NFL Best Ball Strategy for DraftKings - 2021 Season Welcome back football fans. It feels like ages ago we were betting on Super Bowl props and watching Tom Brady add to his legendary career. For the first time in years, I have actually found time to start my NFL research in July. I have also made a huge shift in what kind of fantasy football I am playing in 2021. I used to play 15+ season long leagues on Yahoo but with my full-time career doing DFS content that has dramatically fallen off. Over the last couple of years specifically, I have transitioned most of my Yahoo bankroll allocation to Best Ball leagues. They are a perfect fit for people who play DFS each and every week on DraftKings, FanDuel, PrizePicks, and others. You draft your team of players pre-season and that's it. No in-season roster moves or start/sit decision or remembering to set said lineup(this happened alot with how busy DFS Sunday am is). I will be playing almost exclusively on DraftKings so all of my references will refer to that throughout the article. Let's start by looking at the draft, your roster requirements, scoring, and then get into some strategy. Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our NFL and MLB optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Draft Types You have two choices when first getting started. You can sign up for a Slow Draft(8 hour time limit to pick) or Fast Draft(30 seconds per pick). While I have exposure to both formats, I much prefer the Slow Draft as it gives me more time to analyze everything and make a more informed decision with each pick, which is crucial in best-ball format as you don't get any transactions throughout the season. Contest Types There are also two types of contests you can enter on DraftKings, as well. Sit & Go's These contests run the entire NFL regular season(Week 1-17) and leagues are made up of anywhere from 3-12 teams. Tournaments These are larger prize pool contests that consist of multiple 12-team leagues and are split up into four rounds: → Round 1(Week 1-14) - you play within your 12-team league and the Top 2 teams move on to Round → Round 2(Week 15) - You are randomly placed against another advancing team(they will avoid putting you up against yourself if you have multiple teams advance). Win and move on! → Round 3(Week 16) - You are randomly placed against another advancing team(they will avoid putting you up against yourself if you have multiple teams advance). Win...

Daily Fantasy Football Game by Game Breakdowns Saturday’s FanDuel and DraftKings Slates Plus, check out our picks for Sunday’s Divisional Round Plays for FanDuel and DraftKings.   Want access to the projections that power these picks? For a limited time we're offering a free one week trial to all the sports that we cover - that's optimal lineups for NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB - for the same low price. Get started now! START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Los Angeles Rams (+6) vs. Green Bay Packers (-6) The big question, as of this writing, is the status of the Rams’ quarterback situation. John Wolford left the Wild Card game early with a stinger and was actually to the hospital in an ambulance during the game. He ended up being fine all things considered and there’s actually some chance he plays this week. Jared Goff came in with having had finger surgery and was inconsistent going 9-19 though he did connect with Robert Woods for a touchdown pass in the win. We will have to monitor this leading into Saturday’s game. Cam Akers FD 7000 DK 5700 Opponent GBProj Points FD - 14.84 DK - 15.56 Akers was one of the fantasy darlings of the Wild Card round. The Rams leaned heavily on the rookie running back and he carried the ball 28 times for 131 yards and a touchdown in the win. Over his last five game (he had an injury in Week 16) Akers is averaging 21 carries per game and 2.6 targets. That’s incredibly elite usage and will once again make for a tough fade on Sunday. A negative game script of course could hurt him if LA falls down early, but considering the lack of running back options, for cash you just need to plug and play Akers here. Cooper Kupp FD 6100 DK 5300 Opponent GBProj Points FD - 12.05 DK - 14.97 Kupp left the Wild Card game against the Seahawks early with some knee issues. As of right now, it appears he’s going to be okay to play this Saturday. Even with an early exit, Kupp was the Rams’ leader in targets on Saturday despite leaving the game early and playing with two different quarterbacks. He finished with nine targets and four catches for 78 yards. It’s not a groundbreaking performance, but the price isn’t all that much on either slate for the clear target leader if healthy. If Kupp is out, Robert Woods and Josh Reynolds instantly become very strong cash game plays on both sites. They would increase target share and even if it’s inconsistent the price would be low in comparison to the projected increase in usage. Tyler Higbee FD...

Daily Fantasy Football Game by Game Breakdowns Sunday's FanDuel and DraftKings Slates After a wild wildcard round, the NFL barrels forward into the divisional round this week. The competition picks up this week with the return of the new #1 seeds, but it doesn't necessarily mean we're only in for close games. Sunday's slate brings us the two biggest totals of the weekend, so we should have enough interesting plays to make a solid squad. Let's dive in. Plus, check out our picks for Saturday's Divisional Round Plays for FanDuel and DraftKings.   Want access to the projections that power these picks? For a limited time we're offering a free one week trial to all the sports that we cover - that's optimal lineups for NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB - for the same low price. Get started now! START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Cleveland Browns (+10) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (-10) Our Sunday slate kicks off with the game with the largest spread on the slate, with the defending Superbowl Champs taking on the "surprise team" of round one. The Browns rode good play and good fortune past the big-brother Steelers, and the football world is left wondering if last week was their Superbowl, or if they'll get up to take down the Chiefs this week. The Chiefs, meanwhile, haven't played a meaningful game in weeks, and have one significant piece of injury news we'll need to keep an eye on. Regardless, Vegas sees this as a game with a huge total, so there should be plenty of fantasy production to go around. Let's have a look. Cleveland Browns On a two-game slate, we're not going to be able to fully ignore any team. While we aren't often excited to run guys as a ten-point under-dog, the Browns have shown enough in the passing game that I think we can take a stab here. We will largely be ignoring Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt for cash games, though it's worth pointing out that there are game-scripts where the Browns get out ahead early and Chubb winds up being a solid big tournament option. Let's have a look at our cash options. Jarvis Landry FD 6900 DK 5600 Opponent KC Proj Points FD - 13.25 DK - 16.22 Rashard Higgins FD 5300 DK 4100 Opponent KC Proj Points FD - 11.5 DK - 13.81 Landry and Higgins exemplify the types of questions we have to ask ourselves every single week in DFS. On one hand, we have Landry, whose targets and production have been more consistent throughout the year. He's coming off a great game against the Steelers and has topped 13.9 FanDuel points in 5 of his last...

