The Eliminator is a specialized best ball contest on Underdog that has half of the field advancing every week until a winner is crowned. Check out my other article on how to win the Eliminator as well as all of DFSARMY’s best ball content this summer as we look to crush the competition.
2 quick tips I have for the Eliminator are to not prioritize rookies at all, as well as to target week 1 matchups that are advantageous. If we can advance in week 1, we have more bullets moving forward to embrace the volatility that are the proceeding head to heads that we will be playing in.
Chase Brown – Typically a late first or early second rounder, which is right around where he should go. I suggest targeting him because he has multiple paths to fantasy relevance which gives him a high floor. The Bengals are also preseason favorites in 15 of their 17 games, and he is at home to start the season against a bad Buccaneers defense.
Josh Downs – The field is unsure of what to do with Downs this year, and while everyone is targeting Alec Pierce, I am going Josh Downs. Michael Pittman is Pittsburgh bound and Downs’ ADP is well after his peers in Alec Pierce and Tyler Warren. I think that Downs’ role on the team is super secure and that he will have plenty of targets and red zone looks this year from Danny Dimes. The Colts also have a favorable week 1 matchup offensively at home against the Ravens who stunk defensively last year.
Jahmyr Gibbs – No duh, am I right? This will be a quick breakdown. I have Bijon Robinson over Gibbs on half point PPR regular best ball, and Gibbs over Bijon on full point. I understand that Underdog is half point PPR; however, Gibbs’ week 1 matchup is at home against the Saints vs Bijon’s being on the road against the sturdy defense of the Steelers. Draft Gibbs 1.01 in the Eliminator this season.
Gunnar Helm – Who? I think in all of best ball, it is best to target a couple of late tight ends. In the Eliminator I can see why drafting a strong middle of the draft guy like a Tyler Warren or a Tucker Kraft would be good, but we want some of these starting tight ends that fall later in the draft. Gunnar Helm is the starting TE for the Titans, and the Titans are at home against the Jets to start the year. So, not only is Gunnar Helm viable overall as a late TE and is a starter; he also has that week 1 bump because the Titans should be scoring at least 3 touchdowns in that game.
Chris Olave – Olave garnered tons of attention and targets from Tyler Shough last season, and now they get a full offseason to build on that chemistry. The target volume alone warrants the high ADP from Olave, but the Saints should be down and have to throw game-script wise on the road against the Lions in week 1.
Ashton Jeanty – Oh boy, the boss isn’t going to like this one. At the end of last season Jeanty got used to the speed of the league and put up some big scores. Overall, the Raiders have slightly improved at the QB position, and Jeanty’s volume totals should warrant the high floor we are looking for in the Eliminator. The Raiders are getting the Dolphins at home in week 1, and the Dolphins are total ass. In general I like James Cook at a similar ADP a bit more for regular best ball, but his week 1 opponent is the Texans, in Houston. If you don’t advance week 1 in this specific contest, you are dead, and Jeanty is my guy in late round 1 in this contest.
Nov 2, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland (84) celebrates with wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus (14) after catching a 5-yard touchdown pass against the Cincinnati Bengals during the third quarter at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
Colston Loveland – Somehow the ADP for Loveland drops ever so slightly in the Eliminator compared to regular best ball and it makes no sense to me. Generally I don’t love the early TE grab, but in this contest it is more acceptable. Theoretically filling out your total starting roster first will give you the highest floor, which is what we are looking for in this contest. Loveland goes a couple rounds after McBride and Bowers, and I think there is a path for Loveland to be the highest scoring TE this year. The Bears play the Panthers in week 1 which should be a high scoring game, which gives Loveland even more of a bump for me. DJ Moore is gone, Luther Burden is a total question mark for me, and Caleb Williams showed extreme favoritism towards Loveland at the end of last season.
Jaylen Warren – Rico Dowdle is also acceptable if Warren does not fall to you in the draft. The Steelers have shown throughout the years that they will play both of their RB’s a ton and they both have TD upside. They are both middling picks in the best ball drafts, and they are at home against the lowly Falcons. We always are targeting favorited RB’s with positive game scripts.
Matthew Golden – This kid was a first round pick just last year, and the Packers lightened their WR room by dropping Doubs and Wicks. The Packers’ WR room is always one of the most difficult to figure out, but with the prior investment, the offseason moves, and the overall talent, Golden grades out as one of my favorite late round best ball WR’s.
David Montgomery – The week 1 matchup at home against the Bills is simply just a whatever type of matchup for me. I could however see the Texans running the ball to keep it out of Josh Allen’s hands. Montgomery is simply a great transitional RB piece in drafts that ends a tier of what I would call the tier 2 RB’s. In Gibbs’less games in the past, Montgomery was a smash for the Lions, and now I think he is going to receive the lions-share of the touches. People forget that Montgomery isn’t THAT old, and his legs and body haven’t been grinded to a pulp in his career.
Baker Mayfield – Baker simply has too many fantasy relevant games in his career to be this low of an ADP in a contest in which we should just need solid QB scores. Baker has a week 1 matchup against the horrid Bengals defense, and should be considered even without stacking him.
Tyler Shough – The unsexy old 2nd year QB actually showed some promise and rushing upside late in his rookie campaign. When Shough was called upon (after the abysmal management and coaching decision to start Spencer Rattler), Shough delivered fantasy wise. In week 1 Shough should have the ball in his hands a ton as they should be trailing the Lions on the road. The Saints signal caller should put up relevant fantasy scores all season, which is what we are looking for in this format.