2021 Dynasty Fantasy Football Top 30: Part 2 of 3

11| D’Andre Swift RB6 22yrs 2020 2nd Round ECR RB10

I’m a bit higher than consensus on D’Andre Swift, but I really do believe he can be the second-best RB for fantasy football purposes from the 2020 NFL Draft. Swift finished the season as the RB 18 in PPR formats despite receiving low rushing volume (114 carries) and only starting four games. He did this in part due to a high amount of passing game involvement.

Swift played in 13 games, started four, had 114 carries for 521 yards and 8 TDs while adding 46 receptions on 57 targets for 357 yards and two additional TDs for the Detroit Lions. Swift had a 5.3% breakaway run percentage which ranked 10th in the league and averaged 14.6 PPR fantasy points per game. In games he played, he only scored single-digit fantasy points three times as a backup most of the season.

He now has a huge upgrade at tackle in Penei Sewell with the Lions taking him in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft. They just extended Frank Ragnow at center. He also gets a new coach and a QB that will check it down to his RB plenty in Jared Goff.

Both Swift’s new offensive coordinator and his RB coach Duce Staley think that he could be a three-down back and handle a full workload. The Lions moved on from Adrian Peterson and Kerryon Johnson and now Swift’s only competition for touches is Jemar Jefferson and Jamaal Williams. Anthony Lynn has since come out to say he sees Williams as a classic A-back but I still trust Swift’s talent to keep him on the field.

Swift may see even more passing game involvement as well with the team also moving on from Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones. This could be huge for fantasy football purposes. They did not add much at WR either with the top guys being a fourth-round pick Amon-Ra St. Brown then Breshad Perriman and Tyrell Williams.

Swift could take an extremely huge leap this year going into the season as the starter. If he receives the volume he could easily finish as a top-five RB even on a bad offense. Swift will not be game script-dependent so their losing won’t phase him out he will just get check-downs from Goff. I love Swift moving forward in dynasty.

12| George Kittle TE1 27yrs 2017 5th Round

In comes my top TE in my dynasty rankings. George Kittle is a huge advantage at the TE position and is capable of outscoring Travis Kelce. He is also four years younger. I’m no ageist but it has to be taken into account. Kittle is coming off of an injury-plagued 2020 but should bounce back this year and beyond for the San Francisco 49ers.

Kittle posted two seasons of over 1,000 yards receiving in his second and third season. He then was doing well last season, but an MCL sprain in week one and foot fracture in week eight kept him out half of his games. In the eight games, he did play he was on a 16 game pace for 126 targets 96 receptions 1,268 yards, and four TDs. Kittle is an absolute cheat code at TE and having him gives your team an advantage over any team not rostering Darren Waller or Kelce.

Kittle has two pro bowls and an all-pro selection under his belt in his four-year career so far. Even with the team transitioning from Jimmy Garoppolo to Trey Lance I don’t expect it to affect Kittle’s production. Kittle is a YAC specialist and can be an easy outlet for Lance.

In 2019 Kittle’s last fully healthy season he was fourth in targets at his position (107), first in target share (28.2%), fourth in receptions (85), third in receiving yards (1,053), first in fantasy points per game (15.9), and first in yards per route run (4.2). He also ranked second in fantasy points per route run (0.89) and had a 119.4 QB rating when targeted! In 2020 he ranked highly in a lot of these same categories and was second in contested catch rate at 80%.

In Kittle’s career, he averages 13.7 fantasy points per game, including a lackluster rookie season. He is also under contract through 2025 and playing under a great offensive mind in Kyle Shanahan. Kittle is an easy player to root for and honestly someone I wish I could roster in every dynasty league I play in!

13| Cam Akers RB7 21yrs 2020 2nd Round

Cam Akers comes in pretty high for me. He showed well near the end of last season and going into the playoffs for the Los Angeles Rams and fantasy football managers. Malcolm Brown is now gone who received a bulk of the goal-line work for some reason. Akers could also receive more receiving work in 2021. Akers posted 221 yards and two TDs on 46 carries in the playoffs last year and looked like a true workhorse back.

Cam Akers took a while to get going as he was a little raw as a prospect after playing for Florida State behind a dumpster fire of an offensive line. He only started five games in the regular season. Once he started to receive volume in week 12 he performed pretty well. In week 13 he posted 29 carries for 171 yards and two receptions for 23 yards.

Akers outperformed Darrell Henderson down the stretch and showed he is the better RB. He will get the nod as the starter this year and take the reigns for years to come. He put up 625 yards rushing and two TDs on 145 carries and snagged 11 receptions of 14 targets for 123 yards. He did this all while only receiving a 48.2% opportunity share ranking 32nd in the league.

Akers gets a huge upgrade at QB moving from Jared Goff to Matthew Stafford which should improve the offense and open up the run game. Akers faced an average of 7.3 defenders in the box ranking fifth in the league. He was eighth in the league in stacked front carry rate (35.9%). The Los Angeles Rams should have a great offense this year with plenty of scoring opportunities for Akers and he will be a great asset moving forward for dynasty fantasy football managers.

