3 Wide Receivers to Target: Zero RB Draft Strategy (Fantasy Football)

Zero RB is a draft strategy where you pass on running backs in the first five rounds of fantasy football drafts and prioritize other positions, with a focus on wide receivers. Then, you take several shots on running backs in the mid-to-late rounds to try to build your running back room.

Since you’re relying on your wide receivers to carry your fantasy team with this strategy, you must make the most of these early picks. That means we want to consider the wideouts with the best combination of floor and upside.

On this page, you’ll find some of my top wide receivers to target for Zero RB teams.

Fantasy Football Wide Receivers to Draft

Round 1: CeeDee Lamb (WR – DAL)

CeeDee Lamb is one year removed from a 135-catch, 1,749-yard season with 12 touchdowns, finishing as the second-highest scoring wideout and fourth-ranked Flex player in half-PPR formats that season.

While Lamb is coming off a disappointing season where he averaged 14.2 fantasy points per game, that was with Dak Prescott missing a chunk of the season. Despite the decreased production, Lamb was still WR10 in 2024.

The Cowboys alpha wideout has now racked up 100+ catches in three consecutive seasons. With the Cowboys maintaining a pass-heavy offense, Lamb has a strong floor to go along with his high upside.

We’ve seen Dallas upgrade their wide receiver room with a field-stretcher in George Pickens, which should give Lamb more room to make plays after the catch in the short-to-intermediate passing game.

Add in the fact that the Cowboys made a minimal investment in running back — replacing Rico Dowdle with Javonte Williams and selecting Jaydon Blue in the sixth round — and it’s hard to see this team ranking outside of the top five in passing volume.

With that in mind, expect Lamb to finish among the top scorers in fantasy football this season.

Get all the tools, rankings, and strategy advice you need in our Best Ball Draft Kit.

Round 2: Tyreek Hill (WR – MIA)

Tyreek Hill is coming off a disappointing season where he hauled in 81 of his 123 targets for 959 yards and six touchdowns, finishing as the WR33 in fantasy points per game in half-PPR leagues.

But this production was suppressed by two factors. One, Hill played with a wrist injury that hindered his performance. More importantly, Tua Tagovailoa missed six games.

While it’s a bit risky to draft a wideout over 30 coming off a down year, there’s reason to believe Hill is an outlier due to his extensive track record of strong production, making a resurgence more likely.

With the Dolphins trading tight end Jonnu Smith (111 targets last year), their targets should be firmly consolidated between Hill, De’Von Achane and Jaylen Waddle.

Drafting Hill fits the theme with my first-round target of Lamb: Riding with a wideout with elite production in the past. We can’t strike out with these picks.

The upside with Hill is that he returns to top-five status, with the floor being that you still get yourself a rock-solid WR2, at worst.

Round 3: Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR – SEA)

Jaxon Smith-Njigba was terrific down the stretch last season, racking up 63 catches for 811 yards and five touchdowns in his last 10 games. During this stretch, Smith-Njigba ranked as the WR13 in fantasy points per game.

Despite that, we’re able to draft Seattle’s top target in the third round as the 19th wide receiver off the board, according to average draft position (ADP).

While the track record is extremely limited, we’re talking about a former first-round receiver who finally came into his own last season.

The transition from Geno Smith to Sam Darnold isn’t that much of a downgrade. You can argue this is outweighed by the improvement in play-caller, going from Ryan Grubb to Klint Kubiak.

It’s also worth noting that the Seahawks replaced DK Metcalf with Cooper Kupp, who looked like a shell of his former self last season.

Even in what should be a run-heavy offense, Smith-Njigba is going to dominate targets, making him a terrific value at his current cost. Pairing him with two proven studs like Lamb and Hill is a great way to kick off your Zero RB build.