2021 NFL Dynasty Rookie Draft Strategy

It’s dynasty fantasy football rookie draft season, so let’s break down my draft board and optimal draft strategy for this year’s rookie drafts.

Fail to prepare and you’re preparing to fail. This statement is true for all fantasy football drafts regardless of the format. Whether you’re talking about a 16-round standard draft, a 53-round deep dynasty draft, or a three-round rookie draft. If you don’t do the prep work, you’re shooting yourself in the foot right from the start.

It’s a good idea to prepare a draft board for every one of your drafts. Below, you’ll find my board for 2021 dynasty fantasy football rookie drafts along with some strategy ideas on how to attack each position.

Round QB RB WR TE 1 N. Harris J. Chase K. Pitts T. Etienne D. Smith J. Williams J. Waddle E. Moore T. Lawrence T. Sermon T. Lance R. Bateman 2 T. Marshall Jr. M. Carter R. Moore K. Toney A. St. Brown J. Fields K. Gainwell A. Rodgers J. Palmer C. Hubbard N. Collins Z. Wilson 3 D. Brown R. Stevenson K. Herbert E. Mitchell D. Eskridge T. Wallace A. Schwartz P. Freiermuth T. Atwell J. Jefferson M. Jones J. Harris 4 B. Jordan K. Hill J. Hawkins S. Williams D. Fitzpatrick H. Long J. Darden D. Felton K. Nwangwu K. Mond L. Rountree III F. Darby 5 S. Fehoko C. Evans N. Gray I. Smith-Marsette J. Camp D. Newsome C. Powell M. Stevenson J. Funk J. Patterson S. Smith T. Nixon 6 K. Trask D. Mills R. McMath P. Williams Jr. D. Milne B. Skowronek M. Strachan I. Book K. Baker J. Newman S. Scott III R. Boyd Monitor S. Ehlinger D. Jackson S. Surratt Z. Davidson F. Franks T. Ragas T. Terry T. McKitty S. Buechele C. Huntley M. Williams T. Tremble G. Brightwell J. Ausbon J. Bates G. Doaks T. Grimes K. Granson C. Marable J. Adams Jr. S. Brown C. Johnson W. Philyor A. Watkins T. Vaughns Before we dive into the positional analysis, just a few words about overall strategy in dynasty rookie drafts. The goal for any successful dynasty roster is balancing the present with the future. You want to keep your roster young, but not too young. The best way to accomplish this goal is to trade off older viable fantasy options and churn the young talent on your bench.

There’s a general reluctance to trade solid fantasy options among dynasty players, and it makes sense. If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it. While that mentality works well in re-draft leagues, it can leave many a dynasty player holding the bag.

Decline happens quickly in the NFL. One year, you’re an elite fantasy option and the next you’re on your way out of the league. Don’t think that can happen? Look at Jordy Nelson ’s 2016 stats, and then take a peek at 2017. Nelson was already getting long in the tooth in 2016, so the decline was inevitable. But those who held him in dynasty waited too long and likely never got anything in return. The moral here: Don’t be afraid to trade aging studs. That means the likes of Keenan Allen and DeAndre Hopkins prime trade candidates at wideout. At running back, it may be time to unload Alvin Kamara and Ezekiel Elliott .

It may seem blasphemous to suggest trading these assets, but our goal is to maximize value in terms of what we can get in return. Wait too long, and you’ll find it very difficult to unload a veteran player regardless of what he’s accomplished in his career. Wait a little longer, and you’ll likely have to end up cutting said veteran from your roster. In nearly every instance where you cut a veteran, you’re going to find it next to impossible to pick up a player on waivers who can contribute to your team. The best way to do so is to trade your assets for younger assets or rookie picks before they get too old. You’re never going to time things perfectly here, but it’s always best to be a year early instead of a year late.

From there, you want to build your roster annually by loading up in your rookie drafts. With waiver wires often picked clean in deep dynasty leagues, we need to attack the draft every year. And perhaps more importantly, don’t draft for need. You can address needs through trades. In your rookie drafts, go after the best players, which often means wideouts and running backs. Invariably, your opponents will allow value to slip down the board. Make them pay for it.

2021 Dynasty Rookie Rankings A quick look at each position for our dynasty rookie rankings.

Quarterback This year’s class is a fascinating one for dynasty purposes. We have a potential generational option in Trevor Lawrence and another option with an enormous ceiling in a QB-friendly offense in Trey Lance . Both are worthy of first-round consideration in one-QB leagues and should be your first two picks in a superflex. Justin Fields is your likely third overall selection in a superflex, and is in the mix as a second-round option in one-QB leagues. He’ll likely be given the opportunity to start relatively early in 2021. Zach Wilson should start right out of the gate, but he doesn’t have the weapons or upside of the top-three options. The fifth, and final, priority option among this year’s signal callers is Mac Jones . He offers a Kirk Cousins -plus skillset and will likely get a crack at the starting job at some point in 2021.

Beyond the top three, there isn’t a signal caller in the class worth more than fourth-round consideration. Kellen Mond is positioned as the backup to start his career in Minnesota. He’s a dark horse candidate to surface on the fantasy radar and is worth a roster stash. Kyle Trask and Davis Mills are longer shots for fantasy relevance. If you’re going to roster either player, just be prepared for a potentially long wait.

