Something that is often discussed in weekly DFS theory and strategy is the “story” your lineup tells. Basically the idea is to think about what the recap of the day would have to be for each particular lineup to have been the “right” combination of players that gets you to a first-place finish on that slate. I like to do something similar when drafting Best Ball rosters, thinking about the “story” that the roster is telling about how the NFL season will play out with each pick that is made.
At every selection in a draft, there are a variety of reasonable options available and whatever choice you make also implies some things about the other players you passed on. Similar to price point or positional pivots on a regular DFS slate, we want to be aware of the scenario where your picks are “right.” While everyone understands team stacks and most of the industry is focusing on late-season correlations and balancing exposures, very few are actively trying to leverage the decisions made for a particular roster with their later-round picks by using these indirect correlations. Below is a summary of a draft I did on Thursday, May 22nd in the $2 Drafters Mini NFL Best Ball Championship, with $100,000 prize pool, $10,000 to first place, and 56,256 total entries ::
Picking from 8th slot
Picks 1.08 — Puka Nacua, WR, LAR — When I have a draft spot in the top six, I can be persuaded to go with either RB or WR. However, in the back half of the draft I almost always end up taking a wide receiver with my first-round pick. Puka is the guy for me here, after a top-five overall season as a rookie and finishing 2024 as the WR3 in points per game, Puka has the best odds to finish as the WR1 after the top three are off the board.
Picks 2.05 — Drake London, WR, ATL — London is a player whose career has primarily consisted of “steady” production, but lower upside. However, he was the WR5 in 2024 if counting Week 18 and had two games of 33+ PPR points. His second year in Zac Robinson’s offense and having Michael Penix Jr. throwing him the ball positions him as a perfect second-round pick in the Drafters’ cumulative scoring format.
Picks 3.08 and 4.05 — Tyreek Hill, WR, MIA and Mike Evans, WR, TB — Tyreek Hill has a lot of questions entering 2025, but his season-long and weekly ceiling should be unquestioned. He is a perfect fit on a roster like this with two very strong and consistent WRs already locked up, as his spike weeks can super charge this group. You can copy and paste just about everything I said about Tyreek and apply it to Mike Evans as well. Evans is an ADP value at the 41st overall pick and the styles of the four WRs I started this draft with fit together seamlessly. When approaching drafts with certain early-round strategies, it is critical that we look beyond just taking the “best” players/values and be sure that the archetypes fit together in a way that gives us the highest floor/ceiling combo possible for filling our “WR Silos”.
Picks 5.08 and 6.05 — RJ Harvey, RB, DEN and David Montgomery, RB, DET —
