Fantasy Football Hero RBs: Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Breece Hall

Hero RB has been an increasingly popular fantasy football draft build. It consists of anchoring your fantasy football roster with a stud running back and then filling in other positions from there, returning to RB later in the draft to fill out the roster. Here’s a look at a few of those Hero RBs, top-tier running backs to consider in your upcoming fantasy football drafts.

Hero RB Running Back Draft Targets

Derek Brown shares his list of running backs he’s willing to target in Hero RB builds. Here’s more on Hero RB fantasy football draft strategy.

Christian McCaffrey (SF)

McCaffrey remained “THE DUDE” at running back in fantasy last year. He was the RB1 in fantasy, finishing as an RB1 in 81% of his games and as a top 24 RB in every game he played. McCaffrey averaged 21.2 touches and 126.5 total yards per game while ranking second in carries, fourth in targets, and first in red zone touches among running backs. There’s no reason to expect a falloff entering 2024. His deeper efficiency metrics all scream that he remains in the prime of his career after ranking fourth in explosive run rate and 10th in yards after contact last season (per Fantasy Points Data).

Bijan Robinson (ATL)

The Arthur Smith experiment capsized what could have been an enormous rookie season for Robinson. He ranked ninth in snap share, third in targets, sixth in receptions, and fourth in receiving yards among running backs, but he finished as the RB17 in fantasy points per game. Robinson was the RB12 in expected fantasy points per game, but his opportunity share ranked 31st, and he was also 32nd in red zone touches with Smith’s insistence on utilizing Tyler Allgeier. If Robinson receives the bulk of the high-leverage touches under the new Falcons regime, he should crush in 2024. Last year, he ranked 23rd in explosive run rate, 17th in yards after contact per attempt, and 25th in yards per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). Robinson is a locked-in RB1 for 2024.

Breece Hall (NYJ)

Despite recuperating from an extensive knee injury, it didn’t derail Hall in his second season. He finished the season as the RB6 in fantasy points per game with 299 touches and 1,585 total yards. Hall was 12th in opportunity share and second in weighted opportunities, and in Weeks 5-18, he averaged 20.2 touches and 102.5 total yards. A huge part of his value last season came from his pass game usage, as he led all running backs in targets, receiving yards, and receptions. While some of this was part of the fallout of Zach Wilson at the helm, Hall should remain a focal point for the passing attack in 2024. He was a baller as a receiver last season, ranking third in yards per route run and fourth in expected fantasy points per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). Hall is a top-five fantasy running back in all formats.

Jahmyr Gibbs (DET)

Every nerd who said the Lions were foolish for selecting Gibbs in the first round has a tiny bit of egg on their face. Gibbs finished the season as the RB8 in fantasy points per game and fantasy points per opportunity. He was a tackle-breaking blur last season, ranking 18th in yards after contact per attempt and 11th in missed tackles forced per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). After David Montgomery returned from injury, Gibbs averaged 14.1 touches and 73.1 total yards per game. Montgomery isn’t going anywhere, but that doesn’t mean Gibbs can’t be a top-shelf RB1 again in 2024.