Redraft Strategy, Hero-RB

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The Re-Draft Roundtables Series

The Footballguys staff looks at various strategies to help you in redraft leagues.

Participating in a redraft league is a process that starts with the draft and hopefully ends with a championship. The Footballguys staff has answered several questions about various strategies to help you achieve your championship dreams. From the beginning to the end and everything in between, we've got you covered to give you the tools and knowledge needed to dominate your redraft league.

Talk about the Hero-RB strategy. What are the pluses and minuses? Is this something you look to implement often?

Jason Wood

Hero-RB is an evolution of Zero-RB, representing a far more logical and sustainable drafting method. In Hero-RB, you actively target a high-volume workhorse stud early (usually in the first round but absolutely no later than the second) and then wait on your second and third running backs until your other key starters are drafted at receiver, tight end, and quarterback.

I've always utilized this strategy in my most competitive leagues and had tremendous success with it, particularly in PPR scoring formats (which are most leagues these days).

Craig Lakins

I'm a fan of the Hero-RB strategy because it emphasizes getting top talent at wide receiver while leaving the early portion of the draft with a stud running back. Depending on my draft position and how the picks ahead of me play out, I might still take a wide receiver in the first round. However, there is plenty of RB1 upside in the second round to capitalize on. For example, beyond Jonathan Taylor and Christian McCaffrey, it would be tough for me to take a first-round running back with Cooper Kupp, Justin Jefferson, or Jamarr Chase still left on the board. If I land one of them and can take someone like Aaron Jones or Leonard Fournette in the second round, I'll feel like I've hit a home run to start my draft.

Chad Parsons

A big perk is the running back position has higher weekly predictability of usage and production with a higher floor than wide receivers and tight ends. The backs with strong expectations of total volume and use in the passing game generally go early in drafts. One minus is the injury rate, and having an early-round selection turn into a negative on your roster is a season-changing (for the worse) outcome.