Ready for a rapid-fire brainstorm of tournament-winning ideas from across the industry? You’re in the right place. We brought together a collection of the sharpest fantasy minds for this year’s Best Ball Cheat Codes. Whether you’re chasing $2 million on DraftKings or going all in on whatever 20-max contest UD just dropped, this is a wide-angle look at how to be successful in Best Ball in 2025.
Make sure to check out the DFS Pass in the UDK+ for the Best Ball Primer, Borg and Betz’s rankings, and the DFS & Betting Podcast.
Justin Herzig | Establish the Run | @JustinHerzig
Cheat Code: Undervalued WRs because of stacking issues
Stacking logic is quietly reshaping ADP in Best Ball drafts. When drafters are torn between two players like Chris Godwin and Rome Odunze, many lean toward Odunze. Why? Because it enables a stack with Caleb Williams, not because he’s necessarily better. That small decision gets repeated across thousands of drafts, pushing Odunze’s ADP up and Olave’s down. That ADP then influences rankings, making Olave seem like an inferior option despite no real change in projection.
Herzig points out that this stacking ripple effect created undervalued wideouts tethered to “unstackable” QBs. Players like Olave and Jerry Jeudy are slipping not due to talent, but because they don’t fit neatly into popular stack strategies. The edge, then, lies in identifying these pass catchers with distorted prices due to this dynamic. If you’ve drafted an elite QB, you can find an edge by grabbing talented receivers tied to uncertain or unpopular QBs. Á la, Olave, Juedy, David Njoku, and Rashid Shaheed.
JJ Zachariason | lateround.com | @LateRoundQB
Cheat Code: Targeting second-year QBs with rushing upside
Sophomore QBs like Bo Nix, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and JJ McCarthy offer upside thanks to their legs. Second-year QBs taken between QB7 and QB18 have outperformed ADP by 2.3 points per game since 2014. No other age group exceeded the 0.5 mark. These QBs offer rushing upside at an affordable price, resulting in a low opportunity cost that can lead your teams to the promised land.
Mike Leone | Establish the Run | @2Hats1Mike
Cheat Code: Drafting three mid-round QBs to maximize ceiling
Bypass elite QBs and draft three mid-round QBs between QB12 and QB24. This range includes names like Caleb Williams, CJ Stroud, Tua, and Dak. This QB range offers stacking flexibility and discounted ADPs, potentially due to recency bias or underperformance in 2024. The result is a potent blend of floor and ceiling that allows you to build stacks without forcing early picks. Some of the Top 10 QBs may be overranked due to overperforming (think Bo Nix, Baker Mayfield).
Leone loves how stackable this tier is across various parts of the draft. QBs like CJ Stroud, Tua, and Dak Prescott all get discounts because last year did not go as expected. Stroud, take him with Nico early. Then you have two rookies, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, to give you upside late, while Christian Kirk sits in the middle of them. Tua, Waddle, and Tyreek Hill could break fantasy given their ceiling potential in an offense that has shown elite passing efficiency and concentrated volume.
Tom Strachan | FantasyPros | @NFL_TStrack
Cheat Code: Rookie TEs
Rookie TEs are no longer hands-off, and the last two years prove it. After decades of disappointment, recent breakouts like Sam LaPorta and Brock Bowers flipped the narrative. Now, in 2025, Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland enter with elite draft capital (top 15 picks).
Warren joins a fast-paced Colts offense that could benefit if Anthony Richardson‘s/Daniel Jones‘ goal-line usage is scaled back. Loveland lands with the Bears and play-caller Ben Johnson, who schemed up LaPorta’s breakout. With athletic profiles and projected volume, Warren and Loveland could be those cheat codes because rookie TEs are starting to deliver.
Connor Allen | 4for4 Fantasy
Cheat Code: Tyler Warren
Going in rounds 10 to 11, Warren offers rare upside at a discount. The Colts prioritized him in the draft and can run designed touches in motion, the backfield, and even in potential goal-line work. His versatility and production at Penn State (almost 1,500 yards and 12 TDs) make him a dynamic fit for an offense. Coach Shane Steichen’s TE-friendly system gives Warren a realistic chance of being the second or third option in the passing game. He lined up everywhere in college and has the skill set to rack up high-value touches.
Erik Beimfohr | Spike Week | @erikbeimfohr
Cheat Code: Chaos
Embrace the chaos. Injuries, spike weeks, and unexpected performances define every season. We cannot perfectly forecast depth charts. While we spend months dissecting usage and playcalling, it’s the randomness of football that swings contests. Learning to adapt to that unpredictability is how you gain leverage.
Beimfohr urges drafters to seek out murky roles, ambiguous backfields, and rookies who fell further in the draft than expected. These are the bets the market undervalues because they feel uncomfortable. League winners emerge and edges are born from backup RBs, rookie breakouts, and late-season bloomers (like Ricky Pearsall last year).
Matthew Betz | The Fantasy Footballers | @TheFantasyPT
Cheat Code: Ambiguous Pass Catcher Rooms…leading to cheap, high upside stacks if you’re right
Betz’s 2025 cheat code targets undervalued, ambiguous WR rooms. While most drafters focus on ambiguous backfields, an edge may lie in murky WR groups. Teams like the Packers, Chargers, and 49ers all project well with team totals, yet their WR rooms’ roles remain unsettled. Stacking these ambiguous pass-catching options offers hidden upside at discounted ADPs.
