We’ve got about less than two weeks left before Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season kicks off and in that window we will see a rush of Best Ball fantasy leagues filling up. For those of you unfamiliar with Best Ball, this format focuses on the draft and you don’t have to worry about setting your lineup each week because it automatically counts the highest point getters on your team at each position–also no kickers and no defense.
However, the trick in Best Ball Fantasy Football is making a team robust enough to account for injuries, bye weeks, and younger players knocking out veterans for starting positions. Some utilize these games as their mock drafts before live drafting while others find this a low-stress, low stakes way to play fantasy. It’s also a good way not to be stuck with a lemon like Travis Etienne or Cam Akers as long as you don’t do a best ball league too early. Once you finish your draft, you’re done. No add/drops or waivers.
Drafting the top half of the draft should be fundamental so we’re going to cover the second half of the draft, and see where sleepers lie.
Late Round Best Ball Quarterbacks
Sleeper QBs in Best Ball are the forgotten ones–starters who will pop off on occasion but are too inconsistent to be your reliable starter. But remember, this is Best Ball and you never have to worry about consistency. Just because of injuries, you’ll need three to four quarterbacks to have enough to last you the whole season. Here are a handful of the best QBs to target for your QB3 or QB4.
Trey Lance, San Francisco 49ers
It seems inevitable that the rookie will overtake Jimmy Garoppolo but not because of anything that Jimmy G is doing or not doing. Lance just has all the intangibles of the modern day quarterback, by being able to run fluidly and throw accurately. With best ball you don’t have to worry about someone beating you to the waiver wire to add him to your team, just pick him up as your third or fourth quarterback.
Jameis Winston, New Orleans Saints
I’m unconvinced that Taysom Hill will be able to hold the starter spot for a month, much less a whole season. By early indication of the preseason, Winston’s hold on the spot is getting stronger. But Winston has a strong arm that brings back the vertical element to the Saints’ offense. His chemistry with Marquez Callaway was on display in the second preseason game and know that Michael Thomas is coming back at some point of the season. Again, Winston is not your ideal QB in a one-QB redraft league, where he’s at best a backup. But in Best Ball, you can have him as your 3rd QB and sit back for when he finds his groove.
Zach Wilson, New York Jets
Again, Wilson is a QB you’re not targeting in the average redraft league, but in Best Ball, you just want him to pop off. The Jets are going to be playing from behind in a lot of leagues. Wilson will drop back a ton as a result. It’s not always going to be pretty, but you’ve got to love his fearlessness in the pocket and like Justin Herbert did last year, throws down the field. He will get you garbage points and on some days will end up in the top 10 because of the number of attempts will be high on some weeks, especially against porous defenses.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Washington Football Team
The Fitz-magic show moves to the capitol city, and there’s more experience here than there was in Miami and Fitzpatrick thrives with a veteran group around him. He’s got Antonio Gibson, J.D. McKissick, Logan Thomas, “Scary” Terry McLaurin, and Curtis Samuel. However, we know Fitzpatrick is going to bust some weeks and in a normal redraft league, that inconsistency is no good. However, those peaks and valleys play well in Best Ball. You’re just hoping that Fitzpatrick’s best weeks are on days when your QB1 or QB2 is having an off day.
Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints
I know, we’ve got Winston already listed here but do you really think that Sean Payton is going to sit Hill out? The reason why I think Winston will start is because Hill could be on the field at the same time and move around the field as a running back, receiver or quarterback. With Michael Thomas still out in the early portion of the season, Hill could be a big red zone target. We haven’t seen anything but Payton’s vanilla offense in preseason. Hill is an x-factor who could score in multiple ways, leading to the occasional spike in points.
