Updated 2021 Fantasy Football Rankings: Top 200 Cheat Sheet | Sporting News (2024)

Fantasy football owners love to look at rankings. They never agree with them, but they love to look at them. With that in mind, we're pleased to present our 2021 standard-league Top 200 rankings. Whether you're just looking for some clarity on the best players at the top, the sleepers in the middle, or the fliers at the end, our rankings can help you put together a winning draft strategy.

It's always important to remember that Top 200 rankings aren't a glorified mock draft. Your draft will not play out like our rankings below. In fact, it won't even be close. All it takes to wildly change the course of the entire draft isone or two wild-card owners who thinkquarterback is the most important position or that Zack Moss is going to break out in a big way. Once the picks start flying, anything can happen, and positional needs eventually matter more than best player available.

2021 PPR FANTASY RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker | Top 200

To that point, you'll often see "position runs" at various points in your draft. The first three or four rounds could go to script, but once a few QBs or TEs get selected, other owners might get nervous and reach for mid-tier guys at those positions. That's usually a mistake, but even if you don't get caught up in the runs, theycan still affect your team.

2021 STANDARD FANTASY RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

That's why it's good to take in different sets of rankings and have a plan. These give you an approximation of where many players will go in your draft -- if not the specific player, then thetypeof player. We can't nail down all the handcuffs who will go in the last couple rounds, nor can we predict how many owners will draft multiple QBs, TEs, and D/STs. COVID-relatedissues could cause surprise late-week inactives again, so it's likely more backups at every position will be drafted. That's why we've included our top-12 kickers as a separate listand added 12 more position players.

2021 FANTASY AUCTION VALUES (Standard & PPR):
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker | Overall

Your issues with our rankings might start right away at the top. Many will opt for Christian McCaffrey over Derrick Henry (we agree in PPR), but we see those two as roughly equal in standard leagues and give the slight nod to the reigning two-time rushing champ. The disagreements will only get more intensefrom there. That's fine, but keep in mind that someone in your league might largelyagree with our rankings, which is why they're worth studying.

2021 FANTASY SLEEPERS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Each team

We'll continue to adjust these Top 200 rankings and provide further analysis until Week 1, so check back for updates!

DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: Ultimate 2021 Cheat Sheet

2021 Fantasy Rankings: Top 200 Cheat Sheet

Rankings based on standard, four-point passing TD,non-PPR scoring

2021 Fantasy Kicker Rankings