Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft 2025: Expert Rankings, Results & More
There used to be a time when it was “too early” for fantasy football. Especially for seasonal fantasy football. And that time used to be “April”. But, thanks to the latest and greatest in fantasy sports technology, a new format known as Best Ball has graced the fantasy landscape.
In Best Ball there is no “maintenance”. No lineup setting. No waivers. No trades. An algorithm slots in your best players. That means the process for you ends at the draft. You can draft a bunch of guilt free teams knowing that you can’t neglect them during the season. It’s a set and forget situation.
We’ve done a more comprehensive write up on How Best Ball Works already. I’ve also given my impressions on Early NFL Best Ball Strategy based on drafts I’ve done. This week we did a full, 12 team, 18 round best ball draft with Fantasy Alarm members as well as a special guest John Arrington of DynastyWorkshop.com.
That full video can be watched below if you’d like to see some of our thoughts on how the draft progressed. But I’m also going to take an opportunity to recap my draft in terms of what I saw, what I liked, and what I didn’t like.
Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft 2025: Early Rounds
Malik Nabers, A.J. Brown, Josh Allen, Davante Adams, Najee Harris, Chris Olave
As I always do early in drafts, I started by taking best available player. The chalk picks went in the first six with Ja'Marr Chase, Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Giffs, Saquon Barkley, Justin Jefferson, and CeeDee Lamb.
I was picking from the 8 spot, and I have been picking Brian Thomas here on Underdog (which is half PPR) but, as this is full PPR and I want to have a diverse portfolio, I opted for Malik Nabers. Whether it’s Russell Wilson or Jameis Winston, he offers both floor and ceiling in full PPR.
In round two I considered taking a stab on the rookie Ashton Jeanty. Instead, I opted for A.J. Brown. Folks might not realize that the Eagles attempted the fewest passes of any team last year. And Brown was still great. If they regress back towards average, he could see a boost.
I usually don’t take a quarterback early as my philosophy is to start by taking any player I think could be the number one flex player first. But Josh Allen in the third made too much sense. I followed that up with two guys changing teams in Davante Adams, who should get peppered with targets by Matthew Stafford, and Najee Harris, who is the perfect fit for the ground and pound stylings of Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman.
I rounded it out with Chris Olave as the Saints could be without Rashid Shaheed to start the season making him the clear WR1 for Derek Carr.
Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft 2025: Mid Rounds
Jaylen Warren, Travis Kelce, Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, Austin Ekeler, Tank Bigsby
The Jaylen Warren bet is simple - what if the Steelers don’t draft another running back? Or what if he busts? Warren is in a prime spot with Arthur Smith. The Travis Kelce pick doesn’t really need much explanation.
The bet is that Travis Kelce still has enough left in the tank to get it down. There’s a lot of negative sentiment around a guy who was once again top five at his position.
Michael Pittman Jr is a player I will not give up on. This guy plays a massive snap share when healthy as the top WR on the Colts, but he’s dealt with bad QB play and back issues. If Anthony Richardson isn’t getting it done, Daniel Jones will get the nod.
I took his teammate Josh Downs in the next round, a player I have been buying in dynasty. Unfortunately, my plan to stack them with Anthony Richardson did not pan out - a lesson on maybe reaching a bit (or not talking about your plans live on a stream during the draft).
Speaking of streaming live, I will admit that Austin Ekeler was an auto-pick while in conversion with my guest John - though not necessarily a terrible one given how he came on for them last year.
Tank Bigsby was a pick I meant to make as he was the more efficient runner than Travis Etienne last year and this new regime has no allegiance to either. We saw how quickly Liam Coen moved Bucky Irving ahead of Rachaad White in Tampa and this could play out similarly.
Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft 2025: Late Rounds
Jalen Royals, RJ Harvey, Tua Tagovailoa, Tyler Allegeier, Diontae Johnson, Juwan Johnson
We wrote about rookie Jalen Royals in our Pre-Draft Rookie WR Article - he had an insane four game stretch last year with 40 catches for 666 yards and 5 TDs before getting hurt. There are some rumblings of him as a first or second round pick.
