Fantasy football heats up as the summer progresses. As August approaches and NFL training camps begin, the drumbeats get louder and louder, echoing the same tune: fantasy football is almost here. Many arguments will be made, and countless articles and podcasts will discuss the optimal draft strategy needed to win this year.
In fantasy football, there is one truism: any draft strategy works if you select the correct players. In this article, I present multiple draft strategies, including some rarely used. One of these strategies may be the right one for you.
Hero RB
Hero RB strategy has been prevalent and successful in recent years. The idea is simple: draft an anchor bell-cow RB in Round 1 and then attack other positions. When the strategy is executed successfully, fantasy managers have a supercharged build with high-level scoring at multiple positions. “Punting RB2” also helps drafters avoid many RB dead zone land mines, as we’ve seen in recent years.
The 2024 season sets up well for drafters to implement a Hero RB build. According to ADP, Christian McCaffrey is joined by Bijan Robinson, Breece Hall, and Jahmyr Gibbs in the first round of drafts. Any of those players provide RB1 overall potential and a high-level weekly ceiling. Drafters gain an edge against most of the league at RB and then can attack WR, early TE, and an elite QB before drafting their RB2.
Hero RB can also be adjusted this season with a modified approach. With drafters frequently attacking the WR position early and often, RBs who would have been first-rounders in previous seasons are now falling into Rounds 2-3. A modified Hero RB approach with a WR in Round 1 followed by options like Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Taylor, or De’Von Achane in Round 2 can be pulled off easily. This approach gives drafters access to the elite Alpha WR tier and a high-scoring RB.
Here is an example of how the Hero RB strategy can be executed (using current NFFC ADP)
- 1.04 Breece Hall, RB, NYJ
- 2.09 Jaylen Waddle, WR, MIA
- 3.09 DJ Moore, WR, CHI
- 4.04 Zay Flowers, WR, BAL
- 5.09 Mark Andrews, TE, BAL
- 6.04 Anthony Richardson, QB, IND
- 7.09 Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, SEA
This build fills all of the NFFC’s starting positions except RB2. Andrews and Richardson are positional edges at TE and QB, and there is plenty of firepower at the WR position.
Zero RB
Zero RB is the siren song of many a drafter. Avoid early RB entirely, eschewing the position and injury pitfalls for “safer” positions, emphasizing WR. A well executed Zero RB lineup will have firepower at WR, Flex, TE, and QB. The strategy has multiple definitions, but the general premise is that every position is filled before selecting an RB. Some Zero RB enthusiasts will argue that WR depth must be harvested throughout the draft to gain an even stronger edge at the position. Winning the Flex position is paramount to succeeding with this strategy.
Zero RB can be executed, and the current ADP environment makes it possible. Drafters are embracing the WR position and prioritizing WR1s head-to-head in on-the-clock decisions over their counterpart RB1s more and more. In NFFC ADP, eight out of the first 12 selections are WRs. The WR steam has created a gravitational pull, pushing the traditional RB dead zone down further and further, and driving up WR2s and even WR3s.
Unlike previous Zero RB pioneers who had to go to battle with a collection of handcuffs and satellite backs as their starting RBs, current drafters will have plenty of starting RBs to choose from. In 2021, low-end RB1s were routinely selected in the early-to-mid-Round 2. In 2024, players like Travis Etienne, De’Von Achane, and Isaiah Pacheco are routinely available in the third round. This ADP shift has moved the low-end RB2s and high-end RB3s down to palatable ranges.
Here is an example of how the Zero RB strategy can be executed
- 1.02 CeeDee Lamb, WR, DAL
- 2.11 Brandon Aiyuk, WR, SF
- 3.11 Malik Nabers, WR, NYG
- 4.02 George Pickens, WR, PIT
- 5.11 Kyle Pitts, TE, ATL
- 6.02 Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, NE
- 7.11 Tony Pollard, RB, TEN
Robust RB
In modern fantasy football, no one will say “great job” to the fantasy manager who starts their draft with three or four straight RBs. Eyebrows and questions will be raised, such as, “How can they catch up at WR?” Some leaguemates will refer to drafters like this as dinosaurs, unaware of the “advantage” of drafting early WR and avoiding RB.
While a robust RB start is less common, it can lead to a potentially massive statistical advantage. Theoretically, a robust RB start could result in three players in your lineup averaging 15-20 PPG — 50+ points out of your RBs and Flex are a good enough selling point for playing catch-up at WR.
There were 12 RBs who averaged 15 or more PPR points last season. The traditional late second-round and third-round RB was often flawed, but players like Achane and Etienne are the complete opposite. These players are young and have exceptional upside. Round 2 has multiple potential bell-cow RBs on plus offenses, like Taylor, Barkley, and Derrick Henry. There are numerous players in this range who you could talk yourself into scenarios where they finish as the RB1 overall.
A robust RB build is the ultimate “zig while others zag” strategy, especially this season — drafters can ignore the WR boat race and draft the less desirable position.
Bimodal RB
The bimodal RB strategy is a carryover from best ball, but it also appeals to redraft managers looking for a unique approach. This strategy blends Hero RB and Robust RB while also providing drafters with an edge at WR based on depth.
The general bimodal approach is to draft two RBs in the first two or three rounds, another RB in the traditional RB Dead Zone (Rounds 3-7), and then shut down at RB until the final rounds.
