With the 2021 NFL Draft in the books, PFF’s Jarad Evans and I decided to put our post-draft analysis to the test in an Underdog Fantasy best ball draft. Over the past week or so, I’ve broken down best ball risers and fallers, along with rookie landing spots and veteran player values post-draft.
For this exercise, we each drafted a squad and streamed the draft live on Twitter, Periscope and YouTube. I selected out of the three-hole, while Evans chose at the 12-13 turn. (Find the full video here — you won’t want to miss the reaction to Courtland Sutton being selected No. 7 overall.)
The following is a breakdown of the 18-round, 12-team half-point PPR best ball draft with analysis on each pick. Hopefully thinking through this process with us helps you prepare for your own best ball drafts. (Utilizing PFF’s best-ball rankings is also highly recommended.)
Without further ado, here are our best efforts at turning fantasy football into a $1 million prize. Also, PFF has partnered with Underdog — if you play $10 with promo code “PFF” you’ll get a free PFF subscription.
1.03: RB SAQUON BARKLEY, NEW YORK GIANTS (AE)
It’s absolutely critical to lock up at least one bell cow running back in the first two rounds of a best-ball draft. Saquon Barkley is the No. 3 running back in my fantasy rankings, so I didn’t need to think twice about drafting him here.
Barkley has dealt with a slew of injuries over the last two seasons, but I’m betting he bucks the trend…
