Guest of the League
Alliance FFL Est. 2005
FFL: Preseason | NFL: Week 1

Best Ball Scout Championship

Wed Apr 17 9:26am ET
By JEFF PAUR
Sr Fantasy Writer

Related photo caption below

Get in the Scout Championship


RealTime Fantasy Sports is once again very excited to bring you the Best Ball Scout Championship this season. This contest is a little different from our normal Best Ball Championship. All these drafts take place before the NFL Draft, so you don’t know where any of the rookies are going this year. You are taking them blindly. This makes for even more strategy come draft day. Should you load up on rookies? Should you just avoid rookies? What is the winning strategy? We are here to help.

First of all, the winner of the Best Ball Scout Championship takes home $10,000. You also win money for finishing first or second in your 10-team league. The cost to enter the contest is just $20. There are a maximum of 10,000 teams in this contest. Rosters are 20 deep with starters consisting of a QB, two RBs, two WRs, one TE and two FLEX spots. There are no kickers and defenses. Remember, this is a best ball contest, so there is no roster management. Your roster is set once the draft is complete.

With that said, we thought it would be a good idea to look at the championship roster from last year to see what won it all. Here it is:

Round 1: Ja’Marr Chase, WR
Round 2: Davante Adams, WR
Round 3: Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR
Round 4: DeVonta Smith, WR
Round 5: Deebo Samuel, WR
Round 6: George Kittle, TE
Round 7: Keenan Allen, WR
Round 8: Joe Mixon, RB
Round 9: Jahmyr Gibbs, RB
Round 10: Dak Prescott, QB
Round 11: Khalil Herbert, RB
Round 12: Jared Goff, QB
Round 13: Raheem Mostert, RB
Round 14: Ezekiel Elliott, RB
Round 15: Jimmy Garoppolo, QB
Round 16: Leonard Fournette, RB
Round 17: Tyler Boyd, WR
Round 18: Taysom Hill, TE
Round 19: Zach Ertz, TE
Round 20: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB

The big thing to notice on this roster is just one rookie was taken. Obviously, this owner hit big with that one rookie, taking Jahmyr Gibbs in Round 9. Gibbs was the 10th rated fantasy back last season. But the championship team from last year took just one rookie. This owner did not load up on rookies and waited until the middle rounds to take his one rookie target. This could be a good lesson learned for owners this season. Maybe going early on rookies or taking several is a losing strategy. Just something to keep in mind this year.

And like with many best ball owners, this roster had three quarterbacks and three tight ends. This owner did not take a quarterback early, waiting to take a quarterback until Round 10. But the owner did got a little early on a tight end, getting George Kittle in Round 6.

The other winning strategy for this owner was loading up on receivers early while waiting to get his running backs until later. This was a very interesting strategy that worked. The owner took five straight receivers to start the draft and didn’t get a running back until Joe Mixon was picked in Round 8. This is a little riskier but another strategy that can obviously worked. Take those sure thing receivers first and get a bunch of question mark running backs in the mid- to later rounds and hope some hit. The big hits for this owner was his pick of Gibbs and getting Raheem Mostert in Round 13. The Mostert pick likely was the big one that put him over the top, getting the fifth rated fantasy back in the back half of the draft. The owners also had some misses at running back with Leonard Fournette and Clyde Edwards-Helaire but that didn’t impact his team too much, hitting on some of those other backs. 

So overall, the winning strategy of last year’s Best Ball Scout championship team was going early on receivers, loading up on running backs with question marks in the middle to later rounds, take few rookies and wait on the quarterback spot.

There are numerous strategies to use but this was the winning one from last year. Just something to think about when drafting your team in this year’s Best Ball Scout Championship. Start drafting here.

Jeff Paur is a two-time finalist for FSWA Fantasy Football Writer of the Year and won the FSWA award for Best Fantasy Football Article on the Web in 2011. He also was the most accurate expert in 2012, winning the FSTA Fantasy Football Accuracy Award. If you have any questions for Jeff, email him at jeff@rtsports.com. Follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffpaur.

Top Headlines
The Paur Report

This Week in the TFC (8-1)

Player Notes
Trey Sermon Aug 5 10:20am ET
Trey Sermon

Indianapolis Colts running back Trey Sermon seems to be enjoying a strong start to training camp. According to Joel Erickson of the Indy Star, the fourth-year back looks like the frontrunner to be Jonathan Taylor's backup. So far in Sermon's career, he hasn't seen more than 41 attempts on the ground in a season. He appeared in 14 games for the Colts last season and posted 160 yards on 35 carries with three receptions for 13 yards through the air. Sermon isn't a viable option in most fantasy leagues right now because it's unclear how much work he'll receive. If he continues to impress in training camp, however, he will be primed to get the most work he's seen in his young career.

