BEST of 2024 So Far (After Week 15) 

Fantasy football analysts strive to forecast the top players in each position every season. If you have been following my insights on The Science of Fantasy Football, you know that year-end points can be misleading, and points per game are unreliable. However, in Best Ball Fantasy Football, the most crucial factor is how frequently a player contributes to our score sheet. This is the objective of the BEST Index. After week fifteen, let us examine the best performers according to the BEST Index.

BEST Index Explained

Fantasy Football is a weekly game that needs weekly statistical tools. The MVP Index grades players on the three things that can happen every week: whether a player helped you win, caused you to lose, or kept you in the matchup that week. It uses historical median production to determine values that need to be exceeded to count. Since we don’t care about the lousy Best Ball Fantasy Football scores, the BEST index uses two of the three parts of the MVP Index to show BEST Ball effectiveness for each player. 

QB Position

BEST of 20 Top Rated: Lamar Jackson

Best of 19 Super Elite: Joe Burrow

BEST of 18 Super Elite: Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield

BEST of 15 Elite: Jalen Hurts

BEST of 14 Solid: Jayden Daniels, Jared Goff and Sam Darnold

RB Position

BEST of 21: Top Rated: Bijan Robinson

BEST of 20 Super Elite: Josh Jacobs

BEST of 18 Super Elite: Derrick Henry, De’Von Achane, and Jahmyr Gibbs

BEST of 17 Elite: Saquon Barkley, Kyren Williams, and Alvin Kamara

BEST of 16 Elite: Chase Brown

BEST of 15 Solid: Joe Mixon, David Montgomery, and Chuba Hubbard

BEST of 14 Solid: James Conner 

WR Position

BEST of 20 Top Rated: Ja’Marr Chase 

BEST of 19 Super Elite: Justin Jefferson

BEST of 18 Super Elite: Amon Ra St Brown

BEST of 16 Elite: Terry McLaurin

BEST of 15 Solid: Cee Dee Lamb and Malik Nabers

BEST of 14 Solid: Brian Thomas Jr and Jaxon Smith Njigba

TE Position

BEST of 16 Top Rated: George Kittle

BEST of 14 Super Elite: Trey McBride

BEST of 12 Elite: Brock Bowers and Johnu Smith 

BEST of 10 Solid: Travis Kelce 

Conclusion

The strength of having an elite quarterback on your fantasy football roster is showing itself so far in the fake football playoffs, with big games by Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, and Jared Goff leading the way. This season, Baker Mayfield remains the best value at the position in fantasy football. Bijan Robinson continues to lead the way at RB, but now he will get a rookie QB for the rest of the season. Remember when Fantasy Football analysts warned us about drafting veteran RBs who signed big free-agent contracts or got traded to a new team? This year, five of the top ten RBs fit those criteria, showing that it matters which team someone ends up on before deciding on their weekly value. Ja’Marr Chase continues to lead the way at WR, but Justin Jefferson and Amon Ra St Brown are not far behind. Terry McLaurin and rookie Brian Thomas Jr might be the best values at the position this season. Jaxon Smith Njigba shows why you don’t give up on WRs after a poor rookie season. George Kittle remains Mr. Dependable at the TE position and has now gapped the rest of the field. Trey McBride continues to be second-best and still hasn’t scored a TD via pass all season. Rookie Brock Bowers posted disappointing games back-to-back, and Johnu Smith remains the best draft value at the position. Good luck in the semifinals.