Best ball: the format where the draft is the whole game
Best ball removes everything after the draft. There are no waivers, no trades and no lineup decisions: the platform automatically starts your highest-scoring legal lineup every week and that score is your score. Because you can never fix a mistake with an add, every pick carries the weight a waiver claim used to — depth at the right positions is not bench clutter, it is the mechanism that turns injuries and bye weeks into points instead of zeroes.
How the format works
You draft a roster in a snake draft — typically 18 to 20 rounds depending on the platform — and then the season runs itself. Each week the platform auto-fills your starting slots with your top scorers: one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, a tight end and a flex, in the most common contest setups. Kickers and team defenses are usually not part of the format at all. The draft is the entire game, and the leaderboard is decided by who built the roster that produced the most total best-line points.
Why depth is worth more than in managed leagues
In a managed league a bench is insurance you mostly hope not to need, and the waiver wire is your real safety net. Best ball deletes that net. When your RB1 gets hurt, you cannot add his backup — either you already rostered him or the points are gone. So the bench is not a holding area, it is the mechanism that converts bad luck into a playable week. The same logic applies to bye weeks and late-season attrition, which is why best-ball rosters carry more players at the volatile positions than a managed-league bench would.
Depth also changes what a late pick is for. In a managed league a late flier you can cut costs nothing. Here every pick is permanent, so a roster spot spent on a player with no path to a startable week is a spot that scores zero all season. Late picks go to upside — players whose role could grow — rather than to safe handcuffs with no standalone value.
Drafting differently
The auto-optimized lineup is the heart of it: you draft for season-long total, not for any single week's start. Correlated upside — stacking a quarterback with his own pass catchers, or doubling into an offense you expect to score a lot — matters more, because a big game anywhere on the roster can slide into the flex. Position scarcity moves too: with a third receiver slot and no kicker or defense, wide receiver depth carries more lineup weight than in a standard league, and the onesie positions reward carrying a genuine third option rather than a bare bye-week fill-in.
To practice the exact decisions, run the mock draft with the best-ball format selected — the board then prices a half-PPR, three-receiver lineup with no kicker or defense, the same shape the big contests use.
The boards under each format
The live top five under each setting — and the position boards the format questions above are about — live on the ranking pages:
- Half-PPR rankings — the live top five under half-point-per-reception scoring.
- Standard scoring rankings — the live top five under non-PPR scoring.
- Quarterback rankings, running back rankings, wide receiver rankings and tight end rankings — the position boards each format question moves.
Common questions
Are there waivers in best ball?
- No. The roster locks when the draft ends — no waivers, no free agency, no trades, no drops. Everything your team scores all season comes from the players you drafted.
Do I set my lineup in best ball?
- No. The platform automatically starts your highest-scoring legal lineup every week. You will never lose a week because you benched the wrong player, and you can never gain one with a savvy start either.
How many players do I draft in best ball?
- Typically 18 to 20 rounds, depending on the platform and contest. The larger roster is the format's whole point: the extra players are your injury and bye-week insurance, because no in-season moves exist.