For most of us, we’ll do at least a couple of fantasy mock drafts before the real thing. You can’t replicate the feeling of being in the hot seat with your top 3 choices off the board. When it comes to fantasy drafting, practice makes perfect. The biggest drawback with mock drafts is that often people don’t take them seriously. Other players will leave early, draft gimmick teams for fun, or don’t pay attention. That isn’t a big issue, but if you want a full-fledged mock draft with stakes to keep people interested, but no long-term commitment, we have a solution.
Underdog Best Ball is a killer option if you’re looking for a mock draft with stakes. Draft against real people, with real money on the line, while gaining experience to crush your main fantasy draft! We’ll walk you through how to get started, some of the key differences to pay attention to, and drafting strategies.
Best Ball is a simplified fantasy football game run by Underdog. The concept is the same as other fantasy leagues with the key difference of no input after the draft. In Best Ball, there is no waiver wire, no trades, or lineups to set up. You simply draft your team, and then the game selects the top 8 contributors for their position each week. That’s what makes it a great game to practice your drafts for your other leagues. You don’t have anything to worry about after the draft, but it creates a competitive draft and offers some prize money at the end.
You can join any number of leagues with entry prices that are only a couple of dollars or thousands. With loads of options for groups to join, it’s easy to jump into different leagues and get a feel for the game. The draft starts when the lobby is full so there isn’t a ton of downtime from signing up to drafting. It’s a super simple system that makes it easy to jump right in!
When it comes to the actual draft, it’s a fairly standard affair. Players will be divided into groups of 12 where everyone builds teams of 18. Each team consists of 8 starting positions, with no kicker or defense, so players draft for QBs, TE, WRs, and RBs. The league format is half Points-per-Reception, so every catch from a player is .5-point making, making it match most fantasy leagues. It’s a classic snake draft system with random draft positions given at the beginning, perfect if you play in other ESPN or Yahoo leagues.
When it comes to drafting in Underdog, it’s the closest the drafting gets to other fantasy leagues. Using a similar half-PPR system means players will hold similar values to other drafts, so you’ll get a more accurate look at where players are falling. This can be helpful to identify player value and get a better sense of draft order for other drafts.
In our experience, it can be extremely helpful to go through and create a short list of players that you like. You can do this during the Underdog draft super easily by just selecting the star next to the player. Once they’ve been added it can be super useful to quickly find names you like. The draft can move extremely with picks taking 30 seconds or less, your pick can fly up on you easily!
Once you have your favorite players selected, focusing on team construction is a must. Like any other fantasy league, you’ll want to weigh your options between taking elite QBs or TEs early against adding another high-quality RB or WR. This can be the most useful part of using Underdog as a mock for your real draft, getting a solid sense of real players' value on whether or not elite talent is worth swinging on early. Information like this makes it easier to build out a game plan for the real thing!
When it comes to fantasy football, the last thing you want is to be stuck with a dud of a team post-draft. A little early preparation goes a long way to nail your picks. With Underdog Best Ball, you can get hands-on with the draft process in ways other mock drafts can’t provide. A low entry fee makes it extremely easy to jump in and test your luck in the draft. Who knows, your team might even be a winner, and earn you some money.
If this sounds like a solid idea to you we recommend checking it out. You can even get a great sign-up bonus when you use the promo code “Bettor” during sign-up. This can get you a 50% deposit bonus on your first deposit. Which is a fantastic way to get started, and prepare for the upcoming fantasy football season!