2021 Dynasty Fantasy Football Top 30: Part 1 of 3

Top 30 Dynasty Fantasy Football Assets

1| Christian McCaffrey RB1 24yrs 2017 1st rd

Christian McCaffrey is the best all-around running back in the NFL with his ability to catch and run the football and also the best fantasy football scorer at the position. He had a career year in 2019 rushing the ball 287 times for 1,387 yards and 15 TDs while adding 116 receptions on 142 targets for 1,005 yards and four TDs. CMC finished as the RB1 that year averaging 29.4 fantasy points per game. He actually averages 24.5 fantasy points per game in his career. McCaffrey dealt with injuries last year but nothing that should linger into this year.

McCaffrey is an elusive back evading 87 tackles in 2019 which was third in the league and he had 12 breakaway runs which was sixth. He led the league in receptions and receiving yards for RBs. It is so hard to find this kind of consistency in a player. McCaffrey should see a ton of volume again this year, the Carolina Panthers have added Chuba Hubbard but he is not a threat to CMC’s workload or his fantasy football output.

They even added another weapon to the passing game in Terrace Marshall which will help Sam Darnold as a passer, and keep defenses honest. He is also locked into a contract with the Panthers through the 2025 season. Look for yet another top-five fantasy football finish this season and more to come.

2| Saquon Barkley RB2

24yrs 2018 1st round

Saquon Barkley was picked second overall by the New York Giants in 2018 which is very high for an RB but he is a generational talent. Saquon busts off eye-popping plays out of nowhere and he is built like a complete unit. Barkley was being drafted early in redraft even as a rookie.

He has been in the league for three seasons and already has two seasons with over 1,000 rushing yards and totaled over 2,000 yards as a rookie. He averaged 24.1 fantasy points per game in his rookie year and 18.8 in his second season. These are great numbers for your fantasy football squads.

Barkley sees plenty of volume on the ground with over 200 carries in each of his healthy seasons but is coming off of an ACL tear in 2020. He has now dealt with some injuries in his past two years but that is enough to bump such an elite talent down my rankings.

Prior to his ACL tear, he may have even been my RB1. With the weapons the Giants have added in Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney it should soften the box a bit for Barkley and help him be even more efficient.

Saquon has not had great weapons on the outside or a top-end offensive line causing him to have to create on his own a lot of the time. He was seventh in yards created per touch (1.86), sixth in yards created (501), and saw the eighth-most targets in the league (73).

With Daniel Jones having his new weapons and the improvement the offensive line showed as the season progressed last year look for another fantasy football RB1 season from Barkley. He is on contract through 2022.

3| Jonathan Taylor RB3

22yrs 2020 2nd round

Jonathan Taylor made some of us look like fools for drafting him after Clyde Edwards-Helaire in 2020 dynasty fantasy football rookie drafts due to landing spot. JT got one hell of a landing spot himself with the Indianapolis Colts and their elite offensive line. JT started the season behind Marlon Mack but quickly got more run after Mack’s unfortunate Achille’s tendon tear.

Jonathan Taylor finished as the RB6 on the season and was a league winner near the end of the season when he went on a tear the final six weeks. On the season he averaged 16.9 PPR fantasy points per game and could take another step in 2021 with more consistency and possibly more of a role in the passing game.

JT did struggle at times and was outperformed by Nyheim Hines but he seemed to put it all together as the season went on. JT racked up 232 carries for 1,169 yards and 11 TDs and added 34 receptions on 39 targets for 299 yards and one TD in 13 starts. In his magical six-game run at the end of the season, he put up 741 of those yards on 119 carries for seven TDs. This is almost a 2,000 rushing yard 16 game pace.

Marlon Mack will be back but is coming off of a season-ending Achilles injury in 2020 so I don’t expect him to cut into Taylor’s work much. JT is on contract through the 2023 season and if he plays near this level for the entirety of the 2021 season he may find himself atop my dynasty fantasy football rankings.

4| Alvin Kamara RB4

25yrs 2017 3rd round

Alvin Kamara has to be one of the slipperiest backs in the NFL and has some of the best hands at his position. Kamara does not wow with his rushing stats as he has never eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing but what he does do well is command volume in the passing game. He has done this on a regular basis for fantasy football managers and it truly increases his weekly floor.

