2021 Fantasy Soccer RB Consistency Rankings: Discover potential sleepers, busts in working again leaderboards

Most fantasy football leagues have head-to-head matches every week. For better or for worse, it’s what we’re all used to and how most of us prefer to play. Having consistently solid producers is the ultimate luxury in H2H leagues, but most fantasy owners struggle to incorporate consistency into their rankings or draft day decisions. As great as it is to have RBs who can jump 150 yards and three TDs every Sunday, it’s just as frustrating when your running back scores over 20 one week and five the next. Nobody wants to have one of the highest scoring teams and miss the playoffs, but it seems to happen every year.

We can all accept that “luck” is part of the equation for success in fantasy football. Injuries, bad weather, tough matches, and now COVID concerns are all variables that can affect fantasy teams. There is so much they can only do if they strike. However, you have some control over your team’s consistency by targeting the right players.

Over at BigGuyFantasySports.com we have what is called the “Clutch Report”. There you can calculate the “Clutch Factor” (CF) that a player must exceed each week in order to receive a “Clutch Game” in your league, based on the number of teams and the scoring format. For example, in 12-team PPR formats, a running back needs to collect over 11 Fantasy Points each week to be eligible for a “clutch game”.

2021 PPR FANTASY RANKING:
Quarterback | Run back | Wide-angle receiver | Narrow end | D / ST | Kicker | Highest 200

We refer to a player’s consistency rate as their “clutch rating” (CR). A very consistent player has a CR of over 70 percent. The elite fantasy studs are usually in the 80-90 percent range.

2021 STANDARD FANTASY RANKING:
Quarterback | Run back | Wide-angle receiver | Narrow end | D / ST | Kicker | Highest 200

Every draft season we look for undervalued players who have been consistent and important to the success of a fantasy team. They might not have got the most total points, but neither did they get a lot of complete duds. Conversely, because of their lack of consistency, I look for overrated players. Here’s a sneak peek at my top 24 consistency-based rankings for RBs heading into the 2021 season.

FANTASY AUCTION VALUES 2021 (Standard & PPR):
Quarterback | Run back | Wide-angle receiver | Narrow end | D / ST | Kicker | total

2021 Fantasy RB consistency reviews, rankings

Precedence	level	Lower level	player	team
1	RB1	ON	Christian McCaffrey	DARE
2	RB1	ON	Dalvin Cook	MINIMUM
3	RB1	ON	Alvin Kamara	NO
4th	RB1	B.	Ezekiel Elliott	THE END
5	RB1	B.	Saquon Barkley	NYG
6th	RB1	B.	Aaron Jones	GB
7th	RB1	B.	Nick Chubb	CLE
8th	RB1	B.	Derrick Henry	TEN
9	RB1	B.	Jonathan Taylor	IND
10	RB1	B.	Austin disgust	LAC
11	RB1	B.	Clyde Edwards-Helaire	KC
12th	RB1	B.	David Montgomery	OUTPUT
13th	RB2	ON	JK Dobbins	BALL
14th	RB2	ON	Chris Carson	SEA
fifteen	RB2	B.	Antonio Gibson	WAS
16	RB2	B.	Najee Harris	PIT
17th	RB2	B.	Miles Sanders	PHI
18th	RB2	B.	Joe Mixon	GIN
19th	RB2	B.	D’Andre Swift	THE
20th	RB2	B.	James Robinson	JAX
21	RB2	B.	Myles Gaskin	MY
22nd	RB2	B.	Kareem hunt	CLE
23	RB2	B.	Mike Davis	ATL
24	RB2	B.	Darrell Henderson	THE

FANTASY CONSISTENCY VALUES 2021:
Quarterback | Wide-angle receiver | Close end

A ranking by RB1A means that these backs are expected to achieve a CR of over 80 percent this year. Currently, Christian McCaffrey, Dalvin Cook, and Alvin Kamara are classified at this level. The remaining nine Tier 1 running backs are all classified as RB1B, which means they are expected to exceed a CR of 70 percent. Backs higher up the list, like Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkley, are expected to make way more than 70 percent but likely not to get above 80 percent. The lower-rated RBs could certainly exceed a 70 percent CR, but we believe this is less likely.

The RB2A backs are currently JK Dobbins and Chris Carson. They have question marks (injury concerns, carry distribution, etc) but they both have the talent and track record that make me confident they can achieve 65-70 percent CR this season.

Let’s take a look at some of these running backs and see which ones are undervalued or overvalued based on their current ADPs.

2021 FANTASY SLEEPER:
Quarterback | Run back | Wide-angle receiver | Narrow end | D / ST | Every team

Undervalued: JK Dobbins, Ravens

Dobbins ruined Mark Ingram’s fantasy value last year, but his 53 percent CR doesn’t look good for the season. However, when Dobbins got 10 or more touches in a game – something he was supposed to get every week this year – he had a CR of 88 percent. I placed him just outside the top division at RB13 but he could certainly finish above that. His current ADP is RB16 so make sure you grab it as your RB2 and maybe get the RB1 value out of it.

Overrated: Joe Mixon, Bengals

Just as Cincy gets a real quarterback, Mixon is injured and misses 10 games. The good news is that he was pretty consistent over those six games, getting a CR of 67 percent. However, his current ADP is RB13 / Round 2. I have him on RB18 based on previous seasons. He has good value as later RB2, but he has always been drafted as a borderline top 12 back despite never having played at that level.

FANTASY TIERS 2021 & STRATEGY DESIGN:
Quarterback | Run back | Wide-angle receiver | Narrow end | D / ST

Ultimately, trying to be consistent should be part of your fantasy design prep every year. The total score is great, but if a player can’t generate it consistently, you may miss the playoffs after a season of big wins and even bigger losses.

For more consistency reports for your draft prep, go to Amazon and get the award-winning Fantasy Football Consistency Guide 2021. You can also follow me on Twitter @bob_lung.

Don’t miss the Fantasy Football Expo 2021 on Sunday, August 15, 2021 in Canton, Ohio! Visit the Fantasy Football Expo for tickets!