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Sean Koerner – FantasyPros’ most accurate draft ranking of 2019 – breaks down his positional ranking and draft strategy for 2021. This series is part of our PRO subscription, which will not only give you access to these levels, but also to its real-time leaderboards as part of our Fantasy Draft 2021 kit.
The running back continues to be the most critical position in fantasy football.
There are two main reasons why RB usually decides the fate of your team every season:
- As the NFL becomes an increasingly heavy league and RBs are deployed for specific purposes, there are fewer workaholic backs. The scarcity of positions makes writing at least two successful RBs critical.
- The position is very volatile. RBs are the players most likely to miss time due to injury or lose their jobs. Since the position is much more about opportunity than talent, it paves the way for end-of-round picks or even waiver wire mics to emerge as league winners.
Because of these two factors, there are many strategy plans that focus only on how many RBs you should acquire early on.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the Zero RB strategy, which I agree with… in theory. It mainly focuses on Reason # 2 above, but ignores Reason # 1 – which is why I would characterize my approach as RB surplus strategy: My first goal is to write two RB before the end of 3/4 because, as I mentioned, it is essential to acquire two that are ready to open the season with a reliable workload . Then I target the full backs upside down in the middle and at the end of the rounds.
Another important part of your strategy plan should be understanding the purpose of your bench. As a rule of thumb, you don’t want to waste a bench spot on a quarterback or tight end – it’s very easy to find a replacement for either position on the surrender wire if you’re ever in a rush. or need a week-in refill.
If I have seven bench locations, I will generally try to fill them with two to three WRs and four to five high potential RBs.
The goal of stockpiling high potential RBs, in particular, is hopefully to clinch gold if one gets a punctual start or becomes the starter of one’s squad indefinitely. Think of backup RBs that typically need a # 1 waiver lead claim or highest free agent acquisition budget (FAAB) bid to acquire when the news of the injury table or depth is shown mid-season – I can’t tell you how many times an RB that matches this profile was already on my bench.
Writing RBs with the highest potential to be a league winner allows me to be even more aggressive when I have first priority on waiver thread claims or still have a high percentage of my FAAB available. To help you easily identify them, I’ve ranked the backups based on their benefit here.
The table below illustrates how valuable the first handful of drafted RBs are – they offer such a big advantage over your teammates, hence the reason they are usually the top four picks in the draft.
You can also see where the position has steep drops. I aim to write at least two RBs before the drop-off just outside the top 20, and three before the next drop-off in the mid-20s.
Once a draft enters the RB30 range, your strategy depends on what type of RB you are looking for. That’s why, as part of these levels, I’ve tried to create “buckets” that help you identify exactly what certain dos can offer you and when you will want to target them.
Let’s dive in!
Fantasy RB Rankings and Ranks
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