Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings Review 21-40

Our dynasty fantasy football rankings page is one of our most popular landing spots for dynasty degenerates. Not only do we provide in-depth consensus rankings provided by some of the best minds in the dynasty fantasy football community, we offer an assortment of rankings to cater to various formats.

We have the basics covered with 2017 dynasty fantasy football rankings, a list which goes 200 players deep, and dynasty rookie rankings as well as positional rankings, but we also boast two-quarterback rankings, devy rankings and dynasty IDP rankings.

Simply put: if you want up-to-date dynasty rankings, you’ve come to the right place.

This is probably the slowest time of the year for dynasty fantasy football owners. Most of us have completed our rookie drafts, and we’re probably sending questionable trade offers out of boredom. Training camps can’t get here fast enough. This lull is probably a good thing, though. We can take a little breather, step away from things for a minute and look at the big picture. With that in mind, this is the perfect time to review our current 2017 dynasty fantasy football rankings.

All of us have different thoughts on players — that’s what makes fantasy so much fun. If we had the same views, it’d be boring. It’s also why our rankings are such a valuable resource, because they are the consensus rankings taken from some of the best minds and most dedicated analysts in the dynasty community.

I recently took a look at the top 20 players from our consensus 2017 top 200 dynasty fantasy football rankings, breaking down each player and giving a brief writeup of his track record, current situation and a look ahead. You guys seemed to enjoy it and wanted more — if the comments are to be believed — and who am I to deprive you of such things?

So here are numbers 21 through 40. Because the list is completely based off our top 200 rankings, which are updated constantly, the rankings you see below may not line up exactly with the current consensus numbers you see on the rankings page (since one ranker moving a player after I wrote this can shake up things). But I made sure that every player was covered — Doug Baldwin, for example, has moved into the top 20 since the first piece while Corey Davis has done the opposite — between this installment and the previous article covering the Top 20 dynasty fantasy football rankings.

Let’s do this.

 

21) Doug Baldwin, WR, SEA

Baldwin is one of my favorite assets to pursue right now. He’s a 28-year-old who is attached to a good quarterback, and Baldwin was a WR1 (top-12 performer) in points-per-reception (PPR) formats in each of the last two seasons. The only other wide receivers to be a WR1 in each of the last two years — Odell Beckham, Julio Jones and Antonio Brown — are all viewed as elite assets while Baldwin is considerably cheaper. There really aren’t any negatives with Baldwin, and two of our positional rankers — including myself — have him among the top 12 wideouts.

22) Alshon Jeffery, WR, PHI

Jeffery’s value has been on a steady but slow decline over the past 24 months. He was the 11th overall player in July of 2015, per our average draft position (ADP) data, and Jeffery sat 17th at this time a year ago. The problem has been injuries as he’s missed a total of 11 games since the start of 2015. Obviously, his cumulative stats are going to take a hit when he’s missing that much time, but Jeffery posted his worst non-rookie-year numbers last season in yards per game (68.4), receptions per game (4.3) and catch rate (55.3 percent) — hence the drop in value. Jeffery can turn things around with a bounce-back year, and he could be an ideal fit with Carson Wentz and the Eagles.

23) Stefon Diggs, WR, MIN

Diggs is trending in the opposite direction of Jeffery as the Vikings’ receiver has jumped up nearly 50 spots from where he was being valued last summer, according to our July ADP. Diggs is something of a divisive figure, though, as four of our positional rankers have him inside the top 20 wideouts while another has him outside the top 30. Some of that may come from Diggs’ style. Because of Sam Bradford’s accuracy in the short-passing game (or Minnesota’s offensive style, if you prefer), Diggs’ value takes a hit outside of PPR formats. He hauled in 84 of his 112 targets last season, good for a sparkling 75 percent catch rate, but he averaged a meager 10.8 yards per grab. Still, entering his age-24 season, Diggs has a bright future as a young receiver who has already had success, even if he never winds up being WR1 material.

24) Rob Gronkowski, TE, NE

Gronkowski is our first tight end, and he’s still got a strong grip on the top spot at the position. There’s no denying how great he is when he’s healthy, but the issue has been how infrequently he’s actually healthy. He missed eight games last season, and he hasn’t played a full 16-game season since 2011, sitting out 24 games in the last five years. Given his age (28), injury history, the age of his quarterback (soon-to-be 40) and the influx of talent at the tight end position, now may be the ideal time to sell Gronk as another injury-plagued campaign could send his value plummeting. With that said, if Gronk manages to stay on the field, he’ll probably beast as always. Ah, decisions.

