Zero RB vs. Hero RB Strategies for Fantasy Drafts
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00:00 Fantasy football draft season is here and it's time to talk strategy.
00:03 So Michael Fabiano, I've got to know, are you team zero running
00:07 back or team hero running back?
00:09 Well, now's the time to be on the zero running back team, right?
00:12 Because wide receivers are flourishing.
00:14 Running backs seem to be falling.
00:16 There's better running backs available late in drafts, but I can't do it.
00:19 I just can't do it.
00:20 And this is coming from someone who has been a running back truther
00:23 for over 20 years in fantasy football.
00:25 Do I see the importance of wide receivers?
00:27 Absolutely.
00:28 Would I take a wide receiver in round one?
00:30 No question about it, but I'm not going to avoid trying to get an elite running back.
00:34 If I can get an Austin Eckler, if I can get a Derrick Henry or a Nick Chubb,
00:38 and then go three wide receivers in my first three picks, I'll absolutely do that.
00:42 I understand that the running back position has become, I guess, the black sheep of
00:47 the offensive skill positions in fantasy football and actually in getting contracts
00:51 as well, but the bottom line here is it's still a very valuable position and
00:55 there's very few featured backs.
00:58 I want to try to get at least one of them on my roster.
01:00 So I'll go running back and then I'll load up on those wide receivers
01:03 because there's a lot of good ones.
01:04 Okay, Fads, I hate to tell you this, but you kind of sound like the old man
01:07 standing on the front lawn, yelling at the kids to get out of here.
01:10 I mean, what?
01:11 Go ahead.
01:12 You go ahead.
01:12 Let me tell you something.
01:13 It's time to get with the program.
01:15 Yeah.
01:16 If you wait, you might end up with what a horrible running back like Cam
01:20 Akers, Javante Williams, Rashad Penny.
01:23 Come on.
01:24 And in the meantime, you can load up on players like Mark
01:27 Andrews, Justin Jefferson.
01:29 Imagine starting like that.
01:31 That's a pretty phenomenal start.
01:32 And listen, if everybody's going to be going to PPR leagues, you
01:35 have to focus on those targets.
01:38 That's where it's going to add up.
01:40 So let's play a game, Fads.
01:42 Give me a first round running back that you would take.
01:45 Austin Eckler, who by the way, had 107 catches last year.
01:48 Pretty good PPR, right?
01:49 Kellen Moore.
01:50 That's the problem.
01:51 Give me another one.
01:52 Derrick Henry.
01:53 It's getting old.
01:54 That's an old guy.
01:55 You think he's going to continue doing this?
01:56 Eventually he has to fall off.
01:58 I can give you an argument for why every early running back is going to bust.
02:01 I can wait all the way to round seven and still get Khalil
02:04 Herbert and Rashad Penny.
02:06 And in the meantime, I have all these pass catchers.
02:09 Rashad Penny, the guy who always gets hurt.
02:11 You want to have him as a starting running back on your fantasy team?
02:14 Oh yeah, sure.
02:14 I'll just play the waiver wire.
02:16 There's not going to be anything on the waiver wire running back because
02:19 there's all the running backs are going to be taken up.
02:21 That's not a good philosophy to have.
02:24 I don't want to go into my season with Rashad Penny as one of my starting running backs.
02:31 That's a bad philosophy because this guy is always hurt.
02:34 And you can talk about older running backs all you want.
02:37 And I get it.
02:38 DeAndre Hopkins, is he a lock at age 30 years old to come out and have a big season?
02:42 I love Devante Adams, but his quarterback situation is a little shaky in Las Vegas.
02:46 Not everything is sunshine and rainbows at wide receivers.
02:50 And I'm agreeing with you for the most part.
02:52 I'm going to be focusing on wide receivers earlier, but I still would rather not
02:57 completely abandon running backs in the first four to five rounds, which by
03:01 definition is what you need to do in a zero running back strategy.
03:05 If there was ever a year to do it, this is the year to do it.
03:08 Especially if you're playing in a PPR league.
03:11 I challenge some of you to try it.
03:13 Build some best ball, you know, figure out what you can do.
03:16 And by the way, there's always someone on the waiver wire and you can
03:20 check out the waiver wires at Sports Illustrated all the way through the season.
03:24 In the meantime, check out our fantasy football draft kit at si.com.