Best pick in each round of fantasy football 2021

As a whole, fantasy football drafting has become quite efficient. Finding the diamonds in the rough is still possible, but it has become a harder game to play. Average draft position ends up paralleling your draft board, and value doesn’t slip through the cracks that much.

That’s why it’s more important than ever to pounce when there is value on the board.

This article will review the best picks in each round for your fantasy football draft strategy in 2021. Make sure these players are on your list on draft day.

(Take advantage of the FTNFantasy Platinum package for the 2021 season!)

Best pick in Round 1: Christian McCaffrey, RB

The 1.01 draft position is the best one to hold in 2021 fantasy drafts because you land Christian McCaffrey. He’s the clear-cut top overall player and will produce dominant fantasy results virtually ever week.

(See what Joe Metz had to say on how to handle the first overall pick in fantasy football drafts.)

Dating back to 2019, when healthy, McCaffrey has been a fantasy RB1 in 89% of his games. Only two other RBs top the 60% barrier.

Best pick in Round 2: Calvin Ridley, WR

Calvin Ridley has serious potential to break the fantasy landscape in 2021 with the Atlanta offense now fully to himself. Per the FTN NFL Splits Tool, in games with no Julio Jones last season, Ridley averaged 11.3 targets per game, over 7 receptions per game and 109 receiving yards per game.

Best pick in Round 3: George Kittle, TE

It’s a long way down after the elite tier of TEs, and with Travis Kelce going in the first round and Darren Waller going in the second, George Kittle in the third is the last stop before the drop.

Yet Kittle’s ceiling is just as high as both of those players despite costing significantly less. Don’t forget, Kittle had back-to-back seasons with over 85 receptions and 1,050 yards before 2020, and the 49ers offense as a whole is on the come-up, giving Kittle more scoring chances in 2021.

Best pick in Round 4: D.J. Moore, WR

FTN’s Eliot Crist summed up D.J. Moore’s ridiculous Round 4 cost best in his 10 players to draft in the first 5 rounds article:

“Last season, Moore was one of just three receivers to have 92 or more yards in eight games — the other two were Stefon Diggs and Calvin Ridley, who both finished as top-five receivers … Moore saw 37% of his team’s end-zone targets last season, the second-highest rate in football behind only Adam Thielen.”

The end-zone targets didn’t translate to TDs last season, but if they do in 2021, Moore may go down as the best pick in the entire draft.

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Best pick in Round 5: Josh Jacobs, RB

Josh Jacobs has become one of the most popular players to hate this offseason, and while the arrival of Kenyan Drake is certainly not ideal, it shouldn’t be enough to drop Jacobs to Round 5. Jacobs is ranked No. 45 overall in the consensus FTN 2021 fantasy football rankings, making him a solid Round 4 pick and a value in Round 5.

Jacobs will lose some work to Drake, but he also ranked third in rushing attempts last season (273), eighth in yards (1,065), and third in rushing TDs (12), so he has room to give to still be a value at an RB22 draft cost.

Best pick in Round 6: Dak Prescott, QB

Round 6 seems to be where hypothetical scenarios start to come into play in 2021 fantasy drafts. The round features the comeback players (Dak Prescott, Deebo Samuel, Courtland Sutton), the rookie RBs (Javonte Williams, Trey Sermon), the old-faces in new-places (Kenny Golladay, Mike Davis), and the like.

Of this group, Prescott is in the best position to beat his ADP. The Dallas offense is loaded with talent and Prescott was a fantasy firestorm before being injured last season. Over the first four weeks, he had 422 passing yards per game and 12 total TDs. He’s the last of the Tier 1 QBs coming off draft boards, and his counterparts (Josh Allen, Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson) are all going a full round earlier.

Best pick in Round 7: Chase Edmonds, RB

I appear to be alone in this analysis, but I’m standing my ground: Edmonds is a great pick in Round 7 as the RB28. In games in which Edmonds has had at least eight rushing attempts, he has averaged 19 fantasy points per game.

Edmonds was the overall RB26 last season despite being firmly behind Kenyan Drake (97 rushing attempts versus 239). So even if new arrival James Conner stays healthy all year and has the same role Drake did in 2020, Edmonds would still return value. But Conner is unlikely to have the same role as Drake (Edmonds is currently at the top of the depth chart), and Conner has also missed 12 games over the last three seasons struggling with numerous ailments.

Long story short: Edmonds is being drafted at his floor, and he has a very real path to producing 18-plus fantasy points for your squad every week.

Best pick in Round 8: Michael Carter, RB

Michael Carter is already the best RB on the Jets roster, which features Tevin Coleman, Ty Johnson and La’Mical Perine. Carter is unlikely to start the season as a workhorse, but the path to 15 touches a game is not hard to see, especially with camp reports indicating that Carter is entrenched with the first team and well ahead of his RB peers. RB1 upside is unlikely unless the Jets make huge, unforeseen strides offensively, but leaping into the RB2 group is absolutely within Carter’s range of outcomes.

Best pick in Round 9: Logan Thomas, TE

If you wait to draft a TE, somewhere near Rounds 9 or 10 are where you’re most likely to strike. This range features Logan Thomas, Noah Fant, Robert Tonyan, Dallas Goedert and Tyler Higbee.

Of this bunch, I like Thomas the most. Last year’s overall TE4, Thomas now gets a bump at the QB position and a bump to Washington’s offense as a whole, increasing scoring chances. That’s potentially big news for Thomas, who already led the team with eight end zone targets last season.

Player	Team	Pos	End Zone Targets
Logan Thomas	WAS	TE	8
Terry McLaurin	WAS	WR	6
Cam Sims	WAS	WR	2
Steven Sims	WAS	WR	2
J.D. McKissic	WAS	RB	1
Isaiah Wright	WAS	WR	1
Antonio Gandy-Golden	WAS	WR	1

Best pick in Round 10: Marvin Jones, WR

Always underrated, Marvin Jones is a bargain once again as the WR55 off draft boards with plenty of opportunity up for grabs in Jacksonville. Eliot Crist explained it best in his 5 WRs to Draft piece:

“He has not finished outside of the top 30 among receivers since 2016 and has nine touchdowns in three of the last four years. He is a big-play and red-zone threat who is going underdrafted this season — he has massive upside and could potentially lead the team in targets.”

Best pick in Round 11: Leonard Fournette, RB

Leonard Fournette got the starts and brunt of the work in the playoffs last season, he got the start in the team’s first preseason game in 2021, and he’s well ahead of Ronald Jones in terms of receiving work. The addition of Giovani Bernard added an additional question mark, but in Round 11, you won’t find any clean-cut RB situations. Fournette, the RB39 off draft boards, is a lock to beat ADP as the lead back in Tampa’s high-scoring offense.

Best pick in Round 12: Tre’Quan Smith, WR

Tre’Quan Smith is the leading WR on the New Orleans Saints for at least the first month of the season, and perhaps the first two or three months, depending on Michael Thomas’ rehab timeline. With no Thomas, Smith sees double the targets, receptions, and yardage. Smith has never been more than a role player, but he has a high career TD rate (14 scores on 80 receptions), and he’s only 25 entering his fourth year in the league. A breakout is possible, and there are no other team WR1s going in this range of the draft.