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Updated Rookie Rankings - Fantasy Football Drafts

RotoBaller's updated fantasy football rookie rankings for 2021 fantasy football drafts. Use our updated rookie rankings to target the highest-upside NFL rookies.

Welcome back RotoBallers! Below you will find our staff's updated fantasy football rookie rankings for the 2021 NFL season. These rankings are a great resource for you to use in your fantasy football drafts, whether it's a redraft league or a dynasty league. Having a rookie draft, or just looking for the highest-upside rookie to target in drafts? Just reference the list below.

These fantasy football rookie rankings will continue to be updated until Week 1, so be sure check back regularly for updates. You can also see our ongoing rankings analysis articles discussing players to target and avoid in your fantasy football drafts. Be sure to also check out our entire 2021 fantasy football rankings dashboard. It's loaded up with our rankings for all other league formats and scoring settings including:

Three of our lead fantasy football analysts - Pierre Camus, Brandon Murchison and Phil Clark - have analyzed the NFL offseason moves, recent injuries, and preseason action. Below you will find their consensus fantasy football Half-PPR rankings for 2021 fantasy football drafts. Feel free to click those links and give these fine gentlemen a follow, and let them know how much you love or hate their rankings.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

 

Updated Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings

Rankings table below last updated on September 5th, 2021

Tier Rank Player Name Pos
1 1 Najee Harris RB
1 2 Kyle Pitts TE
1 3 Ja'Marr Chase WR
1 4 Javonte Williams RB
1 5 DeVonta Smith WR
1 6 Trevor Lawrence QB
2 7 Jaylen Waddle WR
2 8 Elijah Moore WR
2 9 Justin Fields QB
2 10 Trey Sermon RB
2 11 Trey Lance QB
2 12 Michael Carter RB
2 13 Kenneth Gainwell RB
3 14 Terrace Marshall Jr. WR
3 15 Rashod Bateman WR
3 16 Amon-Ra St. Brown WR
3 17 Mac Jones QB
3 18 Zach Wilson QB
3 19 Rhamondre Stevenson RB
3 20 Rondale Moore WR
3 21 Chuba Hubbard RB
3 22 Dyami Brown WR
3 23 Nico Collins WR
4 24 Josh Palmer WR
4 25 Amari Rodgers WR
4 26 Kadarius Toney WR
4 27 Pat Freiermuth TE
4 28 D'Wayne Eskridge WR
4 29 Elijah Mitchell RB
4 30 Tutu Atwell WR
4 31 Kylin Hill RB
4 32 Tylan Wallace WR
4 33 Jacob Harris TE
4 34 Seth Williams WR
4 35 Brevin Jordan TE
4 36 Demetric Felton WR
5 37 Larry Rountree III RB
5 38 Chris Evans RB
5 39 Jermar Jefferson RB
5 40 Ihmir Smith-Marsette WR
5 41 Hunter Long TE
5 42 Jaret Patterson RB
5 43 Khalil Herbert RB
5 44 Dazz Newsome WR
5 45 Dez Fitzpatrick WR
6 46 Jaelon Darden WR
6 47 Kyle Trask QB
6 48 Kene Nwangwu RB
6 49 Kellen Mond QB
6 50 Noah Gray TE
6 51 Anthony Schwartz WR
6 52 Marquez Stevenson WR
6 53 Josh Imatorbhebhe WR
6 54 Davis Mills QB
6 55 Jake Funk RB
6 56 Frank Darby WR
7 57 Sage Surratt WR
7 58 Pooka Williams Jr. RB
7 59 Tommy Tremble TE
7 60 Shi Smith WR
7 61 Cornell Powell WR
7 62 Kenny Yeboah TE
7 63 Javian Hawkins RB
7 64 Tamorrion Terry WR
8 65 Tre' McKitty TE
8 66 Mekhi Sargent RB
8 67 Cade Johnson WR
8 68 Sam Ehlinger QB
8 69 Austin Watkins WR
8 70 Shane Buechele QB
8 71 T.J. Vasher WR
8 72 Ian Book QB
9 73 Simi Fehoko WR
9 74 Stevie Scott III RB
9 75 Deon Jackson RB
9 76 Marlon Williams WR
9 77 Trey Ragas RB
9 78 Feleipe Franks QB
9 79 Whop Philyor WR
9 80 Dax Milne WR
9 81 Rakeem Boyd RB
9 82 Trevon Grimes WR
9 83 Jamie Newman QB
9 84 Brennan Eagles WR
9 85 Reggie Roberson Jr. WR
9 86 K.D. Nixon WR
9 87 Raheem Blackshear RB
9 88 Johnathan Lovett RB
9 89 JD Spielman WR
9 90 JaTarvious Whitlow RB
9 91 Eli Stove WR
9 92 Brady White QB
9 93 Shakif Seymour RB
9 94 K.J. Costello QB
9 95 Damonte Coxie WR
9 96 Vavae Malepeai RB
9 97 Zach Smith QB
9 98 Zac Thomas QB


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Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.




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REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Willson Contreras

Issued Six-Game Suspension
Randy Rodríguez

Randy Rodriguez Placed on Injured List
Brandon Aiyuk

49ers Officially Place Brandon Aiyuk on PUP List
Nathan Eovaldi

Likely Done for the Season
Tyreek Hill

Remains Out of Practice
Najee Harris

Moved to Active Roster
Yordan Alvarez

Activated and Starting on Tuesday
Oneil Cruz

Back From Injured List
New York Mets

Jonah Tong Promoted to Major Leagues
Spencer Rattler

Saints Name Spencer Rattler as Starting QB
MarShawn Lloyd

Packers Leaning Toward Placing MarShawn Lloyd on Injured Reserve
Tyjae Spears

to Begin the Season on Injured Reserve
Nikola Jović

Heat Have High Hopes for Nikola Jovic
Golden State Warriors

Cody Martin Drawing Interest From Warriors
Minnesota Timberwolves

Timberwolves Interested in Reunion With Bones Hyland
Kylor Kelley

Joins Lakers
Colin Castleton

Links Up With Magic
Brock Bowers

Pete Carroll Classifies Brock Bowers Among His Best Players Ever
De'Von Achane

Lingering Calf Injury Poses Concerns for De'Von Achane
Adam Thielen

Vikings and Panthers Struggling to Finalize Adam Thielen Trade
Malik Monk

Kings "Not Actively Engaged" in Trade Discussions Involving Malik Monk
P.J. Washington

Mavs Likely to Offer P.J. Washington a Contract Extension
Kenny Pickett

Raiders Acquire Kenny Pickett From Browns
Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals Give Trey Hendrickson a Raise
Amari Cooper

Signs One-Year Deal With Raiders
NHL

Jan Rutta Lands in Switzerland
Kirby Dach

Skates on Monday
COL

Tyson Barrie Retires From NHL
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Back in Toronto's Lineup
Joe Mixon

to Start Season on Non-Football Injury List
Jaylen Wright

Not Expected to Play in Week 1
Jakobi Meyers

Requests Trade
Jauan Jennings

Not Practicing on Monday, has Avoided IR for Now
Matthew Stafford

Taking 11-On-11 Reps on Monday
Zhang Mingyang

Suffers His First UFC Loss
Johnny Walker

Gets Back In The Win Column
Brian Ortega

Loses Back-To-Back Fights
Aljamain Sterling

Proves Too Much For Brian Ortega
Chris Sale

Penciled in to Start on Saturday
Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Suffers Unanimous-Decision Loss
Sergei Pavlovich

Wins Decision At UFC Shanghai
Terry McLaurin

Signs Three-Year Extension with Commanders
Kevin Borjas

Drops Decision At UFC Shanghai
Sumudaerji

Wins Back-To-Back Fights
Kiefer Crosbie

Still Winless In The UFC
Taiyilake Nueraji

Gets His First UFC Win
Ryan Blaney

Earns his Second Daytona Cup Series Win
Tyler Reddick

Locks Into the 2025 Playoffs Despite Underwhelming Daytona Performance
Erik Jones

