15th round or later that can put up useable points many weeks. Don’t worry about Allen running too much. The Bills will want to protect their franchise quarterback by throwing more this year.
QB Justin Herbert, RB Austin Ekeler, WR Keenan Allen, WR Mike Williams
This is probably my favorite team to stack. There aren’t many running backs I’d recommend including in any stacks but if I had to choose one, here it is. Austin Ekeler (ADP 14) is the running back to draft. He is known for his excellent pass-catching abilities, not to mention, he’s the best running back on the team too. Provided he plays most of the season, he can have a 100 catch season. Justin Herbert (ADP 62) is coming off an impressive rookie year and is able to use every player on the field. Depending on your draft, it’s possible to grab three or four parts of this stack.
Keenan Allen (ADP 32.5) is the receiver you want that’ll put up consistent, solid numbers week in and week out. If you are able to stack these first three guys before making your first six or seven picks, you’re off to a great start. Missed on either of these guys? Grab Mike Williams (ADP 130.5) in the 13th round. Best ball is made for Williams. There are weeks he will grab only a few balls but there are other weeks where he finds the end zone multiple times.
QB Jared Goff, RB D’Andre Swift, TE TJ Hockenson
The Detroit Lions are unfortunately a bad football team but maybe they’re turning it around. Until they do, they should be trailing a lot of football games. This means a lot of throwing for Jared Goff (ADP 187) who is currently being drafted as the 30th quarterback in best ball leagues. It’s not hard to know who will receive all these pass targets since they have below-average wide receivers. The beneficiaries are D’Andre Swift (ADP 25) and TJ Hockenson (ADP 62).
Obviously, Swift is a running back so he gets points in that aspect but he should be a decent part of their passing game. Hockenson is ready for a breakout season and can finish as a top tight end in 2021. Goff has had success in LA with tight ends and none were as good as what he has in Detroit.
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