Fantasy Football Hero Running Back Strategy: Should You Draft Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson and More Early On?

Diving into a popular fantasy draft strategy in which owners load up at high-level talent at the most difficult position to fill.

This is my favorite fantasy football strategy. Running backs are worth their weight in gold, and the top guys are often on championship fantasy teams. Wide receivers are cool too, especially in PPR leagues. There are a lot of wide receivers, though, and a dearth of good fantasy running backs.

I recently looked at RBs versus WRs in terms of fantasy points and how quickly each position loses points. Running backs fell off faster than receivers in both scoring formats in each of the last three seasons. That means more good receivers are available later in drafts, so securing running backs at the beginning of your fantasy draft is my favorite strategy.

The “hero running back” strategy involves taking a running back in the first round and drafting two backs within your first three picks. You’re looking for two guys who are going to slot into your RB spots every week, relieving the stress of choosing the right streamers.

You might not draft another back for three to five rounds after acquiring your second player at the position (though we’ll look at an exception). Those later fantasy backs would be guys in time-shares and low-end starters, maybe with a lottery ticket thrown in (like Nick Chubb).

Let’s look at a few fantasy teams you could hope to build after starting with the hero running back strategy. Player draft positions are based on Mike Clay’s PPR rankings and our FantasySP ranks.

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This, again, is my favorite strategy. After selecting two backs early, I like to accumulate running backs and wide receivers while waiting to draft a quarterback and tight end in the later rounds.

In this exercise, we will own the top pick and take Christian McCaffrey, last year’s fantasy MVP. In a snake draft, that means 18 players are going to be picked before we get back-to-back selections to end the second/begin the third round.

I’m taking the best running back and best receiver available with those picks. Here are some of the options based on the rankings:

• RBs: Derrick Henry, Rachaad White, Alvin Kamara, James Cook
• WRs: Mike Evans, Marvin Harrison Jr., Drake London, Nico Collins, DK Metcalf

McCaffrey, Henry and Harrison are a great start to any fantasy draft. If you prefer the steadiness of Evans or emergence of Collins, there are several options to build your own adventure, so to speak.

I wouldn’t be averse to taking Henry and Cook with the plan that my RB and flex spots are spoken for every week, then throw numbers at the receiver position for the next five rounds or so. I’ll also look at that path moving forward in this example.

After 18 more players go off the board, we are back on the clock with two picks to get Round 5 kicked off. If I have two backs and a receiver, I would be looking either for two WRs or (more likely) an RB/WR combo. If I took three backs to start the draft, this is for sure two receivers.

• RBs: Kenneth Walker III, De'Von Achane
• WRs: DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, Cooper Kupp, Zay Flowers, Calvin Ridley, Malik Nabers, Tee Higgins

This is a really light area for running backs. Kenneth Walker III is a guy I like and would probably draft in this situation. Achane feels a bit like a boom-or-bust guy, and I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the risk. If I REALLY wanted a back, I would add Achane, but otherwise I’d be tempted to add two receivers from this group (if Walker weren’t available).

In the RB vs. WR article linked above, receivers were much more appealing down the board than backs, and that really stands out here. Flowers, Ridley and Nabers might all be their team’s WR1. Smith, Waddle and Higgins were all drafted within the top 15 receivers last season. You don’t need me to tell you Kupp’s upside.

This is why I’m OK taking three backs to start if there are three strong guys. Going that route, we would have McCaffrey, Henry, Cook and any of these two receivers; let’s go with Flowers and Higgins, though any of the seven would do. I really, really, like that start.

From there, it would be a mix of lower-level backs and receivers with a quarterback and tight end thrown in somewhere. Our foundation is strong with three or four backs and one or two receivers in the first 40 picks, securing some of the most irreplaceable players in fantasy football.

I like this plan best because running back and wide receiver are the two most important fantasy positions. Loading up at those spots gives you the best chance of finding players who stay healthy and perform.

