Best Beards in the NFL in 2021 (2024)

Every year, we rank the best beards in the NFL, and this is our official list for the 2021 season.

But here’s the catch—we try to build the best fantasy football team possible with only bearded and partially bearded players. This means we only focus on quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, and kickers). From there, we then rank those players based on their facial hair.

We call this ranking of the best beards in the NFL the Beardbrand Fantasy Football All-Facial Hair Team.

Yes, we know there are tons of defensive players and offensive linemen out there with incredible facial hair—we’re looking at you, Jason Kelce. But we just don't have the bandwidth to research hundreds and hundreds of NFL players every season.

So, who made the cut this year? Keep reading to find out.

This is our criteria for ranking the best NFL beards:

1. An NFL player had to have facial hair at the start of the 2021 season.
2. They had to be on an NFL roster at the start of the 2021 season.
3. They had to be relevant enough to warrant being drafted in most fantasy football leagues in 2021.

Without further ado, these are our picks for the best beards and mustaches in the NFL in 2021—ranked by facial hair, not on-field talent.

BEST BEARDS AND MUSTACHES IN THE NFL IN 2021

1. Ryan Fitzpatrick - Quarterback, Washington Football Team

Ryan Fitzpatrick holds down the top spot for the 2nd year running

It’s a new year and a new team for Ryan Fitzpatrick, but he holds down the number one spot on our best beards in the NFL ranking for the second year running. Fitzpatrick's 2020 stint in Miami showed Fitz can still sling it and put up numbers. In 2021, there’s hope that he’ll take an up-and-coming Washington team to the playoffs—something that would be a first for Fitzpatrick.

Ryan Fitzpatrick’s career has been bizarre, but he’s been the face of bearded football players since he first grew his beard during the 2011 season. Fitzpatrick played for the Buffalo Bills that year and had Buffalo off to a hot 2-0 start, earning the nickname The Amish Rifle. After leading Buffalo to an improbable come-from-behind win over the New England Patriots in week 3, he became known as Fitzmagic. Fitz and the Bills fizzled out that season, and he’s been with a handful of teams since.

2. Jarvis Landry - Wide Receiver, Cleveland Browns

Jarvis Landry, Wide Receiver, Cleveland Browns

Jarvis Landry has drip for days—and one of the most well-groomed beards in the NFL. He hasn’t quite replicated the numbers he put up early in his career, but as far as bearded wide receivers go, Landry is near the top. He replaces fellow Cleveland wideout Odel Beckham Jr. on our 2021 list.

Landry is making his first appearance on the Beardbrand Fantasy Football All-Facial Hair Team.

3. Ezekiel Elliott - Running Back, Dallas Cowboys

Ezekiel Elliott - Running Back, Dallas Cowboys

Zeke moves up two spots from his 2020 ranking to the number 3 spot on our best beards in the NFL list. Despite a lackluster 2020 season, Ezekiel Elliott is still one of the top 5 NFL running backs and a perennial first-round fantasy football pick. As one of only a few running backs sporting a beard, Zeke’s beard is similar to his running style—big, strong, and in your face. It’s the true definition of a power beard.

4. Leonard Fournette - Running Back, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Pictured left to right: Leonard Fournette and Mike Evans

After being jettisoned by Jacksonville, Leonard Fournette started the 2020 season as an afterthought. It wasn’t until the playoffs that “Playoff Lenny” emerged and helped lead Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl Championship. The former LSU Tiger is representing for the bald, bearded, and beautiful, and his beard style is thick and powerful. Fournette is making his first appearance on the Beardbrand facial hair fantasy football team.

5. Keenan Allen - Wide Receiver, Los Angeles Chargers

Keenan Allen - Wide Receiver, Los Angeles Chargers

When it comes to bearded wide receivers, Keenan Allen is your safest bet for going long. In 2020, he rocked what looked to be a yeard and put up good numbers doing so. His consistency as a top wideout in the league is only overshadowed by his beard consistency. In 2021, Allen has trimmed the beard up a bit but still boasts more length than most others on this list. Sure, it’s a bit scraggly, but we dig the commitment to keeping things natural. Allen moves up two spots on our list from number 7 in 2020 to number 5 in 2021.

