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Originally Posted by tyecopeland
Never done best balk. Really fuzzy on the details. Is that the one where you don't set a starting lineup?
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This is my first year doing it too. Yahoo has a decent system for public 10-person leagues (free or cash) that slots you in with strangers. Sleeper does too… but it’s harder to find leagues. On Yahoo, I can join a free public league and usually be drafting within 10-15 minutes.
For Yahoo’s public leagues the format is QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, Flex, and then 9 bench slots (no defense or kicker). Once you draft, you’re done for the season (minus checking results). At the end of every week, Yahoo will automatically adjust your roster to arrive at the highest scoring combination. It’s a point based matchup system (rather than head-to-head) so whomever scores the most cumulative points with their best starting rosters throughout the season wins. I don’t think there are playoffs, but I may be wrong. No waivers, trades, or IR… who you draft is who you are stuck with.
It’s perfect for those who like drafting but hate managing. It’s basically draft and forget.
Strategy wise it’s a bit different from regular fantasy:
- A balanced roster will be 2-3 QB, 4-6 RB, 5-8 WR, and 2-3 TE
- You have to think hard about you build out your roster balancing talent and depth. For example, if I draft Mahomes early I probably can’t afford to draft another QB until the last rounds… otherwise another position will suffer. Similarly, if I take an elite QB, I probably can’t only afford to draft 2 QBs total or another position will hurt. Vice versa, if I don’t take my first QB until late (say someone like Mayfield), I probably want to grab 2 more QBs to increase the likelihood of having any one QB put up big points that week. There seems to always be one position that you have to risk going thin on your depth.
- Because of the above, elite QBs and TEs are maybe less valuable than standard fantasy because you can platoon the position with 3 mediocre Players. If you miss out on Kelce/Kittle/Waller… odds are that a team of Higbee, Tongan, and Irv Smith Jr. can still provide a single high score each week. Similarly… Mayfield, Carr, and Newton likely can collectively produce one QB that matches Mahomes on a weekly basis.
- Boom or Bust players are actually more valuable since they will automatically start in their boom weeks, but ride the bench in their bust weeks. Makes a guy like Mecole Hardman potentially more desirable than someone like Davonte Parker who is consistent but never booms. If you have a bench full of players who could Boom you’ll likely hit on a few each week.
- Being a rookie I may be dumb… but I think teams that don’t get at least 3 RB in the first 4-5 rounds are setting themselves up for failure. The cliff/drop off is huge after that point… and you need at least 1 starting caliber backup who can sub in if injury happens while also being your flex when healthy. Season long, something like Chubb-Ekler-CEH-Gaskin is probably going to win over something like Cook-N.Harris-Dillon-Mattison-Pollard regardless of what the rest of the roster looks like.