Fantasy football: The 15 players we keep drafting in Best Ball contests

Best Ball is a draft-and-hold style of fantasy football in which the team you select is yours for the entire season. Every week, your best possible lineup of a quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, a tight end and a flex are automatically "started" for you based on the results. There is no waiver wire, no trades, no management of any sort once your team is drafted.

Your goal is to assemble a roster that is deep enough to withstand the rigors of an NFL season but also with enough star power and breakout potential to stand out among all the other entries, be it a single league of 12 players or a large tournament-style contest that can feature hundreds of thousands of leagues.

Mackenzie Kraemer, who finished second in one of the largest contests in the industry last year, goes into the details of how to draft a Best Ball roster. Here, we get into the players that he and fellow avid Best Ball drafters Ben Solak and Seth Walder have been queueing up time and time again to add to their rosters.

The five players Mackenzie Kraemer keeps drafting

MarShawn Lloyd, RB, Green Bay Packers: Lloyd has been one of the biggest risers in ADP over the last few months, but I still click him almost every time in the 13th round. Unlike fellow injury-plagued third-year running back Jonathon Brooks, who commonly goes in the 7th round, Lloyd's price remains very palatable.

Lloyd has clearly leapfrogged Chris Brooks to be the primary RB2, and being the complementary RB2 in the Packers' backfield behind Josh Jacobs is enough to justify his price. After all, it wasn't long ago this backfield produced two running backs in the first seven rounds in Aaron Jones Sr. and AJ Dillon.

But given Jacobs' recent injury history and legal situation, there is also plenty of contingent upside. He is my most-drafted player over the last two months, and I don't expect that to change over the next few weeks.

Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders: There is a precipitous drop-off in talent in the early 6th round. Carnell Tate, Jadarian Price and Tyler Warren typically are the last players in the WR, RB and TE tiers, and at that point, each of those position groups are flat.

As a result, I love to target the elite quarterbacks in the 6th round, and in Daniels' case, sometimes even the early 7th. Daniels arguably has the highest weekly rushing ceiling among all quarterbacks, and with the addition of new OC David Blough, WR Stefon Diggs and TE Chig Okonkwo, you can make the case that Daniels is in a much better situation than he was as a rookie two years ago.

With the bottom tier of starting quarterbacks going earlier than usual, grabbing an elite QB like Daniels allows for a lot more roster flexibility. You can tack on another quarterback like Brock Purdy or Patrick Mahomes and stop at two. Or you can wait a while and tack on two cheap quarterbacks and feel comfortable you have enough floor and ceiling to win the position.

Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers: There is a cluster of quarterbacks going between picks 75-110, and to me, Purdy is the most obvious target of the bunch.

Purdy has ranked between QB6 and QB10 on a per-game basis over the last three seasons, yet he regularly slips into the 100's in DraftKings drafts. He is still an ascending 26-year old quarterback, coming off the most productive season in his career.

The setup for Purdy still looks very appealing. San Francisco still has a lot of questions on defense, while offensively, they have added Mike Evans, De'Zhaun Stribling and Deebo Samuel Sr. While the Ricky Pearsall injury hurts, it looks like George Kittle will be back early, giving Purdy a strong group of receivers and pass catchers.

Many of my favorite roster constructions are two-quarterback builds featuring an elite QB (Daniels, Drake Maye, Jalen Hurts) along with either Purdy or Mahomes. While many sharp drafters have opted to go to three-quarterback builds, taking two underpriced strong quarterbacks is a great way to pivot and allow you to have extra roster spots for wide receiver or tight end.

Davante Adams, WR, Los Angeles Rams: While Adams turns 34 in December, he remains an extremely productive wide receiver in fantasy football. His 14 touchdowns were three more than any other receiver. And it wasn't lucky -- he had 27 targets in the end zone last season, nine more than any other player, despite missing three games.

He has also scored at least eight touchdowns in nine of the last 10 seasons, and on a team that is favored to win the Super Bowl, it's hard to predict too much touchdown regression.

Plus, there is a chance that Adams has room for significantly more upside in case of a Puka Nacua injury. Matthew Stafford has been a king-maker for fantasy wide receivers for a long time, from Calvin Johnson to Cooper Kupp to Nacua. If Nacua misses time and Adams increases his target share, there's a chance he can be a league-winner. Yes, he's 33 years old. He's also a future Hall of Famer who still has some gas in the tank.

Dalton Schultz, TE, Houston Texans: Schultz has been my highest-drafted tight end for months, as he checks a ton of boxes. Last season, only Trey McBride and Kyle Pitts Sr. caught more passes than Schultz among tight ends, giving him a strong weekly floor in full-PPR scoring.

This year, the WR depth chart is even more barren than in past years for the Texans. While Nico Collins is a star, there is a path for Schultz to be the Texans second-leader in targets, just like he was in each of the previous three seasons.

