The fantasy football landscape has gone through an ideological shift over the past few years when it comes to the running back position, and a lot of that has to do with the evolution of how the NFL game is actually played.

 

 

 

For the most part, gone are the days of the workhorse running back. For myself, growing up in the 90s and early 2000’s, you had your three-down running backs that were getting fed the football 300x a year and therefore, when it came to fantasy football, there was a reason that these were the guys scoring the most fantasy points. They got the most touches, they scored the most touchdowns and more than a handful of them were even being used in the passing game as well.

We then cycled into an era where the passing game reigned supreme, running back fragility seemingly became a bigger issue and teams began to utilize two-back systems with an early-down running back and then a pass-down running back. This shift in offensive philosophy around the NFL ultimately led to an impact in how we plan out our fantasy football draft strategy.

Which brings us the past 4-to-5 years where terms like Zero RB, Hero RB and Anchor RB are ever present in our vocabulary. The first few rounds of fantasy football drafts are no longer, for the most part, dominated by the running back position with PPR formats becoming the standard and not the alternative. With so many teams themselves devaluing the running back position, it creates an interesting way to go about your fantasy football draft strategy in 2024.

2024 Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Running Backs

In this article, we’re going to break down what it means to draft a Zero RB and Anchor RB roster, plus decode the Hero RB strategy. We’ll also provide some favorable Anchor, Hero and Zero RB targets to lock in on in your drafts this season for those roster builds.

Be sure to check out Andrew Cooper’s Dynamic Tier Running Back Rankings and Fantasy Running Back Grid for a great visual breakdown on the top fantasy RBs around the league.

Zero RB Targets & Draft Strategy

Things get interesting here because there are some who live by the Zero RB theory and will completely avoid the running back position in their draft until we get into the later rounds. The point of this strategy is simple: you believe with the way the NFL game has developed, the running back position is one that is prone to injury and timeshares that ultimately devalue the upside that the position once held. Instead, you opt to load up on the top-tier fantasy WRs, TEs and QBs while the rest of your league mates, hopefully, are grabbing running backs instead.

The Zero RB strategy isn’t necessarily about just drafting backup running backs with hopes that the starting running back gets injured, though. Drafting handcuffs certainly plays a role here, but also to find players with reasonable upside that find themselves going later in drafts than they probably should be given their opportunities to produce.

I want to stress, there really is no line in the sand with this strategy when it comes to round value that signifies a Zero RB approach vs. someone who just waited a few rounds to draft a running back. For me, in a 12-team league, if you went the first four rounds without taking a running back, I could consider this a Zero RB-lite approach.

Having your RB1 consist of Rhamondre Stevenson (APD61), David Montgomery (ADP75) and James Conner (ADP76) could be a Zero RB approach that ends up netting you some pretty decent later-round Anchor RBs. Going to the extreme for Zero RB would have your RB1s fall in the range of Austin Ekeler (ADP83), Jonathon Brooks (ADP85), Devin Singletary (ADP94) or Gus Edwards (ADP122).

With the Zero RB strategy, you draft the RB in bulk in the later rounds. You draft handcuffs with hopes that starters get injured and now you have a starting running back on your roster that you took late in drafts. For example, Chase Brown on the Bengals has a lot of late-round hype as does Broncos RB Jaleel McLaughlin, Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnett and Cardinals RB Trey Benson. These are Zero RB targets that could have immediate time-share roles within their teams or the opportunity to take over as the starter if an injury were to take place that would result in a big boost in value.

Hero RB Strategy & Draft Targets

The Hero RB strategy is simple. The reason it’s simple is because it's how the game used to be played. You put a premium on the running back position in the early rounds of your fantasy football draft and then backfill with depth in the middle-to-later rounds. The running backs you draft are expected to be the HEROES of your fantasy football roster construction.

For this, you would be actively targeting the likes of Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson and Breece Hall over wide receivers like CeeDee Lamb, Tyreek Hill and Justin Jefferson in the first half of the first round. In the second half of the first round, you may find yourself looking to double-tap the running back position with the likes of Jonathan Taylor, Saquon Barkley and Jahmyr Gibbs going at the end of the first and early second round.

In the late second round, I would look to prioritize Kyren Williams, De'Von Achane, Derrick Henry and Isiah Pacheco. The latter two have a current fantasy ADP going early round three but I would have no issues reaching for either Henry or Pacheco as my RB2. Again, this strategy somewhat throws ADP out the window for the first two rounds. 

Your goal here is to come out with two top-end running backs to build your fantasy football lineups around, and in some cases, you may even take a running back in three straight rounds to fill out your flex position. Some Hero RB targets here would include Joe Mixon, Alvin Kamara, Rhamondre Stevenson and David Montgomery.

Anchor RB Draft Strategy & Targets

Finally, the Anchor RB strategy is what it sounds like. You are looking for a running back to “anchor” your roster. With this draft strategy, you aren’t taking a full headfirst dive into the running back position, but you want to make sure you are taking a running back no later than the third round. More than likely, this will be no later than your second round pick of fantasy football drafts.

Here, you want to make sure you are drafting a running back that you can rely on week-in-week-out. In the early rounds, this draft strategy is rather repetitive to the Hero RB strategy with the obvious exception being you are willing and comfortable with taking a wide receiver if it happens to be where you are in the draft.

For example, if you find yourself with a top three pick, you are almost certainly going to take a running back, with Anchor RB targets such as Christian McCaffrey, Breece Hall or Bijan Robinson. However, if you are in the middle-to-late first round, you are most likely not going to reach for a Jonathan Taylor or Saquon Barkley but rather go with an Amon-Ra St. Brown, Ja'Marr Chase or A.J. Brown, and then grab one of the second-tier Hero RBs as your Anchor RB.

With your Anchor RB in place, you can now let the board come to you. If you find yourself in a spot to take another running back, that;s great – otherwise, finish out your wide receivers, maybe start the QB train or snag an elite tight end. You feel comfortable knowing that you have that set and forget RB1 on your roster.

What Is The Best Strategy For Fantasy Football?

So, which fantasy football draft strategy is the best? Honestly, there is no right and wrong way. Your league format will likely dictate which strategy would work best as will the draft board. It’s one thing to go into a draft with a strategy, but you have to be willing to make pivots when the opportunities present themselves.

Create a list of players in each ADP tier that you are comfortable taking, and when it comes to your pick in the draft, take the best player that is on your list. Being rigid with one particular strategy may not put you in position for long-term success. Good luck with your 2024 fantasy football drafts!

2024 Fantasy Football: Related Draft Guide Articles

Improve your knowledge of 2024 fantasy football by exploring our different draft guide articles, filled with extra advice and tips for the upcoming season: