Bjorn Yang-Vaernet explores how to turn the high floor, low ceiling 2RB-2WR start in Underdog best ball tournaments into a high floor and ceiling roster by following four structural guidelines.

One thing that fascinates me is how much dedicated fantasy football players largely remain inside their own little bubble. RotoViz readers know about some of the proven but underutilized best ball roster builds — Zero RB, Anchor RB, and Hyperfragile RB — that are the keys to success in the large tournament structure. In fact, the RotoViz team writes so much about these builds that one might think that it would be foolish not to be using these strategies. However, we are in our own little world as those three strategies were used on less than one-third of Best Ball Mania II (BBM II) rosters combined. Drafters continue to use more balanced roster constructions, despite the evidence. If you’re going to start with a more balanced build, it would help to know how to continue.

In this article, I want to elaborate on the most common start in fantasy best ball drafts, the balanced start — two RBs and two WRs in the first four rounds. Last year, in BBM II, more than 28% of rosters had this start. The baseline success of this build wasn’t terrible, but the lack of upside was evident in the declining advance rate at each knockout stage of the playoffs. This start was relatively safe, but how can drafters inject some upside into this structural approach? Let’s work through the solution using the Underdog roster construction explorer.^[1]This is my favorite tool on the site right now and it should only get more powerful as more years of data get added in.

When to Pick the Next RB

The first position I want to explore is the RB position. After picking two RBs in the first four rounds, I know I am picking players I believe have good talent and equally solid projectable volume. Assuming good health, the next RB that I choose next will likely occupy my flex spot in my starting lineup. Is that worth the next pick? 

One way to identify the best time to take an RB is by looking at how advance rates change depending on when you draft your RB3.