This strategy may result in only four or five RBs on a roster, but three of these RBs are reliable sources of volume and production. Extra picks can be allocated towards WRs and there are opportunities for drafting high-end QBs and TEs as well. WR ADP wins are often located in Rounds 4-9, and a bimodal approach will provide drafters plenty of opportunities to select them.
Bully TE
Bully TE is a strategy primarily ignored in standard PPR leagues, and for good reason. In most seasons, there are simply not enough TEs who can produce impactful numbers to combat against their ADP counterparts at WR and RB. But is 2024 a year where Bully TE could be viable?
In 2023, six TEs scored 200 or more PPR points. There would have been seven if Mark Andrews was not injured. There were eight total TEs to cross the 200-point threshold in the three previous seasons combined. It is easy to be skeptical of 2023 as a one-off season, but when you factor in the combination of youth and high target earners among the league leaders, we could be in for a repeat.
The current TE ADP market has also made this strategy viable. Last season, Travis Kelce was routinely selected in the first round of drafts. This year’s TE1, Sam LaPorta, is available at the end of Round 3. A drafter could conceivably draft the TE1 and TE2 overall without using significant draft capital. There is unusual depth and quality among the position this season and a more wide open race for TE1 overall. Starting two TEs is suddenly viable and affordable.
Here is an example of how the Bully TE strategy can be executed.
- 1.03 Tyreek Hill, WR, MIA
- 2.10 Travis Etienne, RB, JAC
- 3.10 Sam LaPorta, TE, DET
- 4.03 Trey McBride, TE, ARI
- 5.10 Calvin Ridley, WR, TEN
- 6.03 Keenan Allen, WR, CHI
- 7.10 Jaylen Warren, RB, PIT
This build has a lot of firepower. Hill is a potential WR1 overall, and Etienne should provide RB1 scoring throughout the season. LaPorta and McBride have TE1 overall potential and project as high-level target earners for plus offenses.
Early QB
In 2023, early QBs were pushed up in ADP. The market made a sharp reaction to the 2022 positional scoring. QBs like Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Jalen Hurts steamed up in ADP, and Allen was routinely selected in the second round of drafts, with Hurts and Mahomes not too far behind. As the summer progressed, Lamar Jackson’s ADP rose as the QB ADP gravitational pull moved him closer and closer to the big three.
The edge of QB1 that drafters bet on only partially came to fruition. Allen and Hurts rushed for 15 TDs each, and Jackson finished as QB4, while Mahomes disappointed, finishing as QB10 in PPG. Even more jarring for early QB drafters was the success of the QB2s: Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy, Jared Goff, and Jordan Love all finished among the top seven scorers at the position. Frustration levels grew as players like C.J. Stroud emerged off the waiver wire.
This year, the ADP market has shifted dramatically. Allen, Mahomes, and Hurts are available in Round 4 — at least a round and a half off their 2023 prices. Even with the appeal of multiple QBs in the low-end QB1 range and high QB2 range, it is hard to deny the value of a player like Allen in Round 4. Even with a mystery box at WR, Allen has been a Teflon fantasy asset. Hurts has been close behind.
There is a chance that the market is correct, and the statistical advantage of the elite early QBs is negligible compared to their counterparts in Rounds 6-7. But there is also a chance that the elite scoring edge from 2022 returns, and the edge of having a player like Allen on your roster shifts leagues.
Late Round QB/TE
We have discussed the benefits of early QB and Bully TE, but what about ignoring these positions entirely? By combining late-round QB and TE, drafters have more opportunities to load their rosters with WRs and RBs. This approach provides potential for robust RB scoring, explosive high-level WRs, and multiple paths to finding these sorts of outcomes. A drafter employing this strategy could start their draft off with five RBs and five WRs through the first 10 rounds. While their opponents “waste” valuable picks on the one-off positions, a Late QB and TE drafter concentrates on two positions often synonymous with league winners.
This strategy also benefits the drafter who strongly believes that they can draft valuable mispriced QBs and TEs late. Every year there are TEs who beat ADP and some who emerge off of the waiver wire. QB is no different.
In the current NFFC ADP, QBs like Matthew Stafford, Deshaun Watson, and Kirk Cousins are routinely available in Round 11 or later. TE has some appealing players available in this range as well. Luke Musgrave, Dalton Schultz, and Cole Kmet will all be there for drafters looking to wait on TE.
Value-Based Drafting
Most people assume that value-based drafting is as simple as drafting the highest player available in whatever set of rankings a drafter may follow, with some regard to ADP. VBD goes beyond this.
Using projections, a value-based drafter would select the player with the highest statistical advantage over the next player in their positional group. Travis Kelce was often a favorite of VBD in previous seasons.
To execute this strategy, the quality of the projections and making sure they cater to your league’s scoring and lineup requirements are vital. A start three WRs and one Flex league’s VBD priorities would differ versus a league that started two WRs with two Flexes.
Balanced Lineup
The balanced lineup drafter is an anti-positional fragility approach. While multiple strategies in this article are based on sacrificing in certain spots to gain an advantage elsewhere, a balanced lineup approach is the opposite. This strategy is based on filling out a lineup with the best available player. These drafters will select the best player available in Round 1, and from that point forward, every on-the-clock decision will lean towards the position that has yet to be filled.
While this approach has many flaws, in theory, it can lead to balance and an early-season advantage over drafters who depend on the waiver wire to fill needs.
(Top photo of Sam LaPorta: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY)
