I’m testing out a new draft strategy this year: Zero RBWR. Intrigued? You only draft quarterbacks and tight ends for the first ten rounds, then key in on all the value running backs and wide receivers from there. I’m thinking my opponents will never expect it, and by the time they realize what’s happening it’ll be too late. Game over. Donkey wins. Alright, I’ll quit Donking around. Let me say that I oppose entering any drafting with a rigid strategy such as Zero RB, Zero WR or Zero DongB. Take what your draft gives you. I’ve found this year’s drafts often give opportunity for intriguing wide receiver picks through the middle rounds where running back options become squanchy. Again, don’t box yourself into taking RBs early but give it strong consideration when you’re on the clock with those first couple fateful picks. Anyway, here’s my top 40 wide receivers for 2021 fantasy football:Â Â
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*Note: These rankings are geared toward half PPR scoring. Projections provided in this season’s rankings are NOT my own, they come from Rudy Gamble’s World-Renowned 2021 Fantasy Football Projections. These preseason projections are available free of charge, while Rudy’s in-season weekly projection subscription is currently available until August 31st at an early bird discounted price of only $17.99 for the entire season! These are the same weekly projections that won Rudy Gamble the FantasyPros designation of “Best Bold Ranker” for the years 2017-2019 (and likely 2020!).Â
Tier 5 (cont’d)
26. Jerry Jeudy – Quarterback concerns be damned, Jeudy is still one of the most polished receiving prospects in recent memory. We’ve been so spoiled by rookie receiver eruptions over the past couple of seasons (Metcalf, Brown, Jefferson, etc.) that it’s easy to forget receivers typically take a year to acclimate to the NFL. The return of Courtland Sutton on the outside should also help to draw defensive attention away from Jerry J. If Denver QB’s aren’t baked out of their minds, we could be looking at a surprise fantasy WR1 here. Oh, and Fantasy Pros Ranking Champion Pat Fitzmaurice love’s Jeudy as well:
Rudy’s 2021 Projection: 72 Receptions, 1,014 Receiving Yards, 4 Total Touchdowns
27. Tee Higgins – Some people will say I’m underselling Higgins like the Bitcoin I sold for $200. And I might be. He was great last year, showing immediate chemistry with Burrow. My concern with the Cincy receivers this year is consistency; there are three really good ones for Burrow to get it to, so how will the targets shake out? Plus Ja’Marr Chase has the built-in connection with the QB from their time together at LSU. But listen, I still have Higgins ranked in the tier of backend WR2s so I’m not saying he’s a monkey’s scrotum.Â
Rudy’s 2021 Projection: 78 Receptions, 1,108 Receiving Yards, 4 Total Touchdowns
28. Courtland Sutton – The hype for Sutton was real last summer after showing quick chemistry with Lock. Unfortunately, the party was busted before we even had a chance to break out the penis-shaped balloons, as Sutton tore his ACL in week one. It sounds like the big man is close to 100% this preseason so we might be getting great value on him in the 7th or 8th round. And again, he’s already showed he can succeed with Lock behind center.Â
Rudy’s 2021 Projection: 65 Receptions, 920 Receiving Yards, 5 Total Touchdowns
Tier 6
29. Brandon Aiyuk – Aiyuk? More like Aiypuke! I’ll see myself out. So it was hard not to like what we saw for Aiyuk last year and I know he has a herd of fantasy supporters this preseason. My issue is that, while he’s versatile and explosive and could be a gamechanger, he’s currently being valued as if he’ll see the same volume he did while Kittle and Deebo were injured. Maybe he returns that kind of fantasy value, the talent is there, but other receivers are going later whose volume I’m a little more comfortable with.
Rudy’s 2021 Projection: 73 Receptions, 946 Receiving Yards, 6 Total Touchdowns
30. Robby Anderson – Mr. Anderson looked a lot like Neo in 2020. I guess that’s what happens when you escape the New York Jets. He’s lost his (very mediocre) QB, Teddy Bridgewater, but inherited Darnold with whom he’s already shown some level of chemistry during their time in the Big Apple. The range of outcomes is wide with Anderson, but based on last year we already know he has the upside of a high-end WR2.
Rudy’s 2021 Projection: 77 Receptions, 989 Receiving Yards, 5 Total Touchdowns
31. Antonio Brown – I’ve heard people say that AB is the third-best receiver on his team, so they aren’t interested. Regardless of whether this statement is true, the talent gap between Godwin, Evans and Brown is smaller than the balance of my bank account. Does anyone know what it means when the numbers are in parenthesis on the bank statement? My point as it relates to AB is that if someone came from the future to me Brown finishes the 2021 season with more points than Mike Evans and Chris Godwin I wouldn’t be shocked. I also wouldn’t be shocked if this hypothetical futurist told me Antonio is kicked off the team in week two for punting his illegal helmet into Tom Brady’s nuts. Risk/reward!
Rudy’s 2021 Projection: 69 Receptions, 904 Receiving Yards, 6 Total Touchdowns
32. D.J. Chark – The Charknado really fizzled out in 2020 with minimal destruction of opposing fantasy teams. I blame Uncle Rico’s injury, he was no longer able to throw the football over the mountain. There’s a decent chance for a big bounceback this year with already-anointed-future-hall-of-famer Trevor Lawrence at the helm. But also a chance Lawrence develops more of a taste for Shenault and Marvin Martian. Either way, we should know pretty quickly whether 2019 Chark was just a one-hit-wonder, and there’s some value in that.
