Joey Ikez 
Pick #1: 3 QB – 7 RB – 8 WR – 2 TE
After participating in season-long drafts over this past weekend I realized one crucial caveat. This is the first year where there are more WRs taken in the first round than RBs. Long gone are the days of the solo Antonio Browns or Julio Jones’ being taken next to 11 RBs. The modern NFL is passing heavy and fantasy drafters have adjusted accordingly. With this change, drafters have adopted Zero RB and Hero RB drafting styles. In this article, I will talk about the strategy tactics taken for Zero RB drafting.
Reading the draft room and adjusting accordingly is a skill. Like most others, it takes practice and experience to hone and master. After doing over 150 best ball drafts this summer, I have acquired an innate ability to know when the room is going WR-heavy. Being able to draft players past their ADP, and allocating your positional draft capital are the two of the most important skills in advancing in best ball tournaments. When instituting a “Zero RB” draft strategy, you are trying to best your league mates in WR and TE points, and hoping to hit on mid and late-round RBs that will make up for your lack of an elite back. Drafting 7 running backs is a lot. I realize that. I also realize that with elite TE and elite WRs, I don’t have to spend a lot at those positions, therefore I can spend a lot on RBs. Knowing how to properly allocate my positional draft capital will give my team the best chance of success.
Rounds 1 thru 4: Justin Jefferson, Tee Higgins, Calvin Ridley, TJ Hockenson
In the 2/3 wheel, I went with Tee and Ridley. Not only do they provide me with potential elite QB pairings, but they make my WR room the BEST at this point of the draft. In a PPR site like DraftKings, that is highly advantageous. Burrow wound up being drafted in Round 4 by the Chase drafter and Trevor just never materialized, but at the end of the draft, my QB room is more than adequate. Not only is TJ the #3 ranked TE, but it also offers me a ton of correlation with J-Jeff and Cousins. The Vikings Defense is projected to be bottom-tiered yet again; they should be involved in many shootouts this season. No running backs, no problem.
Rounds 5 thru 8: Christian Watson, JK Dobbins, David Montgomery, Kirk Cousins
I have Christian Watson closely ranked with DJ Moore. The Tiebreaker of Week 17 correlation with my Vikings players swung the selection to Watson. Kenneth Walker was also on the board in round 5, another player I am high on. But I decided to go Zero RB with this draft and worry about drafting running backs at my next wheel. At my 6-7 wheel I finally dipped my toes in the RB waters. JK Dobbins fake holdout has allowed him to slip in drafts, and I will gladly buy the dip. Montgomery runs behind the #2 projected ranked OL in all of football, and I expect him to get enough work behind Ghibbs to make this pick warranted. In Zero RB drafts, data has shown that it is most successful when one RB is taken no later than round 6. If you wait for Round 7 or later, your % of advancing in the large field best ball tournaments declines. I complete my Vikings double stack with the round 8 selection of Kirk Cousins.
Rounds 9 thru 12: Treylon Burks, De’von Achane, Rashod Bateman, Jordan Love
I grab Burks and Bateman as my WR5/6 and I stack up another of my WRs with the Watson-Love connection. Since this writing, Bateman has returned to practice and his ADP has increased since the news. As stated in the previous article, Bateman missed the beginning of training camp because a cortisone shot was WAY overblown by drafters and his ADP should not have fallen as much as it did. Achane provides a Week 17 correlation with my two Ravens players and adds to my RB room, which needs to be strengthened with the rest of my draft as I look to prioritize RB selections. Since this draft, both Achane and Burks have gotten injured. Insert crying emoji. Achane suffered a hamstring injury in the latest preseason game and is week to week. Burks has a sprained knee and is questionable for Week 1.
Rounds 13 thru 16: Jaylen Warren, Jaylen Reed, Jerome Ford, Ryan Tannehill
I added Jaylen Warren and Jerome Ford as my RB 4/5. In the Steelers’ first and second preseason games, Warren saw an equal run with Najee Harris. It is no secret that I am high on Warren and low on Najee this upcoming season. Ford has suffered a hamstring injury and is considered week-to-week. Before the injury, he saw zero snaps in the Hall of Fame game resting with the rest of the starters. This was a clear indication that he will play the Kareem Hunt role this year. In Round 14 I will gladly scoop him up. I pair another GB pass catcher with Jordan Love and I stack Treylon Burks with Tannehill as my QB3. In drafts where I do not select an elite QB, I always look to draft 3.
Rounds 17 thru 20: Chubba Hubbard, Trey McBride, Robert Woods, Malik Davis
Hubbard and Malik Davis rounded out my RB room as I finished the draft with 7 RBs. This is generally on the high end, but in Zero RB drafts, I go quantity over quality. The hope is that one of my later RB ‘hits’ and with the strength of my WRs, propel me to the next round. Trey McBride rounds out my TE room and Robert Woods provides me with another WR, well correlated for Week 17. If I drafted this team today, I would’ve selected Rico Dowdle over Malik Davis. It seems that he has won the backup running back job in Dallas.
Week 17 Game Stacks:
Min vs. GB: Cousins-Jefferson-Hockenson & Love-Watson-Reed
Balt vs. Mia: Dobbins-Bateman & Achane
Titans vs. Texans: Tannehill-Burks & Woods
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