FastDraft Fantasy: Rookie-Only Best Ball Draft Strategy

The pre-NFL draft Origins tournament over at FastDraft was pure chaos. We were all just betting on talent and hoping for a great landing spot. In the post-NFL draft landscape, we have the final few pieces of information needed to solidify our rankings on this class. The Origins tournament allows us to put those rankings to the test without the noise that can come with integrating the rookies into our overall rankings. Let’s get into my thoughts on the FastDraft Origins Gamma, a rookie-only best ball tournament.

I’ll cover the basics here, but you can get a complete primer in this article posted on DLF last month and the pre-NFL draft tournament article here.

The Basics:

10-teams
rookie-only draft
Six rounds
Bestball
Third Round Reversal
No positional requirements
$10 entry
$25,000 prize pool with first place taking home $5,000
Max 150 entries per person
Boosters: After the draft, you can reassign boosters of 2x, 1.5x, and 1.25x to any of the six players you selected

My Draft Strategy

Just like in my pre-NFL draft article, I’m still using a three-pronged approach for this contest:

Draft running backs early and often.
Take advantage of ADP values or discrepancies at wide receiver and tight end once the running back well has dried up.
Fade quarterback except Cam Ward at 1.03 or later, Tyler Shough at 2.04 or later, and Jalen Milroe at 3.01 or later.

Let’s take those one by one.

Running Backs Early and Often

We didn’t get great landing spots for every running back in this vaunted class, but the top prospects were drafted into situations where they should produce in year one. Because we know volume drives fantasy production, we’re looking for the most likely scenarios where these rookies will get a ton of touches.

Ashton Jeanty in Las Vegas and Quinshon Judkins in Cleveland have the easiest path to a massive number of touches in year one. Cleveland did add Dylan Sampson later in the draft, but Judkins profiles as a true bell-cow and will lead this committee. From a pure workload standpoint, TreVeon Henderson is likely next in line. He landed in a New England depth chart that shouldn’t be too insurmountable, and with his pass protection and pass-catching skillset, I’d expect him to be involved early in the season with a role that will expand as the season progresses. Omarion Hampton is a tough one. We love the player and the landing spot in Los Angeles, and we shouldn’t be concerned about the contract Najee Harris received for Hampton’s long-term production. Harris is likely to be heavily involved early in the season, but he isn’t going to provide explosive plays. Hampton will. The most likely scenario for Hampton to be an elite producer amongst rookies will come in the second half of the 2025 NFL season.

The biggest value gainer amongst the running back prospects has to be RJ Harvey, who went to the Broncos in the second round of the NFL draft. In DLF’s rookie ADP, Harvey went from the RB10 and the 26th player off the board to RB6 and the 12th player off the board. Harvey looks like the obvious choice to lead the Denver backfield, but I’m not sure it’s so cut and dry. Sean Payton loves Jaleel McLaughlin, and the team drafted Audric Estime last season to fill an early down and goalline bruiser kind of role. I expect both to be involved and perhaps take some of the shine off Harvey if they can be productive early in the season. All that said, Harvey is absolutely worth selecting in the back half of round one.

Kaleb Johnson landed in a great situation in Pittsburgh. He was the most landing spot-dependent prospect in the class, and his match with the Steelers is about as perfect as you can hope for. Johnson thrives in an outside zone running scheme, and the aforementioned Najee Harris had 175 zone-based runs in 2024, the third most of any running back last season. Johnson should slot right into those carries and be productive. Jaylen Warren will likely be a thorn in his side all season long, but primarily in the passing game, which is not one of Johnson’s strengths.

Outside of the top prospects, here are my five favorite ADP values on FastDraft among the running backs:

Player	ADP
Bhayshul Tuten	17.3
Cam Skattebo	17.4
Brashard Smith	33.4
Tahj Brooks	43.5
Jacory Croskey-Merritt	50.9

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

I’ve become a bit more bullish on this wide receiver class now that we know draft capital and landing spots. Travis Hunter remains one of the best values on the board, and drafters have gained confidence that he will see significant work as a wide receiver. His pre-draft ADP was 10.7, and while it has risen to 5.2, he still isn’t being drafted as the top wide receiver or the second overall player off the board after Jeanty, which would be my recommendation. My guess as to why Hunter isn’t getting the respect he deserves is the landing spot in Jacksonville alongside a true alpha in Brian Thomas Jr. If you weren’t aware, the best options behind those top two are guys like Dyami Brown and Parker Washington. Evan Engram and Christian Kirk are long gone, and this will be a concentrated passing attack with Thomas and Hunter being the recipients of an elevated target share. Do not fear Hunter not being the “WR1” on his team. There is plenty of opportunity here for the Contortionist.

Tetairoa McMillan’s FastDraft ADP remained steady at 4.6, typically going one spot ahead of Hunter. While I prefer Hunter, McMillan is a nice consolation prize after getting selected eighth overall by Carolina. He should slot in as the primary passcatcher immediately. All he has to overcome is a 35-year-old Adam Thielen to claim that title. Bryce Young is going to love having a huge target to throw to. McMillan is primed for a nice rookie season that should challenge the fantasy production of every rookie not named Ashton Jeanty.

