Zero RB vs. Hero RB vs. Robust RB Mock Draft: Which Strategy is Best in 2026?

Zero RB vs. Hero RB vs. Robust RB Mock Draft: Which Strategy is Best in 2026?

From Fantasy Life Show by Matthew Berry's Fantasy Life

August 20, 2026 · 1h 4m

About this episode

The episode features a mock draft comparing three different running back strategies for fantasy football in 2026.

Three years ago, eight running backs went off fantasy football draft boards in the first two rounds. This year it's thirteen. Is that surge justified, or has the fantasy community wildly overcorrected? Kendall Valenzuela, Peter Overzet and Dwain McFarland settle it the only honest way — by doing a mock draft. They run a single fantasy football mock together, sixteen rounds, with each of them locked into a different approach to the position. Pete takes Zero RB and won't touch a running back in the first three or four rounds. Dwain runs Hero RB, taking exactly one back in the first four. Kendall goes Robust RB, hammering two backs in the first two or three rounds. Nobody gets to hedge. Every round, all three explain the pick they're making and why their strategy forces it, which means you see exactly where each approach starts to hurt — the round where Zero RB gets nervous, the round where Robust RB has nothing left at receiver, and whether Hero RB actually splits the difference or just gets the worst of both. At the end they compare the three rosters and say which strategy they'd actually run in a real 2026 draft. If you've been reading Zero RB takes all summer without ever seeing…

People in this episode

Guests: Kendall Valenzuela, Peter Overzet, Dwain McFarland

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Zero RB, Hero RB, Robust RB, fantasy football

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