The Fantasy Footballers’ Top-10 WR Rankings for 2021
We are creeping ever closer to your fantasy football drafts and the Fantasy Footballers have you covered going over each position the next few weeks. Andy, Mike, and Jason kicked it off with the Top-10 WR Rankings for 2021 on Monday’s podcast.
Here is a quick recap of these top-10 wide receiver rankings which you can find fully statted out in the Ultimate Draft Kit.
1. Davante Adams | Green Bay Packers
Andy 1 | Jason 1 | Mike 1
ADP: 1.12/WR2
2020 stat line: 14 games — 148 targets for 115/1374/18 (Fantasy Finish WR1)
Let’s dig deep and try to find something meaningful about this guy. I mean what a slacker right? 14 games? He basically had one of the best fantasy seasons ever for a WR. From Week 7 on, only Aaron Rodgers scored more fantasy points than him. He’s the 1st player to lead WRs in fantasy points in fewer than 15 games played. He’s a TD monster with double-digit TDs in four of the last five seasons. Green Bay took him into final boss form last year creatively utilizing him around the goal-line and in the slot. Adams saw 31.7% of his snaps, 38% of his receptions, and seven TDs in the slot, all career-highs. WRs drafted #1 overall have been more stable than QBs & RBs so there’s very
2. Tyreek Hill | Kansas City Chiefs
Andy 2 | Jason 2 | Mike 2
ADP: 1.08/WR1
2020 stat line: 15 games — 135 targets for 87/1276/15 — 13/123/2 rushing (Fantasy Finish WR2)
I hear he’s good. Tyreek is an elite player that can win you a week (See Week 12 vs TB- 13/269/3 for 51.4 fantasy points!) attached to the best QB on the planet. Last year he upped his game as the most consistent WR according to our metrics with 17 total TDs. Since 2017, he’s tied with Davante Adams for MOST multi-TD games (10) and he is unstoppable on the road in his career averaging 17.3 fantasy points per game. It’s hard poking any holes in Hill’s game and you’d be happy
3. Stefon Diggs | Buffalo Bills
Andy 3 | Jason 4 | Mike 3
ADP: 2.03/WR3
2020 stat line: 16 games — 166 targets for 127/1535/8 (Fantasy Finish WR3)
Diggs leveled up last season with Josh Allen and put aside all the fantasy naysayers who passed on him as a 6th round pick! He led the league in targets (166), receptions (127) & receiving yards (1,535). He might be the best route runner in the NFL and Buffalo is committed to throwing the ball. They had the highest rate of 3-WR sets (90%) & most passing 1st downs in the NFL. The only knocks on Diggs’ outlook is if Josh Allen regresses and the fact Diggs has never been a huge TD guy. But he feels like such a high floor guy in the 2nd round of drafts.
4. Calvin Ridley | Atlanta Falcons
Andy 6 | Jason 3 | Mike 4
ADP: 2.08/WR6
2020 stat line: 15 games — 143 targets for 90/1374/9 (Fantasy Finish WR4)
Ridley made a massive tier jump in 2020 with eight games of 100+ receiving yards leading the NFL. Now with Julio Jones gone, Ridley should see unparalleled volume so it makes sense he’s a mid-second round pick. He’s not just a “slant boy” as the downfield targets were plenty in 2020. He led the NFL with 2,042 air yards and the most targets of 20+ yards downfield (36) & receptions (16) in the NFL. The major concerns are if the Falcons offense takes a step backwards with a new head coach and offensive coordinator.
5. DeAndre Hopkins | Arizona Cardinals
Andy 5 | Jason 5 | Mike 5
ADP: 2.03/WR4
2020 stat line: 16 games — 160 targets for 115/1407/6 (Fantasy Finish WR5)
Lock in a top-5 seasons yet again. Hopkins has been a top-5 fantasy WR in five of past six seasons and the volume is unbelievable. He has the most receptions & targets and ranks 2nd in receiving yards for WRs before turning 29. Being attached to Kyler Murray helps a ton and he can easily see 160+ targets again this year. Hopkins last year had the most receiving yards versus man coverage in the NFL according PFF. If Arizona improves in the red zone, Hopkins can be the WR1.
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6. Justin Jefferson | Minnesota Vikings
Andy 4 | Jason 7 | Mike 6
ADP: 3.02/WR8
2020 stat line: 16 games — 125 targets for 88/1400/7 (Fantasy Finish WR6)
What more can you say about the dude who set rookie record for receiving yards? 1,400 receiving yards is even more incredible considering he wasn’t a full-time player in the first two weeks. Jefferson was the WR4 from Weeks 3-to-17 (1,500+ yard pace) and had seven games over 100 receiving yards, tied for 2nd MOST with Adams, Hopkins, & Diggs. Remember he’s just 22 years old so there could be more coming. He did have some extreme home/road splits as all seven of his TDs occurred at home. Of the top-10 WRs, he does carry some risk with Kirk Cousins possibly regressing in the TD department and his 38% BUST Rate was the2nd highest among top-10 WRs.
7. DK Metcalf | Seattle Seahawks
Andy 7 | Jason 6 | Mike 8
ADP: WR5/2.06
2020 stat line: 16 games — 129 targets for 83/1303/10 (Fantasy Finish WR7)
Metcalf had a breakout second season and is a worth top-10 selection in 2021. He’s attached to an efficiency machine in Russell Wilson and took over as the alpha in the Seattle offense. Metcalf ran the 3rd MOST Routes Run at WR position, had the 2nd MOST Air Yards but ranked only 17th in receptions. Seattle wasn’t very creative in his usage as only 16.7 percent of his snaps came in the slot. Nevertheless, don’t just peg him as a downfield guy. He showed he can be effective at all four levels of the field especially in the short and intermediate areas. He looks like an every year threat for double-digit TDs moving forward.
8. Allen Robinson II | Chicago Bears
Andy 9 | Jason 8 | Mike 9
ADP: 3.09/WR11
2020 stat line: 16 games — 151 targets for 102/1250/6 (WR12 Fantasy Finish)
Robinson is a safe yet perhaps unspectacular pick in 2021. He has back-to-back top-12 finishes with bad QBs ranking 3rd in targets in both those year and tying for the league-lead in contested catches. Unfortunately, he won’t “win you a week” with only three games over 20 fantasy points in 2020. Still just 27, his QB situation is the major question mark as a full season of Andy Dalton doesn’t sound exactly inspiring. It’s hard to argue against that type of volume but his aDOT is creeping dangerously low year over year.
9. Keenan Allen | Los Angeles Chargers
Andy 8 | Jason 13 | Mike 8
ADP: 3.05/WR9
2020 stat line: 14 games — 147 targets for 100/992/8 (WR14 Fantasy Finish)
Keenan Allen is a PPR stud finishing as a top-14 fantasy WR in each of past four seasons averaging 100/1195/6.5 over that span. He ranks 2nd in total targets and 3rd in receptions since 2017 as an elite route runner. Last year the chemistry with Justin Herbery was real as Allen totaled the most 3rd down receptions in the NFL and the 5th most red-zone receptions among all WRs. His ceiling may be a bit capped as he’s never been a big TD guy. He can be streaky and had some extreme home/road splits in 2020 as he averaged 100 receiving yards per game versus 41.6 on the road. Nevertheless, he’s dependable and someone that won’t kill your roster.
10. A.J. Brown | Tennessee Titans
Andy 10 | Jason 10 | Mike 10
ADP: 2.09/WR7
2020 stat line: 14 games — 106 targets for 70/1075/11 (Fantasy Finish WR11)
A.J. Brown is a tank and I don’t think anyone looks forward to trying to bring that guy down in the open field. He’s had 1000+ yards and 8+ TDs in each of first two seasons including some insane long TDs. Of AJB’s 21 Career TDs (which also includes rushing & return TDs), 48% of them have come from 30+ Yards Out. That’s nuts. His target volume will be encroached upon with Julio Jones now in town. This offense also relies a lot on efficiency as over the last two years, they’ve ranked 3rd & 1st in terms of yards per TD. Will their play-action success continue with Brown & new OC Todd “Flush It” Downing? 36% of Ryan Tannehill‘s dropbacks were Play-Action last year, the highest in the NFL.