Schultz is unlikely to be a league-winner, but he will likely project for more points than all the RBs and TEs at his ADP, and in the 160s and beyond, that's very valuable in terms of advance rates. Plus, with so many viable tight ends having Week 11 byes, both in that range and earlier, Schultz' Week 8 bye has helped provide balance to many of my teams.

The five players Ben Solak keeps drafting

Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers: McMillan has fallen in ADP throughout the summer, from 36.9 to 43.6. He's now just above Luther Burden III (who is injured), Davante Adams (who is 33 years old and clearly losing speed) and Parker Washington (who we think will be the highest-volume receiver in Jacksonville). McMillan clearly represents a tier break at the wide receiver position, and I constantly scoop him up accordingly.

An increased slot role, which was reported and is now backed up by training camp snaps, will give McMillan more high-percentage targets and inflate his numbers in DraftKings' PPR format. The ADP falloff is tough to understand -- do we really think an August signing of Darren Waller will cut much into McMillan's end zone target rate? Funny thing is, McMillan only had seven receiving touchdowns last season, and his target per route rate (22.2%) and catch rate (62.5%) in the red zone were both around average for high-volume receivers. The more likely outcome is that McMIllan, who was fifth in first down + touchdown rate in the red zone, will see increased production there in Year 2 as the Panthers find more ways to get him easier looks.

Meanwhile, WR3 candidates Chris Brazzell II (out for the year) and Xavier Legette (sprained ankle) have thinned the Panthers' WR depth behind McMillan. Monstrous target share is in his range.

David Montgomery, RB, Houston Texans: As Montgomery has risen in ADP (up from a 54.5 open), I've gone from constantly selecting him to only a steady stream. I wouldn't be surprised if Woody Marks' strong preseason pushes him down into a more enjoyable range.

The Texans' rushing attack has been one of the worst in football since C.J. Stroud entered the league -- 31st in EPA per rush, 31st in rushing success rate. To that end, they've attempted an offensive line retooling over the last two offseasons. This year's group, with first-round rookie Keylan Rutledge at center and the emergence of guard Ed Ingram, certainly looks like the best run-blocking group they've had. And they tried a RB trade, acquiring Joe Mixon from the Cincinnati Bengals.

When Houston acquired him, Mixon was only a year younger than Montgomery is now. Houston used Mixon as the lead back -- 245 carries to Dameon Pierce's 40 and Cam Akers' 40. That was a different offensive coordinator, of course (Bobby Slowik) -- but I'd wager DeMeco Ryans wants a physical grinder of a back to pair with his dominant, hard-nosed defense.

Marks is a splashy runner with good receiving chops, but Montgomery has always been a better receiver than given credit for -- I think the receptions end up closer to 50/50, and the goal line carries should heavily skew Montgomery's way. Of all the mid-round running back dart throws (Josh Jacobs, Travis Etienne Jr., Cam Skattebo, Bhayshul Tuten, Quinshon Judkins), I'm most confident in Montgomery's role and his ceiling for 10+ scores.

Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots: Stevenson is still going behind second-year pro and teammate TreVeyon Henderson -- just as I'm writing this, I got Stevenson at pick 76 in a draft in which Henderson went 19 picks earlier.

Henderson is the highly-drafted second-year pro looking for a breakout season, so I understand the hype. But every report out of training camp is that Stevenson is the lead back, and Henderson the change-of-pace player. In a PPR format like DraftKings, it's easy to talk yourself into the third-down back getting bigger value with all those receptions. But Stevenson is a remarkable receiver. He was second only to Christian McCaffrey in air yards among backs last season, was first in yards per target and second in yards per reception. His pass-gaming snaps are not going away.

Henderson may have the ability to score from anywhere, and that's getting him drafted highly. But I'd be stunned, save for injuries or fumble luck -- two things it's hard to bet on -- if Henderson actually starts dramatically outtouching Stevenson this season on a game-by-game basis. And so long as Stevenson is the primary ball carrier on what's expected to be a high-scoring offense, he'll have the volume and touchdown opportunity we look for in mid-round backs.

Juwan Johnson, TE, New Orleans Saints: Johnson emphatically emerged as a favorite target of Tyler Shough's down the stretch of last season. He was targeted on 21.1% of his routes, behind only Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, who was traded away midseason anyway. His 9.9 yards per target led all of Shough's receivers, thanks in large part to a high explosive receptions rate (15.9%). Shough and head coach Kellen Moore got him activated as a YAC option in a way he had yet to uncover over the course of his career.

Now he goes as the TE15 on DraftKings because ... Jordyn Tyson was drafted? Tyson already has a hamstring issue, which was a huge red flag in his pre-draft profile. It's reasonable to wonder if he'll be 100% in the first month of the NFL season. And while Tyson was the No. 8 overall pick, rookies don't get handed volume when they're barely available during camp to learn the playbook. Johnson should be the second pass catcher on his team and has the budding profile of an explosive play receiver. Behind Isaiah Likely? Behind Jake Ferguson? Not for my money.

Zachariah Branch, WR, Atlanta Falcons: Every best ball drafter needs their late-round dart throws. Even if he's a zero for most of the season, a spike week in Week 15 or 16 could be critical to advancing a unique roster into the pivotal Week 17. One of my most frequent end-of-draft targets is the rookie receiver in Atlanta.