Players like Jayden Reed, Luther Burden, or Quentin Johnston could emerge late and swing a tournament. If you’re willing to embrace uncertainty, go overweight in your portfolio, and bet against fear, you position yourself to be happy at the end of the year.
| Team | Pos | Player | ADP |
| Bears | WR1 | DJ Moore | 42.7 |
| WR2 | Rome Odunze | 60.5 | |
| WR3 | Luther Burden III | ||
| WR4 | Olamide Zaccheaus | 216 | |
| WR5 | Maurice Alexander | ||
| TE1 | Colston Loveland | 127.8 | |
| Packers | WR1 | Jayden Reed | 77.1 |
| WR2 | Matthew Golden | 78.6 | |
| WR3 | Romeo Doubs | 153.5 | |
| WR4 | Dontayvion Wicks | 211.2 | |
| WR5 | Christian Watson | 215.9 | |
| TE1 | Tucker Kraft | 123.2 | |
| Chargers | WR1 | Ladd McConkey | 18.5 |
| WR2 | Tre Harris | 105.3 | |
| WR3 | Quentin Johnston | 142.6 | |
| WR4 | Derius Davis | ||
| WR5 | Keandre Lambert-Smith | ||
| TE1 | Will Dissly | 215.9 | |
| TE2 | Tyler Conklin | 215.1 | |
| 49ers | WR1 | Jauan Jennings | 63.5 |
| WR2 | Ricky Pearsall | 76.4 | |
| WR3 | Brandon Aiyuk | 92.4 | |
| WR4 | Demarcus Robinson | 215.8 |
Kyle Borgognoni | The Fantasy Footballers | @kyle_borg
Cheat Code: Rescuing RBs from the Grave
After a dominant 2024, RBs are storming back into the early rounds of drafts. RBs 10-25 go off the draft board at least a round earlier than last year. This ADP surge reflects just how vital the position was in best ball success last season, with players like Saquon and Derrick Henry exploding. We haven’t seen RB priority like this since 2022, and even mid-tier RBs (like RB17) go nearly 20 spots earlier than before.
So, why are second-year backs on potent offenses being left for dead? Why are they going later than ever before, ADP-wise (historically speaking)? Perhaps their rookie seasons were not as fiery as hoped, but that’s what creates their value. Second-year backs like Trey Benson, Ray Davis, Marshawn Lloyd, Will Shipley, and Jaylen Wright get drafted later than expected despite contingent upside, team scoring strength, and positive camp reports. Take as many shots as possible on second-year RBs left for dead.
This table shows RBs are being drafted much earlier in 2025, with RB10 – RB-35 all going at least a round higher than in 2024. This shift reflects a strong bounce-back year for the position, pushing 10 RBs into the first two rounds for the first time since 2022.
| RB | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | ADP gain |
| 10 | 12.6 | 18.7 | 30.6 | 40.3 | 25.2 | 15.1 |
| 11 | 13.8 | 21.7 | 35.5 | 42.1 | 27.3 | 14.8 |
| 12 | 17.3 | 22.1 | 35.8 | 48.1 | 34.5 | 13.6 |
| 13 | 18.2 | 24.3 | 39.5 | 45.1 | 37.5 | 10.6 |
| 14 | 18.9 | 26 | 40.4 | 61.6 | 40.9 | 20.7 |
| 15 | 22.9 | 34.2 | 47 | 62.3 | 43.5 | 18.8 |
| 16 | 32.8 | 39 | 51.4 | 64.9 | 51.8 | 13.1 |
| 17 | 34.4 | 40.9 | 52.3 | 73.2 | 51.8 | 21.4 |
| 18 | 37.7 | 47 | 62.5 | 70.4 | 56.2 | 14.2 |
| 19 | 39.2 | 49.2 | 64.6 | 80.5 | 61.6 | 18.9 |
| 20 | 44.5 | 58.9 | 65.7 | 83.6 | 64.1 | 20.5 |
| 21 | 53.5 | 58.9 | 65.7 | 83.6 | 61.4 | 22.2 |
| 22 | 55.6 | 64.5 | 71.3 | 86 | 66.6 | 19.4 |
| 23 | 56.5 | 66.9 | 79.2 | 90 | 72.5 | 17.5 |
| 24 | 65.1 | 71.3 | 80.1 | 89.6 | 70.8 | 18.8 |
| 25 | 65.3 | 84.1 | 82.7 | 93 | 75.7 | 17.3 |
| 26 | 65.5 | 82.3 | 82.9 | 92.5 | 75.7 | 16.8 |
| 27 | 73.3 | 84.3 | 83.7 | 93.4 | 80.4 | 13 |
| 28 | 74.4 | 88.5 | 85.1 | 99 | 86.4 | 12.6 |
| 29 | 82.5 | 91.5 | 90.1 | 102.7 | 90.6 | 12.1 |
| 30 | 82.5 | 96.6 | 90.8 | 102.6 | 89.2 | 13.4 |
| 31 | 94.9 | 98.6 | 104.2 | 111.1 | 97.7 | 13.4 |
| 32 | 94.9 | 98 | 104.2 | 111.1 | 97.7 | 13.4 |
from Fantasy Footballers Podcast https://ift.tt/LWxN16F
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