Rudy’s 2021 Projection: 73 Receptions, 1,017 Receiving Yards, 5 Total Touchdowns
33. Deebo Samuel – As mention 4-6 inches above depending on your computer or phone’s magnification settings, there’s some uncertainty regarding the 49ers offense and how the targets will ultimately shake out. It’s possible there could be enough fantasy goodness for all three of Kittle, Aiyuk and Deebo if Trey Lance is the QB—and he should be sooner rather than later. The thing is since we don’t know who’s actually the Alpha and who’s the Beta, if I’m drafting one then I’d rather take a shot on the guy that’s cheaper: Deebo. Is Beta receiver a thing? It is now!
Rudy’s 2021 Projection: 72 Receptions, 888 Receiving Yards, 5 Total Touchdowns
34. Mike Williams – Does anyone recall how Big Mike caught 10 touchdowns for a shot-putting Philip Rivers in his second season? Or that he went for over 1,000 receiving yards in his third season with a shot-putting Philip Rivers? Or that he hurt his shoulder in the preseason in his fourth season (last year), was expected to miss a big chunk of the season, and still posted 750 yards and 5 touchdowns? What’s he capable of doing at full health with a real pimple-faced man like Justin Herbert behind center for an entire season? Should I be ranking Williams even higher? How many questions can I pose in one blurb?
Rudy’s 2021 Projection: 52 Receptions, 800 Receiving Yards, 5 Total Touchdowns
35. Tyler Boyd – Would I be a hypocrite for using the whole Antonio Brown third-best receiver argument against Boyd? I think the difference between this situation and AB’s situation is that Burrow didn’t show a consistent connection with Boyd before the injury last year. Higgins seemed to be his man, and we already know Burrow works well with Chase. Plus, talent-wise, Chase might be in a whole other league from both Boyd and Higgins. I just don’t see the same upside potential from Boyd that I believe is still possible, while unlikely, from AB.Â
Rudy’s 2021 Projection: 81 Receptions, 1,018 Receiving Yards, 5 Total Touchdowns
Tier 7
36. Henry Ruggs – Who’s ready to swing for the fences on another second-year breakout! Gruden spent the #12 draft pick on the Bama speedster last year so you know he isn’t giving up on him just yet. I failed to mention it in the Jeudy blurb above, but last year had to be the toughest year in history for NFL rookies. I mean other than 1971, the year of the rookie wedgie. But think about it, in 2020 we saw a highly regulated training camp with no preseason and discouraged human contact. For a young trying to learn and find their way, that couldn’t have been easy. Plus all of Gruden’s spider banana hammock packages don’t seem like the simplest thing for an incoming rookie to pick up in the first place.
Rudy’s 2021 Projection: 34 Receptions, 517 Receiving Yards, 3 Total Touchdowns
37. Jaylen Waddle – It’s been noted in my top 30 quarterbacks for 2021 fantasy football that I’m expecting a big leap forward for Tua this season. It’s also been noted above that we’ve been spoiled by recent rookie receivers such as Justin Jefferson, A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf. Odds are we see another rookie receiver or two pop off this season, and I think Waddle has as good of a chance as anyone not named Ja’Marr. Some have even called him the Tyreek Hill of this draft class. That sounds fun!Â
Rudy’s 2021 Projection: 56 Receptions, 709 Receiving Yards, 4 Total Touchdowns
38. T.Y. Hilton – This one’s simple, I don’t think T.Y. has been healthy since back when Obama was pimpin’ in the White House. I’ll admit, I was a little more excited before the Wentz injury but for all we know Eason or Ehlinger could be equally capable of getting Hilton the rock. The WR1 days are behind the soon-to-be 32-year-old, but I don’t think a WR2 season is out of the question if Hilton can manage a full healthy season with decent QB play.
Rudy’s 2021 Projection: 58 Receptions, 780 Receiving Yards, 4 Total Touchdowns
Tier 8
39. Juju Smith-Schuster – I was torn a second butt portal by the Reddit crowd last offseason when I suggested JuJu was overrated in my JuJu Smith-Schuster Dynasty Outlook. Here’s what I said in my 2020 wide receiver recap, “the year-end numbers for JuJu weren’t horrible, but it doesn’t show the whole picture. There were five games in which he totaled less than 30 receiving yards with no touchdowns. I’m sure his owners would attest, it was not fun owning JJSS this year.” And now people are back drafting him in the 6th round banking on another random 9 touchdown season with inconsistent volume. I’m guessing these people boosting JuJu’s ADP didn’t have him on their team’s last year.
Rudy’s 2021 Projection: 76 Receptions, 844 Receiving Yards, 6 Total Touchdowns
40. Michael Thomas – As a rule of thumb, I don’t like drafting hurt players. Our teams are already sure to be destroyed by injuries as it is, why add another sure thing on top? Plus, there are constant rumblings about conflict between Thomas and the front office which is just one more headache we don’t need. Maybe Michael Thomas does come back midseason at full health, in prime form and completely motivated. I’m alright letting someone else take that gamble, their team might already be out of it by the time he’s back anyway.
Rudy’s 2021 Projection: 66 Receptions, 825 Receiving Yards, 6 Total Touchdowns
