Any fantasy football players out there noticed the hashtag #MFL10s on Twitter and wondered what that is all about?

Fantasy football league hosting platform MyFantasyLeague offers 12-team draft-only bestball leagues, most commonly called MFL10s. In these leagues you draft 20 players to fill your roster and then you are done all you need to do to manage this team for the season. The website automatically starts your best players each week.

The team with the most points accumulated Weeks 1 through 16 of the NFL season takes home the top prize. A $10 entry fee MFL10 awards $100 for 1st place, and a free entry in the following season for 2nd place. There are also $25 and higher entry fee levels with different prize structures.

The roster includes a starting lineup of 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex (RB, WR or TE), 1 Team Defense and 11 bench players. These leagues can be accessed from a great new dashboard this year at MFL10s.com where you can make a bulk deposit and join leagues right from there.

Last year I did 40 MFL10 drafts – winning six plus finishing 2nd in ten. They are a ton of fun for only $10, and no time commitment problems after the fact. I can’t get enough of these things! This year my goal is to do 70. Now that I’ve explained a little what an MFL10 is, lets talk about constructing your roster.

Typical Roster Construction

There are multiple thoughts on the best way to build a roster, but on average the typical roster is:

• 2-3 QB
• 4-6 RB
• 6-8 WR
• 2-3 TE
• 2-3 DEF

The biggest thing to remember that these leagues are draft only, so if someone gets injured for the season, they can’t be replaced. The other point is that this is a bestball league. This increases the value of guys you would not usually risk starting in a normal league, but in bestball could put up 3 fantasy points for multiple weeks but then score a TD and earn a “start”, giving you some value.

Roster Construction Rational

Quarterbacks
If you are able to get two Top 12 QBs then I typically stick with just those two as the additional spot elsewhere is more likely to help and get you points each week.

Running Backs
RB position is still king in MFL10s for many reasons: lack of depth in the position, no option to use waivers to pick up guys like Justin Forsett, and they still score a lot of points. If I am able to get a stud, and 2-3 guys I really like, I sometimes stick with four (which can be a little risky) or more likely five.

If I start a draft off WR heavy, I will try and get six RB. With more time shares at RB and MFL10s being bestball, you don’t need to guess which RB will score a TD, so getting guys who just get on the field is a big help.

The majority of the time I do not believe in handcuffing in these drafts. Your goal in these leagues is to come in 1st place instead of trying to make the playoffs. A RB that puts up a 0 every week is going to hurt you, but at best (if your guy goes down) you make a lateral move to the handcuff. Burning two roster spots for one player’s production is not usually a value proposition.

Wide Receiver
WR (along with TE) are helped the most by the bestball format. MFL10s user +1 point-per-reception (PPR) scoring. The scoring, coupled with starting 3-4 WR each week, means you typically want to roster at least six or seven. I try to get eight when I can, given other strengths.

Most WRs will score points each week, but they are almost impossible to guess the weeks they will score a TD, so having 7-8 of them gives you good odds of having consistently strong weeks in your starting lineup. Players drafted in the late rounds like Doug Baldwin or Rueben Randle have value. You can survive weeks they get 1-2 catches in exchange for the weeks they stumble into the end zone.

There is a strategy of stacking 2-3 WR from the same team (typically without the stud). Taking the WR2 and WR3 past Julio Jones or Calvin Johnson has been a successful strategy in the past, although it does change each year and can be heavily influenced post-NFL Draft. The thinking behind this is the WR2 and WR3 level players are a lot harder to predict, so you hope that either one from the same team has a big game and/or a TD in any given week.

Tight End
Unless I get two studs (Jimmy Graham plus Michael Bennett, for example) I will try and take three. TEs are even more volatile than WRs and more TD dependent. Even holding Rob Gronkowski, Graham or Travis Kelce plus an average backup, a third TE on the roster can be helpful. There are bye weeks (obviously) and of course down weeks, but your team truly benefits when a backup TE scores a TD and fills your flex spot.

Team Defense
Defenses are by far the most random position, and with bestball, you don’t play matchups. I try not to take a defense until Round 16 at the very earliest. Roster at least two, and more times than not I draft three. Even the worst defense can have weeks they get a pick-6 or shutout the Cleveland Browns. Having three can help ensure you have a decent to good score each week. Even three sub-par teams can put up decent points collectively over the course of the season.

Draft Strategy and MFL10 Tool

The prior section gives an overview of what your final roster should look like, position-wise. The next question is what strategy to get you there.

There are numerous strategies to employ tackling these MFL10 leagues. I will delve into different strategies including my favorite one, “Volume Value Drafting”, and describe an Excel tool I built to support my MFL10 drafting addiction in part two of this article. If you would like a sneak peak before part two is posted, visit my blog about the MFL10 draft tool.