Early QB/TE

I don’t like this strategy because there are so many good quarterbacks and tight ends that you can find one later in the draft who approximates the value of a top guy. Streaming is also easier at these positions, especially quarterback, where the most points are scored.

Let’s run through what the scenario could look like if you added a top player at one of those spots after starting with the hero running back strategy. We would still start with two running backs and one wide receiver in the first three rounds. When it comes to the turn at the fourth and fifth round, here are the top guys on the board:

• QBs: Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Anthony Richardson, C.J. Stroud, Dak Prescott
• TEs: Mark Andrews, Trey McBride, Evan Engram

All those quarterbacks are ranked between 49-61. We would be making picks No. 40 and 41, and the next time would be No. 60-61. Not choosing a QB here would risk most or all of this being gone, but choosing one in the fifth round would be an overdraft by the numbers.

None of the tight ends warrants pick 40 or 41. They are ranked No. 51, 56, and 57 relative to their listing above. It would be necessary to take a tight end in the third round to get one of the top guys. Starting with two running backs and Travis Kelce isn’t the worst idea; I like the value of the top backs and receivers more than the tight ends, though, making it a path I wouldn’t ever choose.

Here is the group available around our next picks at the start of the 60s:

• QBs: Joe Burrow, Dak Prescott
• TEs: George Kittle, Dalton Kincaid, Kyle Pitts

This is a good spot to get a tight end. Kittle was the second-highest scoring tight end in standard leagues last season and third in PPR. San Francisco is a machine. There will be a lot of yards gained and a lot of chances to get in the end zone: that sounds like a strong base for fantasy production.

I like Kincaid’s profile of possibly being the poor man’s Kelce, which is more of a compliment than it sounds. Buffalo doesn’t have much proven top-end receiving skill, so Kincaid may act as more of a WR1 at times. That would give him the upside of a top-three tight end with the downside of a top-10 guy.

I would be happy with one of those two at 60 or 61. Pitts is an OK choice, but I prefer the other guys. Moving to the next picks, we have 80 and 81, and I’ll explain why I prefer to wait on quarterbacks:

• QBs: Kyler Murray, Jordan Love, Brock Purdy, Jayden Daniels
• TEs: David Njoku, Jake Ferguson

These tight ends are OK. I love the quarterback group, though, particularly Murray and Daniels. Running quarterbacks keep a higher floor because of the extra fantasy points they score on the ground. Daniels is my favorite quarterback pick this season because of his running ability and the chance that he can be an easy top 10 QB at the end of the season.

If I wanted a running quarterback, why not just take Lamar Jackson at pick 41? He’s better than Daniels and has a higher ceiling. Well, opportunity cost is the reason. Remember the RBs and WRs we’d be passing up by taking Jackson that high: Walker, Smith, Waddle, Kupp, Flowers, Ridley, Nabers, Higgins.

By taking Daniels at 81, here are the skill players we are missing out on: Jaylen Warren, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jordan Addison, Courtland Sutton, Javonte Williams, Tyjae Spears. Not as imposing of a group, is it? I’d rather have Daniels and Higgins than Jackson and Sutton, especially knowing I can find streaming QB points much easier than at receiver.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with drafting Josh Allen, Jackson, or other top guys where they are ranked. I see much more value in the top skill players, though, and the chance to grab a high-upside quarterback later.

Should You Go “Hero RB?”

There are downsides: Injuries happen every year, and if your guys are the ones who end up getting hit, there won’t be a lot on the free agent market later. Depth is the best way to fight injuries.

In PPR leagues, receivers score more points at each level of player ranking, making it more difficult to decide if wide receivers might be better to draft early. They score more points than running backs later in the draft, though, making me still favor grabbing running backs early.

This is how I would recommend to anyone how to build a fantasy team if they wanted me to teach them. Getting two or three backs within the first four rounds gives you more of the most precious commodity in fantasy football: high-level running back play.

It can all go wrong, but so can any strategy. Seize the opportunity cost and grab your best backs early.

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