You’ve heard of “Zero RB.” What about “Zero WR?”
Frankly, “Zero” anything is only worth it if you draft based on how the picks fall and not because you walked in with some predetermined mastermind blueprint for each round.
If you walk into drafts thinking, “I’m going Zero WR,” your outcome is likely Zero Championships.
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Did Zero WR work in 2022? (2023 Fantasy Football)
Looking back at 2022, there were some popular “Zero WR” draft targets (Average Draft Position/Finish)
- Darnell Mooney (CHI) (WR33/WR72)
- Allen Robinson (PIT) (WR26/WR84)
- JuJu Smith-Schuster (NE) (WR35/WR27)
- Romeo Doubs (GB) (WR57/WR71)
- Gabe Davis (BUF) (WR30/WR36)
- Hunter Renfrow (LV) (WR34/WR92)
Christian Kirk was the real darling of this bunch, skyrocketing past his WR42 ADP to WR12 on the season.
There are very few receiver rooms where we can’t predict who will catch the first and second-most passes on the team. As such, those players are being valued properly. With running backs, injuries switch up rooms all the time. Additionally, there are always teams whose situations evolve based on the hot hand, leading to later-round players getting opportunities to showcase what they can do.
To put it simply: Productive (for fantasy) RBs are often buried in depth charts because there’s a definitive pecking order, and only one is on the field at a time. Multiple WRs are on the field each play, so there’s much more evidence of a particular player’s strengths, weaknesses and role.
Draft Rookie Wide Receivers Late
The key to a zero WR draft, for me, is selecting rookies.
Garrett Wilson, Drake London and Chris Olave finished the season as top-31 WRs. They were each drafted outside the top 45. Think about Justin Jefferson in 2020. The likelihood you’re getting a week-to-week starter with late picks increases when you opt for rookies at cost as opposed to, say, the Mecole Hardmans or Russell Gages of the world.
In the 2022 NFL Draft, 13 receivers were taken in the first two rounds. Eight of them beat their ADP. Of those who did not:
- Treylon Burks (TEN) missed seven games due to injury
- Jameson Williams (DET) missed 12 games due to injury
- John Metchie (HOU) did not play due to a Leukemia diagnosis
- Wan’Dale Robinson (NYG) missed 11 games due to injury
That leaves us with Skyy Moore, the last receiver drafted in the second round, as the ONLY rookie receiver drafted in the first two rounds who stayed healthy and did not beat his ADP.
Our takeaway for this season: Draft rookie receivers who were first or second-round picks.
The success of your 2022 zero WR draft also likely hinged on your drafting Travis Kelce. To me, that’s the answer for this season as well. If you can land Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews without reaching too much, you’ll be fine sorting out WR on the waiver wire.
Bottom line, I prefer a zero RB strategy to a zero WR strategy. I draft as the players fall and rarely find I leave a draft without a receiver in one of the first three rounds.
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