The 1-3-5-1 Start to Best Ball Drafts

June 25, 2024

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Megan Shoup

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Intro:

Finishing strong in best ball drafts is important too, but I think what’s more important is how you start and the first 10 rounds of your best ball drafts. This is where you lay the foundation for your strategy (Hero RB, Zero RB, Elite QB, etc) and likely lay the foundation for what type of build structure you will have based on your positional allocation.

My favorite build has always been 3-5-7-3 on Underdog. Maybe it’s because my BBM3 Finals team was that build. But I also see the benefit of getting a strong foundation and then just taking a couple of shots at depth players. It of course leans into my 3 QB strategy and 3 QB stacks, which I’ve discussed here and shows multiple times. But I also like the balance of it.

Last month I broke down the 1-4-5 start in best ball drafts. This leans into the 3-5-7-3 build too, just with focusing on more late-round tight ends.

Today I want to break down the 1-3-5-1 build in the first 10 rounds and why I think it lays a solid foundation at all four positions.

Research:

As Hayden Winks often has recommends, having 4 WR through Round 7 is optimal, and 5 by Round 9. So as best as possible, no matter the build, I would keep the pacing of 3WR through 6 rounds, 4WR through 7 rounds, and 5WR through 9 rounds.

But as you can also see from this article, not only has that pacing for wide receivers worked in all four years of Best Ball Mania, but 3-4 RBs through round 10 has also been optimal. I highly recommend this entire article to see what worked for not just one year, but all four years.

Jon Jackson on X agrees with me as well:

I think there’s a possibility that 3-5-7-3 builds could crush this year…

1️⃣ Start 3-4 WRs early and fill in the gaps along the way….you won’t overspend on WR if you stop at 7

2️⃣ Grab an Elite QB or TE or both to help you with the one week upside needed to win in the Finals…

— Jon Jackson (@jonboybeats) June 20, 2024

This is what your teams should look like heading into Round 12 pic.twitter.com/Vge9MOP8Gt

— Jon Jackson (@jonboybeats) May 26, 2024

Tight End in First 10 Rounds:

If my tight end is one of the first five tight ends drafted (Sam LaPorta, Travis Kelce, Trey McBride, Mark Andrews, or Dalton Kincaid) then I’m probably fine with just two total. In that case I would use extra pick at RB or WR, whichever felt weaker. If I drafted any of the other tight ends, even if the first 10 rounds, I still would likely do a 3-5-7-3 build.

As I mentioned before, it’s important to diversify your portfolio, not just on players, but types of build structures and positional allocation.

Building a Base at All 4 Positions:

After seeing my successful teams in years past and reading Hayden’s article, I see how it is key to have at least 3 running backs and 5 receivers through 10 rounds. I think you lay the foundation of solid starters at all four positions by starting drafts 1-3-5-1.

Then you add 2 QBs to either already drafted players or back-stack those QBs with depth WRs or TEs. I make sure if I’m going 3-5-7-3 to not wait too long for my 4th RB and only have one true flier RB. That usually leaves me with one real fliers or depth for one QB, one RB, one WR, and one TE most likely that I’m drafting in rounds 15-18.

See below for some of my favorite 1-3-5-1 starts in the first 10 rounds this year. What do you think?