BEST of 2024 So Far (After Week 12) 

Fantasy Football prognosticators attempt to predict who the top players will be at each position every season. If you have been paying attention to me here on The Science of Fantasy Football, you know that year-end points can be deceiving, and points per game are also misleading. But what matters most in Best Ball Fantasy Football is how many times a player hits our score sheet. That’s what the BEST Index attempts to do. Let’s look at the best of the BEST after week twelve. 

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 16 Top Rated: Lamar Jackson 

Best of 15 Super Elite: Joe Burrow and Baker Mayfield

BEST of 12 Elite: Josh Allen

BEST of 11 Solid: Jalen Hurts, Josh Daniels, and Sam Darnold

RB Position

BEST of 17: Top Rated: Derrick Henry 

Best of 16: Super Elite: Bijan Robinson

BEST of 15 Super Elite: Saquon Barkley 

BEST of 14 Elite: De’Von Achane, Jahmyr Gibbs, Josh Jacobs, and Alvin Kamara 

BEST of 13 Solid:  Kyren Williams, David Montgomery, and Chuba Hubbard

BEST of 12 Solid: Joe Mixon and Breece Hall

WR Position

BEST of 15 Top Rated: Ja’Marr Chase 

BEST of 14 Super Elite: Justin Jefferson and Amon Ra St Brown

BEST of 12 Elite: Terry McLaurin

BEST of 11 Solid: Garret Wilson, Cee Dee Lamb, Malik Nabers, Zay Flowers, and Jaxon Smith Njigba

TE Position

BEST of 13 Top Rated: George Kittle

BEST of 10 Super Elite: Brock Bowers and Trey McBride

BEST of 9 Elite: Travis Kelce

BEST of 8 Solid: Johnu Smith 

Conclusion

The elite QBs using BEST Index is only a small group of three this season, with Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Baker Mayfield leading the way with a 3-point gap over QB4. Only 7 QBs have a BEST equal or better than the number of games they have played this season. Don’t look now, but Patrick Mahomes is only 2 points behind that group after last week's best game of the season. 

Over the years, Fantasy Football analysts have warned about the performance of veteran RBs signed to free-agent deals. That old myth has been shattered this season, with Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley being as good as they were in their younger years. This time of the year, the RB in Fantasy Football, with 12 RBs, has a BEST Index equal to or greater than the number of weeks played this season. Four of those twelve were veterans joining new teams this season.

Meanwhile, only four WRs have a BEST Index equal to or greater than the number of weeks played this season. Three of them are no surprise, with Ja’Marr Chase, Amon Ra St Brown, and Justin Jefferson drafted in the top 5 at WR, but Terry McLaurin has emerged as the year's value at WR with his ADP at WR31 this season. 

George Kittle has built a 3-point lead in the BEST Index at the TE position and is the clear TE1 right now. Rookie Brock Bowers showed he was human last week with his first below-median game since week four. Trey McBride’s season sitting at TE3 in BEST Index is even more remarkable when you notice he has yet to score a receiving TD this year. After twelve weeks, Travis Kelce and Johnu Smith round out the top 5 at TE. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving, and best of luck in week thirteen.