Daily Fantasy Football Game by Game Breakdowns Sunday's FanDuel and DraftKings Slates The NFL managed to make it through all 256 games of the regular season, and now we get to sit and pray that Covid doesn't ruin the playoffs. With the Saints apparently narrowly avoiding losing their running backs to the plague, it looks like we might get a normal week of football after all. Let's go game by game and see where we can find a little DFS value. Plus, check out our picks for Saturday's Divisional Round Plays for FanDuel and DraftKings. Want access to the projections that power these picks? For a limited time we're offering a free one week trial to all the sports that we cover - that's optimal lineups for NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB - for the same low price. Get started now! START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Tennessee Titans (3.5) vs. Baltimore Ravens (-3.5) Things kick off on Sunday with a rematch of one of the best games of the regular season, a game that saw the Titans win on a 29-yard touchdown run from Derrick Henry in overtime. Blessedly, this was a week where both teams were mostly healthy, and there's a lot we can learn from how each team game-planned against the other. Let's take a look at the DFS relevant plays on both sides. Tennessee Titans Derrick Henry FD 10200 DK 9200 Opponent BAL Proj Points FD - 22.44 DK - 23.48 One thing that was clear when these two teams met in November was that the Titans were prepared to live and die with Derrick Henry. In spite of falling behind by 11 points in the second quarter, Henry touched the ball 30 times for 132 yards. Baltimore was tough against the run this season, but the playoffs are a time where we are going to have to recalibrate our expectations about match-ups. We're looking at short slates with good teams, and you just aren't going to get to run Henry against teams like the Texans. Now price might wind up making Henry miss the cut, but don't fret this spot based on match-up or opportunity. Ryan Tannehill FD 8200 DK 6600 Opponent BAL Proj Points FD - 18.77 DK - 19.45 Our system recommends Lamar Jackson as the top overall cash game play on both sites, but Tannehill is the next man up. While Jackson is obviously the superior DFS QB, Tannehill brings an interesting skill set to the table in his own right. The Titans have been using Tannehill's rushing ability in the red zone far more often toward the end of the season, with RT going for 5 rushing touchdowns in the Titans'...

Daily Fantasy Football Saturday Cash Game Breakdown for FanDuel and DraftKings Slates We’ve got a Saturday of playoff football with plenty of value to start the weekend on FanDuel and DraftKings. Want access to the projections that power these picks? For a limited time we're offering a free one week trial to all the sports that we cover - that's optimal lineups for NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB - for the same low price. Get started now! START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Quarterback Josh Allen FD 9000 DK 7500 Opponent IND Proj Points FD - 21.33 DK - 22.1 Josh Allen could be a tough fade on this Saturday slate considering just how much of the team’s fantasy production comes through his arm and his legs. Allen finished the season as QB1 in terms of overall raw fantasy points and second only to Patrick Mahomes in per-game scoring at the position because the latter sat Week 17. While the Colts’ defense has been more than sound this season, ranking 7th in defensive DVOA, this game has easily the highest over/under of the day (53) with the Bills as -7 favorites owning the best-implied total (29.5). Allen’s ability to sling it (37 passing TDs) and run (421 yards and eight TDs on the ground) make him the ideal cash game quarterback. John Wolford FD 6200 DK 4900 Opponent SEA Proj Points FD - 16.23 DK - 17.05 If you want a cheaper option on this slate Wolford is actually a fine option. In his first NFL snaps, in a must-win Week 17 game against the Cardinals the rookie quarterback threw for 231 yards on a 57% completion percentage. That’s obviously merely *meh* but he also got out and scrambled for 56 yards on six carries. If he can do work with his legs then the floor is probably high enough at these price points. He’ll face a middle-tier defense in the Seahawks who allowed the most opponents plays per game (69.5) this season. It’s a pace-up matchup for Wolford who’s coming as the cheapest quarterback on the slate on DraftKings. Running Back Jonathan Taylor FD 8800 DK 7900 Opponent BUF Proj Points FD - 16.94 DK - 18.03 Taylor comes into the game as a prohibitive underdog to the Bills, -7 on the road. That isn’t typically where we want to be with running backs, especially if there are concerns about lack of opportunity when playing from behind. Since Week 11, Taylor ranks third in running back fantasy points per game behind only Derrick Henry and David Montgomery. In that time he averaged 18 touches (16 rushes, two targets) per game and posted well over 100 yards per game in...