Fantasy Football 2021: Ranking Best Keepers for Upcoming Season

Fantasy football never stops. Not even in the afterglow of Super Bowl LV.

While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 31-9 knockout of the Kansas City Chiefs shifted attention over to the offseason, most fantasy managers were looking ahead long before kickoff.

For folks in keeper leagues, they have probably been debating offseason decisions for months. This is what lays the foundation of your roster, so you can't afford to guess wrong.

Luckily, you are guessing right already by coming here. As a sign of our gratitude, we'll provide a look at the top 30 keepers for 2021 and spotlight three players outside of that group who might warrant keeper consideration.

Top 30 Keepers for 2021

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1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers

2. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings

3. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

4. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans

5. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

6. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints

7. Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers

8. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns

9. DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks

10. Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

11. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Arizona Cardinals

12. George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers

13. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

14. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

15. Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills

16. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys

17. A.J. Brown, WR, Tennessee Titans

18. D'Andre Swift, RB, Detroit Lions

19. J.K. Dobbins, RB, Baltimore Ravens

20. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

21. Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers

22. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints

23. Josh Jacobs, RB, Oakland Raiders

24. Cam Akers, RB, Los Angeles Rams

25. Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

26. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys

27. Calvin Ridley, WR, Atlanta Falcons

28. Darren Waller, TE, Oakland Raiders

29. D.J. Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers

30. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

David Montgomery, RB, Chicago Bears

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David Montgomery his most of first two seasons in Chicago looking very much the part of a fantasy compiler.

Now, there's value in sheer volume, so his consistent workload always kept him in the RB2/RB3 range. But when those touches failed to produce huge numbers week after week, there wasn't much to get excited about.

Then the closing portion of the 2020 campaign happened. Between Weeks 12 and 17, he turned 116 carries into 598 yards and seven touchdowns and 27 targets into 24 receptions for another 226 yards and a score. Over that stretch, he was the eighth-highest scorer in fantasy overall and the second-best running back, per FantasyPros.

And remember, Montgomery was engineering this breakout while operating alongside the forgettable Mitchell Trubisky, who isn't long for the Windy City. If the Bears passing game gets upgraded this offseason, that might give Montgomery even more room to work, and since he's a contributor as a pass-catcher, that wouldn't necessarily hurt his volume.

Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals

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Quarterbacks are always tricky to rank in a keeper context, especially those not named Patrick Mahomes. There's a wealth of production to be pulled from this position, and there's an opportunity cost at the skill spots if you go with a QB early.

That's the reason why Kyler Murray doesn't make our initial top-30 rankings for 2021. But if we were going to break our own rankings for any particular player, he might be the one.

Part of that is it's simply fun to roster a player with this much electricity. A much bigger part, though, is the fact that Murray just delivered the second-most points in fantasy as a 23-year-old playing in his second NFL season.

The Cardinals showed their commitment to supporting Murray when they made a major move for DeAndre Hopkins last offseason. Perhaps they will continue that by upgrading his offensive line this time around. The point is, all arrows are pointing up for a player who was just the second-best fantasy performer. Bypass him at your own risk.

James Robinson, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

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James Robinson could be the fantasy juggernaut hiding in plain sight.

Last season, he fast-tracked from being an undrafted rookie free agent to one of the best backs in football. Only five players had more carries. Just four produced more rushing yards. All of this despite the fact that Robinson only played 14 games—and spent all 14 alongside the woefully uninspiring quarterback trio of Gardner Minshew II, Mike Glennon and Jake Luton.

It all added up to Robinson being the seventh-highest scoring running back in fantasy.

Jacksonville is about to get a reboot. Coach Urban Meyer has arrived, and Trevor Lawrence will as soon as the Jaguars are on the clock to start the 2021 draft. They have the chance to be major players in free agency with boatloads of cap space should they choose to invest it.

As long as Robinson isn't lost in the organization's reshuffling, he could be looking at another enormous fantasy effort. If it's clear he will remain the focal point of this rushing attack, he could have serious helium during the 2021 predraft process. It might be best to make the early investment now and prepare to see his fantasy stock soar.