Alvin Kamara is a weapon for the New Orleans Saints and the way he is used he may be able to have a long career. He has also never eclipsed 200 carries in a season because the Saints know how efficient he can be. They use a complimentary back such as Mark Ingram or Latavius Murray to grind it out at times.

Kamara has over 80 receptions in every single year of his NFL career. This is huge for fantasy football managers in PPR leagues. He also finds the end zone plenty, finding pay dirt 58 times in four years. He has over 1,300 scrimmage yards in every season as well. AK averaged 25.2 PPR fantasy points per game in 2020 and averages 21.6 per game in his career. Kamara is an elite dynasty fantasy football asset and won’t hit free agency until 2026.

5| A.J. Brown WR1

23yrs 2019 2nd round

Arthur Juan Brown came into the league and did not miss a beat, throwing up two seasons in a row over 1,000 yards receiving for the Tennessee Titans! He has done so on very low volume (84 targets in 2019 106 targets in 2020) and could see a bump in volume this year with Corey Davis leaving in free agency for the New York Jets.

The Titans also lost another top target in Jonnu Smith in free agency to the New England Patriots. The added volume would be huge for fantasy football managers.

With these departures, AJ Brown could see an increase in targets. He already ranked seventh in fantasy points per game at 17.2 and second in yards per route run at 2.76 in 2020. He is also second in fantasy points per route run at 0.62. He and Ryan Tannehill seem to have a special connection and it should only grow stronger with another offseason together.

Brown is under contract through the 2022 season and if he performs at the level he is capable of again this year he could be in for a big payday in 2022!

6| Tyreek Hill WR2

27yrs 2016 5th Round

Tyreek Hill has been electric for the Kansas City Chiefs. He is tied to the best QB in the NFL in Patrick Mahomes on one of the best, probably the best, offenses in the NFL. He is also tied to Andy Reid, a great offensive-minded coach. Tyreek has been a pro bowler every year of his career and first-team all-pro three times.

The Cheetah has put up massive numbers with three seasons of over 1,100 yards receiving and multiple fantasy football WR1 finishes. He also can completely win you a week at any given time. He went nuclear against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 regular season for 57.9 points by posting 269 receiving yards and three TDs on 13 receptions.

Tyreek had 135 targets and 87 receptions in 2020 for 1,276 yards and a career-high 15 TDs in 2020 while adding 123 yards on the ground and two more TDs. Hill averaged 21.9 fantasy points per game in 2020 and we can expect more of the same going forward as he is the unquestioned top WR on this offense which isn’t changing any time soon with him under contract through the 2022 season.

7| Justin Jefferson WR3

21yrs 2020 1st Round

Justin Jefferson stepped into a fantastic situation with Stefon Diggs leaving in the offseason via trade to the Buffalo Bills. The Minnesota Vikings had a need for a WR2 on their team and got even more than that! Justin Jefferson came in and established himself as the best pass-catcher on the team playing across from Adam Thielen. Jefferson commanded a target rate of 25.7% which was ninth in the league.

Jefferson had a historic rookie season catching 88 of his 125 targets for 1,400 yards and seven TDs. This was the third-highest receiving yards in the NFL in 2020 and an all-time rookie record for receiving yards. He ranked 10th in fantasy points per game (17.1), seventh in fantasy points per route run (0.51), fifth in yards per route (2.65), and fourth in yards per target (11.2).

Jefferson is an absolute monster of a player and accomplished this all in an abbreviated offseason. Jefferson is under contract through 2023 and his fifth-year option can be picked up for 2024 so he is in a very stable situation with a solid QB in Kirk Cousins. I can not wait to watch him develop into an even better player throughout his career.

8| Dalvin Cook RB5

25yrs 2017 2nd Round

Dalvin Cook has been a valuable fantasy football asset every year of his career but has dealt with some injury issues. Cook only played four games in his rookie season and 11 in his second year. Since then he played 14 games in 2019 and 2020. He receives a ton of volume and is a true workhorse back which is hard to find in the NFL.

Cook is coming off back-to-back seasons of over 1,000 yards rushing. In 2020 Cook received 312 carries turning them into 1,557 yards and 16 TDs and caught 44 of his 54 targets for 361 yards and an additional TD. He was fifth in route participation in the league (60.1%), second in rushing yards, second in evaded tackles (106), first in red-zone touches (66), and sixth in breakaway runs (10). Cook is a do it all back and that really translates to fantasy points.

