Fantasy Football Rankings 2021: Sleepers, breakouts, busts from top NFL model that nailed Allen's huge year

The NFL season begins on Thursday, Sept. 9 when the Buccaneers take on the Cowboys, and Fantasy football 2021 owners will put their nose to the grindstone prepping for drafts. Keeping up to date with Fantasy football injury news is critical because nobody wants to draft one of the biggest 2021 Fantasy football busts. Saquon Barkley, Odell Beckham Jr. and Joe Burrow are all in varying stages of recovery after suffering mid-season ACL tears last year, so can you trust them in your 2021 Fantasy football rankings?

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Aug 17, 2019; Nashville, TN, USA; New England Patriots running back Damien Harris (37) rushes against Tennessee Titans outside linebacker James Folson (48) during the second half at Nissan Stadium. 

Burrow made his preseason debut on Sunday, Beckham has recently started doing team drills and Barkley returned to practice in a non-contact jersey. A reliable set of Fantasy football rankings 2021 can help you figure out how to handle these stars while also identifying the 2021 Fantasy football sleepers, breakouts and busts you need to be aware of. Before setting your 2021 Fantasy football draft strategy, be sure to check out the 2021 Fantasy football cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

Last year, the model accurately predicted that Bills quarterback Josh Allen was being drastically undervalued. His Fantasy football ADP was barely in the top 70, but the model pegged him as a top-five Fantasy quarterback, a QB1 who would finish well ahead of players like Kyler Murray, Tom Brady and Drew Brees. Allen ended up being the No. 2-scoring Fantasy QB, outscoring all three of those other quarterbacks and even surpassing Patrick Mahomes. Fantasy players who followed SportsLine's advice reaped plenty of value with that pick. 

The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, also identifying A.J. Brown as another sleeper in 2020 and players like Devin Singletary and JuJu Smith-Schuster as busts last season. Additionally, it's called past Fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017. Anybody who banked on players like those made a run at their league title.

The model is powered by the same people who generated projections for all three major Fantasy sites, and it beat human experts last season when there was a big difference in ranking. The projections update multiple times daily, so you're always getting the best Fantasy football advice.

Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest Fantasy football rankings 2021, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them. 

Top 2021 Fantasy football sleepers 

One of the 2021 Fantasy football sleepers the model is predicting: Texans running back Phillip Lindsay. The fourth-year running back is in his first season with the Texans after three seasons with the Broncos, but he's not alone in Houston's backfield. Lindsay is competing with Mark Ingram, Rex Burkhead and David Johnson. Still, SportsLine's model predicts he'll be worth taking in your 2021 Fantasy football picks.

Lindsay took a step back in 2020, when he had 502 total rushing yards and one touchdown. That's in stark contrast to the two 1,000-yard seasons he had before 2020 and is why he's projected to return to form in 2021. In SportsLine's model, Lindsay is sandwiched between A.J. Dillon and David Johnson in projected production for this season.

Top 2021 Fantasy football breakouts 

The model is also projecting Saints receiver Marquez Callaway as one of its top 2021 Fantasy Football breakouts. An undrafted rookie in 2020, Callaway ran as the team's No. 4 wideout for much of the season, finishing with 21 catches for 213 yards and no touchdowns. However, injuries to Michael Thomas and Tre'Quan Smith have elevated Callaway up the depth chart and he hasn't shied away from being given additional opportunities. In fact, he led all players in receiving yards (165) and receiving touchdowns (two) after two weeks of the preseason.

Callaway has developed a strong rapport with Jameis Winston, who just locked up the starting quarterback job in New Orleans. At 6-foot-2, 204 pounds, Callaway is built similarly to Thomas, but 60 wide receivers are still being drafted before him on average. The model ranks him as its WR46, so there's plenty of value in drafting Callaway with one of your late-round Fantasy football 2021 picks.

Top 2021 Fantasy football busts

As for players to avoid, the model lists Dolphins wide receiver Will Fuller as one of its biggest 2021 Fantasy football busts. Fuller has shown flashes of No. 1 receiver potential throughout his career and certainly looked the part after DeAndre Hopkins was traded away from the Texans a season ago, catching 53 passes for 879 yards and eight touchdowns in 11 games before he was suspended for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.

Now, he joins the Dolphins, but his ability to build a rapport with starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been hindered by a foot injury that has bothered him since the first day of training camp. He returned to practice last week, but with Tagovailoa and Fuller both sitting out the preseason finale against the Bengals, they'll have no game reps with each other. The model ranks Fuller (11th-round ADP) behind 14th-round options like Marquise Brown and Michael Gallup.

How to find proven 2021 Fantasy football football rankings

SportsLine is also extremely high on a surprising quarterback you aren't even thinking about being drafted in the middle rounds of 2021 Fantasy football drafts. This quarterback is listed as a shocking top-five option ahead of superstars like Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson. You can only see who it is, and the 2020 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.

So which 2021 Fantasy Football sleepers, breakouts and busts should you target and fade? And which QB shocks the NFL with a top-five performance? Visit SportsLine now to get 2021 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that called Josh Allen's huge season, and find out.