Fantasy Football: 'Zero Running Back' Strategy Targets in 2016 Drafts

We all have different draft strategies when it comes to fantasy football. Some like to draft the best player available, some like to draft quarterbacks early and some like to draft a bunch of players from their favorite teams.

However, we're going to touch on a draft theory that has been sweeping the fantasy community for some time now—Zero RB.

If you're not familiar with Zero RB, I recommend checking out a guide for the 2016 season that Shawn Siegele of RotoViz put together, as Siegele is considered to be one of the first to start the movement of this draft theory.

A short way of interpreting it is this: If you're in a points-per-reception (PPR) league where you can start multiple wide receivers, you should focus your first six or so draft picks on that position, hoping to nail multiple top-15 guys.

I know what you're thinking, "What if a running back I like is there in earlier rounds?"

According to this strategy, you should pass and hone in on wide receivers.

I've employed this strategy quite a few times and the teams that are created as a result are nice to look at. No, you may not have the highest draft report card on Yahoo, but the volatility at the running back position makes this strategy useful.

I'll admit—in years past, this strategy worked plenty better. Hey, for me, if New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram is there at the end of the second round, I'm going to be hard-pressed not to take him.

In this slideshow, we'll display 10 running backs that fit this theory. For the sake of fluidity, to qualify as a "Zero RB" running back, the respective player will be being drafted in the eighth round or later, according to Fantasy Football Calculator's average draft position (ADP).

Let's begin with a back out of Atlanta. 

Tevin Coleman, Atlanta Falcons

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After the year Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman had last season, you're probably wondering why the heck anyone would want fellow running back Tevin Coleman. I mean, come on—the guy did virtually nothing.

Whether it be his second-lowest fantasy-points-per-opportunity score among all running backs to play in 25 percent or more of their respective teams' snaps, or maybe even his two measly receptions, or hey, I don't know—his one touchdown on 87 carries.

All of these negatives are what make Coleman a positive under the Zero RB theory.

Why? Well there's a few things.

The first reason is fairly simple—his ADP. Right now, Coleman is going toward the end of the 10th round as the 46th running back off the board. He fits the criteria for the theory.

Second, Coleman went into 2015 as the starter over Freeman. The coaches were obviously infatuated with something to give the nod to a rookie over Freeman. Due to injury, however, Coleman was supplanted by a season for the ages from Freeman.

Next up—his pure ability. Coming out of college, Coleman was known for his breakaway ability. In fact, I likened it to Arizona Cardinals running back Chris Johnson. You know, the guy who has had the fastest combine speed for what seems like a lifetime. According to Player Profiler, they compare Coleman to Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles. Pretty good comparison, wouldn't you say?

Lastly, the Falcons coaching staff has repeated it time and time again that they want Coleman to have a larger role. This is not only good from a fantasy standpoint, but from a real-life football perspective as well. Freeman having another season like 2015 just doesn't seem to add up.

Coleman has little track record. The few positives from last season include his 4.5 yards-per-carry average and his three double-digit carry games in Weeks 1, 11 and 12. Coleman did not score a touchdown in those games, but did have one game over 100 yards.

Again, a stretch, but let's give him something to hang his hat on from last season.

According to Andrew Hirsh from the team's website, the coaching staff wants Coleman to be more involved as a pass cacher—that just screams PPR value.

Given that he was the starter going into 2015, his raw ability and the the emphasis from coaches to get him more involved, Coleman is worth a selection late if you employ the Zero RB methodology.

Christine Michael, Seattle Seahawks

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As the old saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

That saying doesn't apply to Seattle Seahawks running back Christine Michael because he's burned us way more than that.

But this year is different, I promise.

By reading this slideshow, I'm going to assume you watch football. And by watching football, you've probably seen some of the explosiveness that Michael has displayed this preseason.

Other than the preseason, we must remember how Michael did toward the end of the 2015 campaign. In Weeks 15, 17 and the Wild Card Round of the postseason, Michael ran for over 250 yards on 54 carries and averaged 4.6 yards per carry.

I'm not trying to bore you with all these stats you can easily locate, but rather simply displaying his ability. We all know who he can be, but it just hasn't happened yet.

However, Michael is no longer trapped behind Marshawn Lynch on the depth chart, but rather Thomas Rawls—a player who is much easier to unseat. Fantasy drafters think so, too—just look at his ADP jump over the last few weeks.

Right now, Michael is going in the ninth-round as the 41st running back off the board. While he may not be a focal point of the passing attack out of the backfield, it's never a bad thing to get a potential starting running back who you've drafted as the 41st guy going off the board at that position.

