Fantasy Football 2021: Mid-Season Review

As weird as it sounds, we are officially halfway through the 2021 fantasy football regular season. Seven games down, seven games until playoffs (for most leagues). It’s time for those 5-2 squads to start consolidating and those 2-5 squads to start panicking.

So how have the big names done so far? More importantly, who should you be targeting for the rest of the year? Now that we have a significant sample size, we can throw the best this season has had to offer into some top-10 lists and see how everyone stacks up.

These lists will include the top players at each position, as well as a few that didn’t quite make the cut. Rankings will be done by fantasy points per game (Half-PPR) instead of total points scored since we’ve already had a few important byes. Let’s take a look at the current leaders and see if they’ll still be here after another seven weeks.

Quarterbacks

1. Josh Allen – 26.1 fpts/g
2. Tom Brady – 25.2 fpts/g
3. Jalen Hurts – 24.4 fpts/g
4. Kyler Murray – 24.1 fpts/g
5. Lamar Jackson – 23.7 fpts/g
6. Patrick Mahomes – 23.1 fpts/g
7. Matthew Stafford – 22.8 fpts/g
8. Justin Herbert – 22.3 fpts/g
9. Dak Prescott – 21.6 fpts/g
10. Kirk Cousins – 20.7 fpts/g

Honorable mentions: Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow, Derek Carr

Notable exclusions: Sam Darnold, Ryan Tannehill, Tua Tagovailoa

Most of the QBs on this list were drafted to be great, but it’s worth noting that anyone who doubted Brady has handily been proven wrong. Hurts and Cousins are the biggest surprises here, and both are tricky to predict moving forward. I would bet that the latter doesn’t end 2021 as a top-10 option and the former only stays on the list if he remains the Eagles’ starter.

There are a few guys waiting in the wings to take their own spot in the top-10. Rodgers and Burrow are both shoe-ins for success, and Carr has been a very pleasant surprise to anyone who took a shot on him. I don’t personally believe Carr will end up on the final list, but he’s absolutely a dark horse candidate.

When it comes to the disappointments, Tagovailoa is the only one I think will improve in the second half of the season. He probably won’t crack the top-10, but he’s looked fantastic since he got back from injury and should continue to be a solid streamer. Darnold and Tannehill, on the other hand, have proven to be boom/bust options even when their offenses are clicking.

Running Backs

1. Derrick Henry – 25.4 fpts/g
2. Austin Ekeler – 19.2 fpts/g
3. Alvin Kamara – 18.1 fpts/g
4. Ezekiel Elliott – 17.8 fpts/g
5. Jonathan Taylor – 17.5 fpts/g
6. Najee Harris – 17.4 fpts/g
7. Cordarrelle Patterson – 17.1 fpts/g
8. Christian McCaffrey – 16.8 fpts/g
9. D’Andre Swift – 16.6 fpts/g
10. Nick Chubb – 16.1 fpts/g

Honorable mentions: James Robinson, Kareem Hunt, Darrell Henderson

Notable exclusions: Antonio Gibson, Damien Harris, Myles Gaskin

While our QBs were mostly predictable, the top-10 RBs are all over the place. Henry is clearly in a league of his own and should continue to be dominant. Taylor and Harris have also seriously surpassed my expectations. If I had to pick one RB to fall in the second half it would probably be Patterson, but if his current usage continues he’ll end up as the waiver claim of the year.

As for our runners-up, Robinson and Henderson are both consistent RB1s with a serious shot to bump someone else off the list if they stay healthy. Hunt, on the other hand, has been impressive but probably won’t continue this production when he comes back from injury. 

Gibson has to be one of the biggest fantasy football disappointments of 2021. He’s really declined after a good couple games due to an injury and poor team defense, and recently got out-snapped by J.D. McKissic. Harris and Gaskin have also let down their fantasy football managers with serious boom/bust tendencies. I’d expect Harris to find more stability than Gaskin moving forward.

Wide Receivers

1. Cooper Kupp – 23.2 fpts/g
2. Deebo Samuel – 18.7 fpts/g
3. Ja’Marr Chase – 18.4 fpts/g
4. Tyreek Hill – 17.8 fpts/g
5. Mike Williams – 17.4 fpts/g
6. Davante Adams – 16.9 fpts/g
7. Antonio Brown – 16.2 fpts/g
8. Marquise Brown – 15.9 fpts/g
9. Mike Evans – 15.7 fpts/g
10. CeeDee Lamb – 15.3 fpts/g

Honorable mentions: Justin Jefferson, Diontae Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins

Notable exclusions: Stefon Diggs, Amari Cooper, Robert Woods

It shakes me to my core to imagine the teams who drafted both Derrick Henry and Kupp. There are a couple WRs on this list I don’t expect to remain, namely Samuel and Marquise Brown. Samuel should eventually drop in the rankings, especially if/when the 49ers make the switch to Trey Lance. Brown has some sharing concerns now that Rashod Bateman has burst onto the scene.

Of our honorable mentions, Jefferson is the one I could see ending up on this list. Johnson is a bit riskier, as he should have plenty of opportunities, but I have little faith in Ben Roethlisberger. Hopkins is the most enticing sell-high here and will probably miss a top-10 finish thanks to the Cardinals’ plethora of receiving options.

As a Diggs owner, it pains me to say he’ll probably stay outside the top-10 along with Cooper and Woods. All three have disappointed for different reasons, mostly because they’re not getting the opportunities that high-end fantasy football WR1s require. They’re all talented and could be considered buy-lows if you have confidence that they’ll return to form.

Tight Ends

1. Rob Gronkowski – 16.8 fpts/g
2. Travis Kelce – 14.3 fpts/g
3. Mark Andrews – 13.2 fpts/g
4. Dawson Knox – 11.8 fpts/g
5. Dalton Schultz – 11.6 fpts/g
6. Kyle Pitts – 11.4 fpts/g
7. Darren Waller – 11 fpts/g
8. Mike Gesicki – 10.5 fpts/g
9. T.J. Hockenson – 9.8 fpts/g
10. Noah Fant – 9.5 fpts/g

Honorable mentions: C.J. Uzomah, Hunter Henry, Dallas Goedert

Notable exclusions: George Kittle, Logan Thomas, Robert Tonyan

If you didn’t think TEs were unpredictable before, I hope you do now. Knox, Schultz, and Gesicki are the obvious surprises on this list, but based on their current usage Schultz is the only one I could see leaving the top-10. Gronkowski is also most likely going to drop after another seven weeks but should remain on the list. Fant is a bit of a wildcard and could go either way for me.

As far as those who didn’t crack the top-10, Goedert is the main candidate for increased production now that he’s not competing with Zach Ertz. Henry’s a bit of a dart throw thanks to a rookie QB and a multitude of other receiving options. Uzomah’s success has mostly come from TDs and is probably not a reliable option moving forward.

Two of the three exclusion TEs are currently injured, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be fantasy relevant for the second half of the season. Once Kittle and Thomas are healthy I expect them to return to form and have a solid chance to break into the top-10. Tonyan, on the other hand, likely won’t repeat his TD-filled 2020 season and should be considered a risky TE2 in fantasy football the rest of the way.

Nick Pellegrini