Use This Surprising and Low-Cost Tactic to Load Your Best Ball Squads with Maximum Firepower

Zachary Krueger
April 14, 2021

The 2021 NFL Draft class is not your run-of-the-mill draft class. While the positional upside at non-QB positions could leave a bit to be desired, there’s a chance that we could see five quarterbacks taken in the first round of this year’s draft.

As I continue to dive into best ball content and drafts, I find myself constantly questioning how we can benefit from drafting rookie QBs in this particular draft format. Last season, Justin Herbert returned a 12.4% win rate to drafters who selected him in the 22nd round of FFPC best ball drafts. And Joe Burrow got off to a hot start before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 11 as he averaged 21.3 PPR/gm over 10 games.

Using the RotoViz Best Ball Win Rate Explorer, I pulled together four years of FFPC best ball win rate data to see just how rookie QBs have affected best ball win rates over that span. The results, while surprising, offer a unique angle to roster construction that suggests embracing the unknown with rookie QBs could be a high-upside approach.

The Draft Basics

For those drafting in FFPC best ball leagues, one thing I’ve discovered is that I should never enter a draft without the RotoViz FFPC Roster Construction Explorer. I am unwilling to enter drafts without it.

If we look at the FFPC RCE, we see that win rates in FFPC classic best ball drafts receive a slight boost when teams go with a 3-QB build. As a matter of fact, on the surface, a three QB build in this format is the only one that returns above average (8.3%) win rates.

Additionally, we know that we want to wait until at least Round 6 or 7 to draft our QB1, but we also want to make sure we have secured our QB2 before Round 13 – as Shawn Siegele pointed out in his first Best Ball Workshop from 2020. In his article, Shawn also mentions how drafting your third QB before Round 13 can prove to be a hack that boosts your win rate to 10.9% with a 3-QB build (11.8% in 2020).

But what if there’s not a QB3 you like before the 13th round? Or what if you simply didn’t take one? Is all hope lost?

Perhaps not.

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

Please subscribe For Full Access to all RotoViz content and tools!

What’s included in your subscription??

Exclusive Access to RotoViz Study Hall
- A treasure trove of our most insightful articles that will teach you the metrics that matter, time-tested winning strategies, the approaches that will give you an edge, and teach you how to be an effective fantasy manager.
Revolutionary Tools
- Including the NFL Stat Explorer, Weekly GLSP Projections, NCAA Prospect Box Score Scout, Combine Explorer, Range of Outcomes App, DFS Lineup Optimizer, Best Ball Suite,and many, many, more.
Groundbreaking Articles
- RotoViz is home of the original Zero-RB article and continues to push fantasy gamers forward as the go-to destination for evidence-based analysis and strategic advantages.
Weekly Projections
- Built using RotoViz’s unique GLSP approach.
Expert Rankings
And a whole lot more…

Zachary Krueger

Staff writer & fantasy analyst. I probably liked Darren Waller before you. Follow on Twitter @ZK_FFB

New Buccaneer Russell Gage Looks for Fantasy Relevance in a Crowded Room

Zachary Krueger March 16, 2022

Zachary Krueger breaks down Russell Gage signing with the Buccaneers and what that could mean for the 2022 fantasy season. As the original Russell Gage Stan, it is only appropriate that I offer up my valuable takes on Tom Brady’s newest man. The Buccaneers and Gage agreed to a three-year, $30 million deal that includes $20 million in guaranteed money. A member of the 2018 draft class, Gage…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

Scenarios and Tactics for Fantasy Playoff Tournaments: More Cincinnati Fireworks Coming?

Zachary Krueger January 20, 2022

In this short RotoViz series, Zachary Krueger looks at fantasy playoff tactics and helps you think through scenarios that could pay off in second-chance tournaments. Shawn Siegele and I used the RotoViz best ball tools to build a couple of FFPC Tournament teams for my best ball series this summer. Although we didn’t win the big money like several other RV squads, one of our…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

Red Zone Report: Week 17 – Devin Singletary Taking the Reins in Buffalo’s Backfield

Zachary Krueger December 31, 2021

This season, Zachary Krueger will use the RotoViz Screener to evaluate player red-zone opportunity. Understanding how teams deploy their red-zone personnel and who they give red-zone opportunities to can offer a valuable edge over your opponents. This weekly Red Zone Report aims to give you that exact edge. Running Back Red Zone Opportunity… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership...