The 2020 fantasy football season has been over for a while. And, technically, the 2020 NFL season hasn’t even ended yet. But, even so, the 2021 fantasy season is alive and thriving. Yes, there are 2021 fantasy drafts taking place right now.
For true degenerates like myself, there’s no such thing as an off-season. Your home league might not have their draft until late-August, but best ball drafts and dynasty leagues operate year-round. For those uninitiated, think of a best ball-like a mock draft you can make money on. They keep you sharp all throughout the offseason, they’re low-maintenance, a lot of fun, and massively addictive – drafting 100-plus teams is fairly common.
In a best-ball league, you have the option of playing in a fast draft (30-second pick clock) or slow draft (eight-hour pick clock). The latter drafts typically take several days or up to a week to complete. One of the benefits of these leagues is that there are no frustrating start/sit decisions to make during the season, nor are there time-consuming add/drops or trades. Your highest-scoring players at each position are automatically put into your starting lineup each week. You just draft your team and then forget about it – or at least until Week 17 when it’s time to collect your winnings.
We’ll have a more in-depth primer and strategy guide coming over soon. But for now, and without further ado, take a look at our top-151 (way too early) consensus best ball rankings.
Full Best Ball Rankings: here
Printable Cheat Sheet: here
Top 151 Consensus Best Ball Rankings
1. Christian McCaffrey, RB1, Carolina Panthers
Yes, McCaffrey is the easy 1.01. No, no one else even comes close.
2. Dalvin Cook, RB2, Minnesota Vikings
3. Alvin Kamara, RB3, New Orleans Saints
4. Saquon Barkley, RB4, New York Giants
You can rotate the 3 running backs after McCaffrey in any order you choose, but this seems to be a pretty strong tier. Bell cow running backs are less important and less valuable in best ball than in a typical start/sit redraft league, but they’re still the most valuable commodity in (pretty much) any format.
5. Davante Adams, WR1, Green Bay Packers
6. Derrick Henry, RB5, Tennessee Titans
7. Travis Kelce, TE1, Kansas City Chiefs
Seeing a TE ranked in the middle of Round 1 might be a little surprising, but Kelce is as steady as they come, and is even more valuable in best ball. In each of the past 3 seasons, he’s ranked 1st among TEs in FPG, culminating with 20.9 in 2020, which was the most ever by a fantasy TE. Among WRs, that would have ranked behind only Davante Adams (25.6) and Tyreek Hill (21.9). When you consider that Kelce out-scored the No. 5 TE (Logan Thomas, 11.0) by +9.9 FPG, or the same difference between Hill and the WR ranking 41st in FPG, the positional advantage he offers becomes readily apparent. And it doesn’t stop there. Kelce only twice fell under 14.5 fantasy points, and only once fell under 10.0 fantasy points (essentially mid-TE1-level production). Kelce alone should outscore the collective efforts any 3 TEs drafted across Rounds 6-10. Kelce drafters, meanwhile, will draft only one other TE and will draft that TE in the last few rounds. So, drafting Kelce saves you valuable draft capital overall, but also an extra roster spot to shore up another position. That’s a big advantage!
8. Jonathan Taylor, RB6, Indianapolis Colts
9. Ezekiel Elliott, RB7, Dallas Cowboys
10. Tyreek Hill, WR2, Kansas City Chiefs
11. Aaron Jones, RB8, Green Bay Packers
Will Taylor be a bell cow in 2021? Does it matter? Who will be Elliott’s QB in 2021? Does it matter? Will Jones even be on the Packers in 2021? Does it matter? Things get a bit more murky (I wouldn’t say risky) in the latter half of the first round, but all of these options are still fairly safe.
12. Stefon Diggs, WR3, Buffalo Bills
13. Austin Ekeler, RB9, Los Angeles Chargers
14. Miles Sanders, RB10, Philadelphia Eagles
15. Nick Chubb, RB11, Cleveland Browns
Chubb is a highly productive fantasy asset, but also a highly volatile one. Over the past two seasons (28 games), Chubb averages 23.3 FPG in his 14 best games and 9.8 FPG in his 14 worst games. Riding those ups and downs can be immensely frustrating for those in start/sit leagues, but in best ball leagues, your floor is insulated. Ideally – if paired with a high-floor asset like Nyheim Hines or J.D. McKissic – you get all of Chubb’s upside games without getting hurt by his low floor. Because of all this, Chubb is going to rank higher here than in our typical start/sit rankings.
16. Cam Akers, RB12, Los Angeles Rams
17. D’Andre Swift, RB13, Detroit Lions
18. DeAndre Hopkins, WR4, Arizona Cardinals
19. D.K. Metcalf, WR5, Seattle Seahawks
20. Calvin Ridley, WR6, Atlanta Falcons
21. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB14, Kansas City Chiefs
22. Antonio Gibson, RB15, Washington Football Team
23. Keenan Allen, WR7, Los Angeles Chargers
24. J.K. Dobbins, RB16, Baltimore Ravens
25. Justin Jefferson, WR8, Minnesota Vikings
26. James Robinson, RB17, Jacksonville Jaguars
27. Joe Mixon, RB18, Cincinnati Bengals
28. Michael Thomas, WR9, New Orleans Saints
29. Allen Robinson, WR10, Chicago Bears
The 2020 Draft class was hyped up as an all-time great one for WRs, but the RBs might have stolen the show in Year 1. A whopping 7 RBs from the 2020 class rank in the top-30: Taylor, Akers, Swift, Edwards-Helaire, Gibson, Dobbins, and Robinson.
30. George Kittle, TE2, San Francisco 49ers
31. David Montgomery, RB19, Chicago Bears
32. Josh Jacobs, RB20, Las Vegas Raiders
33. A.J. Brown, WR11, Tennessee Titans
34. Terry McLaurin, WR12, Washington Football Team
35. Mike Evans, WR13, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
36. Travis Etienne, RB21, Free Agent
37. Darren Waller, TE3, Las Vegas Raiders
38. Najee Harris, RB22, Free Agent
You might feel queasy drafting Etienne and Harris without the benefit of knowing when and to whom they are drafted, but I’d bet this is the cheapest they’ll both be all year. (Although we have both ranked as low-end RB2s, they’re both much cheaper by ADP.) Loading up on rookies in best ball prior to the NFL Draft has long proven to be a profitable strategy. And after these 2 go, the RB position feels a lot more risky and a lot less sexy.
39. Julio Jones, WR14, Atlanta Falcons
40. Amari Cooper, WR15, Dallas Cowboys
41. Patrick Mahomes, QB1, Kansas City Chiefs
42. Adam Thielen, WR16, Minnesota Vikings
43. D.J. Moore, WR17, Carolina Panthers
44. Kenny Golladay, WR18, Detroit Lions
45. Chris Godwin, WR19, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
46. Robert Woods, WR20, Los Angeles Rams
47. Diontae Johnson, WR21, Pittsburgh Steelers
48. Chris Carson, RB23, Seattle Seahawks
49. Josh Allen, QB2, Buffalo Bills
50. Cooper Kupp, WR22, Los Angeles Rams
51. Lamar Jackson, QB3, Baltimore Ravens
52. CeeDee Lamb, WR23, Dallas Cowboys
53. Brandon Aiyuk, WR24, San Francisco 49ers
54. Kyler Murray, QB4, Arizona Cardinals
55. Will Fuller, WR25, Houston Texans
56. Tyler Lockett, WR26, Seattle Seahawks
The RB well might have dried up, but the WR position is incredibly deep. In 2019, Lockett finished 12th among WRs in FPG (16.6). And he ranked top-5 prior to injury, both this year (Week 10) and last year (Week 10). His skillset, or boom-or-bust nature, is also perfectly suited towards the best ball format – he averaged 30.3 FPG in his 6 best games and 6.9 FPG in his 6 worst games this year. And yet, he ranks as just a high-end WR3.
57. Tee Higgins, WR27, Cincinnati Bengals
58. Mark Andrews, TE4, Baltimore Ravens
59. Myles Gaskin, RB24, Miami Dolphins
60. Deshaun Watson, QB5, Houston Texans
61. Tyler Boyd, WR28, Cincinnati Bengals
62. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR29, Pittsburgh Steelers
63. Robby Anderson, WR30, Carolina Panthers
64. D.J. Chark, WR31, Jacksonville Jaguars
65. Dak Prescott, QB6, Dallas Cowboys
“Late Round QB” had long been the recommended approach. But maybe not so much anymore, in the age of the “Konami Code QB.” And especially not in best ball leagues. QBs are always overrated and overdrafted in a typical 1QB redraft league, where you can add, drop, and stream your way towards mid-QB1-levels of production. But the position is actually significantly underrated and undervalued in best ball leagues. If I’m only drafting 2 QBs, I’d want at least 1 QB in the top-65. If I’m drafting 3 QBs, I’d want all 3 between Rounds 8-14.