This preseason, Michael has sickening numbers (in a good way), averaging over six yards per carry. Because of this success, Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com has reported that "by all indications" Michael will have some kind of an early-season role.

Most of us haven't shaken the Michael fever yet. Why stop now when it has reached an all-time high?

Bilal Powell, New York Jets

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As a steady pass-catching option for the New York Jets over the last few seasons, Bilal Powell is another PPR fantasy darling.

This year is different, however, with the arrival of running back Matt Forte—a known pass-catcher.

In years past, Powell has been behind guys that are less prominent pass-catchers—for example, Chris Ivory.

It can be speculated now that Powell's role will be minimized with Forte and his receiving prowess in town. While that is a worthy argument, there is one key piece of evidence to go against that—their contracts.

This past offseason, Forte was signed to a three-year, $12 million deal, whereas Powell signed a contract for the same length but $750,000 less, per Over The Cap.

Before you yell, "Forte's older! That's why!" understand that he has been a workhorse back and Powell has simply been a receiving threat with carries sprinkled in—totally different.

I've been saying all preseason long that Forte scares me. He's had a ton of carries over his near-decade-long career. In 2016, I'm a believer that we'll still see Powell do his thing catching the ball, but he could see a decent number of carries per game as well.

In PPR leagues, Powell is going right after Christine Michael. Powell will make for a solid flex play at the very least. Give him a shot.

Theo Riddick, Detroit Lions

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

Is there a secret I'm not aware of that is making Detroit Lions running back Theo Riddick go at the end of the eighth round as the 39th running back off the board?

Heck, who cares! The Zero RB theory might as well be named after Riddick, man.

In 2015, Riddick finished as the RB18 in PPR leagues. He did this solely will catching the ball. OK, fine, technically he had 43 carries for 113 yards which "helped," but you get the point.

What led him to PPR stardom in 2015 were his 94 targets and 80 receptions. Those 80 receptions tied Riddick with San Diego Chargers running back Danny Woodhead for the most among running backs.

The problem with Riddick last year was scoring touchdowns—that's what kept him from being an RB1 in PPR formats.

Riddick is by far the best pass-catcher out of the backfield that the Lions have. Shoot, he may even be better than some of their wide receivers and tight ends.

Although there are a few more mouths to feed in the Lions offense, Riddick cannot be dismissed. He overcame the presence of Calvin Johnson to get to his RB18 spot last year, so I'm not afraid of third-year tight end Eric Ebron or wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

Riddick has high-end RB2 upside in PPR leagues. Guys like Riddick are what has made the Zero RB theory what it is today. Draft him and be happy.

Charles Sims, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jason Behnken/Associated Press

Like Theo Riddick, Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Charles Sims epitomizes this theory.

In the midst of a career year from fellow running back Doug Martin, Sims still managed an RB16 finish in PPR leagues.

Unlike Riddick, Sims carries the ball, too. In fact, Sims averaged five yards-per-carry on 106 carries in 2015.

Don't get me wrong, I love Riddick, but getting a guy like Sims who will catch marginally fewer passes and carries the ball effectively is incredibly attractive.

Sims is being drafted higher than all the other running backs on the list, going at the beginning of the eighth round, but that's OK. You guys are smart for drafting him where he's going. While Zero RB looks for value, Sims is still a value in the eighth round; he was an RB1 in some formats last season!

While it would be great if he did, Martin producing another 1,400-yard season is tough to do. Also, if anything were to happen to Martin, the Bucs would not need to look far for a replacement; they would look to Sims—a guy who can carry the ball and is not just a pass-catching specialist.

Make sure you have Sims on your PPR rosters.

Darren Sproles, Philadelphia Eagles

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Besides Philadelphia Eagles running back Darren Sproles, no other player in the Eagles offense excites me—and I'm personally a fan of wide receiver Jordan Matthews.

At age 33, Sproles figures to be the main pass-catching weapon out of the backfield for the Eagles and quarterback Sam Bradford. In 2015, Sproles carried the ball just over 80 times and saw over 70 targets.

As a result, Sproles finished inside the top 30 at running back in PPR leagues. It's criminal that Sproles is still going later in drafts than players like New England Patriots running back Dion Lewis, who may not even play in 2016.

The mediocrity of both the Eagles skill players and Bradford can make for tons of dump-offs to Sproles as well as many third-down opportunities. The only negative is that the Eagles will not be orchestrated by (now-San Francisco 49ers head coach) Chip Kelly, who ran a faster offense. Faster offense equals more volume, and more volume equals fantasy points.

