We continue with our 2024 “Perfect Draft” strategy series, focusing on how to win your startup dynasty drafts. Anyone who has followed us for any length of time knows you can’t enter a draft without a strategy but which strategy you choose will directly affect who you want to target. With that in mind, these are the strategies we’re going to cover:
- Win Now
- Value
- Balanced
- Productive Struggle
- Fake Punt
- Bully QB/TE
- Robust RB
Today, we’re going to continue the series with an analysis of a superflex draft using a zero-RB strategy. When using this strategy, you’re passing on all running backs in the first six or seven rounds while stockpiling valuable quarterbacks, wide receivers, and tight ends. This strategy is popular in traditional redraft leagues, but it can be even more valuable in dynasty leagues where the career length of a typical running back is much shorter than the other three main positions.
Instead of drafting one or two studs early in the draft, a zero-RB approach focuses instead on drafting three or four backs in the middle rounds that have unrealized upside. For this exercise, we’re going to follow three different teams through twelve rounds of picks to see how their team develops when starting from different draft slots in the first round.
Using July Superflex ADP, let’s have the perfect dynasty startup draft.
First Round
Early (Team One): Josh Allen, QB BUF
No matter what draft strategy you’re employing, quarterbacks are always going to go early in the first round in superflex drafts. As good as Patrick Mahomes is in real football, Josh Allen has his number in fantasy football. Allen has been the QB1 in three of the last four seasons and it doesn’t seem like he’ll slow down anytime soon.
Mid (Team Two): CeeDee Lamb, WR DAL
The middle of the first round is a difficult place to be because you have to decide between taking the sixth or seventh best quarterback or getting your pick of the litter at wide receiver. In this hypothetical draft, the top-six quarterbacks are all off the board so team two had to decide between CeeDee Lamb/Justin Jefferson or Joe Burrow/Kyler Murray.
They decided to go with Lamb who finishes as the WR1 in 2023 with 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns. This isn’t an easy call between Lamb and Jefferson, but the QB uncertainty in Minnesota cannot be ignored.
Late (Team Three): Kyler Murray, QB ARI
I’m all in on Murray this season and think he has one of the best chances to finish as the overall QB1 outside of Josh Allen. Murray has finished as a top-12 quarterback each year of his career and has one of the highest-rushing floors of any player at the position. The Cardinals should take a massive jump offensively with a fully healthy Murray, Marvin Harrison Jr, and a full year of Trey McBride starting at tight end.
Second Round
