2021 Fantasy Instant-Impact Rookies

Welcome to our latest in our series of collaborative articles from the FFfaceoff team. We will be running these weekly collaborative pieces on different content all off-season long. For this first piece, we’ll be talking about 2021 Fantasy Instant-Impact Rookies. While there are a few rather obvious and more popular ones in guys like Najee Harris, Ja’Marr Chase, Devonta Smith, Travis Etienne, or Kyle Pitts. Outside of these big names, there are definitely some “lower-end” rookies who could make an impact right away this year, and ultimately, for your fantasy football teams.

Najee Harris

RB Pittsburgh Steelers

First up is the most obvious name and that’s Najee Harris running back out of Alabama. The Steelers need a running back after letting James Conner go to the Cardinals and their next best options are Benny Snell, Anthony McFarland, and maybe Kaylen Ballage. The Steelers were actually 30th in the NFL last year in rush attempts per game, averaging 22.9 ahead of just the Texans and Jaguars. Either way, the talent is there and the path to production is as safe as you’ll find when drafting running backs this year. With his talent and landing spot, you can make a case for Harris being a top-12 running back in dynasty leagues. And definitely so in redraft leagues. – Aaron Schill @aaron_schill

Travis Etienne

RB Jacksonville Jaguars 

Etienne is quite the conundrum in the Jaguars’ current offensive system.  While at Clemson, Etienne was a dynamic pass catcher for Trevor Lawrence out of the backfield, catching 48 passes for 588 yards and two touchdowns in 2020.  However, when Etienne was drafted by head coach Urban Meyer, Etienne has apparently been taking all of his minicamp reps at wide receiver.  While at Clemson, Etienne had seven total targets as an outside or slot receiver in 2020.  He did catch all of those passes for 61 yards and 42 yards after the catch.  Having fellow Clemson Tiger Lawrence at the helm might help, but if his usage is mostly as a receiver in Jacksonville you can expect a serious learning curve. – Brendan O’Bryan @OBryanBren

Kyle Pitts

TE Atlanta Falcons

Historically speaking, a majority of tight ends when transitioning from college to the NFL take around three seasons to grow into a fantasy-relevant tight end option. Kyle Pitts isn’t just any tight end, however. Coming out of Florida, Pitts is arguably the best prospect to go through the Draft process possibly ever. Maybe the most talented we’ve seen since Vernon Davis. His physical prowess and production at the college level coupled with Atlanta’s investment in the 4th overall pick and lack of other weapons outside of Calvin Ridley after the Julio Jones trade are a recipe for instant fantasy success. – Adam Myers @AdamTMyers

Ja’Marr Chase

WR Cincinnati Bengals

Chase landing in Cincinnati immediately makes him the most talented wide receiver on the Bengals. That isn’t a slight on Tee Higgins, who is very talented, or Tyler Boyd who has proven himself, but Chase is a generational talent. He’s on an offense where they are going to throw the ball 35+ times a game and will be in shootouts with a porous defense. He’s being drafted as a low-end WR2/high-end WR3 and he has a path to be a WR1 in his first season. – Connor Rigg @ConBonNFL

Elijah Moore

WR New York Jets

Selected with the 34th-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Elijah Moore landed with the Jets and their new rookie quarterback Zach Wilson. Moore is a fantastic route runner and is up there with DeVonta Smith as one of the best route runners in this class. He is best in the slot, but can play outside, and even used as a weapon out of the backfield. He broke AJ Brown’s reception record with 86 receptions and will be the next big wide receiver out of Ole Miss following Brown and DK Metcalf. This group of Jets receivers is totally up in the air with Corey Davis, Denzel Mims, and Jamison Crowder who is 28 and heading into his 7th season in the NFL. Moore has fantastic upside and a potentially very bright future in his current situation. He could definitely be a rookie that ends up producing well in his first season. – Aaron Schill @aaron_schill

Rashad Bateman

WR Baltimore Ravens

I didn’t want to go with an obvious pick like Harris or Chase, so instead, I’m going with Bateman. A lot more people than you think are out on Bateman because of Lamar Jackson’s accuracy concerns and the Ravens passing volume. I am not one of those people. I expect him to take over as WR1 immediately for the Ravens and produce as a fringe WR2 in fantasy by mid-season. Bet on the talent to shine with Bateman and reap the rewards. – Brandon Hamer @doublehfantasy1

Nico Collins

WR Houston Texans

Nico Collins had the draft world divided as one of the few big guys in a Draft ruled by small slot receivers. He got drafted in the third round by, the team Vegas is expecting to lose the most games this season, the Houston Texans. Not the least of their problems, the Texans have major question marks around the most important position. The quarterback. That being said, Collins is unique among the Texans receivers and could make an immediate impact. Collins stands 6’4 and 215 pounds while the starting receivers on the Texans are all sub-six foot except Isaiah Coulter who is just 198 pounds. Collins isn’t just big, he ran a sub-second three-cone drill and a 4.43 second forty. He could use a little more polish on his route running but his almost 20 YPC could translate well to the NFL. All of this is of course assuming that whoever the Texans signal-caller is can get the ball down the field. – Seth Keller @fftheathomedad