Believe it or not, but we are back to Best Ball season. Fantasy football is becoming a year-round activity, with drafts available right now. Whether you’re joining leagues over on Sleeper or jumping into an Underdog draft, Best Ball leagues are active all over the place. Even if you’re not a best ball fan, these money leagues (Underdog) will help prepare you for your 2025 fantasy football drafts.
That said, we’re here to give you some late-round targets to keep an eye on in your early Best Ball drafts. There will be a ton of movement in ADP between now and September, so getting ahead of those big swings will give you a huge advantage in these early tournament fields.
For the purpose of this article, I’m using Underdog ADP. “Late Round” is defined as after round 12. Underdog’s standard format includes eight starters, so round 13 and on. You’re already well into your bench and searching for diamonds in the rough.
Quarterbacks
JJ McCarthy - MIN
(QB23, ADP 149.2)
JJ McCarthy is set to lead the Minnesota offense after missing the entirety of his rookie season with a torn meniscus. The injury may have been a blessing in disguise for McCarthy and the Vikings. Instead of a constant discussion around whether McCarthy would start over Sam Darnold, the rookie passer was given the entire 2024 season to learn Kevin O’Connell’s offensive system and the team didn’t need to worry about a quarterback controversy.
Darnold had an incredible 2024 season, finishing as the QB9 for fantasy. While Darnold certainly isn’t as bad as the Jets and Panthers made him look, O’Connell’s offensive system and the skill position talent on the Vikings did a lot of heavy lifting for that QB9 finish. If McCarthy is the starter from Week 1, then he’ll easily outpace his QB23 ranking.
That brings me to the reason he’s ranked here at all. There’s still uncertainty around who will start for the Vikings. They could bring back Darnold, or they could seek another veteran option if they don’t feel comfortable moving forward with McCarthy as the starter. The Vikings didn’t select McCarthy with the 10th pick a year ago to not give him an opportunity to start.
You can justify sitting a rookie, but not a player taken that high in the draft entering his 2nd season. Rookies have a very quick development ramp as they navigate the massive changes associated with entering the NFL, both on and off the field. While McCarthy doesn’t have experience on the field, his experience being in the league for a year will allow him to focus on his development on the field.
Cam Ward - DRAFT
(QB24, ADP 153.4)
In my 2025 Best Ball Rookies article, I pointed out that the top rookie passer in a class has only finished outside of the top 20 fantasy quarterbacks once over the past 5 years. That year was 2022 with Kenny Pickett finishing as the QB28. This year’s class of quarterbacks doesn’t have the same depth as 2024, but Cam Ward far exceeds Pickett’s resume as a prospect.
I believe, and so do the betting markets, that Ward will be the first overall selection. If that does come to fruition, expect him to rise quickly into the top 20 fantasy quarterback rankings post-draft. Ward is an experienced passer at the college level, with 5 seasons of starting experience under his belt. With that experience, he should immediately enter as the starter for whatever team drafts him.
Ward showed off a well-rounded game in his 2024 season with the Miami Hurricanes. Ward has the mobility needed to create time to throw and showed he can make just about any throw needed. If he does make his way to Tennessee as the 1st overall pick, he’ll have a talented top wideout in Calvin Ridley.
Ridley is coming off back-to-back 1000-yard seasons and would likely have had a significantly better season in 2024 if it weren’t for the atrocious quarterback play for the Titans.
Derek Carr - NO
(QB30, ADP 201.8)
Would I want Derek Carr to be the quarterback for my NFL team? Absolutely not. For fantasy, though, Carr faces way too much criticism. Carr had finished as a top 20 fantasy quarterback every season of his career until he was limited to just 10 games last season due to injury.
Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener were both given an opportunity in Carr’s absence, and neither showed nearly enough to be considered for the starting position in 2025. The Saints are set to pick 9th in the 2025 NFL Draft, and with this year’s draft considered widely to be only two players deep at the quarterback position, it’s unlikely the Saints will be in a position to select a Day 1 starter at the position.
Add in that the Saints cap situation is abysmal, and it makes sense for the Saints to focus on developing elsewhere in 2025 and then address the quarterback position in the 2026 Draft. Carr has a very easy path to being a starter in 2025.
Not only that, but he still has weapons in Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, who can help build a strong passing offense. New head coach Kellen Moore has a history of building prolific passing attacks, and the Saints will be in a position to be down in most games this season. Carr may not be a great option for the NFL, but he could be an absolute steal for your Best Ball team.
Running Backs
Isaac Guerendo - SF
(RB51, ADP 169.7)
Guerendo showed some flashes in a weird 2024 season for the 49ers. Even though Christian McCaffrey missed most of the season, Guerendo found himself behind established rushers Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason. The reason the 49ers added Guerendo in the 2024 Draft, though, was because both Mitchell and Mason could be gone in 2025.
Both are free agents and with the 49ers having key free agents who need to be re-signed elsewhere, it’s possible that Guerendo will enter 2025 as the undisputed backup to McCaffrey.
McCaffrey’s backup in San Francisco has been a valuable asset in Best Ball. The 49ers have an incredibly effective running scheme, and McCaffrey has a long injury history, which is why he was recently highlighted as one of the top 5 RBs to avoid in 2025.
If McCaffrey finds himself on the IR at any point during the season, something that has happened multiple times in his career, Guerendo could find himself as a weekly top-12 running back for fantasy. In the 15th round, Guerendo offers more upside than anyone else as a handcuff and should be targeted heavily.
Kendre Miller - NO
(RB60, ADP 200.4)
After two injury-plagued seasons, the hype around Miller has died down significantly. This is normally the type of player that I’d say to avoid, but given he’s available in the 17th round of Best Ball drafts and the Saints’ current situation at the position, I’m adding a lot of Miller to by Best Ball teams.
Alvin Kamara will be 30 years old when the 2025 NFL season begins. His efficiency has not been anywhere near what it was in his prime, and it’s likely that we’ll see a steep cliff in the near future for the former fantasy darling. With the Saints projected as one of the worst teams in the league for 2025, it wouldn’t be shocking at all to see the much younger Miller get an opportunity ahead of Kamara as the season goes on.
If Miller can recapture some of what made him a Day 2 selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, he’ll well overachieve his current draft position. In the 17th round, you’ll be happy to get 2-3 starting performances from a running back.
That makes Miller’s injury history much less concerning at this point in Best Ball drafts. Even if Miller misses extended periods of time, if he’s given the reigns of the Saints’ backfield for just a handful of weeks, he’ll be a good pick.
MarShawn Lloyd - GB
(RB64, ADP 212)
I think Lloyd was the most explosive and exciting back in the 2024 class. Injuries severely limited his ability to get on the field in his rookie season, but 2025 will offer another opportunity for the speedy back to make his mark, especially in Best Ball leagues. If you want a running back stash for your 2025 fantasy football draft, Lloyd will likely be a last round pick.
Obviously, Josh Jacobs is an impediment to Lloyd being a starter, but that’s why he’s available so late in drafts. There is reason to believe Lloyd will see his fair share of opportunities in 2025. Matt LaFleur has been vocal about wanting to run a committee backfield. With all the injuries behind Jacobs in 2025, though, he didn’t have the opportunity to.
Because of that, Jacobs featured heavily in 2024, surpassing 300 carries. Running backs that get 300+ carries face a much higher rate of injury the next season. The last time Jacobs had 300+ carries, he followed it up with a season in which he missed four games, which was the most inefficient he’s been in his career.