Last week we outlined how to start shifting our best ball brain to tackle managed leagues.

Today, I want to get even more specific on how we can apply what we've learned across hundreds of best ball leagues to crush a redraft league against your hapless buddies or co-workers.

For this exercise, I'm going to go round-by-round through the ADP of a Yahoo league to give us a good proxy for what a typical home league draft would look like right now.

I did this same thing recently in a video about the best pick in every round of current Underdog drafts, and it's a valuable exercise for understanding where the value pockets of the draft are and which positions you should be prioritizing in each round.

These picks are for a default Yahoo! league, which means:

  • .5 PPR
  • 1 QB; 2 WR; 2 RB; 1 TE; 1 Flex; 1 K; 1 DEF/ST

With that said, here's how I would attack the first ten rounds of a home league draft to craft the perfect fantasy football draft on Yahoo!.

You can compare Yahoo ADP with that on other fantasy football platforms in one place by accessing our ADP tool below!

Round 1 - Elite RB

Round 1

The biggest difference between managed and best ball leagues right now is how much earlier RBs go on sites like Yahoo and ESPN. On Underdog, you can start up to 4WRs, so locking up that pass-catching firepower is mandatory. 

But in this specific format, not only can we start the same amount of RBs as WRs (2 + a flex), but the shaky RBs are going much higher in the early rounds while attractive WR targets are pushed down.

This leads me to wanting to lock up true bellcow backs in the early rounds at a fair price and then zagging away from the priced-up options in Rounds 3 and 4.

Locking up one of Christian McCaffrey, Breece Hall, Bijan Robinson, or Jonathan Taylor would be my preference in Round 1.

Round 2 - Elite RB

Round 2

A similar dynamic unfolds in Round 2. While I do love Puka Nacua, the WRs going in Rounds 3,4, and 5 aren't that much different than the ones going in Round 2. This once again pushes me to lock up another RB with an elite ceiling.

The backs who also catch passes–Jahmyr Gibbs and Kyren Williams–would be my preference, but I wouldn't fault anyone for taking the plunge on Derrick Henry, Isiah Pacheco, or Travis Etienne either.

Round 3 - QB

Round 3

I'm going through an identity crisis right now. No WRs in the first three rounds? Who am I? Who have I become?? 

Once again, I like some of the pass catchers here, but they are nearly indistinguishable from the options available in the subsequent rounds.

This presents us with a great opportunity to lock up an elite QB with a massive ceiling. As we discussed in the piece last week, this will allow us to get off to a fast start in our league with a fully optimized starting lineup.

I know you are getting sweaty at WR, don't worry. We're about to cook…

Round 4 - WR

Round 4

Alright, it's finally time to start grabbing pass catchers. And if you look at the names in this round, you'll quickly be able to understand why. David Montgomery is massively overpriced here (he goes 3-4 rounds later in Underdog drafts). The QBs are also pricey compared to the truly elite ones who go one round earlier.

On the flip side, this round provides us with cracks at proven veteran talents like Stefon Diggs and Cooper Kupp and young guns with massive single-game ceilings in DJ Moore and Jaylen Waddle.

Generate your own simulated mock draft to practice putting together the PERFECT fantasy football draft by using our Draft Champion!

Round 5 - TE

Round 5

Elite TE is the dominant strategy across all formats this year, and Round 5 is the sweet spot in Yahoo drafts.

Take your pick of Mark Andrews, Trey McBride, George Kittle, and Dalton Kincaid–all have the potential for massive spike weeks and to lap your opponent at the TE position on a regular basis.

Because TE scoring after the Top 7 is so low and volatile, we should be taking big swings at the position. The waiver wire will be packed full of mediocre TEs all season, so you'll always have that safety net if you miss.

Round 6 - WR

Round 6

We now are set at RB, QB, and TE, so it's time to load up on WRs. Fortunately, Round 6 is the perfect round to do so.

We have second-year breakout candidates in Zay Flowers and Tank Dell, a big play WR with zero target competition in George Pickens, and my personal favorite, one of the most athletic and talented rookie WRs to enter the league in Malik Nabers.

For perspective, Nabers is my favorite pick in the third round of Underdog drafts–you can listen to me make the case for him here–which means he's a windmill slam dunk in the 6th round.

Round 7 - WR

Round 7

Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore. Kickers are flying off the board. Brock Purdy is chilling out. An RB who might not play for a good chunk of the season is at pick 81…and three WR1s on their own team??

So ya, this is another sweet spot to grab a WR. My favorite of the bunch is Keenan Allen. I can give you advance metrics (coming off a season with an elite 27.5% targets per route run) or I can give you counting stats (his 2023 full-season pace was 199 targets/141 receptions/1,626 yds/9 TDs), but drafters are simply overthinking it with Allen at these prices.

DJ Moore and Rome Odunze are good players, but Keenan has earned targets at an elite clip over his entire career and showed no signs of slowing down last year. There's no logical reason not to expect him to do it again in 2024.

Round 8 - WR

Round 8

There are some solid options at RB in this range. And if you did want to make a 2v2 in Round 1 and Round 8, you could easily justify it (say, Bijan & Reed vs. Ja'Marr Chase & Jaylen Warren).

But I still slightly prefer the early RB side knowing how easy it is for us to build out significant WR depth in the middle rounds of these drafts.

There is a lot of buzz on Dontayvian Wicks and the idea of the Packers spreading the ball around, but Reed just delivered a special rookie year where he averaged 16.35 PPR/per game from Weeks 9-18.

Reed's involvement in the rushing game, which is Deebo Samuel-esque, also gives him a higher floor than a typical WR going in this range.

He's much more expensive on Underdog, but this price makes him a screaming target.

Round 9 - RB

Round 9

I don't mind going WR here–both Rashee Rice and DeAndre Hopkins are great picks at this price–but if I'm going to make one exception for another back it is a guy with bellcow upside. 

Brooks is the perfect archetype to select as your RB3. Because we already have two top-shelf, set-it-and-forget-it backs, we don't need his production at the beginning of the year. But as the best prospect in the class with three-down potential, he could be a FLEX hammer play down the stretch. 

It's very clear that the Panthers and Dave Canales plan to unleash him once he is ready to go.

If your leaguemates are spooked about him opening up training camp on PUP, feel free to push him an extra round.

Round 10 - WR

Round 10

Worthy goes a full five rounds earlier in Underdog drafts. He is the exact kind of upside swing I want to take in redraft. If he hits, you just got DeSean Jackson paired with Patrick Mahomes. If he flops, you cut him and grab another flier.

But we just need to approach this pick with a "keep it simple, stupid" mindset:

This is the fastest WR in NFL history playing with the best QB in NFL history on an offense that desperately needs downfield playmakers and has legitimate concerns with its other pass catchers (Travis Kelce– limited playing time?, Rashee Rice–suspension?).

If you've drafted a ton of best ball teams, drafting in these rooms feels like taking off the weighted vest. Understanding where the sharpest drafters value these players allows you to extract a ton of value from softer competition. 

We just need to be willing to alternate our strategy for the much different drafting environment.