Sometimes even Shawn gets pulled into the RB-RB start. He walks you through the process of turning this sub-optimal strategy into a juggernaut poised to win $500,000 in the FFPC.
If you listened to the Zero RB series on Stealing Bananas, Ben Gretch and I explained why it’s such a dynamic force in PPR formats and how to execute it for optimal results. In an interview with Denny Carter for NBC Sports Edge, I explained why the current trends are actually throwing gasoline on the Zero RB fire.
Even if you’re comfortable not selecting a WR early, that doesn’t mean going RB-heavy. Bjorn’s Yang-Vaernet recently demonstrated why a Travis Kelce-RB start provides juicy win rates that RB-RB can’t match.
You may be thinking, how bad could it really be? And the answer, at least in RB-favorable formats like the FFPC, is not that bad – if you’re satisfied being average.
RB-RB in FFPC Classic (2017-2020)
With win rates, top-six percentages, and top-two percentiles all the very definition of mediocre, it’s not hard to see why this is generally considered a compromise strategy. You have two chances to hit on that elite RB score, but equally as many chances to land one of the many sub-5% win rate backs that eliminate you from consideration.
Contrast this to the win rates for teams that wait until after Round 8 for their RB2.
RB2 After Round 8 – FFPC Classic (2017-2020)
So . . . that’s better.
But occasionally you may feel that fates have conspired to give you an all-time great team. The RBs have fallen to you perfectly. For example, our recent Redraft Workshop looked at how you can create elite win rates out of unfavorable draft slots. And the answer was not to start Jonathan Taylor–Saquon Barkley. But I also had Taylor and Barkley ranked at 1.02 and 1.05 in my recent projection of the 2022 first round. It would be difficult to pass on them at the 1/2 turn.
Or perhaps you’ve started with Christian McCaffrey or Dalvin Cook, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire comes back to you in Round 2. He’s my pick for the 20% win rate back of 2021, so it would be hard to say unequivocally that you should pass. That’s especially true if Justin Jefferson, A.J. Brown, and D.K. Metcalf are gone – a scenario that does happen in some WR-heavy leagues.
Today, we’ll look at the best way to turn a value-sucking RB-RB start into a ravaging hydra. We’ll take a step-by-step approach to executing the draft plan either with an early or late draft slot.
