With the fantasy football season freshly in the books, there’s no better time to turn our eye toward the future and take our first crack at ranking for next year than now. Sure, the bevy of changes that the draft and free agency bring to the table will undoubtedly alter these rankings and our early thoughts on next season substantially. However, this exercise still has plenty of value considering that few other early rankings exist to influence our analysts’ perception of these players and that everything we’ve observed this year is still relatively new since the NFL regular season hasn’t even ended yet. As a result, the thoughts expressed below by our most accurate experts may be some of the most genuine and unbiased opinions regarding the 2021 season out there. It’s never too early to begin getting an edge on your leaguemates, so let’s dive in and see what our featured analysts have to say!
Featured Pros:
Nathan Jahnke – Pro Football Focus
Joe Bond – Fantasy Six Pack
Pat Fitzmaurice – The Football Girl
Kevin Hanson – EDSFootball
2021 Top-10 Players (Half PPR)
| Consensus Rank | Player | Position | Team | Best Rank | Worst Rank |
| 1. | Christian McCaffrey | RB | CAR | 1 | 1 |
| 2. | Dalvin Cook | RB | MIN | 2 | 2 |
| 3. | Derrick Henry | RB | TEN | 3 | 6 |
| 4. | Alvin Kamara | RB | NO | 4 | 6 |
| 5. | Davante Adams | WR | GB | 3 | 8 |
| 6. | Saquon Barkley | RB | NYG | 3 | 7 |
| 7. | Austin Ekeler | RB | LAC | 4 | N/A |
| T-8. | Tyreek Hill | WR | KC | 7 | N/A |
| T-8. | Nick Chubb | RB | CLE | 6 | N/A |
| 10. | Travis Kelce | TE | KC | 7 | 10 |
Also receiving top-10 votes: Jonathan Taylor (#11), Aaron Jones (#12), D’Andre Swift (#13)
2021 Fantasy Football Draft Advice
Each expert answered two questions about the players they like next season. Here are their suggestions for who you should target.
Q1. Who outside of your top five has the best chance of finishing first overall?
Jonathan Taylor (RB – IND)
“Some people will think it’s blasphemous not to name Derrick Henry here, since I have him at 1.06, but he’s never caught 20 passes in a single season, and it’s basically impossible to finish No. 1 without heavier usage in the passing game. Jonathan Taylor, on the other hand, dispelled doubts about his receiving ability by catching 35 of 38 targets as a rookie and averaging 8.5 yards per catch. Taylor has scored 10 touchdowns this season, with six in his last four games, and his college track record suggests that he’s going to be a TD machine for years to come. If JT’s usage continues to trend up — he averaged 20.4 touches over his last five games — a No. 1 finish is well within the realm of possibility.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (The Football Girl)
“In Weeks 13-16, Jonathan Taylor finished as the RB2, only behind David Montgomery. He also finished RB5 in half-PPR in points per game over the last six weeks. It is proof that all the preseason hype around Taylor was correct and all it took was the Colts committing to him. He started the season with very questionable usage, only seeing over 12 carries three times in the first nine games. Since then, he averaged 17.8. I expect that to carry over to next year and we could easily see him be a top-three RB and possibly supplant as No. 1 overall.”
– Joe Bond (Fantasy Six Pack)
Saquon Barkley (RB – NYG)
“Fantasy managers that used a top-three pick on Barkley in 2020 got little production from him before he tore his ACL in Week 2. Not only are early reports of his rehab positive, but the timing of the injury suggests he’ll be ready for Week 1 even though surgery didn’t occur until late-October. As a rookie in 2018, Barkley led the NFL with 2,028 yards from scrimmage, hauled in 91 receptions (second among RBs), scored 15 combined touchdowns, and finished second in fantasy points scored in a full season (340.3) and a per-game (21.3) basis. Provided the rehab process continues to go smoothly and he’s ready for Week 1, Barkley’s ceiling is the overall RB1.”
– Kevin Hanson (EDSFootball)
Aaron Jones (RB – GB)
“Jones is because he’s the most likely player to end up in a different situation that could greatly benefit him. He’s an unrestricted free agent who could very well land on a new team. He has the talent to be the focal point of an offense and now just needs the right situation”
– Nathan Jahnke (Pro Football Focus)
Q2. Who is your top sleeper candidate for drafts next season?
D.J. Chark (WR – JAC)
“I really think Chark is going to have a monster comeback season. This of course is with the expectation that Jacksonville drafts QB superstar Trevor Lawrence. Chark could return to his 2019 stats or better. If you look back at last year, Chark caught 73 of 118 targets (67% catch rate) for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns. That was mostly with Gardner Minshew. This season, Chark has only caught 53 of 94 targets (56% catch rate) for 706 yards and five touchdowns (two fewer games so far, but still not good). All but one of those touchdowns was with Minshew. Not that Minshew is great, but Mike Glennon and Jake Luton have been horrible for Chark this year, throwing just 68% of their passes on target (Minshew is sitting at 76%, respectively). I expect Lawrence to be a huge improvement for this offense and Chark will thrive.”
– Joe Bond (Fantasy Six Pack)
Laviska Shenault (WR – JAC)
“He’s not a true sleeper, but Shenault is going to be value-priced after an uneven rookie year, and I’ll be an enthusiastic buyer. Shenault finished with 532 receiving yards and three TDs (one of which came on a lucky deflection), but he had no chance to thrive in Jacksonville’s sickly offensive ecosystem. The Jaguars’ offense will be far better with Trevor Lawrence at quarterback, and even with the talented D.J. Chark around, Shenault should still have a reasonable shot at a 1,000-yard season. Viska is such a beast when he has the ball in his hands. I can’t wait to see him team up with a good quarterback.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (The Football Girl)
A.J. Dillon (RB – GB)
“Used sparingly before Week 16, Dillon exploded for a 21/124/2 rushing line against the Titans last week. Both Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams are scheduled to become free agents in March. When using a second-round pick on Dillon, the team seemed to be looking ahead to 2021 for him to replace either one or both of the impending free-agent backs. Not only is Aaron Rodgers playing at an MVP level with one of the league’s best wide receivers on the outside, the team’s offensive line currently ranks first in ESPN’s Team Run Block Win Rate (74%). In other words, ideal circumstances make Dillon poised for a breakout sophomore campaign assuming a much larger role in year two.”
– Kevin Hanson (EDSFootball)
Tyler Higbee (TE – LAR)
“Higbee should have the breakout season everyone was hoping he would have in 2020. The main thing holding him back was Gerald Everett taking the third-down snaps, which really hurt his fantasy production. Higbee still played well when he was on the field and Everett is a free agent who will likely sign elsewhere. This should give Higbee the every-down role and bring him back to being a top-eight fantasy tight end.”
– Nathan Jahnke (Pro Football Focus)
Thanks to 2020’s most accurate experts for sharing their advice! For more of the experts’ insight, be sure to follow each pundit on Twitter (click their names above) and visit their respective sites. Happy New Year to everyone!
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