From RotoBaller

Jerry Jeudy Aug 5 10:10am ET
Jerry Jeudy

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy returned to practice on Sunday after being limited with a knee injury over the last week or so. He has been participating in individual drills and workouts since Friday. Jeudy was brought in via trade to be the complement to Amari Cooper. Last year, Cooper was far and away the top target out of all of the receivers and the next best pass-catcher was tight end David Njoku. Jeudy hauled in 54 receptions for 758 yards and two touchdowns in a lackluster offense on the Denver Broncos last season. There's still some chemistry to build with Deshaun Watson, but Jeudy is being drafted in the later rounds of re-draft leagues right now.

From RotoBaller

Jermaine Burton Aug 5 10:00am ET
Jermaine Burton

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton returned to practice on Sunday after being out for a couple of practices last week due to an ankle injury. At the time, the team was calling it an ankle tweak and it seems like that's how it ended up playing out. The rookie receiver is expected to take over the spot left by Tyler Boyd which should translate into a steady diet of targets from Joe Burrow. There are still some unknowns surrounding Tee Higgins, so Burton's value could fluctuate through training camp. Either way, Burton has been a good value selection in dynasty formats and is ranked as the 71st receiver in Rotoballer's half-PPR draft rankings.

From RotoBaller

Elijah Moore Aug 5 9:50am ET
Elijah Moore

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Elijah Moore (head) hasn't yet been confirmed to sustain a concussion but has entered the protocol. Head coach Kevin Stefanski would not confirm the concussion part but told reporters that Moore was working through the protocol on Sunday. Entering his fourth season in the league, Moore is competing against newly added Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman, and David Bell for snaps and targets. Amari Cooper remains the number-one receiver, so Moore's workload could be thinner than it was last season when he posted 59 receptions for 640 yards and two scores. As of right now, he's the 85th-ranked receiver in Rotoabller's half-PPR draft rankings.

From RotoBaller

Bryce Young Aug 5 9:40am ET
Bryce Young

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young had a rough go of it in his rookie year while surrounded by a lackluster roster. According to Ian Rapoport the former first-overall pick appears primed to have a bounce-back year. After an off-season of addressing some weaknesses, Young will have a couple more pass-catchers to work with and a new offensive system. In fantasy terms, Young is in the later half of quarterbacks to go in re-draft leagues. This year will be an indicator of his fantasy relevance moving forward and it could vault him into a competitive are for superflex managers.

From RotoBaller

Puka Nacua Aug 5 9:40am ET
Puka Nacua

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (knee) suffered a knee injury this past weekend and is considered week-to-week. According to Adam Schefter, one of his sources said that the injury is "not serious." Fantasy managers can breathe a sigh of relief that the first description of it came as not one to worry about, but it will be something to monitor as training camp rolls along. The second-year wideout is ranked as the 12th player overall in Rotoballer's fantasy rankings in half-PPR leagues and has an ADP of 11.8. He'll still have to compete with Cooper Kupp for targets, but Matthew Stafford has proven there's more than enough to get Nacua plenty of fantasy points.

From RotoBaller

Chris Olave Aug 4 10:41pm ET
Chris Olave

New Orleans Saints WR Chris Olave is 'going to give out problems' in the team's new offense, according to DE Cameron Jordan.

BJ Ojulari Aug 4 10:40pm ET
BJ Ojulari

ardinals outside linebacker BJ Ojulari (knee) suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during practice on Friday. The 2023 second-round pick had a solid finish to his rookie season with four sacks and was projected to be a top pass rusher for Arizona this year. In Ojulari's absence, Dennis Gardeck is expected to assume a more significant role, and Victor Dimukeje is likely to see increased playing time at outside linebacker. Injuries have been a persistent challenge for Ojulari since his draft year; he had a knee procedure between the combine and the draft and dealt with a hamstring issue the previous spring. He began the last training camp on the PUP list but was activated by early August. With the defense weakened, Kyler Murray, Marvin Harrison Jr., Trey McBride, and James Conner will likely need to score more points to keep the team competitive. All of these players could see a boost in value if Arizona becomes a high-scoring team, similar to last year.

Brett Rypien Aug 4 10:40pm ET
Brett Rypien

Dynasty | Bears quarterback Brett Rypien went 11-for-15 for 166 yards and three touchdowns in the 2024 NFL Preseason Hall of Fame opener. Dynasty Analysis: The stats are a little empty based on the competition level but Rypien certainly did all he could to give Tyson Bagent a run as the QB2 behind Caleb Williams on the roster. Bagent will have his tine in the sun later this preseason as well but for now, file this away in deep 2QB leagues.

Collin Johnson Aug 4 10:40pm ET
Collin Johnson

Dynasty | Bears receiver Collin Johnson had three catches for 56 yards and two touchdowns in this year's Hall of Fame game. Dynasty Analysis: Johnson is somehow 26 already and has bounced around the league with stops in Jacksonville, New York and Chicago. He only has 30 career catches to his name but has always been a bit of a sleeper. Suddenly buried on a depth chart behind DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze and others, any dynasty manager still hoping for a breakout will likely need him to be released and sign elsewhere. Regardless, this performance was something to at least make note of as Johnson has always had some talent but never been given much of an opportunity in meaningful games.