14| Stefon Diggs WR6 27yrs 2015 5th Round

Stefon Diggs proved himself to be worth all of the draft capital the Buffalo Bills used to trade for him before the 2020 season. Diggs lit the league up with Josh Allen and we now see why he got so frustrated with Kirk Cousins. Now that Diggs is in an offense that features him he should be a high-end WR1 for the foreseeable future. He helped Josh Allen elevate his level of play and reach a 69.2% completion percentage up from 58.8% the year prior.

Diggs is on contract with the Bills through the 2023 season and is tied to one of the best QBs in the league. This makes him a valuable fantasy football asset even though he is already 27yrs old. He also just completely dominated in 2020.

Diggs led the league with 166 targets. He turned them into 127 receptions (first in the NFL) for 1,535 yards (first in the NFL) and eight TDs. He also was third in target share 29.2%, sixth in yards per route run at 2.58, and fourth in air yards with 1,716. The Bills added Emmanuel Sanders but not much else in the form of target competition.

Stefon Diggs truly paid off big for fantasy football managers putting up 20.5 fantasy points per game and finished as the WR three in PPR scoring. He had no games with less than double-digit points and this kind of consistency is huge for a fantasy football roster because nothing is worse than getting a dud game from one of your stud players. He also can outright win you a week as he did for fantasy football managers in week 16 championship games putting up 41.5 PPR points against the New England Patriots!

Stefon Diggs is an elite player that should produce for years. If there is any possibility of stacking him with Josh Allen that would make rostering him even sweeter. I’m excited to watch this duo grow together.

15| J.K. Dobbins RB8 22yrs 2020 2nd round

J.K. Dobbins was a super-efficient runner last year in 2020 as a rookie, averaging six yards per carry. When he was drafted to the Baltimore Ravens they already had Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards. Since then Ingram has gone to the Houston Texans, but Edwards still remains in town. Edwards will get his share but Dobbins should lead this backfield this year and for years into the future as Edwards is only signed through 2021.

Many people are off of Dobbins due to the lack of passing work in the Ravens offense, and Lamar Jackson taking some of the carries. There are plenty to go around though as the Ravens rush the ball more than any other team in the league. They logged 555 attempts in 2020. He may not get a ton of passing work but as talented as he is he should finish as a high-end RB two or low-end RB one for years to come.

Dobbins rushed for 805 yards and nine TDs on just 134 carries. He also did contribute a bit in the passing game commanding 24 targets securing 18 of them for 120 yards. He is a viable pass-catcher but is yet to be seen if they will utilize him as so. He did all of this while only “starting” one game.

As a rookie, he was 16th in the league in rushing yards and total TDs. His breakaway run rate of 8.2% led the league as he broke off 11 breakaway runs (4th in the NFL) and he was very elusive with a 30.9% juke rate. He also was third in yards created per touch. He faced an average of 7.2 defenders in the box which ranked seventh in the league making his stats even more impressive. He finished as the RB 23 in PPR fantasy football leagues and did not fall below double digits in his final six games as he was taking over the backfield.

J.K. Dobbins is an elite talent and we always say to pay more attention to talent over the situation because the situation can change at any moment but talent remains. The funny thing is that many thought this was an amazing landing spot for Dobbins but now that he is the lead back people are criticizing the situation. Don’t overthink this one.

16| Antonio Gibson RB9 22yrs 2020 3rd Round

Antonio Gibson was drafted to the Washington Football Team when they still had a second-round pick in the shape of Derrius Guice. I was one of the people backing Guice for the season then things got dark and an opportunity arose for Antonio Gibson and he seized his moment. Gibson played like he had handled WAY more than the 33 carries he had in college at Memphis and he made me and many others look asinine for ever doubting him.

Gibson is a do-it-all type of back and should only grow as a running back as he is still learning the position which makes his season even more impressive. If he can get more involved in the passing game he could be even better for fantasy football purposes. He already averaged 14.4 PPR fantasy points per game and finished as the RB 13 overall as a rookie!

Gibson carried the ball 170 times for 795 yards and 11 TDs and contributed decently in the passing game with 36 receptions on 44 targets for 247 yards. He averaged two yards after contact per attempt and broke 20 tackles on the season. He was elusive with a 28.2% juke rate (8th in the NFL) as well. He had the 12th most breakaway runs with eight and has 4.39 speed giving him the ability to take it to the house at any moment.

If Gibson could get more passing game involvement it could help the offense as well as he ranked ninth with 1.52 yards per route run. He faced pretty light boxes at an average of 6.5 defenders ranking 58th in the league but I do not expect that to change with the additions the Washington Football Team made on offense. Adding Curtis Samuel, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Dyami Brown should provide more scoring opportunities as well for Gibson as he only had 31 red zone carries last season. With an expected increase in his snap share from the 45.4% last year, we should expect big things from the sophomore back!

17| CeeDee Lamb WR7 22yrs 2020 1st Round

CeeDee Lamb was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round despite them already having Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. Lamb ranked as the number one or two receiver in the class for nearly every fantasy football analyst. If it were not for Justin Jefferson going NUCLEAR his rookie season people would be even more in on Lamb than they already are at the moment. Who knows what he could have done with a full healthy year of Dak Prescott.

CeeDee Lamb commanded 111 targets hauling in 74 receptions for 935 yards and five TDs. Lamb put these numbers up while playing with two high-end WRs and catching balls from Ben DiNucci, Garrett Gilbert, and the Red Rifle himself, Andy Dalton. Lamb played a ton from the slot and I expect to see that again this season which bodes well for fantasy football purposes as he should see plenty of targets yet again.

I know doing a 16 game pace off of just four games isn’t an accurate way to project going forward but his pace was impressive nonetheless. In Dak’s four healthy games Lamb was on pace for 116 targets 84 receptions 1236 yards and eight TDs. Lamb should easily be the number two target for Dak and eventually push towards being the number one in this offense. All arrows are pointing up for him going into his second year and he will pay off huge for dynasty fantasy football managers!

18| Travis Kelce TE2 31yrs 2013 3rd Round

Travis Kelce has been the most dominant TE in the NFL especially for fantasy football purposes in recent years and has been a three-time All-Pro. He is one of the top TEs to ever play the game and he does not look to be slowing down. Kelce is tied to Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid with the Kansas City Chiefs through 2025! This is huge for dynasty fantasy football with the stability it gives him. As long as he is tied to Mahomes he will perform at a high level.

Kelce has averaged double-digit PPR fantasy points per game every year since 2014 with his highest average points per game coming last year in 2020 with 20.9. He gets plenty of work from the slot and last year ran the second-most routes for a TE in the NFL. He ranked in the top two in many relevant statistics.

• Receiving yards: 1416 (1st)
• Fantasy Points Per Game: 20.9 (1st)
• Total TD: 11 (1st)
• Fantasy Points Per Route Run: 0.58 (2nd)
• Routes Run: 540 (2nd)
• Targets: 145 (2nd)
• Target Share: 25% (2nd)
• Red Zone Targets: 22 (2nd)
• Receptions: 105 (2nd)
• Yards Per Route Run: 2.62 (2nd)

If we went to the top five at the position this list would be its own article! Anyone can easily tell just how dominant Kelce is in real-life football and fantasy football. Kelce has posted five seasons in a row with over 1,000 receiving yards and had six games last year over the century mark. Even with age, the positional advantage Kelce gives a fantasy football roster keeps him near the top of the dynasty rankings for me.

19| DeAndre Hopkins WR8 28yrs 2013 1st Round

DHop was a monster for the Houston Texans for years and then was traded for a half-eaten ham sandwich to the Arizona Cardinals. The great thing for him is that he went from Deshaun Watson to another high-end QB in Kyler Murray. The Cardinals offense is high powered and they just added Rondale Moore, which should take some attention off of DeAndre Hopkins.

Hopkins has been dominant in the NFL and should be for years to come. He has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in six of his eight NFL seasons. In his first year with Murray, he received 160 targets securing 115 of them for 1,407 yards and six TDs. His connection with Murray will grow and the quarterback will only improve as the years pass.

In 2020 he DHop finished with 18 PPR points per game (5th) and finished with over 20 PPR points in half of his games. He commanded a huge target share of 29.4% (2nd) and was second in yards after the catch with 547. I expect DHop to continue getting the lion’s share of targets for years and the defense to stay subpar with Kliff Kingsbury at the helm so they will need to put up prolific offensive numbers just to stay in games!

20| Ezekiel Elliott RB10 25yrs 2016 1st Round

Ezekiel Elliott has been one of the best RBs in the NFL from the moment he touched the field. His best season came in his rookie year but he has been close to, or surpassed, 1,000 rushing yards in every season of his career. The two years he missed the mark were only by 17 yards and 21 yards. Many are down on him after he underwhelmed in 2020, but I am not going to be that quick to hop off the train.

Zeke has been a top fantasy football running back for his entire tenure with the Dallas Cowboys. He averaged over 19 PPR fantasy points per game in every season until 2020 and even then averaged 14.9 fantasy points per game. He did not look like his same dominant self but that could be due to the team missing Dak Prescott to injury for the majority of the season.

Elliott still received the fifth most carries in the league with 244. He received the ninth highest red zone touches with 51 and he was 14th in the NFL with 14.8 fantasy points per game. He ran the second-most routes for RBs with 362 and I expect Prescott to give him more targets than the 71 he saw this year. He also saw 16 goal-line carries which was third in the league and that was on an offense that was far less lethal than it could have been with Prescott at the helm. I look for a bounce-back year next year for Zeke, so if he can be had at a discount in dynasty fantasy football I am buying.

This concludes part two 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 two 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.

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