Introducing... LegUp's DraftKings Playoff Best Ball Rankings

Pat Kerrane

11 Jan 2024

Earlier this week, DraftKings launched playoff best ball contests. These contests are a lot like the offerings on Underdog but with a few key differences.

The starting roster includes a TE slot.
- This bumps the starting lineup from five players to six.
DK drafts are 12 rounds instead of 10.
The default advance structure out of Round 1 is 1-of-6.
- Underdog's flagship tournament was 2-of-6.

The biggest change is the addition of tight end. You'll want to think about TE a lot like RB in this format. We don't want to draft a lot of players at the position, which makes QB/TE stacks very powerful. And you'll need to find a way to cover TE in Round 1 and in the Super Bowl (which can be tricky).

The current version of the tool lacks some urgency in advancing teams through Round 1. We didn't have a lot of time to test it... but wanted to get something out there before drafts close.

If building with 49ers and/or Ravens, you may need to get weird and take three teams from a conference or grab Steelers or Packers in the late rounds. The field appears to be considering the late rounds even less than on Underdog. This will make it more difficult to advance 49ers and Ravens to Round 2... but it will also make them more powerful if you can get them there.

LegUp's Dynamic Playoff Best Ball Rankings for DraftKings

If you're a Legendary Upside subscriber... this is now a part of your subscription:

Shoutouts

This tool wouldn't exist without the amazing team that worked with me to build it and to create and update the rankings feeding it: Phil Manor, Sackreligious, Daniel Racz, Kyle Dvorchak, and Chris Gee.

I also want to give a huge thanks to Erik Beimfohr and Hackr at Spike Week, who are providing playoff odds and ADP data to help power the tool.