Zero RB Draft Targets
In FFWC leagues, all fantasy managers must start with three wide receivers with the potential to start up to five if they choose to utilize the two flex positions.
Recently, high-stakes players have commonly employed the “Zero Running Back” strategy. In this philosophy managers completely ignore the running back position instead opting to stock-pile elite wide receivers in the first four-to-six rounds.
If you decide to employ that roster blueprint in 2024, here are three Zero RB Draft Targets who are coming off the board in the middle-to-late rounds you should look to target!
James Conner, Cardinals (ADP 63 / RB18)
Veteran James Conner will certainly lose carries to rookie Trey Benson but he will still have ample opportunity to sneak into back-end RB1/ RB2 status every week. He is being overlooked in drafts despite rushing for seven touchdowns and a career-best 1,040 yards last season.
After missing four games due to injury, Conner was one the best PPR scoring backs in fantasy football from Week 10 -18. The eight-year veteran scored five touchdowns (3 rushing; and 2 receiving) while averaging 102 rushing yards over the last five games of the year.
With a healthy Kyler Murray back under center for Arizona expect Conner, who has made 234 receptions for 1,803 yards and 10 touchdowns in 91 career games, to be productive in the Cardinals passing game.
WOW 🤯🤯 What a play!
One-handed touchdown grab by James Conner 🙌
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/IvTc3yeLYo
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 31, 2023
David Montgomery, Lions (ADP 71.6 / RB22)
Many argue that David Montgomery is the best handcuff in fantasy football this season. Is he really a handcuff though? In his first season in Mo-Town, Monty rushed for 1,015 yards while scoring the fifth-most touchdowns (13) in the NFL.
Following the hamstring injury to Jahmyr Gibbs’ injury early in camp, the veteran could be the club’s bell-cow back early in the season. Hamstring injuries often tend to linger, so if you go WR-heavy early don’t be afraid to grab a potential featured back on a high-powered Lions offense that ranked third in total offense (6,712 yards) and second in offensive touchdowns (57) last season.
The film does not lie. Watch the clip below.
DAVID MONTGOMERY! 75 YARDS!
📺: #DETvsLAC on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/kECSNGc6Bj pic.twitter.com/pqetescitK— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2023
Rico Dowdle, Cowboys (ADP 126.9 / RB44)
With Tony Pollard now in Tennessee, the NFL’s highest-scoring team last season has a major role in the offensive backfield. Although aging veteran Ezekiel Elliott stands atop Dallas’ depth chart, 26-year-old Rico Dowdle may be the best value among the two. Coming off the board in the 10th round or later in FFWC drafts, Dowdle is the perfect target for Zero-RB squads to outperform their ADP (126.9).
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy recently stated that training camp competition will determine who earns lead-back duties and he praised Dowdle’s contributions when he has been healthy.
“He has shown flashes as a young player, but once he fought through those injuries, really, last year when he was given an opportunity, he played really good football for us,” said McCarthy.
#Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy on the RB depth chart:
“It needs to solve itself… that’s really up to the players. That’s what the competition of training camp will solve.”
on Rico Dowdle:
“He’s showed flashes as a young player, but once he fought through those injuries, really,… pic.twitter.com/XgWEwzSqYk
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) August 5, 2024
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