Participating in a fantasy football mock draft throughout different stages of the offseason really lets up get a good feel for positional value and how much players are moving up or sliding back in drafts. Now that we’re just a few weeks from Week 1, we’re getting almost real-time average draft position (ADP) movement with a bunch of players for good and not-so-good reasons. We have to be able to react to that whenever we draft our teams.
For today, we’ll be doing a fantasy football mock draft using the Zero RB strategy, something I’m very familiar with. We’ll be using a draft slot towards the beginning at 1.03, which will give us a wide receiver at the start going to open things up for us in terms of the players available until we select our first running back.
Let us see what kind of Zero RB roster we can build in a PPR format and an early-round draft pick at the 1.03.
- Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2025 Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football ADP
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Zero RB Strategy
The lineup settings for this mock: 1-QB, 2-RB, 3-WR, 1-TE, 2-FLEX and 6 Bench Spots. See the results and full draft board here.
1.03 – CeeDee Lamb (WR – DAL)
Kicking off a draft with CeeDee Lamb feels excellent, knowing I’ll be locking up a minimum 160 targets in what could be a very condensed Cowboys passing game in 2025. Lamb will be playing in the slot in three-receiver sets and then playing the Z-receiver spot in two-wide sets, so this offense is going to be productive with Lamb and Pickens condensing targets in this Cowboys’ passing game.
In Dallas, we could see targets shake out similar to the Philadelphia Eagles trio of receivers A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and tight end Dallas Goedert. Even better, there will be much more potential passing volume than you could ever hope for in Philadelphia. For an efficient passing game, Dak Prescott is as good an option as any as long as he’s healthy. With the Eagles’ trio, the top-two receivers combine for a large percentage of the targets while the tight end Jake Ferguson is the clear third target.
Lamb is smack dab in that top tier of wide receivers with Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson and should go no lower than 1.05 in your upcoming drafts.
2.10 – Brock Bowers (TE – LV)
I feel like everything has been said about Brock Bowers and all the good things have already been shouted from the rooftops. That said, as an 18-year old freshman, he led the Georgia Bulldogs – with 13 other current NFL players on offense – in every meaningful receiving category that season. All he did in his rookie season is break Sam LaPorta‘s rookie record for most receptions (86) by a rookie right end. He then bested Mike Ditka’s record for most receiving yards (1,076) and most receptions by a rookie regardless of position, beating Puka Nacua‘s 105 receptions last season.
FOLKS I CAN’T STRESS THIS ENOUGH ABOUT BROCK ALLEN BOWERS
— Kevin Tompkins (@ktompkinsii.bsky.social) August 16, 2025 at 3:59 PM
He’s good, folks. Bowers is Puka Nacua or Amon-Ra St. Brown that you can put in your tight end slot and reap the benefits. He’s a smash in the second round if he gets there; I’d take him in the first round. The best part? You don’t even need to select him there. He’s the best positional advantage you can draft outside of the first round and he’s a staple my teams this season. For a Zero RB team, getting the top tight end feels like stealing and not only that, but one that compares favorably with some of the wide receivers in the first round.
3.03 – Tee Higgins (WR – CIN)
Tee Higgins maintains the status quo we’ve been accustomed to with the Cincinnati passing game as one half of arguably the best wide-receiver tandem in the NFL with Ja’Marr Chase. The Bengals’ offense is one of the most productive offenses for fantasy production and with tight end Mike Gesicki staying in Cincinnati, there’s not much to keep that train rolling in 2025. Cincinnati has been a top-three team in pass rate over expected (PROE) in each of the last three seasons, so there’s no danger of the team rolling back the passing game in the immediate future.
As for Higgins, he’s been remarkably consistent with his per-route and per-target metrics when he’s been on the field throughout his career. With four of five pro seasons with at least 1.80+ YPRR, 20% TPRR, and all five seasons with at least six targets per game, Higgins is entering his age-26 season squarely in his prime and ready to produce.
4.10 – Jalen Hurts (QB – PHI)
At the end of the fourth round without a lot of great options for wide receivers, we’ll select the Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts and secure an elite quarterback. As the beneficiary of the “tush push”, Hurts had 14 touchdowns on 630 rushing yards last season while adding almost 3,000 passing yards and 18 more passing scores. Last season’s QB8, Hurts’ numbers suffered a bit from lack of passing volume. Still, Hurts is always a threat and if variance this season manifests into some closer games, adding some pass attempts to the Eagles’ offense will see Hurts as the key benefactor.
5.03 – Zay Flowers (WR – BAL)
Zay Flowers is insulated for his particular skillset when looking at the Ravens’ roster. And by that, I mean an actual target-earning receiver, because they don’t currently feature anybody else that can do that on the current roster. DeAndre Hopkins is elderly. Rashod Bateman is more of a deep threat but is the closest thing not named Flowers that COULD do that. Mark Andrews is a touchdown-dependent option. Who else are we trusting?
Flowers’ ceiling might be a LITTLE lower than we anticipated from his 2023 rookie season, but he’s excellent and efficient. That’s what we want here in the early fifth round.