As this is the time to take stabs on rookies, I also threw a dart at RJ Harvey. When the known commodities with upside are off the board, it’s time to look at the unknown upside plays.
For my second QB I snagged Tua Tagovailoa who has all his weapons back once again. Hopefully he can stay healthy, but I already invested heavily in Josh Allen. Same goes with Juwan Johnson - I needed another tight end but I’m banking on Travis Kelce to bounce back so I didn’t need to spend up. The Saints spent up to keep Johnson in free agency so hopefully he can contribute a couple weeks for me. He’s a converted WR with a nose for the endzone.
With my other picks, I went with a true wild card in Diontae Johnson. The guy can clearly play but he needs to find a spot that can manage his ego. With Tyler Allgeier, I have the floor of someone who can score random touchdowns with the ceiling of Bijan Robinson’s handcuff.
Again, the last few rounds of an 18 round draft are always going to be rough so we have to paint a picture of how we generate upside.
What’s All This Mean For Fantasy Football Best Ball Drafts In 2025?
I finished the draft with 2 quarterbacks, 6 running backs, 8 wide receivers, and 2 tight ends which is right in line with where we want to be in best ball. Starting with three of my first five picks being wide receivers is part for the course in full PPR.
It’s worth noting that the ADP on RT Sports is SIGNIFICANTLY different from other sites. That’s something I will absolutely be able to take advantage of as this season progresses but it was certainly not easy to process live on stream while driving a discussion.
Next time I jump back in a higher stakes draft on RT Sports or any other site, I’ll be armed with the Fantasy Alarm NFL Best Ball Cheat Sheet on my other screen to take full advantage of any ADP discrepancies!
Player News
49ers signed No. 11 pick EDGE Mykel Williams to a four-year contract.
The deal is worth $24.9 million and is fully guaranteed. As is the case with all first-round picks, his contract includes a fifth-year option. The 49ers shed hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts this offseason and the bulk of those savings came on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive end was an obvious position of need and Williams was widely regarded as the best pass-rusher on the board when 49ers GM John Lynch was on the clock. Williams totaled five sacks in 2024 and left Georgia with 14 sacks across three seasons as a starter.
Vikings signed No. 24 pick OG Donovan Jackson to a four-year contract.
It’s a fully guaranteed deal worth $17.2 million with a fifth-year team option. Minnesota taking Jackson with the 24th-overall pick came as a bit of a surprise on draft night, but the Vikings needed offensive line help and Jackson was considered worthy of a first-round pick by some draftniks. He was primarily a left guard at Ohio State but successfully kicked out to tackle for the bulk of his senior season. Jackson is likely fated for guard duties in Minnesota, but the positional versatility remains a plus.
Titans claimed Anfernee Orji off waivers from the Saints.
Orji played primarily on special teams in New Orleans but was credited with two starts across 16 appearances. He totaled 30 combined tackles and a pair of TFLs. Orji will need to continue seeing work on special teams to make the Titans’ roster.
Patriots signed RB Trayveon Williams, formerly of the Bengals.
Henderson was passed on the Cincinnati depth chart by Chase Brown last year and the team even traded for Khalil Herbert midseason. Despite having no role on offense, Williams was active for all 17 games as a special teamer. He will likely hold a similar role in New England if he cracks the team’s 53-man roster.
Free agent RB Jordan Mims worked out for the Patriots.
The Pats also worked out former Bengals running back Trayveon Williams. Mims ran 20 times for 70 yards in 2024 while adding 12 catches for 71 yards through the air. He also got some run on special teams. The Patriots are looking for some extra depth at running back, but there isn’t room for another fantasy-relevant option behind Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson.
Jaguars signed TE Quintin Morris, formerly of the Bills, to a one-year contract.
Morris is purely a blocking tight end. He caught just 15 passes during his three years with the Bills, though he did manage to find the end zone three times. Morris will back up Brenton Strange in Jacksonville.