2024 Fantasy Football: NFL Players with Biggest Differences in Best Ball vs. Redraft

Fantasy football draft season is ramping up more and more by the day. Fantasy managers everywhere are busily either drafting or preparing to draft. It's getting real in fantasy-land.

OK, so that didn't make much sense.

But there are some managers who have been drafting almost from the moment that Super Bowl LVIII ended—in best-ball leagues.

Best-ball leagues differ from redraft and dynasty formats in one major way. You draft the team the same way, but come the regular season, there are no lineups to set. In most cases, there are no waivers. The team you have is the team you have. Your best scorers each week are automatically slotted into the starting lineup. Every week is perfect—as much as it can be. Bleacher Report's Bryan Toporek put together a full Best Ball primer for more information on how to play.

It's an opportunity to draft "for real" without having to worry about in-season management. But it has also created an entirely new fantasy football ecosphere—a format where the strategy can be substantially different than in season-long leagues.

Upside rules supreme. Every-week machines like San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey and Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill may still reign supreme, but there are afterthoughts in season-long who can be week-winners (or even league winners—in a total points league that titanic Week 7 from Rando Wideout can be the difference between a title and no one cares) in Best Ball. And winning is (last I looked) what fantasy football is about.

We didn't go full afterthought mode here (if I could forecast the future that well, I'd be buying Mega Millions tickets), but each of the players here matters more in best-ball.

So, let's find out whose true calling is best-balling.

Success in best-ball lies in finding balance. Sure, consistency is important, just as it is in season-long formats. But since fantasy managers get the best possible starting lineup possible every week, it's even more critical to target upside. Players capable of posting "spike weeks."

And at the quarterback position, you'd be hard-pressed to find a quarterback more capable of spike weeks than Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens. The reason why is simple—rushing yards.

It's no secret that running quarterbacks are more valuable in fantasy. It takes fewer rushing yards than passing yards to earn a point. And touchdowns on the ground are usually worth more than those through the air.

With that said though, it's through the air where Griffin Schneider of Fantasy CPR sees a path for Jackson to finish as the No. 1 fantasy quarterback in 2024.

"The key to a QB1 season for Jackson will likely be his passing touchdown total, much like his previous season as the QB1 when he finished with 36 passing touchdowns," he said. "He threw for only 24 last year even though he set career highs in completions, attempts, completion percentage, yards, and yards per attempt. Jackson has the full trust of the Ravens coaching staff and is being given more responsibility at the line of scrimmage this year, so we could see this offense hit another gear."

There's no question that Jackson is a top-five fantasy option at his position in all formats. And many best-ball managers like to draft multiple mid-range signal-callers in the hope that at least one will have a good game in any given week.

But if you want to go the high-end route, an argument can be made that in best-ball, Jackson's potential to post a gaudy line buoyed by big rushing numbers makes him more valuable than any other quarterback in the league.

Want "spike week" upside and rushing ability but don't want to pay retail in your draft to get it?

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels may be the guy for you.

Best-ball drafters appear to be even more enamored with this year's incoming rookie signal-callers than the season-long crowd. Both Daniels and Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears have a higher ADP at Fantasy Pros in best-ball leagues.

For his part, Daniels told reporters that he's a lot more concerned about piling up wins than stats.

"Win as many games as possible and have fun while doing it. Try to shift the culture. Go out there and have fun and compete," Daniels said. "Try to help my team win the division that's the main goal."

However, the reality is that the Commanders are maybe the third-best team in the NFC East. Even playing a last-place schedule, this is a team that will be lucky to win seven games. The Commanders are going to be trailing with regularity—and that means passing. And scrambling. And tasty garbage time stats.

Now, relying on Daniels as a fantasy starter in season-long formats is a risky bet. Talented though he may be, Daniels' next NFL pass will be his first. There are going to be ups and downs—and that inconsistency can be a problem.

Best-ball eliminates a significant amount of that risk, because you aren't necessarily relying on Daniels every week. Combine Daniels with a higher-floor less expensive option like Russell Wilson of the Pittsburgh Steelers or Derek Carr of the New Orleans Saints. Maybe throw-in a late flier like Gardner Minshew of the Las Vegas Raiders. And mitigate a significant portion of the risk.

Let's get one thing out of the way right off the jump—at his current season-long ADP of RB8, this fantasy analyst wants no part of Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane. Or Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions, for that matter. Both backs have immense talent and explosiveness. But they also have Raheem Mostert and David Montgomery to contend with for touches.

While speaking to reporters, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said that he expects even bigger and better things from Achane in his second season.

"He had outstanding ball production," McDaniel said, "some of which I know he feels specifically that there's more out there from the opportunities he had last year and then being able to find different ways to get people the ball whether that's different types of pass routes, whether that's different types of run schemes that you can get comfortable with, all those things. More ways to be at the point of attack to play within this offense, that's what this offseason really provides for him."

Now, with Mostert and rookie Jaylen Wright also in the mix, consistent usage for Achane could be an issue. The youngster also missed six games as a rookie.

