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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 Zero-RB strategy. What are the pluses and minuses? Is this something you look to implement often?
Ben Cummins
Zero-RB essentially means loading up on wide receivers and/or tight ends early in drafts while bypassing the running back position until Round 6 or so. This is a risky strategy since elite running backs offer the most upside in fantasy football. However, the number of workhorse running backs seems to be dwindling by the year as more teams implement committee approaches. Additionally, running backs are subjected to the most punishment due to their increased number of touches and, thus, are at an elevated risk of injury. That’s where the upside of this strategy comes into play, especially if playing in a large field or tournament-style format. The running back position is the easiest one-for-one replacement in fantasy football since talent takes a back seat to overall opportunity. Those touches are easier to predict than for pass catchers. Nailing the elite pass catchers early and then landing affordable replacement and possibly even workhorse running backs later can, at times, lead to the building of a super team. That’s the overall appeal of Zero-RB, and I sometimes implement it.
Craig Lakins
I try not to go into my drafts with a specific strategy, but Zero-RB is a lot of fun to try to pull off when the opportunity presents itself. There's tremendous upside in stocking up on WR1s and maybe picking up an elite tight end. With how attrition affects running backs (see: Christian McCaffrey 2020-2021), it's not a bad bet to invest your highest picks elsewhere. Keep in mind that every season will play out differently than the last. Just because Zero-RB worked out last year doesn't mean I should go into my draft committed to using it again. There could easily be several high-ADP running backs that hit this year, so there's a risk of missing out on difference makers at a critical position by being overly committed to using this strategy. It's not something I plan to implement unless I feel very good about the RBs going between rounds 6-9.
Chad Parsons
The sheer turnover in-season at the running back position is a big plus for fading the position early in drafts. Committee options can still be lineup-viable (A.J. Dillon and Melvin Gordon as examples) with elite upside if an injury strikes. Backup running backs are cheap in drafts and available from the waiver wire, with weekly attention paid. One minus is, that even with roughly half of Round 1 running backs disappointing due to injury or poor play, the projected studs populate the strong workloads. Also, leading receivers for NFL offenses are generally available deeper into the draft than clear starting running backs as another minus. I am more likely to address running back early than fade the position.
Jason Wood
Winning fantasy football is about finding value, and the Zero-RB concept was born out of a realization that everyone prioritized running backs to a fault. There were a few years when waiting on running back was a way of ensuring an edge at all other positions. Then if the injury bug went your way, your later-round backs would evolve into viable starters, and you would have a championship team.
While that strategy is still viable in certain leagues, there came a point when everyone was opting for the strategy, and it became smarter to target stud running backs early again, particularly if they fell out of the first round. I'm generally against Zero-RB (and always have been), as I see it as more about proving how smart you are instead of maximizing your chances to win your league title.
Jordan McNamara
Running backs are the most fragile position in fantasy scoring. By going Zero-RB, you are embracing an anti-fragile strategy. You benefit from running back fragility (injuries) in two ways: you are rostering the backup running backs to the injured starters and making your opponents weaker. I prefer a team build that allows me to roster a few wide receivers and many running backs, so my teams look more like Zero-RB than Hero-RB.
Andy Hicks
There are risks in every strategy. Zero-RB relies on your ability to select later-round running backs that exceed their draft slot significantly. Locking yourself into any strategy is silly. Adaptability and let value dictate your draft are as important as it ever was. If a lot of drafters in your league adopt this strategy, premium running backs drop down the board and present value. You should know your strengths when drafting. Analyze previous drafts you have done and see how your running back depth looks. If your roster last year had Trey Sermon, Raheem Mostert, and Zach Moss as your Zero-RB strategy, you may need to reconsider trying again. You probably won your league if you landed James Conner, Elijah Mitchell, and Damien Harris.
Christian Williams
I don't necessarily attack drafts with a specific strategy in mind, but Zero-RB is often a feasible one. Zero-RB allows you to gain advantages at the other positions while returning for upside selections later in the draft to fill the starting running back spots. Depending on the year, this has been an incredibly lucrative strategy. Injuries to top running backs have been a constant in the past, and attacking wide receivers or tight ends early in drafts has proven to have more weekly consistency, providing a higher return on value. But positional scarcity can make this a complicated strategy to pull off. Players like Cordarrelle Patterson and Elijah Mitchell aren't available each year, and there's a steep production fall-off after the first 24-30 running backs. I don't actively state my intentions to draft Zero-RB, but when it happens, it's essential to take players with high upside later on.
Will Grant
Zero-RB strategy is not new, although people seem to think it is. People who have been playing fantasy football for many years used to know it as Upside-down drafting and best used it at the end of the first round. The idea is to go against the grain and grab value wherever possible. If everyone is hammering on running backs, you are better off grabbing two top-5 wide receivers. It works best in leagues that offer points per reception and even more if your league has multiple flex positions.
It's not something I typically set out to do, but I am always open to it when I go into a draft.
Gary Davenport
As an unabashed backaholic, I'm not a big fan of Zero-RB. Punting the position entirely is asking for trouble, and I like my chances of finding value at wide receiver in the middle rounds more than in the backfield. With that said, though, I can't say I've never tried it—if everyone in the draft goes buck-wild in the backfield early, then you have to be willing to ditch your plan. Go where the draft takes you. Where the value is.