Misses the 2025 Playoffs Despite Top-Five Run at Daytona
Justin Haley

Best Performance of 2025 Falls Short of Victory at Daytona
Chase Burns

To Throw Bullpen on Tuesday
Kyle Larson

Enters Playoffs As Co-Points Leader
Alex Bowman

Advances to Playoffs Despite Crashing at Daytona
Cole Custer

Finally Shows Signs of Life at Daytona
Daniel Suarez

Lame-Duck Daniel Suarez Delivers Clutch Second-Place Finish
Logan Gilbert

Punches Out 13 in Victory
Randy Rodríguez

Randy Rodriguez Battling Arm Soreness
Marcus Semien

Out 4-6 Weeks, Could Miss Rest of Season
Ranger Suárez

Ranger Suarez Strikes Out 11 in Win
Cal Raleigh

Sets Catcher Home Run Record
Yordan Alvarez

Likely to Return on Tuesday
Jacob deGrom

to Start on Monday
Kyle Tucker

Homers Twice in Win
Chris Sale

Likely to Return Next Weekend
Brian Robinson Jr.

to be RB2
Najee Harris

to be Ready Week 1?
De'Von Achane

Making Good Progress
Marcus Semien

Placed on Injured List
Jackson Merrill

Heads to 10-Day Injured List
Brice Turang

Absent on Saturday, "Touch-and-Go" With Wrist Injury
Chase Elliott

Despite Being Winless at Daytona, Chase Elliott is Probably the Best DFS Option
Ryan Blaney

Will Likely Lead a Lot at Daytona
Kyle Larson

a Poor DFS Option at Daytona
Christopher Bell

Consistent Enough to Consider for DFS
Chris Buescher

Now Must Win His Way Into Playoffs
Ryan Preece

Being One of the Slowest-Starting Fords Makes Ryan Preece a Strong DFS Option
Ross Chastain

Leads a Lot on Drafting Tracks
Daniel Suarez

Now in Desperation Mode With his Career on the Line
Chase Briscoe

Tendency to Finish Better Than He Runs May Reap Dividends at Daytona
Carson Hocevar

Hard to Forecast Since He's Rarely Given 100 Percent at Daytona
Michael McDowell

has a Solid Drafting Record
AJ Allmendinger

A.J. Allmendinger Arguably Starting Too Well for Place-Differential Points
Austin Dillon

Will Likely Be Too Conservative for DFS Consideration
Moses Moody

Warriors Not Interested in Trading Moses Moody
Kevin Durant

Rockets Expected to Agree on New Contract
Trey Murphy III

Warriors, Spurs Interested in Trey Murphy III
CAR

Luke Kunin Joins Panthers on One-Year Deal
Auston Matthews

Says His Health is "Good" Before Start of Season
Roope Hintz

"Feeling Good" Ahead of New Season
Matthew Tkachuk

Recovering From Surgery
Marco Rossi

Wild Re-Sign Marco Rossi to Three-Year Deal
NBA

Malik Beasley Now Drawing Interest from Teams
Zhang Mingyang

Set For UFC Shanghai Main Event
Johnny Walker

In Dire Need Of Victory
Brian Ortega

An Underdog At UFC Shanghai
Aljamain Sterling

Set For UFC Shanghai Co-Main Event
Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Sergei Pavlovich

A Favorite At UFC Shanghai
Kevin Borjas

Set for UFC Shanghai Main-Card Bout
Sumudaerji

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Kiefer Crosbie

Set To Open Up UFC Shanghai Main Card
Taiyilake Nueraji

Set For His UFC Debut
Connor Ingram

Clears Player Assistance Program
Frank Nazar

Inks Seven-Year Extension With Blackhawks
COL

Victor Olofsson Signs One-Year Deal With Avalanche
Dru Smith

Aims to Be Healthy for Training Camp
Jayson Tatum

Provides Injury Update
RJ Barrett

Considered a Trade Candidate
Golden State Warriors

Warriors "Remain Very Confident" About Signing Al Horford
Jahmir Young

Agrees to Deal With Heat

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP