Welcome to the Fantasy Points Brain Trust — your weekly destination for expert takes from some of the sharpest minds in fantasy football. Each week, our team of writers and content creators will tackle some of the biggest questions in the game, giving you actionable insights to dominate your 2025 drafts and win your fantasy leagues.
This Week’s Topic: What is the best Late late-round Best Ball pick to make?
In fantasy football, we spend countless hours identifying the best possible selections in the early rounds of drafts. But in Best Ball, the true edge often comes from finding that late-round sleeper who can push your team over the top — and help you advance in major tournaments.
We asked Scott Barrett, Theo Gremminger, Tom Brolley, Joe Dolan, Ryan Heath, Graham Barfield, and Chris Wecht for some names they’ve been clicking a lot in drafts.
Here are our favorite Late-Round Best Ball Picks, all players available at pick 170 or later in Underdog drafts — the sleeper picks the Fantasy Points Brain Trust is targeting late in Best Ball this summer.
ADP Data from Underdog Fantasy.
Will Shipley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
ADP: 180.2
The Eagles let Kenneth Gainwell walk to the Steelers in free agency on a one-year, $1.8 million deal, which included just $620,000 guaranteed. The Eagles were encouraged enough by Shipley’s performances in practice and games as a rookie to promote him into Gainwell’s former role in the two-minute offense.
More importantly, Shipley is the favorite to beat out A.J. Dillon for the handcuff role behind Saquon Barkley, who is coming off a staggering 482 touches during Philly’s Super Bowl run. Dillon isn’t guaranteed to make the roster after missing all of last season because of a neck injury — the Eagles gave him $167,500 in guaranteed money.
Shipley has a path to some weekly touches in Gainwell’s former role, and he’s one of the more valuable handcuffs behind one of the NFL’s best O-lines in an elite offense.
- Tom Brolley
Alec Pierce, WR, Indianapolis Colts
ADP: 179
When searching for wide receivers in this range of drafts, fantasy managers often point to “usable weeks.” Well, how about usable weeks on steroids?
Alec Pierce is a next-level athlete with elite size and a defined role in the Indianapolis Colts’ passing game. He had a quiet but emphatic third-year breakout season, leading the team with 824 receiving yards on just 37 catches. Pierce also led the NFL in yards per reception (22.3) and scored 7 touchdowns, again leading the Colts. He tied Brian Thomas Jr. with 7 receptions of 40+ yards, trailing only Ja’Marr Chase across the entire league.
To dismiss this level of production due to quarterback uncertainty or target competition is short-sighted. The Colts spent a second-round pick on Pierce in the 2022 NFL Draft, and he's starting to show exactly why. He played 79.5% of the team’s offensive snaps last season — second among all Colts skill players — and ranked 12th in the NFL in Air Yards.
In redraft, his inconsistent usage makes him harder to trust in weekly lineups, but in best ball, Pierce can help strong builds reach the top. Last season, he finished as a weekly WR3 or better six times, including four weekly WR1 (top-12) finishes.
Not all late-round WR picks need to be boring.
- Theo Gremminger
Brashard Smith, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
ADP: 201.1
Smith, a former college WR, has just one year of running back experience, which is likely why he was a 7th-round pick. But it’s hard to imagine the rookie — who has measurables shockingly similar to Jahmyr Gibbs — landing in a better spot.
The Chiefs did virtually nothing of significance in their backfield this offseason. They brought back Kareem Hunt and signed Elijah Mitchell, but Hunt got less guaranteed money than even Mitchell did, and Mitchell is coming off a significant injury, just one in a career full of them. Isiah Pacheco projects to be the lead back yet again, but he, too, was injured last year and was largely ineffective when he came back late in the season, finishing with an explosive run rate of just 1.2%, down from 5.4% in 2023.
But even if Pacheco returns to form, I can’t shake the idea that Smith, as a former college receiver, can carve out a role independently of Pacheco. Think back to 2022, when Jerick McKinnon operated as a receiving and red-zone back for the Chiefs, posting 56/512/9 receiving — which ranked 9th, 4th, and 1st among running backs, respectively, that season. McKinnon finished as RB30 in Underdog scoring that season, ahead of Pacheco’s RB46.
Smith is a long shot, of course. But Pacheco was once effective in this offense as a 7th-round rookie, so Andy Reid has a history of playing backs based on merit, not status. I like swinging for the fences with my late picks, and Smith qualifies.
