Erickson: 2021 Half-PPR Fantasy Football Rankings & Tiers

It's time to get ready for your 2021 fantasy football draft!

The first step is to break every position into tiered rankings, which provide a full picture of where value may lie as other drafters begin to stray from the consensus.

Redraft half-PPR rankings will differ somewhat from full-PPR and best ball rankings because the different formats call for slightly altered stances on players. Some players are “better in best ball,” while others see massive boosts in their PPR rankings because of their involvement in the passing game.

The following is my latest collection of top-300 fantasy rankings for 2021 half-PPR fantasy football leagues. Find breakdowns of positional tiers below the overall 300 and more of PFF's fantasy rankings here. 

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2021 HALF-PPR FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS (last update: Aug. 26)

QUARTERBACKS

TIER 1: THE FANTASTIC FOUR

• PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
• JOSH ALLEN, BUFFALO BILLS
• KYLER MURRAY, ARIZONA CARDINALS
• LAMAR JACKSON, BALTIMORE RAVENS

TIER 2: TOP-TIER UPSIDE

• DAK PRESCOTT, DALLAS COWBOYS
• RUSSELL WILSON, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
• JUSTIN HERBERT, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
• JALEN HURTS, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
• AARON RODGERS, GREEN BAY PACKERS

Draft Jalen Hurts, people. The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback’s ADP has taken a nosedive over the past several weeks with the fear that Deshaun Watson would find his way to the city of Brotherly Love.  However, Watson is still a member of the Houston Texans, which means there’s still time to hop back on the Hurts bandwagon.

The second-year quarterback arguably offers the most upside because of the fantasy value he adds with his legs. In his four starts last season, he averaged 79.3 rushing yards and 12.6 rushes per game. That translated to 23.9 fantasy points per game, eighth-best among quarterbacks.

The big question mark is whether Hurts can develop as a passer in Year 2. Philadelphia drafted Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith in the first round to bolster the receiver position, so Hurts is already working with much more than he had in 2020. Smith looked as advertised in his first preseason game. Zach Ertz is also returning and Quez Watkins is emerging as a big-play threat on offense. 

DeVonta Smith creates separation so easily, man. pic.twitter.com/KPQWLuMMOb

— Austin Gayle (@austingayle_) August 20, 2021

But an upgraded supporting cast can only help so much, so it will ultimately be down to Hurts to improve this passing attack. His man/zone passing splits are a tell-tale sign that he can progress, especially now that he has Smith, college football's highest-graded wide receiver versus man coverage in 2020.

Jalen Hurts splits | zone vs. man coverage 2020

Hurts' encouraging splits versus zone schemes indicate that he’s at least serviceable reading defenses. His man/zone splits as a rookie are similar to those of first-year seasons from Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray, who profile similarly to Hurts as dual-threat quarterbacks. Both took massive leaps against man coverage in their sophomore seasons and went on to produce mega-fantasy seasons.

At the price of a ninth-round pick, Hurts’ upside as a rusher — top-eight quarterback fantasy production from rushing alone last season — makes him worth the risk.

Look for him to start the season fast as well with soft matchups against the Atlanta Falcons (32nd-ranked secondary), San Francisco 49ers (20th-ranked secondary) and Dallas Cowboys (31st-ranked secondary).