Underdog Best Ball Picks, $250 Fantasy Football Promo Code & $1.5M Top Prize
Underdog is hosting its flagship Best Ball Mania V fantasy football contest with a massive $1.5 million top prize. The difference between this contest and DraftKings Best Ball is the scoring: Underdog is 0.5 PPR with DK full PPR. I fired up my first draft for 2024 recently and drew the 1.06. Here are my favorite fantasy football picks in each round from that spot.
Never played this format before and asking, “What is best ball fantasy football?” We’ve got you covered. Week 1 NFL picks at Underdog are also now available. Click Higher or Lower below to play now. New users can sign up with promo code THELINES for up to a $250 deposit match.
Stephen’s Favorite Underdog Best BALL Picks
1.06: Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
Christian McCaffrey, CeeDee Lamb, Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, and Ja’Marr Chase were the first five picks in my draft here. Amon-Ra St. Brown would be next on the list for me, even over Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase. Even in half PPR, he’s still my WR3, and with so many solid RBs dropping to Round 2-4 on Underdog, it makes it fairly easy to deploy a hero RB approach. The Sun God is an absolute reception machine with continuity at quarterback and offensive coordinator.
Plus, the Lions play the 14 dome games this season and another in the beautiful Bay Area for a potential Week 17 NFL Best Ball Championship.
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Amon-ra st. brown Week 1 vs. Rams
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84.5 Receiving yards
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84.5 Receiving yards
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2.07: 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk
In NFL Best Ball tournaments, you better find ways to stack multiple weapons in games that project to be high-scoring in Week 17. The Lions at 49ers is a prime candidate. If you’re going to outscore a large field of other DFS players, you need to chase ceiling outcomes.
So, I’m stacking right away with Brandon Aiyuk. I would not fault anybody for taking Deebo Samuel instead with Aiyuk’s “hold-in” for a new contract and/or demands to be traded. On teams where I get St. Brown in Round 1, I’m trying to diversify between the two. However, Aiyuk finished as the WR14 on fewer than 110 targets last year. If he adds volume to the 49ers incredible offensive efficiency, look out for Aiyuk.
If you want to chase a ceiling outcome among available RBs in Round 2, Dolphins RB De’Von Achane would be my main target. He’s a crazy explosive weapon in a Dolphins offense that produced 27 rushing touchdowns by RBs last year.
3.06: Giants WR Malik Nabers
The Giants literally have nobody else of quality to throw the ball to. Isn’t it in the range of outcomes for Nabers to be among the league leaders in targets this season for Brian Daboll? No other WRs in this range are providing that type of ceiling at this point in drafts. Is it uncomfortable drafting a rookie WR in Round 3? Yes. But in a massive tournament like this, we should be hyperfocused on ceiling outcomes.
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malik nabers Week 1 at vikings
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54.5 Receiving yards
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54.5 Receiving yards
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4.07 Jaguars RB Travis Etienne
This is precisely what I mean by RB value in these Underdog drafts with so many drafters moving WRs up the board. I took Etienne as the RB10 in this draft in Round 4.
Eitenne finished as the overall RB3 last season in half PPR and has no real threat to his workload on the depth chart in Jacksonville. He also created the opportunity to begin one of my favorite under-the-radar stacks for Underdog best ball picks this season. More on that below.
Isiah Pacheco was gone at this point in Underdog drafts, but he’d be in consideration for those waiting until Round 4 to take a RB. Over the past few years, I’ve had the most success on Underdog only taking one RB in the first four rounds. It creates a more durable roster with only 18 picks on this platform vs. 20 rounds on DraftKings.
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Travis Etienne Week 1 at dolphins
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61.5 Rushing yards
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61.5 Rushing yards
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5.06 Chiefs WR Rashee Rice
Unlike earlier in the offseason, I’m starting to draft a lot of Rice in Round 5 with speculation growing that his suspension could get pushed to the 2025 season. Is there risk? Yes. Are we still trying to beat out a massive field of players? Yes. If we get closer to the season and Rice is not suspended, his ADP is going to skyrocket. The only reason his ADP is here right now is because of suspension fears.
His court date is not until December.
From Week 12 on in his rookie season, Rice was the WR9 in half PPR. He should only improve in his second season and has the full trust of Patrick Mahomes. We’re not playing it safe in this tournament. We’re taking our shot at huge payouts.
Favorite Picks in Rounds 6-20
The stack I really like in the middle rounds of NFL Best Ball drafts is the Jaguars vs. Titans matchup in Week 17. With Tennessee planning to open the offense up this year and throw a ton, this is a sneaky pick to be high-scoring for Best Ball championship week. PFF also projects the DL and secondary to be average, at best, for the Titans, giving the Jacksonville pass game a chance to explode.
- Round 6: Saints RB Alvin Kamara or Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr.
- Round 7: Jaguars TE Evan Engram
- Round 8: Bears RB D’Andre Swift
- Round 9: Titans RB Tyjae Spears
- Round 10: 49ers QB Brock Purdy or Packers WR Dontayvion Wicks
- Round 11: Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence
- Round 12 & 13: Two of Packers RB MarShawn Lloyd, Vikings RB Ty Chandler, 49ers WR Ricky Pearsall (if you drafted Aiyuk)
- Round 14: Dolphins RB Jaylen Wright or Rams WR Demarcus Robinson
- Round 15: Seahawks TE Noah Fant
- Round 16: Titans WR Tyler Boyd
- Round 17: Commanders TE Ben Sinnott or Browns RB D’Onta Foreman
- Round 18: Jets WR Xavier Gipson or Raiders RB Dylan Laube or Chiefs RB Deneric Prince
Underdog NFL Best Ball Rules
Keep in mind Underdog scoring is 0.5 points per reception with 1QB-2RB-3WR-TE-FLEX for the starting lineup. For those new to NFL Best Ball fantasy football, the format is simple. You draft, and you’re done. No trades or in-season roster moves. Only your highest-scoring lineup is scored each week.
With no roster moves allowed after drafting, injuries, and players buried on the depth chart hurt far more than your standard leagues. Underdog best ball picks must be more accurate than DraftKings, too, as the roster size is smaller, with 18 total roster spots.
Best of luck with your Underdog best ball picks!
Underdog NFL Best Ball Schedule
- Round 1: Weeks 1-14 (Top 2 Advance From 12-Man Draft)
- Round 2: Week 15 (Top 1 Advance From Re-Seated 13-Man League)
- Round 3: Week 16 (Top 1 Advance From Re-Seated 16-Man League)
- Round 4: Week 17 (539 seats)
Underdog Best Ball Mania V Top Prizes
If you finish in the top 112,112 out of 360,987 entries, you will finish in the money. Every player that reaches Week 17 will win at least $3,750. Here are the payouts for the top-10 finishers:
- $1.5 million
- $750,000
- $500,000
- $400,000
- $300,000
- $239,490
- $200,000
- $170,000
- $160,000
- $150,000
NFL Best Ball Promos & Biggest Prizes
- Underdog Promo: Best Ball Mania V [$1.5M to 1st]: $25 entry fee & use code THELINES for $250 deposit match
- DraftKings: NFL Best Ball $15M Millionaire [$1.5M to 1st]: $20 entry fee; $520 bonus offer (no promo code required)
- FanDuel Promo for NFL DFS: up to $100 deposit match (no promo code required)
- Is DraftKings or FanDuel DFS better?
- Join TheLines.com’s free sports betting Discord — with over 4,000 community members and our staff sharing ideas daily.
Deposit matches are new user promos.
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