6.10 – TreVeyon Henderson (RB – NE)
Our first running back, TreVeyon Henderson is from the Jahmyr Gibbs mold of less carries, but home-run-hitting efficiency that can score from anywhere on the field. At worst, he’s got a lock on a receiving role, which boosts his floor.
Something I think TreVeyon Henderson needed to work on coming out of OSU was his vision between the tackles. This is a really encouraging sign. Wants to bounce it, but stays within the tackles and found daylight. Love the blocking by Will Campbell up front too
— JP Acosta (@acosta32jp.bsky.social) August 17, 2025 at 6:43 PM
It’s gaining a market share of carries and red-zone equity that will boost the ceiling considerably. Henderson already feels like a guy you NEED to have on the field, and his play should prove that correct in short order. This is the kind of upside you need to smash in drafts if you don’t draft your first running back until the end of the sixth round.
7.03 – Jerry Jeudy (WR – CLE)
Jerry Jeudy is a nice floor play here for our WR4 and flex play most weeks. We finally got the Jeudy breakout in 2024 but repeating that efficiency is going to be a bit of a challenge with the quarterback situation in Cleveland. That said, the volume will still be there, and beggars can’t be choosers in the seventh round. Getting 140-150 targets this late feels really good but there’s obvious risk of the Browns’ offense cratering. I still think Jeudy is talented enough to turn 150 inefficient targets into about 90 receptions. That alone is worth the price of admission and with Joe Flacco being named the Week 1 starter, that is further cemented.
8.10 – Jordan Mason (RB – MIN)
9.03 – J.K. Dobbins (RB – DEN)
Welcome to my (hypothetical) RB2 and RB3, an interchangeable pair of running backs that can swap in and out as our RB1 and/or RB2 if Henderson’s role isn’t solidified. Both Jordan Mason and J.K. Dobbins should be plenty involved in their team’s running games this season.
Mason in the catbird seat behind Aaron Jones, who has never been a picture of health in his career. After a hot start to 2024, Mason struggled with some and then Christian McCaffrey came back, relegating Mason to seldom-used contingent play.
Rarely used in the passing game, Mason’s overall upside is potentially limited to being a two-down grinder with a goal-line role, but he does it well and that’s good enough for RB2 treatment if Jones is out. It’s an excellent contingent bet for Mason and the intent for the Vikings to go and get him to pair with Jones feels bullish for Mason’s prospects this season.
After a torn Achilles’ tendon ended his 2023 season with just one game played, Dobbins was pretty much left for dead as far as his fantasy prospects were concerned. Dobbins latched onto a run-heavy Chargers team and rushed for 905 yards with 4.8 yards per carry and more targets (38) than he had in his previous three seasons combined (35).
Now in Denver, Dobbins should have an early-down role secured in Week 1 as he’ll presumably split some work with rookie R.J. Harvey. In the beginning of the ninth round, any back with a defined role is one we’re going to take advantage of in drafts.
10.10 – Luther Burden III (WR – CHI)
11.03 – Braelon Allen (RB – NYJ)
12.10 – Wan’Dale Robinson (WR – NYG)
13.03 – Dylan Sampson (RB – CLE)
14.10 – Tahj Brooks (RB – CIN)
Luther Burden III is an athletic rookie bet and he was hugely productive in the slot at Missouri. With plenty of other firepower in the Bears’ offense, Burden could be a sneaky fantasy option either out of the slot or on the outside.
Braelon Allen has his whole life ahead of him at just 21 years old, but he’ll be a big part of what is looking more and more like a committee in New York despite the presence of Breece Hall. At worse, he’s a contingency play if something happens to Hall.
Something I think TreVeyon Henderson needed to work on coming out of OSU was his vision between the tackles. This is a really encouraging sign. Wants to bounce it, but stays within the tackles and found daylight. Love the blocking by Will Campbell up front too
— JP Acosta (@acosta32jp.bsky.social) August 17, 2025 at 6:43 PM
For Dylan Sampson, some of the ambiguity of the Browns’ backfield could benefit him when actual games are played. Sampson has had a good camp and has taken advantage of Quinshon Judkins‘ legal issues as well as being unsigned,
I swear, Wan’Dale Robinson’s 140 targets last season and him falling to the sub-WR60 range is wild, but even if Robinson drops off a little bit, he’s a PPR floor play on an offense that lacks a second target after Malik Nabers.
The release of Zack Moss cleans up the Bengals’ backfield for Tahj Brooks to be the primary backup to Chase Brown. It’s certainly possible that Brooks can carve out some sort of standalone role, but he’s at worst the contingency play in case something happens to Brown.
FantasyPros Draft Wizard Insights
The FantasyPros Draft Wizard gave this draft an A- grade and an 90 out of 100 score, projecting us as the third-highest scoring team overall. Despite not taking a running back until late in the sixth round, we ended up with massive upside with TreVeyon Henderson, Jordan Mason, and J.K. Dobbins just in case Henderson’s role is lesser than what we project in the first few weeks. With our receivers, Brock Bowers and Jalen Hurts heading up the “onesie” positions of TE and QB, our team would be a force in this league.
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Kevin Tompkins is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Kevin, check out his profile and follow him on Bluesky @ktompkinsii.bsky.social