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Late Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Zero RB (2020)

Late Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Zero RB (2020)

The 2020 football season is just about to begin. While season-long leagues typically draft up until the Wednesday before kickoff, most will have their drafts complete by this weekend. So if you’re in a late-drafting league like I am, a late mock draft can be an excellent way to prepare! They help you follow trends in players’ average draft positions (ADP) and where they sit in our expert consensus rankings (ECR).

They also allow you to experiment with different draft strategies. You can punt running backs (Zero RB), wide receivers (Zero WR), quarterbacks (Late-Round QB), or tight ends by waiting until the middle rounds. And while you won’t be able to rely on only streaming options at running back or wide receiver, you can employ a draft strategy where you do that at quarterback or tight end.

I don’t like punting running backs, and you can read up on why here. The position is pretty thin as it is, and you’re going to have to hit on at least two late-round picks at a volatile position. You’ll have to start smashing running back every round by about Round 5.

Regardless, let’s try using a Zero RB strategy in a 12-team PPR league with rosters of 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 WR/RB/TE, and 7 BN. The client assigned me the seventh spot, which is a bit of a weird spot from which to attempt this strategy.

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The Picks

1.7 Davante Adams (WR – GB)
I don’t like this spot for one simple reason — Michael Thomas should be gone by now. The next-best wide receiver is Davante Adams, but I could’ve gotten him at the turn. Instead, I’ll have to pass on talents like Edwards-Helaire, Henry, and Mixon. Ugh. Negativity aside, I’m actually a big fan of Adams this season — the Packers’ offseason struggles don’t deter me one bit. Adams was on pace for the second-most targets last season, and I’m confident that he’ll see the volume necessary to post a high-end WR1 finish. Still, though, I would’ve preferred to take a running back.

Players also considered: Julio Jones.
Preferred running backs: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Derrick Henry, Joe Mixon.

2.6 Travis Kelce (TE – KC)
I had to pass on Jacobs for this? Give me a break. I love Kelce almost as much as I love Adams, but he doesn’t have top-15 overall upside like Jacobs or Chubb. What he gives in a positional advantage at tight end, he takes away in capping your team’s overall upside. With two high-floor options locked down, I’ll probably take a risk on a high-upside player soon.

Players also considered: None.
Preferred running backs: Josh Jacobs, Nick Chubb.

3.7 Robert Woods (WR – LAR)
But first, let me grab Robert Woods. Woods has been a PPR machine over the past few seasons, and he earned the ninth-most targets (139) of all players in 2019. That’s better than both Kelce (136) and Adams through 12 games (127), and I expect him to post a similar number with Brandin Cooks now in Houston. It was easy for me to pass on both Evans and Thielen, as neither of them has Woods’ floor. I could’ve taken Ridley here instead, but I wanted to see if I could get him as my upside pick in Round 4.

Players also considered: Mike Evans, Adam Thielen, Calvin Ridley.

4.6 D.J. Chark (WR – JAC)
Unfortunate. With Ridley gone, the best upside receiver has to be either Chark or McLaurin. Chark earned the 22nd-most targets (118) last season, a bunch more than 48th-ranked McLaurin (93), so I’ll use volume to break the tie here. I fully expect the Jaguars to be stuck in negative game scripts this year, and that will give Chark a chance to post WR1 numbers in garbage time, kind of like what Jacksonville alumnus Allen Robinson did in 2015. He can really rip the top off defenses with his 96th-percentile speed and 93rd-percentile burst, so I think he can give my lineup the pop it’ll need to win.

Players also considered: Terry McLaurin.
Preferred running backs: Le’Veon Bell.

5.7 Melvin Gordon (RB – DEN)
Okay, I’ll take Gordon as my RB1. No, he hasn’t had a great offseason — he’s struggled with the altitude in Denver and has arguably looked worse than Phillip Lindsay. That said, Gordon has three career RB1 finishes, and he’s posted all of them alongside a fantasy-relevant receiving back (Danny Woodhead, Austin Ekeler). He may not be able to post RB1 numbers anymore, but only one other player available here (Mark Ingram) pairs that degree of upside with a proven track record.

Players also considered: Mark Ingram.

6.6 Cam Akers (RB – LAR)
I’ll go for raw upside with my RB2 pick. Akers looks like the workhorse for the Rams now that Darrell Henderson is hurt, and that potential volume makes him a smart option this late. The Rams attempted 401 rushing plays last year, down from 459 the year before, so Akers could see around 200 this season. It’s hard not to be fantasy-relevant with that kind of volume. The Rams’ offensive line isn’t good, however, so I don’t have RB1 expectations for Akers. I passed on Hunt here just because I wanted the volume option before I went with him, but he would make a lot of sense instead because of his passing-game work.

Players also considered: Kareem Hunt.

7.7 Kareem Hunt (RB – CLE)
Well, would you look at that? I’m stoked to get Hunt here because he’s the perfect complement to Akers — what the FSU product gives me in floor, Hunt compensates for in ceiling. Hunt saw enough work behind Nick Chubb to be a viable flex option last season, and I’m tentatively expecting new head coach Kevin Stefanski to increase both of their workloads. The upshot with Hunt is that if anything happened to Chubb, he’d immediately become an RB1. He could also get dealt before the trade deadline like Kenyan Drake did last year, and that would also vault him into the RB1 conversation. Easy pick.