Running back The fantasy football community collectively got what we wanted with Najee Harris landing with the Steelers. He set up for immediate success and is the top overall option on my 1QB board. Travis Etienne and Javonte Williams landed in committee situations, but both are still appealing. Etienne will likely split the load with James Robinson , though his explosive playmaking ability is set up for fantasy success. Williams will slide in along with Melvin Gordon in the Denver backfield. While he’ll split the load early, Williams figures to be the eventual feature back. That could happen as early as the second half of this season.

Outside of the top three options, Trey Sermon is positioned the best for fantasy success. Sure, he landed in a somewhat crowded San Francisco backfield, but neither Raheem Mostert nor Jeffery Wilson has proven to be the most durable option. Sermon’s also perfectly suited to Kyle Shanahan’s offense. Michael Carter doesn’t necessarily profile as a three-down option, but he’s set up for a reasonably big workload from the gate in the uber-thin Jets backfield. Kenneth Gainwell could also get on the field immediately as the passing-down option in Philly.

Chuba Hubbard doesn’t figure to be in the mix for lead back duties, but he should be the immediate handcuff to Christian McCaffrey in Carolina. Mike Davis showed us last year how valuable that role can be for fantasy purposes. Likewise, Rhamondre Stevenson , Khalil Herbert , Elijah Mitchell and Jermar Jefferson are priority backup options. While the Falcons didn’t draft a running back, don’t assume UDFA Javian Hawkins is this year’s James Robinson . Hawkins is very fun to watch, but he’s extremely undersized and doesn’t figure to be in the mix for early-down duties at the pro level.

From there, it’s worth throwing a dart at some upside options. Kene Nwangwu is essentially Mike Boone 2.0 for the Vikings. Chris Evans has a chance to slide into the No. 2 job in Cincinnati. Like Nwangwu, Jake Funk is off-the-charts athletic and lands in an interesting spot with the Rams. While Patterson went undrafted, it’s tough to ignore his playing style and production at the college level.

Wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase ended up getting reunited with Joe Burrow in Cincinnati and figures to hit the ground running right out of the gate. He’s this year’s clear top wide receiver option. While Jaylen Waddle was selected before his college teammate DeVonta Smith , it’s actually Smith who is more appealing for fantasy purposes. He could be the immediate No. 1 in Philly, unlike Waddle who figures to be behind DeVante Parker and Will Fuller in Miami. Still, both Alabama products are solid first-round dynasty rookie selections.

Rashod Bateman ’s stock took a hit due to his landing with the Ravens. Their run-heavy approach puts a major cap on his value. So now Elijah Moore is now clearly ahead of Bateman. He’ll be teamed up with Zach Wilson in New York and could work his way into plenty of targets right away. Rondale Moore and Kadarius Toney will be slightly down the pecking order on their respective teams, but both offer more than enough upside to be second rounders in rookie drafts. While Amon-Ra St. Brown doesn’t have that same upside, he has a great opportunity for an immediate big role on a Lions team that is among the league’s thinnest at wideout.

Amari Rodgers may not have been the optimal receiver for the Packers, but his versatility and playmaking ability bode well for success in the NFL. However, his value could take a hit if Aaron Rodgers doesn’t remain with the Packers. Justin Herbert isn’t going anywhere for the Chargers, and now has a new deep threat in Josh Palmer . Nico Collins lands on a thin Houston depth chart where he could contribute in Year 1. Of course, the Texans have their own questions at quarterback.

From there, we still have plenty of wideouts to target. Dyami Brown and D'Wayne Eskridge offer big-play ability. Tylan Wallace has some juice as well, but like Bateman, his value is capped in Baltimore. Anthony Schwartz will be an interesting case study in the NFL. He’s the fastest player in this year’s class but is very raw as a receiver. In a lot of ways, he’s this year’s Mecole Hardman .

We also have speed in the Rams’ two wideouts: Tutu Atwell and Jacob Harris . Atwell was the higher NFL draft pick, but it’s close in terms of the preferred fantasy option. The two couldn’t be more different from a physical standpoint. Atwell is small and slight, and Harris is big and imposing. Atwell is also the more polished product, but if Harris hits, he could be this year’s Chase Claypool .

With running back being so top-heavy this year, you’ll likely still find values at wideout as we get into the fourth round of rookie drafts. Seth Williams and Jaelon Darden are interesting players, but both start their careers out somewhat buried on the Denver and Tampa depth charts. Simi Fehoko has a Jeff Janis -esque profile that could certainly attract attention later in rookie drafts. Likewise, players like Frank Darby and Dazz Newsome are worth a flier.

Tight end Unlike last year’s ugly tight end class, we do have at least one standout option in 2021. Kyle Pitts is an absolute stud and is a good bet to be a rare rookie tight end who is capable of consistent fantasy relevance. It’s hard to ignore the massive value he represents for dynasty purposes. He could be considered as high as first overall in 1QB rookie drafts, but I would prefer to take him either second or third overall.

From there, we really don’t have any tight ends worth prioritizing early. In deep dynasty leagues, it’s wise to always churn the bottom of your bench. The idea here is that you won’t need these players to start for you, and you never know which one of them will hit. So if you already roster two or three tight ends, it isn’t the worst idea to grab someone like Pat Freiermuth , Brevin Jordan , Hunter Long or Noah Gray if you can get them at a value. Stashing one of these guys could pay dividends if you can wait a few seasons.

2021 NFL Dynasty Rookie Draft Strategy

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