In Part 2 of the 2024 Zero RB Candidates Countdown, Shawn Siegele looks at three young players who could quickly push for the starting job and two RBs who would be starters in almost any other backfield. If you’ve read yesterday’s intro, jump into the Countdown.
The Zero RB landscape continues to evolve, and our 2024 approach has emphasized the idea that you must Be the Avalanche at WR. This means building out a Zero RB game plan for best ball, and a redraft game plan that creates serious upside by exploiting 2024 tier breaks.
When readers ask what they are doing wrong with their Zero RB approach, it’s usually one of two problems: you’re not drafting enough WRs or you’re not drafting the right types of RBs. As Michael Dubner beautifully demonstrated with his piece yesterday, the youngest, most aggressive picks have a strong evidence-based case as the best selections in your entire draft.
The 2024 Zero RB Prep Kit: How 61 RBs Stack Up on 5 Key Elements outlined the philosophy and tactics that have helped us draft backs with the right mix of attributes to become league winners.
Throughout the Countdown we’ll build out an RB group that gives you exposure to scenarios and talent that shouldn’t be available at those spots in the draft, and we’ll be leaning into the evidence and the history to find them for you.
The Zero RB list has been helping RotoViz writers and users to high finishes in Main Events and tournament championships in best ball. A quick look at past results, and you’ll understand why.
In 2014 Shawn explained the methodology he used from 2008 to 2013 to create outsized gains in high stakes formats. Since then the list has become part of the site’s backbone.
- Our 2015 Zero RB list included the No. 1 overall RB (Devonta Freeman).
- Our 2016 list featured a breakout star and RB5 in PPG (Melvin Gordon).
- Our 2017 list included RB3 Kareem Hunt and RB4 Alvin Kamara.
- Our 2018 list featured five of the top-10 backs in win rate, including James White (18.7%), Tarik Cohen (16.8%), and Chris Carson (11.8%)
- Our 2019 list featured the 313-point scoring Austin Ekeler and rookie breakout Miles Sanders.
- Our 2020 list featured the overall RB5 in James Robinson and rookie sensation Antonio Gibson.
- Our 2021 list featured James Conner (No. 4 overall in win rate), plus the two-highest scoring backs in the fantasy playoffs, Devin Singletary and Rashaad Penny.
- Our 2022 list featured Kenneth Walker, who was an anchor for BBM3’s $1 million regular season champion, Raheem Mostert, who appeared in BBM3’s $2 million-winning lineup, Jerick McKinnon, who finished as the RB4 during the fantasy playoffs, and a late-round 1,000-yard rookie in Tyler Allgeier.
- Our 2023 list featured Miami smashes Mostert, who led the RB position with 21 TDs, and rookie De’Von Achane, who averaged 7.8 yards per attempt and 17.5 PPG despite two appearances with a snap rate below 10%. The two Dolphins ranked third and fourth in win rate and were joined on the leaderboard by Jaylen Warren (201 points, 12% win), who crushed the rest of the position with a 30% evasion rate.