25) Jarvis Landry, WR, MIA

Landry is similar to Diggs in that they are explosive athletes who are deployed in such a way that it caps their upside. That certainly doesn’t mean he’s not valuable, though. Going into his age-25 season, Landry is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns, and he’s averaged 102 catches per season over the past two years. Even though he’s still a young dude, we pretty much know what he is at this point. While that may make him boring to some, it’ll make him a cherished commodity to others. If it’s PPR — a format in which he’s been WR13 and WR11, respectively, the past two seasons — you can count me as part of the group which sees great value in Landry’s consistency.

26) Demaryius Thomas, WR, DEN

The post-Peyton Manning life hasn’t been great to Thomas, but it hasn’t been terrible, either. Instead of being the elite producer he was when Manning was torching the Earth, Thomas has settled in as a solid WR2-type asset. After going for 111 receptions, 1,619 yards and 11 scores in 2014, Thomas has averaged 97.5 catches, 1,193.5 yards and 5.5 touchdowns over the last two years — which is still pretty darn good. The quarterback situation in Denver is far from settled, but Thomas was still the WR16 in PPR formats a year ago.

27) Keenan Allen, WR, LAC

This upcoming season feels like a last stand of sorts for Allen’s believers. Considering he’s played only nine games over the past two seasons and still finds himself ranked this highly, there are definitely quite a few Allen truthers out there. He was such a beast in half a season in 2015 — 67 catches for 725 yards and four scores in eight games — it’s completely acceptable to have him ranked even higher than this. The downside is very real, however, as there’s no guarantee he’s still the same player even if he can stay healthy, which has been a huge “if” lately. Heading into his age-25 season, Allen is still young, and if you’ve been a believer in his talent, it’s hard to jump ship now.

28) Jay Ajayi, RB, MIA

Players like Ajayi are why I love dynasty. On one hand, having him in the top 30 may seem a little over the top considering he’s only had one good season. On the flip side, Ajayi was viewed as a big-time talent coming out of college, and if his pre-draft medicals went a different way, he would’ve been taken a lot sooner in the NFL Draft, which would impact his dynasty value. If Ajayi was, say, a second-round pick in the NFL Draft who just ripped off 1,272 yards with a trio of 200-yard games in his second season, he’d probably be up near the top 10 in our rankings. There’s always going to be long-term concerns with his knee, but there are long-term concerns about the health of every running back. Ajayi appears to have the Miami backfield all to himself, and he put up the massive numbers last year despite starting just 12 games.

29) Jordan Howard, RB, CHI

Howard was spectacular last season as a rookie, rushing for 1,313 yards and six scores. Starting in Week 3, when he got the lead gig, Howard ran for at least 77 yards in 11 of 13 games, surpassing the 100-yard mark seven times. The only real concern here is the Bears’ offense. While it seemed like their passing game was bad last year, they actually ranked 10th in net yards per pass attempt and sixth in yards per play. There’s no guarantee Mitch Trubisky and/or Mike Glennon aren’t terrible, and a miserable offense could hurt Howard’s numbers.

30) Jordy Nelson, WR, GB

Nelson came back from a torn ACL and balled out last season. He finished with 97 catches for 1,257 yards and a league-high 14 touchdowns, checking in as the WR2 in PPR and standard leagues. There’s no debating how good he’s been or how nice his situation is. However, we can’t feel great about him maintaining the insane touchdown rate (a score every 6.9 receptions), and he’s going into his age-32 season. It sure seems like now is a pretty good time to sell, especially if you’re not one of the top two or three teams in your league.

31) Andrew Luck, QB, IND

Luck is our top-ranked quarterback, and while he didn’t quite match the numbers from his 40-touchdown eruption in 2014, Luck’s 2016 output of 4,240 yards, 31 scores and 13 interceptions was good enough for a QB4 finish. As you’d expect for a top player at his position, Luck is an extremely safe bet to continue producing top-end numbers for a long time. If you want to invest heavily at the quarterback spot, you can’t go wrong with Luck.

32) Leonard Fournette, RB, JAX

Fournette is our second-ranked rookie (behind Corey Davis), and he’s the ninth overall running back. His combination of size and speed isn’t fair, and he should be, at worst, an effective between-the-tackles runner who does work at the goal line. You can question his pass-game chops, though, and depending on how Jacksonville utilizes T.J. Yeldon, Fournette may lose a little luster in PPR formats. Also, the Jaguars’ offense was terrible last season, ranking 25th in both points scored and yards per play. Fournette may have to overcome a bad passing game, but as a player dynasty owners have been salivating over for a while, Fournette will fly up these rankings — probably into the top 10 — if he has a big rookie season.

33) Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB

Rodgers just dominates. He’s been the top-scoring quarterback in two of the past three seasons. He reigned supreme in 2016, scoring roughly 33 more points than any other passer, as he threw for 4,428 yards, 40 touchdowns and seven picks (adding 369 rushing yards and four more scores on the ground). Rodgers is six years older than Luck, and the fact they’re this close in the rankings is a testament to Rodgers’ greatness.

34) Christian McCaffrey, RB, CAR

McCaffrey gives us two rookie running backs among the top 10 at the position, and it’ll be three first-year backs inside the top 11 after the next fella. McCaffrey, in a lot of ways, landed in a pretty sweet spot in Carolina. The do-it-all wizard excelled at Stanford, and he should have immediate success as a pass-game weapon. Everything about his track record and draft profile says he should succeed as a runner, too. In PPR formats, it’s perfectly reasonable to have McCaffrey as the top rookie back, and it’ll be interesting to see how Carolina deploys him and fellow rookie Curtis Samuel.

35) Joe Mixon, RB, CIN

Mixon was a polarizing prospect because of his off-field issues, but there’s never been much of a question about his on-field play. He thrived as a runner and receiver at Oklahoma, and without the off-field transgressions, Mixon may have gone in the first round in the NFL Draft because he’s got all the tools to be a three-down back. With Jeremy Hill underwhelming and Gio Bernard recovering from a torn ACL, Mixon might get the chance to run away with the job right out of the gates, although Bernard’s proven track record as a pass-game playmaker likely ensures he will have a role of some kind when he’s healthy.

36) LeSean McCoy, RB, BUF

McCoy was outstanding last season, putting together one of the top campaigns of his superb career. He rushed for 1,267 yards and 13 scores, adding 50 catches for 356 yards and another touchdown on his way to an RB4 finish in PPR leagues. He is getting up there in age — 2017 will be his age-29 season — but he’s entrenched as the clear lead back for one of the league’s top running games. If your team can compete for a title in 2017, McCoy is probably worth more to you than what this ranking represents, and two of our positional rankers have him as a top-seven back.

37) Travis Kelce, TE, KC

Kelce has become the clear second-ranked tight end behind Gronk, leaving Jordan Reed, Greg Olsen and Tyler Eifert in his wake. Kelce’s combination of size, hands and playmaking ability after the catch is fairly Gronk-esque. His production has improved in each of the last three years, peaking with a 85-1,125-4 line in 2016 — which made him the PPR TE1 last year. Even with the emergence of Tyreek Hill, Kelce heads into the season as Kansas City’s top pass-game option, and his 2016 output probably represents his ceiling in what’s still a fairly conservative Chiefs’ attack.

38) Corey Coleman, WR, CLE

Coleman’s value has held pretty steady after an injury-shortened rookie season. Coleman was the 31st overall player off the board, per July 2016 ADP, and he remains in the same neighborhood now. In 10 games, Coleman made 33 grabs for 413 yards and three scores. He managed to haul in just 33 of his 73 targets, however, which was “good” enough for a measly 45.2 percent catch rate. But everything we liked about him coming out of Baylor 12 months ago is still there, and Cleveland’s offense lost Terrelle Pryor, making Coleman the likely top option through the air, although we shouldn’t sleep on Kenny Britt.

39) Russell Wilson, QB, SEA

Wilson struggled with injuries in 2016, and they really impacted his rushing totals. Coming into last season, Wilson’s single-year career-low in rushing attempts and yards were 94 carries for 553 yards. He totaled 72 attempts for a meager 259 yards last year as he dealt with injuries to his lower body. He also endured some bad luck with his touchdown rate last season as it slipped to 3.8 percent, well below his career average of 5.6 percent. Despite all that, Wilson still ended the year as QB11. Assuming he’s healthy, Wilson is due for some positive touchdown regression, and his legs give him enormous weekly upside. Wilson has finished as at least a top-11 signal caller in each of his five seasons, and he’s a safe bet for a bounce-back campaign.

40) Lamar Miller, RB, HOU

Big things were expected of Miller in his first season with the Texans. While Miami never fully trusted him to be a three-down back, Houston said they were going to do just that. The Texans lived up to their word as Miller set a career high with 268 carries, 52 more than he received in any of his four seasons with the Dolphins, but Miller’s efficiency waned as he tied a career-low with 4.0 yards per carry. It wasn’t all bad, though, as Miller still finished as the RB17, and some of the blame for the lackluster season has to fall at the feet of Brock Osweiler. Houston’s offense should improve — it can’t be worse, at least — in 2017, but Miller has some competition with the addition of D’Onta Foreman.