An old adage in fantasy sports states: You cannot win a league in the first round, but you can lose it there.
Each season, a handful of “can’t miss” players fail to meet expectations. For example, 2020 drafters were no doubt disappointed by the returns from the opening-round selections of Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger, Nolan Arenado, or Justin Verlander.
Looking ahead to '21 drafts, the first round continues to be fraught with risk. And while there is no such thing as a sure thing, here are the safety-inspired groupings of this year’s first-round targets.