Branch is currently WR4 on the Falcons' depth chart behind Drake London (whom he is never unseating), Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus. Both Dotson and Zaccheaus are unspectacular veterans who lack the playmaking juice of Branch. If the Falcons are bad this year, it's fair to expect those one-year deals to lose playing time to Branch, as the coaching staff looks for a shot in the arm and the personnel staff looks to evaluate their young talent at the position.

In a rotational role behind London, Pitts and Robinson, Branch is actually a best-ball drafters' dream. He's a big-play walking given his ball-in-hand ability and downfield speed, which makes it easier for him to produce a playable week on minimal touches. One 40+ yard touchdown in December is what we're playing for here.

The five players Seth Walder keeps drafting

Malik Willis, QB, Miami Dolphins Next year when Willis is going in what is currently the Joe Burrow range, we'll think: how lucky were we to draft him all the way down in the 130s in 2026? The ADP rise for Willis that I always assumed would happen never did, so I've just kept on selecting him all offseason long.

A quick reminder on Willis' numbers over the last two years in Green Bay (three starts): an 86.3 QBR, a plus-7% completion percentage over expected (per NFL Next Gen Stats) and 42 rushes for 261 yards. Those are absurd statistics.

Yes, I understand the small sample, new coach and worse team around him means uncertainty is high. But because of his top-tier rushing ability Willis is a player with a genuine shot at a top-5 QB fantasy season while being selected as QB21 in drafts. Because I anticipate a high share of his fantasy points coming from rushing I don't think stacking with Willis is critical, but Miami does offer a bevy of late-round stacking options to choose from in Malik Washington, Greg Dulcich and Caleb Douglas.

Chase Brown, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: The order of the running back tier that begins at the end of Round 1 and continues into mid-Round 2 has shifted throughout best ball season but among that group -- which I would consider to be Saquon Barkley, Kenneth Walker III, Chase Brown, Ashton Jeanty, De'Von Achane, Omarion Hampton and Derrick Henry -- Brown is the guy for me. And if I'm being honest with myself: if I had just a single draft and had a choice between Brown and Jonathan Taylor I would take the Bengal there, too.

As far as I'm concerned, Brown has it all: a clear-cut starting role with no real threats behind him, a good offense facing the easiest schedule in the NFL (per FPI), and excellent receiving capability (69 receptions last year). That combination gives him a high probability of scoring and makes him game-script proof.

Adonai Mitchell, WR, New York Jets: I've chased Mitchell up the draft board and still am selecting him where he goes now, with an ADP around pick No. 174. Mitchell enters the season as the Jets' No. 2 wide receiver and offers promising upside.

Mitchell recorded an 80 open score in ESPN's player-tracking based receiver scores over his first two years in the league with the Colts and Jets, 7th-best among all wide receivers in that span and in good company around names like Zay Flowers, Olave, Nacua and CeeDee Lamb.

Did Mitchell catch the ball as well as any of those other players? He did not, which is why he can be drafted as cheaply as he can be. But getting open is the part of a receiver's job that is most stable from year to year and most strongly correlates with production on a per snap basis. With a bit of ball-catching variance going our way, Mitchell could be a big hit.

DK Metcalf, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers: He's coming off a down season and still playing with Aaron Rodgers, who insists on getting the ball out in an absurdly quick time, which is why Metcalf is going in the middle of the seventh-round.

The concerns about Rodgers are valid (though I was surprised to see that Metcalf still was targeted on go routes and deep fades 22% of the time, a tick up from 2024 with Seattle -- it just was that those plays converted into far fewer yards yards per target) but I believe they've bumped Metcalf too far down the draft board.

Metcalf is just 28 years old and the Steelers will have a new offense with Mike McCarthy at the helm. Considering Metcalf's history, there's some positive regression possibilities here. Plus, he has a high floor: even in a down season he managed 850 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Why should he go 25 picks after Terry McLaurin, who is also off a down season and two years older?

Plus, Metcalf goes in a range where I much prefer him to the alternatives: Metcalf feels like a much safer click to me than Quentin Johnston, Josh Downs (post-Keenan Allen signing), Courtland Sutton or Jayden Reed.

D'Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears: Everyone wants in on the Bears offense, which is why Burden, Colston Loveland, Caleb Williams (and, to some degree, Rome Odunze) are all so pricey. But lost in that, I believe, is the market forgetting that Ben Johnson showed a run-first offense last year, and in Detroit before that.

That makes me believe the Bears player mostly likely to be a hit is Swift. While there's some risk Kyle Monangai (who is currently banged up) could take more rushing work as the year goes on, Swift should still enjoy a large percentage of the touches because he's the better pass catcher. That gives him protection if the Bears defense is a mess (or if Williams doesn't take the leap so many foresee), because he'll still be on the field if the Bears are trailing. Swift's price has risen recently but I still think he's going about a half-round too late.