But we're talking about a young back who flirted with 1,000 total yards on just 130 touches last year. A back who found the end zone 11 times. A back who averaged a ridiculous 7.8 yards per carry as a rookie.

In other words, Achane is a "spike week" just waiting to happen. And while having a high-floor option or two behind him isn't a bad idea, Achane's sky-high ceiling is just the sort of thing best-ball drafters salivate over.

Need a bib?

Frankly, it's hard to get all that excited about the offensive prospects of players for the Las Vegas Raiders. Veteran wide receiver Davante Adams will probably get his (he was the most-targeted wideout in the AFC in 2023), but the Raiders have major questions at quarterback. Even in an AFC West that's weak outside the Kansas City Chiefs, the Raiders are probably a .500 team at best. Positive game scripts could be hard to come by.

Of course, the same could be said for the 2023 Raiders—and as Chris Raybon wrote for Fantasy Labs, that didn't stop running back Zamir White from producing.

"White piled up 457 scrimmage yards and a score on 93 touches over the season's final four weeks as the starter in place of Josh Jacobs," Raybon wrote. His 3.21 yards after contact per carry ranked 11th of 59 qualified RBs and was nearly a full yard better than Jacobs (2.35, 53rd). With JAG Alexander Mattison representing his biggest challenger for carries, White is secure in his role and offers Jacobs-like upside at a discount."

The argument can be made that if White can approach that level of per-touch production this season, he's significantly undervalued in both season-long and best-ball fantasy leagues. But best-ball drafters get the best of both worlds—an undervalued running back without the risk of starting him a week where things don't go the Raiders' way.

He's an excellent best-ball target in the back end of Round 7—especially for managers looking to try a "Zero RB" build and load up at wideout early.

For the most part, best-ball drafts are longer than season-long leagues. Many are more than 20 rounds. Since many do not have waivers once the season starts, those added rounds are an important opportunity to add either depth or late-round upside plays.

At running back, "handcuffing" is also more important. If you invest a second-round selection in Kyren Williams of the Los Angeles Rams, you had better circle back later in the draft and select Blake Corum—especially given how much time Williams missed a year ago.

Kimani Vidal of the Los Angeles Chargers doesn't really qualify as a "handcuff"—Chargers lead back Gus Edwards hasn't generated much in the way of hype this year. His average draft position is in the 11th round.

But per Nic Bodiford of Pro Football Focus, Kimani Vidal possesses more than a little late-round potential of his own.

"As detailed in "Best rushers in the 2024 NFL Draft," among 47 FBS running backs with at least 175 rushing attempts," he said, "Vidal ranks second in missed tackles forced (94), first in explosive run plays (47), eighth in missed tackles forced per attempt (0.32) and 17th in explosive run play rate (15.9%) He forced 10 missed tackles on 18 senior-season receptions and his 83.5 PFF pass-blocking grade ranks second among 14 FBS running backs with at least 100 pass-protection snaps."

Edwards admittedly scored a career-high 13 touchdowns last year in Baltimore (half his career total), but he also averaged a career-low 4.1 yards per carry and played in all 17 games for the first time in five NFL seasons.

Vidal may well be something of a lottery ticket. But he's the sort of lottery ticket that can win best-ball leagues if he finds his way into the lineup at some point.

The importance of the wide receiver position in fantasy football has grown in recent years. Wide receivers have been more consistent, and as a whole their bust rates are lower than at running back.

However, those bust rates are generally more even in the early rounds than as things get into the "RB Dead Zone" (Rounds 4-8, give-or-take), which leads some to follow something of an "old school" approach and grab reliable unquestioned lead backs early.

Managers who take that tack (and even those who don't, to an extent) in best-ball leagues can benefit from a shift in focus. Sure, it's good to have a CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys you know will post a big line every week. But find enough wideouts capable of big stat lines, and you can replicate that elite wideout.

After all, you don't have to know who will blow up in Week 6. You just need to roster him.

In Philadelphia, A.J. Brown may be top dog at wide receiver. But DeVonta Smith isn't far behind—the 25-year-old has eclipsed 1,000 yards and scored seven touchdowns each of the past two seasons. He averages over 13 yards a catch and actually had a higher catch percentage in 2023 than Brown.

It doesn't hurt that Smith plays for one of league's most explosive offenses ("stacking" Jalen Hurts and Smith isn't a bad idea if you don't mind paying up under center). Four times last year, Smith topped 18 points in .5 PPR scoring.

Smith can potentially anchor a best-ball wideout corps—with a price tag in low-end WR2 territory.

Well, we have already included a rookie quarterback and a rookie running back. Might as well continue the theme.

In best-ball leagues, speed kills. Leagues are won with huge stat lines. And while high-catch, low yards per reception guys can have significant value, it's the vertical threats whose value is higher than in season-long formats.

The Kansas City Chiefs made major moves at the wide receiver position this season, signing Marquise Brown in free agency and using their first pick on Texas speedster Xavier Worthy.

