The Roster Construction You Can Use In Every DRAFT Best Ball Championship Entry

Michael Dubner
June 27, 2019

We previously found that it may be best to wait until August to enter the NFL DRAFT Best Ball Championship, but there are some benefits to drafting at the beginning of the offseason. Teams that draft in August tend to post higher average scores. However, teams that draft earlier in the offseason can take advantage of facing opponents with lower scores, which may help you get more teams into Round 1 of the Best Ball Championship Playoffs.

To explore the best roster construction for early best ball drafters, we will use the Fanball Roster Construction Explorer, as it provides at least two benefits over the DRAFT RCE in this case: 1) The Fanball RCE allows us to split out the data by draft month, which is useful for seeing how roster construction success can change over the course of an offseason and 2) BestBall10s go back to 2015 (as MFL10s), while DRAFT only goes back to 2017. The directionality of the results from BestBall10s should align pretty well with DRAFT.

After looking at many of the popular fantasy football roster construction draft strategies as well as the strategies outlined in Shawn Siegele’s Best Ball Workshop, I found one roster construction strategy continuously provides the highest advantage, even in the early offseason.

Follow The Onesie Position Advice

Siegele’s Best Ball Workshop work shows there are specific rounds in drafts that present windows of opportunity to optimize your onesie (QB and TE) positions:

2-QB (and 3-QB) Window: QB1 in Rounds 6-11; QB2 in Rounds 8-12 (QB3 in Rounds 8-12)
2-TE with Early TE: TE1 in Rounds 1-4
2-TE (and 3-TE) with Late TEs: TE1 and TE2 in Rounds 9-15 (TE3 in Round 9-15).

Using Siegele’s QB and TE Windows for BestBall10s, I have shown that drafting 3-QBs or 3-TEs in their respective Windows has been a winning strategy on DRAFT. However, we should usually avoid drafting six onesie positions on the same team, and you may consider limiting your roster to just four onesie position players.

After looking at different roster constructions month-by-month (including onesie positions, zero-RB, heavy-RB), the one that sticks out the most as continuously being a winning strategy early in the offseason is …

The Happy Medium: Roster Five QBs and TEs in “Window”

Please subscribe For Full Access to all RotoViz content and tools!

What’s included in your subscription??

Exclusive Access to RotoViz Study Hall
- A treasure trove of our most insightful articles that will teach you the metrics that matter, time-tested winning strategies, the approaches that will give you an edge, and teach you how to be an effective fantasy manager.
Revolutionary Tools
- Including the NFL Stat Explorer, Weekly GLSP Projections, NCAA Prospect Box Score Scout, Combine Explorer, Range of Outcomes App, DFS Lineup Optimizer, Best Ball Suite,and many, many, more.
Groundbreaking Articles
- RotoViz is home of the original Zero-RB article and continues to push fantasy gamers forward as the go-to destination for evidence-based analysis and strategic advantages.
Weekly Projections
- Built using RotoViz’s unique GLSP approach.
Expert Rankings
And a whole lot more…

Michael Dubner

RotoViz Featured Writer. Emphasis on NFL DFS and Best Ball.

Don’t Miss Out On 2023’s Crazy Rookie Wide Receiver Value Like You Missed Garrett Wilson

Michael Dubner September 4, 2023

Garrett Wilson massively outperformed in fantasy a year ago, putting up more than 1,100 yards despite historically bad quarterback play. Now Michael Dubner reveals the rookie WR on the same path Wilson blazed a year ago. With one week of drafting remaining in the FFPC Main Event and FantasyPros contests, and 4% of Best Ball Mania drafts remaining, I’m bringing you an urgent message not…...

How to Spot RB Breakout Profiles With Too Much Trap Potential, Plus 4 Positional Groups You Must Fade

Michael Dubner August 21, 2023

Michael Dubner exposes the team positional groups he’s fading in 2023 best ball tournaments. In fantasy football, it’s not just about knowing who you draft, but it’s also who you do not draft. When reviewing my best ball portfolio, I like to get a sense of what individual players I’m over- and underweight on. I want to see what roster constructions I’m implementing. And what…...

It’s Much Easier to Fade the Fantasy MVP Than You Might Think, But This Tactic Helps You Escape the Trap

Michael Dubner August 9, 2023

Michael Dubner explains why you can very easily fade the fantasy MVP, and discusses the specific portfolio management technique that rescues you from the trap. RotoViz has long been ahead of the field in understanding the structural advantage Elite TEs offer in best ball, even in tournament formats. Although we used to get big seasons from Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham, and Zach Ertz – and we…...