The top of the tight end class crushed it in terms of draft capital, but you really have to squint to see a productive season in year one. My pre-draft TE1 was Colston Loveland, and he did get drafted a handful of picks ahead of Tyler Warren. Unfortunately, Loveland landed with the Bears, and it’s difficult to see him as more than the third or fourth option in a passing game led by DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. To make matters worse, the Bears added Luther Burden and still have Cole Kmet. I think your ceiling outcome here is playing third fiddle to Moore and Odunze, but unless you think Kmet disappears completely, Loveland will split some snaps with the veteran. His ADP of 16.3 on FastDraft isn’t egregious, but you will likely have to select him in the same range as guys like Cam Skattebo and Bhayshul Tuten to acquire his services in this contest.

Tyler Warren typically goes one spot ahead of Loveland with an ADP of 15.4. Depending on how you feel about Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, and Adonai Mitchell, Warren could eventually be the top target earner for the Colts. The problem is that Anthony Richardson will be given every opportunity to be the day one starter, and we know he struggles to consistently deliver the football to the areas of the field that Warren is likely to inhabit. Warren and Loveland have some warts on their year one projections, but they have the talent to overcome it and shouldn’t be written off completely.

Perhaps the cleanest rollout amongst the tight end class is for Mason Taylor. He is the clear second option for new starter Justin Fields. Many are concerned about Fields’ ability to consistently get the football to his weapons, but I am not. Fields has shown improvement as a passer, and while this will be a run-focused offense, “they have to throw the ball to someone,” and those someones are Garrett Wilson and Mason Taylor.

Outside of the top prospects, here are my five favorite ADP values on FastDraft among the wide receivers and tight ends:

Player	ADP
Tre Harris	14.9
Kyle Williams	19.8
Jaylin Noel	23.9
Jalen Royals	28.8
Elijah Arroyo	34.0

Quarterbacks

Not much has changed here with the quarterbacks, except that we have potentially been gifted another day one starter. We’ll get to Tyler Shough in a moment, but first, let’s add a little to the Cam Ward discussion from the first article. Ward is still the only guaranteed day one starter, but I’ve pushed him down one spot from 1.02 to 1.03 in my recommendations. I still want both Jeanty and Hunter (and I wouldn’t be upset if you wanted to take McMillan, Judkins, and Hampton ahead of him, too) before Ward. Still, there is a completely viable strategy, and it is only possible by drafting the QB1 in the class.

Stacking is one of the most effective ways to increase your odds of winning bestball tournaments, and in this tournament, the only stack you can truly build is in Tennessee. Selecting Ward early and adding Ayomanor somewhere in the third/fourth turn is easily executed and gives you a unique lineup that no one else in your 10-team draft can emulate. In one particular draft, I also tacked on Ward’s collegiate teammate, Xavier Restrepo, in the sixth round for the double stack. You could even sub in Chimere Dike for one of those picks or go for the triple stack. While none of those rookies received the draft capital to make us expect elite production in year one, they are all talented. Only Calvin Ridley and the ghost of Tyler Lockett stand in the way of them getting on the field. If you’re not worried about Treylon Burks and Van Jefferson (I’m not), this strategy could be the winning one.

Tyler Shough is a massive ADP gainer in FastDraft Origin contests. His 53.1 predraft ADP has risen nearly three full rounds to 18 overall. With the news of Derek Carr‘s retirement, I’d expect this to rise even higher. Spencer Rattler flashed last season, and there are still a couple of veterans hanging out that could be a fly in the ointment here, but right now the odds-on favorite to start in week one is the rookie. I’m happy to select him anywhere after the 2.03 pick, which puts him in the range of Tre Harris, Luther Burden, Cam Skattebo, and the top tight ends.

Jalen Milroe’s FastDraft ADP has actually fallen after the NFL draft, which makes no sense to me given his landing spot. The draft capital wasn’t where we expected, but the situation in Seattle is pretty fantastic. The Seahawks added Sam Darnold this offseason, but it’s essentially a one-year deal. Couple that with the decline of Darnold’s play down the stretch and into the playoffs, and you have a situation that isn’t insurmountable for Milroe. I fully expect him to work in on specific packages, and should Darnold falter, it’s entirely possible Milroe sees extended work in the second half of the season if Seattle struggles out of the gate. Any game Milroe sees significant work is one where he has a QB1 performance in his range of outcomes.

You could take a shot on Jaxson Dart or one of the Cleveland quarterbacks, but I’m largely fading them. All three could see work in year one, but it’s just so murky at this point in the process that I think those picks are better spent elsewhere.

Conclusion

FastDraft’s new rookie-only offering is a blast to play, and you can knock out drafts literally in five minutes or less. The contest is currently just over 10% filled, so there’s plenty of time to head over and test your rookie knowledge against other dynasty and best ball players. Don’t forget to use the promo code “DLF” to get a 100% deposit match. Depositing $50 gets you 20 entries for the price of ten! Good luck, and let me know your favorite selections for this contest in the comment section below.

Author
Recent Posts

Matt Price

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

Senior writer and co-host of the DLF Dynasty podcast, the longest running dynasty focused podcast on the planet

Creator and Co-host of Dynasty Game night, the fantasy football game show.

Creator and host of the Zookeeper Stories podcast.