Zero RB's is dead. Long Live Zero WR's

Written by: Matt (Nypefox)

Zero RB's is dead. Long Live Zero WR's

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop the clock, what do you mean Nyper? Zero RB is great. You get so much more value!"

Yeah.

You did.

Everyone does Zero or Hero RB these days. Look at your next startup. Guys are tripping over themselves to draft Olave and London and Kupp and Diggs before the 3rd is halfway over. Picks are flying in trades, while QBs and RBs drop down boards like stones, even in Superflex.

THE THEORY

And that right there is why Zero WR is gonna be a league winning strategy. Everyone's trying to trade up, and most of the RBs are sliding. You can freely trade down in the 2nd and sometimes even the 3rd, reaping huge draft capital gains. It's gotten so ridiculous that Saquon's going almost in the 4th, Najee's down to the 5th at times and King Henry can be found in the 7th in some leagues! In superflex even Prescott, Watson and Murray are sliding to the 3rd or beyond, and Carr + Goff will get you loads of points even later.

WHAT TO DO IN THE FUTURE

Eventually RBs fall off. It's just the nature of the position. Timing trading off RBs well, and never be afraid to trade aging RB's like D-Hop or Connor off if you can get a good price. Taking advantage of hype like swift isn't a bad move either. Do not lock yourself into being RB heavy forever. As you acquire (hopefully early) Draft capital by trading your RBs away right before they hit the cliff, you constantly rebuild your team, only stopping for a full rebuild when you need to get better at QB. Otherwise it's just plug and play.

HOW TO IMPLEMENT

This strategy works great if your at the tail end of the order.

1.) Grab a nice QB with your 1st.

2.) Take your early second, sell it. You should be able to get a late 2nd and early 3rd from some players, if not a mid 2nd and 4th or 5th works great.

3.) Do this again with your mid to late 2nd. In smaller leagues you could possibly do it with your 3rd too.

4.) Draft the top RB or QB if the RB value isn't there. if they've been sliding down the board like they tend to, you should be able to bag a Breece Hall or JT with a late 2nd.

5.) You than should be able to grab a Saquon, Gibbs, or Ekeler easily.

6.) Continue the process

7.) AVOID Javonte Williams

8.) In a 10 man, say around the 7th is when I'd start grabbing WRs. Look for high upside plays that have depressed ADPs. Ex: Burks, DJ Moore, Ridley, Zay Flowers,

9.) TE will be easy. You should easily be able to grab Kincaid here

(I love Kincaid https://www.sportstimehq.com/post/dalton-kincaid-pick-breakdown)

Now your really thinking I'm crazy, because Rookie TEs are usually bad to dogshit. But the dirty secret is that Kincaid isn't a TE. He's a Big Slot who should put up numbers. If he's not there, look for Muth, Njoku, or other TEs with high upside

10.) Now you've addressed most of your needs, getting several (5 or 6) RBs, 2 WRs, 2 QBs and at least one TE. (If everyone goes zero WR's, then go Zero RB's) Allowing you to go best player available to fill in depth

11.) Win Championships

12.) Trade old or overvalued RBs away for early 1sts when possible (obviously don't trade Bijan for 1sts, he's still young and has gas for 5 to 8 years easily)

13.) Use those picks to restock, only stopping to rebuild when new QBs are needed. Your team will become more balanced, which isn't a bad thing.

14.) WIN MORE CHAMPIONSHIPS

The prevalence of Zero RB makes Zero WR have fantastic value. Take advantage of this value your league mates foolishly hand over, both in where you can pick your RBs, and how you can trade down for the WR weapons races. In high money leagues you should be able to win in your first 2 or 3 years to have payed yourself off for a long time. If you picks your late high upside WRs right, you should get top 20 PPG from one of them anyway.

Pros:

[ ] Amazing value, the ability to trade down to WR suitors and get your guy still is unrivaled

[ ] All those extra picks allow you to feast on mid-round value, especially in smaller formats

[ ] Build a team that will contend with high PPG RBs over developmental young WRs

Cons:

[ ] Your window will be smaller unless you secure others future capital because your picks will likely be late (Pro Tip: Timing the trading of those RBs is KEY to continued success)

[ ] Injuries are a bitch. The amount of RBs you should be able to secure should mostly counter this (All that 4th and 5th round capital makes a big impact when those are depth players for ya)

[ ] Watching all the flashier WRs make highlight reels everywhere while your 8 RBs just put up boring points sucks

AND YES WE ARE AVOIDING BIJAN. His price is higher than we want to be picking, remember we want to profit off our league mates hunger for WRs.