66. Odell Beckham Jr., WR32, Cleveland Browns
67. Ronald Jones, RB25, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
68. Melvin Gordon, RB26, Denver Broncos
69. DeVante Parker, WR33, Miami Dolphins
70. Chase Claypool, WR34, Pittsburgh Steelers
71. Ja’Marr Chase, WR35, Free Agent
72. Brandin Cooks, WR36, Houston Texans
73. Marquise Brown, WR37, Baltimore Ravens
74. Deebo Samuel, WR38, San Francisco 49ers
75. Kareem Hunt, RB27, Cleveland Browns
76. Courtland Sutton, WR39, Denver Broncos
77. T.J. Hockenson, TE5, Detroit Lions
78. Jarvis Landry, WR40, Cleveland Browns
79. Jerry Jeudy, WR41, Denver Broncos
80. Kenyan Drake, RB28, Arizona Cardinals
81. DeVonta Smith, WR42, Free Agent
82. Dallas Goedert, TE6, Philadelphia Eagles
83. Aaron Rodgers, QB7, Green Bay Packers
84. Raheem Mostert, RB29, San Francisco 49ers
Beckham Jr. could go back to being the Beckham Jr. of old. Then again, he’s coming off yet another serious injury, and he averages just 12.5 FPG in a Browns uniform… Could Claypool be the next D.K. Metcalf with Juju Smith-Schuster due to hit free agency? Maybe. Or maybe he’s just the WR3 on a Mason Rudolph-led Steelers team… What’s the only thing standing in the way of Jerry Jeudy reaching Greg Cosell’s lofty expectations for him? Maybe just QB play, but as of right now Drew Lock is still the most-likely Week 1 starter… After his first 4 games, Mostert ranked best all-time in career YPC, and was averaging 22.7 fantasy points per 4 quarters on the season. And then he broke down due to injury, again… There’s both a lot of upside and a lot of risk in this tier.
85. Hunter Henry, TE7, Los Angeles Chargers
86. Noah Fant, TE8, Denver Broncos
87. Michael Pittman, WR43, Indianapolis Colts
88. Chase Edmonds, RB30, Arizona Cardinals
89. Justin Herbert, QB8, Los Angeles Chargers
90. Curtis Samuel, WR44, Carolina Panthers
91. Jaylen Waddle, WR45, Free Agent
92. Corey Davis, WR46, Tennessee Titans
93. Laviska Shenault, WR47, Jacksonville Jaguars
94. Jalen Reagor, WR48, Philadelphia Eagles
95. Jamison Crowder, WR49, New York Jets
96. Russell Wilson, QB9, Seattle Seahawks
97. Leonard Fournette, RB31, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
98. Logan Thomas, TE9, Washington Football Team
99. David Johnson, RB32, Houston Texans
100. Javonte Williams, RB33, Free Agent
Chase Edmonds? Dusty Ol’ David Johnson? Yeah, RB got pretty gross in a hurry. Meanwhile, Corey Davis ranks 46th at the WR position, despite finishing the season 2nd in EPA per route run (0.13), 5th in YPRR (2.58), 16th in YPG (70.3), and 32nd in FPG (13.7). He’s a decent point-chasing value, but outside of him, Russell Wilson, and the TEs, this tier is crowded by a number of speculative assets.
101. Michael Gallup, WR50, Dallas Cowboys
102. Antonio Brown, WR51, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
103. Damien Harris, RB34, New England Patriots
104. Mike Williams, WR52, Los Angeles Chargers
105. James Conner, RB34, Pittsburgh Steelers
106. Jeff Wilson, RB35, San Francisco 49ers
107. Zack Moss, RB36, Buffalo Bills
108. Mike Gesicki, TE10, Miami Dolphins
109. Tarik Cohen, RB37, Chicago Bears
110. Devin Singletary, RB38, Buffalo Bills
111. Tom Brady, QB10, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
112. Evan Engram, TE11, New York Giants
113. Nyheim Hines, RB39, Indianapolis Colts
Nyheim Hines is a gross pick in a typical start/sit league. He’s a high-floor / low-ceiling asset and his relatively few ‘boom games’ are hard to predict week-to-week. Luckily, you don’t have to predict boom-games in best ball. He just automatically slides into your starting lineup whenever he outscores your other options. Here’s an example – Hines and J.D. McKissic ranked 26th (12.1) and 25th (12.2) among RBs in FPG, totaling (respectively) 194 and 196 fantasy points on the year. But in a best ball format (taking the higher score in each week), and if treated as one player, they were worth a combined 275 fantasy points. This would have ranked ahead of all RBs not-named Alvin Kamara, Dalvin Cook, and Derrick Henry. Keep in mind, all 3 of those RBs ranked top-7, while Hines and McKissic were both being drafted outside of the top-50 RBs. Of course, Hines still isn’t a sexy pick, but he does have significantly more value in the best ball format. As does the Zero-RB draft strategy.
114. Ryan Tannehill, QB11, Tennessee Titans
115. A.J. Dillon, RB40, Green Bay Packers
116. Robert Tonyan, TE12, Green Bay Packers
117. T.Y. Hilton, WR53, Indianapolis Colts
118. Henry Ruggs, WR54, Las Vegas Raiders
119. Rondale Moore, WR55, Free Agent
120. Sterling Shepard, WR56, New York Giants
121. Tony Pollard, RB41, Dallas Cowboys
122. Denzel Mims, WR57, New York Jets
123. Marvin Jones, WR58, Detroit Lions
124. James White, RB42, New England Patriots
125. Darrell Henderson, RB43, Los Angeles Rams
126. Mecole Hardman, WR59, Kansas City Chiefs
127. Cole Beasley, WR60, Buffalo Bills
In these rounds, you’ll find a lot of high-risk / high-reward lottery tickets and high-value but low-sex-appeal names. Could A.J. Dillon be Green Bay’s workhorse with Aaron Jones set to hit free agency? Wouldn’t Tony Pollard be a league-winner if Ezekiel Elliott were to suffer a serious injury? Might this finally be Mecole Hardman’s breakout year? Meanwhile, Marvin Jones and Cole Beasley are probably never going to be league-winners, but they are clear-and-glaring values. Jones ranked 18th and Beasley ranked 27th at the position in total fantasy points, yet they rank just 58th and 60th here. Again, on their own, they might not be league-winners, but get enough ADP-beaters and all that value adds up. And it could add up to a behemoth of a team.
128. J.D. McKissic, RB44, Washington Football Team
129. Nelson Agholor, WR61, Las Vegas Raiders
130. Zach Ertz, TE13, Philadelphia Eagles
131. Hayden Hurst, TE14, Atlanta Falcons
132. John Brown, WR62, Buffalo Bills
133. Austin Hooper, TE15, Cleveland Browns
134. Darnell Mooney, WR63, Chicago Bears
135. Jamaal Williams, RB45, Green Bay Packers
136. Gabriel Davis, WR64, Buffalo Bills
137. Trevor Lawrence, QB12, Free Agent
138. Rashaad Penny, RB46, Seattle Seahawks
139. Irv Smith, TE16, Minnesota Vikings
140. Christian Kirk, WR65, Arizona Cardinals
141. Phillip Lindsay, RB47, Denver Broncos
142. Marlon Mack, RB48, Indianapolis Colts
143. Kirk Cousins, QB13, Minnesota Vikings
144. Darius Slayton, WR66, New York Giants
145. Kenneth Gainwell, RB49, Free Agent
146. Damien Williams, RB50, Kansas City Chiefs
147. Jonnu Smith, TE17, Tennessee Titans
148. Matthew Stafford, QB14, Detroit Lions
149. Eric Ebron, TE18, Pittsburgh Steelers
150. Jalen Hurts, QB15, Philadelphia Eagles
151. Latavius Murray, RB51, New Orleans Saints
And here’s the rest of the rest. Now is a great time to start loading up on high-upside lottery tickets. In the later rounds, upside is far more valuable than downside is detrimental. A discounted former superstar in Zach Ertz. An underrated potential-breakout candidate in Darnell Mooney. An unheralded rookie like Kenneth Gainwell. An accomplished deep threat in John Brown, which due to the high-variant / boom-or-bust nature of the role, lends itself better to the best ball format. All are great options.
And then after that, it’s time to start thinking about Kickers and Defense.
