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The Re-Draft Roundtables Series
The Footballguys staff looks at various strategies to help you in redraft leagues.
Participating in a redraft league is a process that starts with the draft and hopefully ends with a championship. The Footballguys staff has answered several questions about various strategies to help you achieve your championship dreams. From the beginning to the end and everything in between, we've got you covered to give you the tools and knowledge needed to dominate your redraft league.
Talk about the Hero-RB strategy. What are the pluses and minuses? Is this something you look to implement often?
Jason Wood
Hero-RB is an evolution of Zero-RB, representing a far more logical and sustainable drafting method. In Hero-RB, you actively target a high-volume workhorse stud early (usually in the first round but absolutely no later than the second) and then wait on your second and third running backs until your other key starters are drafted at receiver, tight end, and quarterback.
I've always utilized this strategy in my most competitive leagues and had tremendous success with it, particularly in PPR scoring formats (which are most leagues these days).
Craig Lakins
I'm a fan of the Hero-RB strategy because it emphasizes getting top talent at wide receiver while leaving the early portion of the draft with a stud running back. Depending on my draft position and how the picks ahead of me play out, I might still take a wide receiver in the first round. However, there is plenty of RB1 upside in the second round to capitalize on. For example, beyond Jonathan Taylor and Christian McCaffrey, it would be tough for me to take a first-round running back with Cooper Kupp, Justin Jefferson, or Jamarr Chase still left on the board. If I land one of them and can take someone like Aaron Jones or Leonard Fournette in the second round, I'll feel like I've hit a home run to start my draft.
Chad Parsons
A big perk is the running back position has higher weekly predictability of usage and production with a higher floor than wide receivers and tight ends. The backs with strong expectations of total volume and use in the passing game generally go early in drafts. One minus is the injury rate, and having an early-round selection turn into a negative on your roster is a season-changing (for the worse) outcome.
Ben Cummins
Hero-RB is like the Zero-RB strategy, except for a workhorse running back selection in the first or second round. This running back is leaned on as the hero to lock down the first running back position in your lineup all season. The idea is to load up on pass catchers and then take multiple shots at running back options later in the draft that have the potential to fill the second running back position in your lineup. The appeal is like Zero-RB in that, at times, it can produce a super team. I sometimes implement this strategy as a flexible drafter, adjusting to the league settings and scoring system and how the draft unfolds.
Jordan McNamara
If you get it right, Hero-RB can pay off. This can also make you popular on social media for "owning the Zero-RB" crowd if you are into that sort of thing. If you go Hero-RB, you are subjecting yourself to the whims of injury variance in a way I cannot tolerate.
Andy Hicks
Wide receivers, tight ends, and quarterbacks will always have options down the board. Running back often does not. If your Hero-RB strategy hits, you are in with a shot at winning your league. You are always a Christian McCaffrey injury away from making your season difficult. You should have a strong roster with this approach if you draft correctly and have luck.
Christian Williams
The Hero-RB strategy is one I often implement, depending on my position in the draft. The idea of drafting a stud at the position with the most scarcity (running back) while also attacking the value of the early-round receiver is appealing. Hitting on a solid RB2 is essential, but this strategy promotes a strong wide receiver group and a positional advantage over the folks that select running backs early. On the contrary, the positional depth of WR makes landing on the early-round receiver selections more vital, as there's a good chance the teams that went Robust-RB could find value receivers and, thus, have the positional advantage over you. When done right, the strategy promotes value-based drafting, which is the optimal way to draft anyhow!
Will Grant
The Hero-RB strategy works the opposite of Zero-RB, and it's best to use if you have one of the top draft picks in the league. Most NFL teams have adopted an RBBC approach, and even the top-tier backs have a backup who sees time during the season. So it's really about landing someone from those few teams who rely on one guy to get the job done. When it works, you are typically one of the strongest teams in the league and make the playoffs without much fuss.
However, luck plays a much stronger factor with this strategy because one key injury can wreck your entire season. People who drafted Christian McCaffrey last year probably struggled all year. People who drafted Jonathan Taylor probably made the playoffs.
I end up falling into this strategy based on how my first two draft picks turn out. If I can land one of the top backs in Round 1 and supplement with a solid pick in round 2, I'll probably stick with this play.
Gary Davenport
It's easier for me to stomach a build anchored around one bellcow running back. But this year, the strategy I seem to be gravitating to is having two backs and either two wide receivers or one wideout and a tight end through four rounds. Some backs falling into the third and fourth rounds I'm comfortable enough with as my RB2 to go at pass-catchers more aggressively than I usually do. This means no Josh Allen for me, but I'm not paying retail at that position in one-QB leagues.