Players also considered: None.

8.6 Antonio Gibson (RB – WAS)
I’ll keep swinging for the fences at running back. Now that Derrius Guice and Adrian Peterson are gone, Gibson only has to compete with Bryce Love, J.D. McKissic, and Peyton Barber. While I doubt he’ll beat out Love or Barber for goal-line work, Gibson should have a lock on passing-down plays, and his 99th-percentile speed gives him elite upside every week. That’s a ton of value for my RB4, and I’m comfortable passing on other positions to get the rookie.

Players also considered: None.

9.7 Jordan Howard (RB – MIA)
After taking four running backs, I thought about taking my WR4. Then I saw Jordan Howard was still on the board. I’m a huge Howard fan this year, and he could easily get back to his RB1 ways in South Beach. That said, it’s more realistic to project him a volume-based RB2 finish, as he should see around 200-plus carries. Chan Gailey coached the similarly-built Chris Ivory to a low-end RB1 finish back in 2015, however, so Howard could surprise some people.

Players also considered: Jalen Reagor, Preston Williams.

10.6 Preston Williams (WR – MIA)
Alright, now I’ll take my WR4. Williams looked great in his few games with Miami last year, as he caught 32 of 60 targets for 428 yards and three scores. He had at least four receptions in six of his eight appearances. In contrast, DeVante Parker caught four or more passes just four times in that same span. Parker actually had fewer targets, receptions, and yards than Williams had through Week 9. And if Parker could put together a WR1 finish by the end of the year, I wonder what Williams can do with a clean bill of health.

Players also considered: None.

11.7 Sony Michel (RB – NE)
I know that Michel was hurt earlier in the offseason, and I know that the Patriots added Lamar Miller, but I’m still here for Sony. He’s a positive touchdown regression candidate on his current workload, and now that Damien Harris is hurt, he won’t face as much pressure for early-season snaps. Michel is coming off a 247-carry season (10th-most), and Bill Belichick tends to give his workhorse backs long leashes if they don’t fumble. Michel may have an RB2 ceiling, but he’s a great depth option, and I don’t have much margin for error in a Zero RB draft. I also liked Thompson because of his reception-based floor, but I felt that I could get him one round later.

Players also considered: Chris Thompson.

12.6 Tom Brady (QB – TB)
Thompson went. Ugh, guess I’ll take my QB1. The client recommended Brady over Matthew Stafford, and I didn’t really have a preference. Brady is an elite quarterback in a pass-happy offense with a new arsenal of weapons. I think that he might hit the post-40 wall soon, but the talent around him should be able to compensate.

Players also considered: Matthew Stafford.

13.7 Joshua Kelley (RB – LAC)
I love Kelley. He’s a great sleeper pick because of what he brings to Los Angeles.

I just don’t think the Chargers can use either Justin Jackson or Austin Ekeler in the red zone, so I expect Kelley to inherit some of Gordon’s 37 red-zone touches. He may even seize a larger role in the offense, given his strength. Kelley is a no-floor, high-upside option, and that’s what you should look for late in Zero RB drafts.

Players also considered: None.

14.6 Daniel Jones (QB – NYG)
I usually draft either a QB2 or a TE2, but I didn’t feel the need to back-up Kelce, so I went with Jones. Jones was super up-and-down last season, but he was also playing with a banged-up supporting cast — Evan Engram, Sterling Shepard, and Saquon Barkley all missed games last season. If they can all stay healthy, I think that Jones can put together some matchup-based QB1 finishes, and that’s all I need behind Brady.

Players also considered: Joe Burrow.

15.7 Randall Cobb (WR – HOU)
I wanted another high-floor option at wide receiver before I ended this draft. I’m happy to end up with Cobb — the slot specialist earned 83 targets (58th-most) for Dallas last season, and there are 150 targets to go around in Houston with DeAndre Hopkins gone. I think that Cobb will end up seeing five to six targets per game in Houston, so he’ll be a good floor option when one of my receivers are on bye. If he doesn’t pan out, I can drop him for another slot receiver, like the ones listed below.

Players also considered: Danny Amendola, Russell Gage.

The Results

Let’s go — 97/100! I’m surprised, but I really like this team. A lot. And I hate Zero RB strategies.

I rank first at tight end, second at flex, second at wide receiver, eleventh at quarterback, and last at running back. Gordon is the league’s worst RB1, but Hunt is better than three other RB2s, and Akers is the second-best flex. My bench ranks third, apparently, even though my bench score is clearly the highest.

I’m going to chalk this draft up as an outlier. You probably won’t get Gordon, Akers, and Hunt in your leagues, and Antonio Gibson’s ADP is bound to rise following the Adrian Peterson news. The upshot of Zero RB is that you can stack your lineup at other positions, like at quarterback, tight end, and wide receiver, but I don’t know. I like this team, but I think I’d like it a whole lot more if I had taken CEH in Round 1 or Josh Jacobs in Round 2.

The lesson here is that Zero RB can be done, but it’s risky — if any one of those mid-round running backs hadn’t fall to me, I wouldn’t have scored 97/100.

Full Draft Board

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Isaiah Sirois is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Isaiah, check out his archive and follow him @is_sirois.

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