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One of my favorite draft strategies is Single RB. It was my preferred strategy for the 2018 season. I also wrote about it more generally back in May of this year. As a quick summary, the crux of the Single RB strategy is to grab an elite running back in the first or second round and then load up on wide receivers (and possibly quarterback and tight end as well) with the intention to have a rotating RB2 until someone emerges or you find someone in free agency.
With August right around the corner and draft season rapidly approaching, it is time to pencil in some names to the approach. For the purposes of Single RB in 2018, I will be focusing primarily on those who have a top-five pick. While you can certainly execute the strategy with any elite back, the running backs you can get in the back half of the first round, like Joe Mixon, Le’Veon Bell, and James Conner, just aren’t as secure as those you can get in the front half of that round.
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Round 1
There is nothing complex about the start of your draft. The first five picks in almost every league should be running backs. If you pick in the top four, you take one of Ezekiel Elliott, Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, or Saquon Barkley. If you pick at the five spot, you take David Johnson. This strategy can also work with Melvin Gordon, but he’s currently holding out so he is left out for now. The top five running backs all check the same boxes: guaranteed workload, receiving ability and usage, and zero risk of losing their jobs.
Round 2
In the second round, you hope that Mike Evans or Antonio Brown makes it back to you. The first half of the second round can really go in a number of different directions. If your draft ends up being RB heavy, you will have great options at WR. If your league is WR heavy, then it is probably best to abandon Single RB and scoop up the RB value. Since the focus here is on Single RB, let’s assume your draft was a mix of both and you are able to secure one of Evans or AB.
Round 3
The third round is where Single RB makes its money. The first half of the third round is filled with WR goodness. You can have your pick of the litter between Adam Thielen, T.Y. Hilton, A.J. Green, Keenan Allen, and to a lesser extent, Stefon Diggs. As the title of this article is my ideal Single RB lineup, here is a realistic example of what I would hope to have after three rounds.
Round 1: Ezekiel Elliott
Round 2: Mike Evans
Round 3: T.Y. Hilton
Round 4
In the fourth round, I am once again looking at WR and there is typically a medley of options. Brandin Cooks usually doesn’t make it, so the targets are Robert Woods, Chris Godwin, Tyler Lockett, and Kenny Golladay. Out of this group, I genuinely have no idea who I prefer; I like them all. In this case, the ideal pick is your choice of whichever one of them you prefer.
Round 5
Now the fun begins. In the fifth round, you could grab a fourth WR, especially if your league starts three wide receivers and a flex. If one of those fourth-round wideouts makes it to me in the fifth round, I will have a difficult time passing on them. However, you can also go tight end here and take O.J. Howard. In a perfect world though, I’d land one of the receivers I covet. Here is where I’d like to be after five rounds.
Round 1: Ezekiel Elliott
Round 2: Mike Evans
Round 3: T.Y. Hilton
Round 4: Chris Godwin
Round 5: Tyler Lockett
Round 6
Given the fluctuations of ADPs, I do think this next pick is a bit of wishful thinking. I am hoping that Evan Engram makes it to the back half of the sixth round. If he is there, it’s a no brainer. After the Howard/Engram/Hunter Henry tier of TEs, they are pretty much all the same to me. I would rather stream the position. Engram has serious high-end TE1 upside and fits the strategy perfectly.
Rounds 7-9
In planning any draft strategy, you always need to be prepared to adapt. The deeper into the draft you go, the more difficult it is to predict how things will play out. Trying to plot out a lineup beyond Rounds 2 or 3 can prove challenging. Anything beyond Rounds 5 or 6 is just posturing for the sake of doing so.
In the last three single-digit rounds, it is time to look at an RB2. All three of these picks should not be running backs, but you do need to take at least one. What you’re looking for are RB3s with upside — guys that have a role along with the capacity for more.
I would target Latavius Murray in the seventh round and Jaylen Samuels in the ninth round, sandwiching in Kyler Murray between them (yes, specifically Kyler Murray). I want Murray in every league because he’s late enough to fit the late-round quaterback strategy and he has overall QB1 upside. Once you get into the double-digit rounds, you are just filling out your bench as you normally would with high upside guys. You should be rostering at least five running backs as you want to maximize your chances of finding that RB2. Bench wide receivers are less important because you spend four high picks on the position.
One last time, here is what an ideal Single RB roster looks like when picking in the top half of your draft.
Round 1: Ezekiel Elliott
Round 2: Mike Evans
Round 3: T.Y. Hilton
Round 4: Chris Godwin
Round 5: Tyler Lockett
Round 6: Evan Engram
Round 7: Latavius Murray
Round 8: Kyler Murray
Round 9: Jaylen Samuels
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Jason Katz is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive or follow him @jasonkatz13.