Worthy is fresh off running the fastest 40-yard dash in the history of the NFL Scouting Combine, and Saints running back Alvin Kamara said on the Happy Hour podcast that he can't wait to see what Worthy can do catching passes from the NFL's best quarterback.

"I like the Worthy pick from Texas, receiver for the Chiefs, " Kamara said. "He's got real speed. I think he's got raw talent; I think he has an opportunity to develop. He's got Pat Mahomes up there, Andy Reid and those guys. I mean, you get your hands on him, it's like playing with a car with a perfect engine almost. … I'm interested to see because there's football speed and there's track speed — he has both and I wanna see it. And then you got Pat throwing you the ball. It's almost unfair."

There are no guarantees with rookies, and a burner nursing a hamstring injury over the summer is at least a tad unnerving. But we have seen a lengthy list of rookie wideouts enjoy big-time success in recent years.

And outside Marvin Harrison Jr., there isn't a rookie at the position in 2024 with more potential to post jackpot weeks than Worthy—and he has an exponentially better quarterback.

Again, the key with best-ball wideouts (especially in leagues that award just half a point for receptions) isn't reception machines. It's field-stretchers—vertical threats. That becomes especially true once drafts hit the double-digit rounds. And that's where Rashid Shaheed's ADP lies—the third-year pro for the New Orleans Saints is being taken at the back end of Round 12.

Shaheed's numbers look much better than that asking price—sort of. Seventy-four catches, 1,207 yards and seven scores would be solid stats—if it wasn't Shaheed's line over two seasons. But Shaheed has also averaged over 16 yards a catch, and Sports Illustrated fantasy guru Michael Fabiano sees Shaheed as a player ready to take the next step in 2024.

"Shaheed flashed at times last season," he said, "scoring 15-plus points five times and in two of his last four games. With Michael Thomas now gone and no one of note added to the wide receiver room, Shaheed should see more than the 75 targets he had last season. He could push for flex value and is a nice best-ball pick."

It can be argued that "nice" is an understatement where Shaheed's fantasy value in 2024 is concerned. If he sees 100 targets as the unquestioned No. 2 receiver for the Saints, he could be quite a bit more than a flex play. Derek Carr may not be Patrick Mahomes, but he's better than he's given credit for. Chris Olave is going to see a ton of attention from opposing defenses.

And he'll provide just the sort of long touchdowns (and big stat lines) that best-ball managers love.

There isn't another player in fantasy football quite like New Orleans Saints tight end Taysom Hill.

For starters, he isn't exactly a tight end. He's a quarterback/goal-line runner/tight end/nacho vendor. One week he will finish as the highest-scoring tight end in the league. The next he will vanish completely.

Jackson Sparks of RotoBaller believes that regardless of what Hill is, he's undervalued in fantasy football.

"The 33-year-old Swiss Army knife may not have a high weekly floor, but his ceiling is as high as any tight end in fantasy, thanks to his rushing and receiving upside," Sparks said. "Over Hill's last 32 games, he has rushed 177 times for 976 yards and 11 touchdowns and caught 42 passes for 368 yards and four more scores. For what it's worth, he's also thrown for over 400 yards and four touchdowns. Given the lack of production by middling tight ends, it's worth eating a few down weeks for two or three massive spike performances."

That weekly volatility makes trusting Hill in season-long leagues tricky to put it mildly—if you don't get a massive week, you may not get anything. But that's the beauty of best-ball—the only weeks where Hill "starts" are the ones like Week 9 last year, where he had 77 total yards, threw a 44-yard pass and rushed for two touchdowns.

Unfortunately, Hill isn't TE-eligible at Underdog. But with providers where he is, there isn't a player whose value spikes more in best-ball relative to season-long than Hill.

Strategy at the tight end position in best-ball formats is different. It's not at all uncommon for teams to carry three (or more) tight ends—especially if they don't want to pay up for one of the bigger names at the position.

(For what it's worth, it's not a bad idea to grab an elite tight end in 2024. After Travis Kelce's "down" year in 2023 (by the ridiculous standard he set in prior years), there isn't a tight end coming off the board until the back of Round 2. Relatively consistent players like George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers are there into Round 6. Just saying.)

However, even the best tight ends have down weeks, and it's to offset those (and bye weeks) that depth is important at the position.

Tyler Conklin of the New York Jets isn't a name that inspires a ton of enthusiasm in fantasy managers—regardless of format. But Jets beat reporter Connor Hughes made a point of mentioning that Conklin and Aaron Rodgers seem to have developed a level of chemistry.

Garrett Wilson is the no-doubt No. 1 passing-game weapon in New York. But while Williams has more than a little fantasy value, he also has a lengthy injury history—including an ACL tear last season.

Conklin has caught over 60 passes in two of the past three years. If that connection with Rodgers leads to more red-zone looks, then Conklin could be just the kind of late-round TE best-ball managers seek—a fill-in for bad weeks ahead of him on the depth chart and perhaps even a "flex" week or two.

Gary Davenport is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow him on X at @IDPSharks.