2021 Redraft 0.5 PPR Fantasy Football Mock Draft | Round 2
How will teams complement their first-round selections?
11) Nick Chubb (RB8 – Cleveland Browns) | First-round pick: Taylor
Where there might be some risk with Taylor, there is zero with Nick Chubb. As one of the best rushers in the NFL, Chubb continues to be criminally underrated. Amongst running backs who have played 15 or more games since 2018, Chubb is third in yards (3,557), sixth in touchdowns (28), and fourth in yards per game (80.8). He averaged 17.3 points per game and 1 point per opportunity, even with Kareem Hunt on the roster in 2020.
Throw in the fact he plays behind arguably the best offensive line in football and a format that does not penalize his lack of targets, and Chubb paired with Taylor is a fantastic start to this 0.5 PPR Fantasy Football Mock Draft.
12) Stefon Diggs (WR3 – Buffalo Bills) | First-round pick: Hill
Sure, this is not full-point PPR format, but you’re going to have a hard time telling me that Hill with Stefon Diggs does not have league-winning potential. Playing on 89% of the snaps, Diggs led the NFL in targets (166), receptions (127), yards (1,535), and tied for 12th in touchdowns (8).
His 76.5% catch percentage was the best of his career and fifth in the NFL among receivers with 50 or more targets. In 2020, Diggs finished as the WR6 or better (5) in more weeks than he had outside the top 36 (3). He was the WR3 overall while averaging 16.6 ppg and 1.59 fantasy points per target.
13) Aaron Jones (RB9 – Green Bay Packers) | First-round pick: Elliott
Aaron Jones is one of the most efficient RBs in the NFL. With Rodgers back in the fold, I feel comfortable again trusting him to return to what we have seen in previous years. Over the last two seasons, Jones has finished as the RB2 and RB5 while averaging 17.5 ppg (30 games). He finished as an RB1 in 43% of his games and as an RB2 or better in 76% of contests played (13 of 14 games in 2020).
14) Calvin Ridley (WR4 – Atlanta Falcons) | First-round pick: Kelce
If someone could dethrone Adams in 2021, Calvin Ridley would be on the very short list. With Julio Jones now in Tennessee, would anyone be shocked if Ridley set a new record for targets in a season? I sure wouldn’t.
Ridley was a WR1 with Jones on the team. Now, he could be the WR1 without him. In the seven games without Jones in the lineup last year, Ridley was on pace for 329 PPR points and 1,749 yards. He averaged 7.14 receptions on 11.29 targets for 109.9 yards and 16.9 PPR points.
15) Austin Ekeler (RB10 – Los Angeles Chargers) | First-round pick: Adams
The consensus has started to catch up on Austin Ekeler as we have steadily seen his ADP rise from a mid-third-round pick to as early as a late first-rounder. Ekeler could be a league winner in 2021, and I believe he is the best second-round pick you can make. In 2019, Ekeler was the RB4 while averaging 19.3 opportunities per game and posted a career-high 1,550 total yards and 11 touchdowns.
While 2020 did not go the way he wanted (torn hamstring) in the stretches he played, Ekeler was sensational, averaging 20.1 opportunities, 108 total yards, and 0.3 TDs per game along with 15.1 ppg (RB6). The Chargers are arguably the most improved team heading into 2021, and the addition of Joe Lombardi as the new OC could have Ekeler in a Kamara-type role. This would only make sense since Lombardi comes from New Orleans.
16) DeAndre Hopkins (WR5 – Arizona Cardinals) | First-round pick: Barkley
Even in 0.5 PPR fantasy formats, volume is key. And no one sees more volume than DeAndre Hopkins. Did you know that Hopkins has seen 150+ targets in six straight seasons and has finished as a top-five receiver in five of them?
Since 2017, Hopkins has averaged an absurd 165 targets and 1,332 yards. The concerns we had about Hopkins going to a new team and potentially losing targets are out the window as the Cardinals’ offense is primed to be as explosive as anyone in 2021 with Hopkins at the center of it and your fantasy roster.
17) Antonio Gibson (RB11 – Washington Football Team) | First-round pick: Kamara
Enjoy the draft day value of Antonio Gibson while you can because it won’t be like this for long. Finishing as the RB12 in PPR formats (13.2 ppg), Gibson amassed 795 rushing yards (4.7 ypc), 247 receiving yards, and 11 touchdowns. That’s a touchdown on every 15.5 touches or 6.5% of his attempts. After the bye week, Gibson went on a ridiculous run where he scored 7 touchdowns on 55 carries from Weeks 9-12.
While I do not expect the TDs to translate perfectly, some players have a knack for finding the end zone, and Gibson might be one of those guys. I expect a breakout season from him in 2021 and will select him any chance I get in 0.5 PPR fantasy football mock drafts.
18) D.K. Metcalf (WR4 – Seattle Seahawks) | First-round pick: Henry
In his second year, D.K. Metcalf ended as the WR5 with 229.8 fantasy points and was a WR2 or better in 50% of his games last season. In just two years, Metcalf has 2,203 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns.
Even if Seattle does choose to have a more balanced approach with Chris Carson, you can not take the ball out of Russell Wilson’s hands and Metcalf at the same time. By reducing the premium on receptions by 50%, someone like Metcalf, who has a lower reception percentage (61.6% career average), actually gets a slight boost.
19) Darren Waller (TE2 – Las Vegas Raiders) | First-round pick: Cook
Darren Waller has closed the gap between himself and Kelce far more than many might want to admit. He led all TEs in red-zone targets (24), target share (27.7%), and reception share (29%).
Waller tied with Kelce for 145 targets but led the league with 107 receptions for 1,196 yards and 9 TDs. Averaging 14.1 ppg, Waller should see similar work in 2021 and likely exceed where he is going in 0.5 PPR fantasy football mock drafts.
20) A.J. Brown (WR7 – Tennessee Titans) | First-round pick: McCaffrey
While not the WR1 he could have been sans Jones, A.J. Brown is still a locked-in top-10 receiver for fantasy. On just 106 targets in 2020, Brown was the WR12 with 1,075 yards and 11 touchdowns. Amongst receivers who saw at least 50 targets, Brown had the fourth-highest points per target at 2.3 and was seventh in points per reception at 3.48.
Since the NFL merger (1970), Brown is fifth all-time in receiving TDs by a receiver in their first two seasons (19). Everyone knew the ball was coming to him too. How will defenses bracket coverage when they also have to worry about Jones? While he might not lead the NFL in targets, the move might lead Brown to have a career year regardless.