Dalvin Cook has produced at a high level every season on a fantasy points per game basis. He receives ample target volume which helps his floor in PPR. In his career, Cook averages 18.8 PPR fantasy points per game with his highest mark in 2020 at 24.1 fantasy points per game. Cook is consistent with four single-digit fantasy performances in his whole four-year career! And he had zero in 2020. He also can carry your whole team any given week.

Dalvin is an elite running back for fantasy football and real-life football. Cook is on contract through the 2025 season. He has not shown any signs of slowing down and the Vikings seem content giving him a massive workload, Cook is an amazing player to roster in dynasty!

9| Davante Adams WR4

28yrs 2014 2nd Round

Davante Adams is my personal favorite WR in the NFL. We all have the guy we were pounding the table for and actually hit big! The Green Bay Packers struck gold when they drafted Adams in 2014. It took a few years for him to adjust to the NFL but he eventually broke out in 2016 and never looked back. Adams is a touchdown/ target monster and Aaron Rodgers’s favorite target. He stumbled down my rankings a bit due to age and the ongoing situation with Aaron Rodgers and his possible departure. Adams is also set to hit free agency following the 2021 season.

Adams has earned four Pro Bowls and one All-Pro nod. He also proved in 2017 that he could perform even with sub-par QB play. With his backup QB for a seven-game stretch, he was on a 16 game pace of 139 targets, 94 receptions, 1,118 yards, and 9 TDs. Adams is not dependent on Rodgers but losing him would decrease his dynasty value. If Rodgers is traded you have to wonder if they would let Adams walk in free agency as well and embrace a slight rebuild. Then as a dynasty fantasy football manager landing spot could affect his value and your team.

Davante finished as the WR1 overall in PPR fantasy football leagues in 2020. He finishes near the top of the fantasy football ranks on a yearly basis. Adams posted three games over 40 PPR points! He also posted the best statistical season of his career. Adams caught 115 of his 149 targets for 1,374 yards and 18 TDs averaging nearly 100 receiving yards per game all in just 14 games! He and Rodgers were clicking on a whole different level and he could be losing that chemistry with his signal-caller if the Packers move him and go with Jordan Love.

Adams finished first in target share (34.1%), first in red-zone targets (27), first in total TDs (18), first in yards after catch (587), first in yards per route run (2.27), and first in fantasy points per route run (0.78). It was a dominant season and we could see more of it this year if Rodgers stays. If not we will see a top ten WR fantasy football finish for sure but probably not the WR1.

10| D.K. Metcalf WR5

23yrs 2019 Round 2

The physical freak for the Seattle Seahawks, D.K. Metcalf has proven himself to be one of the top WRs in the NFL. He also happens to be tied to one of the best QBs in the league in Russell Wilson. He is on a rookie deal through the 2022 season but I would expect them to resign him possibly as early as next offseason. The Wilson to D.K. connection has been great for fantasy football and real-life football.

Metcalf had 900 receiving yards as a rookie and took a huge leap in his second season catching 83 of his 129 targets for 1,303 yards and 10 TDs. He averages 15.6 yards per reception on his career and is just an electric player to watch on the field. His size-speed combination is rare and it shows. Metcalf can completely take over a game as he did against the San Francisco 49ers in week eight catching 12 of 15 targets for 161 yards and two TDs. This is partially due to his 31 deep targets in 2020 which ranked third in the league and can be huge for fantasy football points.

D.K. has been money for fantasy football managers rostering him. He averaged just 11.7 PPR points per game in 2019 but jumped to 17 points per game in 2020. He does have some target competition with Tyler Lockett who is a great player in his own right but Metcalf will eat either way. D.K. came in as a slightly raw player so he could even still improve his game!

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This concludes part one of three of my Top 30 Dynasty Fantasy Football Assets series. Stats courtesy of PFR, PlayerProfiler, and Fantasy Data. Contract info courtesy of Sportrac. Thank you for reading part one of the Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings series check out the OTH Twitter page here, the OTH Football Twitter page here, go to OvertimeHeroics.net for all of your sports needs, and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @FF_Schmuck for more fantasy football content.