Josh Downs Aug 4 10:00pm ET
Josh Downs

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs has looked good during training camp, with JJ Stankevitz of the team's website reporting that the wideout has received plenty of looks from quarterback Anthony Richardson. The 22-year-old had a decent rookie season, finishing with 68 catches for 771 yards and two touchdowns. He also ranked first on the team in missed tackles forced and yards after catch. With that in mind, Michael Pittman Jr. is the team's No. 1 wideout. However, Downs can climb the depth chart if he continues to build chemistry with Richardson heading into Week 1, making him an ideal late-round draft choice for fantasy managers looking to roll the dice.

From RotoBaller

Roman Wilson Aug 4 9:40pm ET
Roman Wilson

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Roman Wilson (ankle) is no longer in a walking boot after being carted off the field nearly a week ago. Even better, he isn't favoring his ankle while walking. The rookie was taken in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft after finishing his final collegiate season by amassing 789 yards and 12 touchdowns off 48 receptions. Hopefully, he'll be back on the field soon. While the injury could delay Wilson's progression, he has a chance to eventually overtake others on the depth chart and emerge as one of the team's top wideouts, giving him long-term appeal for dynasty participants.

From RotoBaller

Chase Brown Aug 4 9:30pm ET
Chase Brown

Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown continues to turn heads at training camp, with the sophomore amassing an impressive score during a recent practice. He finished his first season in the league by compiling 179 yards off 44 carries, adding 14 catches for 156 yards and a touchdown. While fantasy managers have heard this before regarding Brown's potential, he has a chance to climb the depth chart and overtake Zack Moss for touches at some point during the 2024-25 campaign. If anything, the 24-year-old should be considered for insurance purposes for those selecting Moss in fantasy drafts ahead of Week 1.

From RotoBaller

Quandre Diggs Aug 4 9:10pm ET
Quandre Diggs

According to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, free agent safety Quandre Diggs agreed to a one-year, $3 million contract with the Titans. He's also eligible to earn up to $2 million in incentives based on performance and time on the field. The Seahawks cut the 31-year-old in March after suiting up for the team since 2019. He was productive in Seattle, totaling 18 interceptions while earning a trip to the Pro Bowl three times. With that said, Diggs will compete for the right to start. However, he won't see attention from IDP managers even if he earns a spot in the starting lineup.

From RotoBaller

Joey Bosa Aug 4 9:00pm ET
Joey Bosa

Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Joey Bosa (hand, wrist) left practice on Sunday. The 29-year-old, who was having a solid session, was injured during drills. While details are scarce, he appeared to have hurt his hand or wrist. Bosa, the No. 3 pick in 2016, is a dominant pass rusher, amassing 67 sacks since entering the league. However, he's appeared in only 14 games in the last two seasons due to injury. IDP managers should get an update on his condition by Monday at the latest.

From RotoBaller

Quandre Diggs Aug 4 7:53pm ET
Quandre Diggs

Free-agent S Quandre Diggs agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $5 million with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Aug. 4, per sources. The deal includes a base salary of $3 million and $1 million in incentives for both playing time and performance.

From TheHuddle

Rashid Shaheed Aug 4 7:00pm ET
Rashid Shaheed

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (hamstring) sat out his second straight practice on Sunday. The assumption was that Shaheed would return on Sunday after sitting out on Saturday for a rest day. Possibly, Shaheed is dealing with more serious of an issue then first reported. Once healthy, Shaheed is expected to fill the No. 2 wide receiver role behind Chris Olave on this offense. That should lead to increased targets and usage for Shaheed for this upcoming season. Fantasy managers will have to check back on his status in a few days.

From RotoBaller

Puka Nacua Aug 4 6:50pm ET
Puka Nacua

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (knee) was forced to exit early during Sunday's practice session. The second-year wideout reportedly left with a knee injury after about an hour into drills. Nacua was seen with a bag of ice wrapped around his right knee. Head coach Sean McVay said he wasn't sure what happened to Nacua. It wouldn't be shocking to see Nacua sit out of practice for a few days. Fantasy managers should stay tuned for more information on his situation.

From RotoBaller

Jacob Hollister Aug 4 6:43pm ET
Jacob Hollister

Free-agent TE Jacob Hollister (Raiders) signed an undisclosed contract with the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Aug. 4. In addition, WR Devin Carter (undisclosed) was waived with an injury designation.

From TheHuddle

Dawson Knox Aug 4 6:40pm ET
Dawson Knox

Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox (groin, rest) didn't suit up for Sunday's practice session. Head coach Sean McDermott said that this was a rest day for the veteran tight end. That being said, fantasy managers shouldn't be too concerned as Knox has been dealing with a groin issue as well. Knox is looking for a bounce back campaign after a rough 2023 season. He finished with 22 receptions for 186 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games last season. Before that, Knox had two straight seasons with 45-plus catches and over 500 yards each season. The Bills lost a few offensive contributors this offseason which could possibly lead to more targets for Knox. However, the arrival of Dalton Kincaid could continue putting Knox on the backburner.

From RotoBaller