Post-Free Agency 2021 Fantasy Football Rankings

Welcome to my Post-Free Agency 2021 Fantasy Football Rankings.

The NFL offseason is in full swing. Free Agency started and most of the players have signed.

We also have the NFL draft coming up soon. Teams are out scouting players at their pro days and making trades already to move up or down the draft to get their guy.

Before we know it the NFL season will be here so why not have some fun and look at some early rankings for the Fantasy Football season.

2021 Rookies

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My rankings currently do not include Rookies (exception Trevor Lawrence who I fully expect to be a Jaguar next season). Rookies will be added after landing spots have been decided. However, my top-5 rookies before the NFL draft for fantasy are…

1. Najee Harris
2. Travis Etienne
3. Ja’Marr Chase
4. DeVonta Smith
5. Jaylen Waddle

I want to add that if this was a dynasty league and I was QB needy team, I would seriously consider taking Trevor Lawrence early. I think he will be a difference-maker for a long time.

You can follow our 2021 NFL Draft coverage from Bob Van the IDP Man @Bbab_FFB, Jon Witt @JPW2542, Kyle Williams @beonthegame and Selyan Lonqueux @selyan_fb. There you will get all the info you need about the incoming rookies.

Free Agents

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We didn’t see quite the flurry of players moving via free agency as expected. This is especially true for some of the Wide Receivers. I personally think it has a lot to do with the salary cap dropping this season, so we saw players return to their teams on one-year deals.

The player I was most surprised returned was Aaron Jones. I was convinced the Packers were ready to let him walk and usher in the era of A.J. Dillon. Instead, they let Jamaal Williams walk, who signed with the Lions.

We did see some big names move. Most notably is Kenny Golladay who landed with the Giants. I’m not sure this really helps his value, at least compared to when he has Matthew Stafford throwing him the ball.

Probably the most interesting set of acquisitions this offseason is the Patriots signing the TE duo of Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith. This immediately reminds us of the days when the Pats had both Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. However, you have to remember they won’t have Tom Brady throwing them the ball it will be Cam Newton instead so temper those expectations a bit.

Trades

The rumors of a Russell Wilson trade have died down as of late, so my guess that he would stay put seems to be coming true.

The Deshaun Watson trade took a strange turn of events. The news of now 21 women filling lawsuits against him is not looking good for him to be traded. There is a real possibility now the NFL places him on the exemption list.

There have been a few trades involving draft picks, most notably the 49ers moving up to No. 3. This tells me they are targeting a quarterback, despite a 49ers Source telling Adam Schefter that “Jimmy is here to stay. He’s our guy this year.” Maybe that is true for this season and they see whoever they draft at No. 3 as the quarterback of the future, but you don’t see a lot of top-3 drafted quarterbacks sit for an entire season.

2021 Fantasy Football Rankings

Don’t miss out on our NFL Draft Coverage, starting with our Mock Draft.