I have been a running backs truther for as long as I can remember playing fantasy football. My first-ever draft pick in a draft came back in 1998, when I took Terrell Davis. I later traded for then-rookie Fred Taylor. Can you say championship? Since then, I’ve focused my early-round picks on runners. From Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk or LaDainian Tomlinson in the past to the likes of Ezekiel Elliott, Alvin Kamara or Austin Ekeler in more recent years, getting a couple of stud runners was always at the forefront of my fantasy roster build.
So, when the “Zero RB Strategy” was introduced by Shawn Siegele back in 2013, I scoffed at it. This philosophy is based on completely avoiding running backs in the first five rounds. Instead, the strategy says, fantasy managers should load up on wide receivers, a tight end and a quarterback. To me, it made zero sense. After all, backs have long been the lifeblood of fantasy football. Stud runners win fantasy leagues.
Why the hell would I avoid that?
