From its emergence in 2013 through the early 2020s, Zero RB became an incredibly popular fantasy football draft strategy. So much so that the entire fantasy football average draft position landscape catered to it, with wide receiver values rising during that span. That levelled the playing field to some degree, with even the most staunch Zero RB supporters pivoting to other strategies. In fact, one Zero RB enthusiast, Pat Kerrane of Legendary Upside, won Underdog’s Best Ball Mania by utilizing a new variant of the technique - the Hero RB Draft Strategy.

What is a Hero RB Strategy?

The concepts of Zero and Hero RB are incredibly similar, with one slight difference. With Zero RB, you are waiting on the running back position while you fill the majority of your other roster spots and possibly even a bench spot. With Hero RB, you take one high-end back that you trust and then lean right back into the principles of Zero RB. Except now you really just need to fill that singular RB2 spot. 
 

 

 

Why Hero RB Strategy Works

The biggest appeal of Hero RB vs. Zero RB is that there is less exposure to risk. With Hero RB, you really need to hit on multiple backs in the later rounds or off the wire that you can depend on to actually start for you. You have basically given yourself “homework” that you need to accomplish to compete, compared to a balanced team that already has the major pieces in place.

For both strategies, the key is leverage. Running back historically is a fragile position in terms of both injuries and replacement value. Let’s say you go Hero RB in your draft. You take Jahmyr Gibbs, and your opponent takes Bijan Robinson. You then load up on WRs, a QB, and a TE, then later take Brian Robinson, the backup for Bijan. If Bijan suffers a season-ending injury and Brian Robinson takes over, think of what a massive swing that is both for you and your opponent. You now, hypothetically, have a full lineup of studs as you were able to fill that RB2 spot retroactively with great players at all the other spots. 

Best Hero RB Targets For 2026

Round 1 Targets

Round 2 Targets

Round 3 Targets

Ideal Hero RB Draft Through Seven Rounds

For the Zero RB Draft Strategy Article, we looked at the first six rounds. After that, in most formats, you are into Zero RB territory if you have not picked one yet. For Hero RB, however, we have a high-end running back injected somewhere into the mix in the first three rounds, so we’ll look at seven rounds for this exercise. 

Round 1

Bijan Robinson, RB, ATL

Round 2

Nico Collins, WR, HOU

Round 3

George Pickens, WR, DAL

Round 4

Joe Burrow, QB, CIN

Round 5

Tyler Warren, TE, IND

Round 6

Carnell Tate, WR, TEN

Round 7

Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, ARI

 

With this build, you have your Hero RB in Bijan Robinson. You get a stud QB and TE in Joe Burrow and Tyler Warren. At wide receiver, you get two rock-solid, dependable guys in Nico Collins and George Pickens. Because of that, you can take upside swings on rookie Carnell Tate and bounce back candidate Marvin Harrison Jr. If those guys hit, then all three WR spots and your flex are covered, so you just need to scrape together one RB.

 

 

 

Best Draft Position For Hero RB Strategy

Unlike the Zero RB or Robust RB draft strategies, the Hero RB strategy can be executed from pretty much every spot on the board. I will say, however, with the way that early ADP is shaking out, there is a great temptation to double-tap the running back position when drafting at the back end of the first round, given the names that are there. So I find myself ending up with a Hero RB build more often when I pick from the front or middle of the board. 

Hero RB Sleepers To Target

We dedicated a full article to Late Round Running Back Targets since knowing those names is beneficial to all drafters, not just those doing Zero and Hero RB. So make sure to check out that article. One thing to keep in mind vs. Zero RB is that the floor of your bench RBs becomes a little less important when you go Hero RB. With Zero RB, you will be starting two of those guys in the early weeks, so you need guys who will actually give you something. 

With Hero RB, you can shoot more upside since you only need to fill that RB2 spot. As long as you trust yourself off the waiver wire and, if necessary, via trade, you can be a bit more aggressive with this strategy. 

Hero RB Strategy Mistakes To Avoid 

The first one is pretty simple, but make sure your singular running back has a good combination of both floor and ceiling. If you draft a player that is too “boring” for your format (say, Derrick Henry in full PPR), they really don’t have that “hero” upside to anchor your team. Also, if you draft someone a little too risky (maybe rookie Jeremiyah Love gets eased into his role with a rotation), you could really bleed losses while looking for other backs.

It’s important to keep in mind that, even with Hero RB, you need to find TWO backs, not just one. You have your RB1. We know we need to find someone to start at RB2. But you will also have bye weeks and injuries to deal with. If the RB2 you find has the same bye week as your RB1, now you are staring down the barrel at a loss that week. And oftentimes, teams doing Hero and Zero RB can accumulate a couple of early losses while they are sorting out their RB deficiency. So be careful there. 

Another note for both Hero and Zero RB is to not draft “safe” wide receivers with your WR4, WR5, WR6, etc. spots. You are already loaded at WR. The only true upside is going to net you a starter or a trade candidate. The strategy gives you the license to play for upside. Use it.