Right now, Sproles is going as the RB47 in the 11th round. Plan on Sproles being a solid RB3 in PPR leagues this year and reap the benefits in the later portions of your drafts.

Chris Thompson, Washington Redskins

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It is utterly insane to me that Washington Redskins running back Chris Thompsons' ADP is near undrafted in PPR leagues.

No, his numbers last season weren't anything to get excited about, but in fantasy football we look to the future.

First, looking at the Redskins backfield, fellow running back Matt Jones is hurt with an AC joint sprain. However, he's not the only running back on the roster that is hurt. According to Mike Jones of the Washington Post, Redskins head coach Jay Gruden has admitted that injured reserve is a possibility for seventh-round rookie running back Keith Marshall.

This leaves a hurt Jones, Thompson and undrafted rookie Rob Kelley.

Quite the Motley Crue there.

While the Redskins have nice pass-catching options in wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon as well as tight end Jordan Reed, Thompson should still rack up right around 90 targets in 2016. 

The Redskins should throw a ton in 2016, and you should draft Thompson because of it—volume, baby.

Shane Vereen, New York Giants

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While the New York Giants backfield is filled with a ton of guys, running back Shane Vereen is the sole pass-catching option.

The muddled backfield is likely contributing to this, but Vereen is going in the 13th round of PPR drafts as the 53rd running back off the board.

We all know fellow running back Rashad Jennings is the lead back in this offense, and other running backs like Andre Williams and Paul Perkins don't scare me (at least for this season).

Like Darren Sproles, Vereen finished as a fringe RB2 in PPR leagues last season. In addition to the depth in the backfield, the Giants did add wide receiver Sterling Shepard in the draft. This could also be a key to the puzzle in terms of Vereen falling out of favor in fantasy drafts.

Don't forget though—Giants quarterback Eli Manning finished with the fourth-most attempts in the NFL at just over 650.

That's a lot of passing.

Even with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., Shepard and the entire Giants backfield, Vereen has a carved out role that isn't going anywhere. Look for Vereen to have another top-35 PPR running back campaign.

James White, New England Patriots

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After the injury to New England Patriots running back Dion Lewis, I figured the ADP for fellow running back James White would sail through the roof.

Like most of the time, I'm wrong here.

However, I'm not mad that I'm wrong—I'm perplexed.

In fantasy football, there are a lot of things we do. One of these includes staying clear of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and his unpredictable backfields. While that may true, the receiving back role is well-defined now.

In 2015, we saw Lewis as a top-seven PPR running back in the games that he played, so you know the pass-catching back plays a huge role within this offense.

While nerves surrounding wide receiver Julian Edelman and tight end Rob Gronkowski can be somewhat warranted with the imminent four-week start of backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, I'm not seeing it with White.

A dump-off option for a young, inexperienced quarterback is always nice to have to build confidence and sustain drives—White does just that.

White is going as the RB38. This seems fair if you think Lewis will return this season and you only get 6-8 true games from White, but I'm not sure Lewis does. But who knows? We haven't heard what kind of "clean up" surgery he'll be having.

No less, make sure you draft White, as the Patriots definitely utilize the pass-catching backs due to their true lack of running the ball effectively. 

T.J. Yeldon, Jacksonville Jaguars

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It wasn't that long ago when (at the time) Jacksonville Jaguars rookie running back T.J. Yeldon was being portrayed as a nice option to add to your stable of running backs in 2015.

However, due to a lack of touchdown and yardage production, Yeldon finished just below New York Giants running back Shane Vereen in total fantasy points in PPR leagues.

Regardless, Yeldon is going in the ninth round right now and 40th off the board at his position. While the signing of former New York Jets running back Chris Ivory may have put a damper on Yeldon, he's a worthy selection in the ninth round.

According to John Oehser of the Jaguars' official site, the team has listed Yeldon and Ivory as co-starters. This depth-chart placement has resonated this preseason with what appears to be a timeshare between the two backs.

While Ivory is likely the goal-line back, Yeldon should be the primary pass-catcher.

If you ask me, a pass-catcher and a timeshare back in a PPR league that's going in the ninth round doesn't sound too bad. 

Hey, who knows? Maybe Yeldon could overtake the committee. We have to remember that Yeldon is a talented back. Let's hope he avoids the sophomore slump in 2016 and provides more depth to your Zero RB approach.

Stats courtesy of Pro Football Focus. All ADP references courtesy of Fantasy Football Calculator.

Follow me on Twitter @RichardJanvrin.