6. Brandon McManus - Kicker, Denver Broncos

Brandon McManus - Kicker, Denver Broncos

Brandon McManus has been lining up field goals with precision for the Denver Broncos for eight years. The only thing he lines up with more precision is the neckline on his beard. Seriously, we can tell it’s good from 50+ yards away.

McManus is making his first appearance on the Beardbrand Fantasy Football All-Facial Hair Team.

7. Mike Evans - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mike Evans - Wide Receiver, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mike Evans might be overshadowed in Tampa Bay by Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown, but his beard is still the best of the bunch. Like Keenan Allen, Evans has been consistently bearded since entering the league. He moves up two spots from number 9 in 2020 to number 7 in 2021.

8. Dalvin Cook - Running Back, Minnesota Vikings

Dalvin Cook - Running Back, Minnesota Vikings

Dalvin Cook, another top-5 running back with a beard to match, earns a spot on this list after back-to-back thousand-yard rushing seasons in which he posted 30 total touchdowns. Cook keeps his pads low and his cheek lines lower, demonstrating how to effectively handle any beard patchiness on the cheeks.

Dalvin Cook is making his first appearance on The Beardbrand Fantasy Football All-Facial Hair Team.

9. Jake Elliott - Kicker, Philadelphia Eagles

Jake Elliott - Kicker, Philadelphia Eagles

Maybe it’s silly to carry two kickers on your fantasy football team—but this isn’t a real fantasy football team, and Jake Elliott’s beard is too well-groomed to keep off of this lift. How do we feel about Jake Elliott’s beard? It’s good—and those just happen to be a kicker’s favorite two words.

Elliott is making his first appearance on the Beardbrand Fantasy Football All-Facial Hair Team.

10. Baker Mayfield - Quarterback, Cleveland Browns

Baker Mayfield - Quarterback, Cleveland Browns

Baker Mayfield’s beard status has been up and down over his first three seasons, not too unlike his play. But after a remarkable 2020 campaign that helped Cleveland make the playoffs for the first time since 2003, Baker has shown he’s a budding star. To kick off the 2021 season, Mayfield has been rocking a scruffy beard that is worthy of a number one overall pick.

Mayfield is making his first appearance on the Beardbrand Fantasy Facial Hair Football Team.

11. Ben Roethlisberger - Quarterback, Pittsburgh Steelers

Ben Roethlisberger - Quarterback, Pittsburgh Steelers

After spending most of 2020 with a shaved face, Ben Roethlisberger finds himself back on our facial hair fantasy team in 2021. Throughout his 18-year career, Big Ben has shown he can go long—with his beard (see 2019 Ben)—but his shorter cropped 2021 beard is mean, clean, and ready to make one last run.

12. T.J. Hockenson - Tight End, Detroit Lions

T.J. Hockenson - Tight End, Detroit Lions

In 2020, Travis Kelce held down the tight end spot on our list. Kelce is arguably the best tight end in the game, but after he shaved his beard off this past summer, well, we had to shave him from our list. Taking his place is T.J. Hockenson, who spent the offseason transitioning from baby-faced Iowa farm boy to wavy-haired king of the north. We dig the change enough to land Hockenson his first spot on the Beardbrand Fantasy Football All-Facial Hair Team.

13. Aaron Rodgers - Quarterback, Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers - Quarterback, Green Bay Packers

Like the Packers, we don’t really know what Aaron Rodgers is up to—well, at least with his beard. Rodgers’ beard isn’t off to the best start for the 2021 season—his play in week one wasn’t any better. But if we’ve learned anything from A-a-rod over the past 13-or-so seasons, it’s to R-E-L-A-X. Rodgers and his beard will be fine, but he drops to number 13 on the Beardbrand Fantasy Football All-Facial Hair Team for 2021.

14. Andy Reid - Head Coach, Kansas City Chiefs

Andy Reid - Head Coach, Kansas City Chiefs

Instead of picking a team defense as you would in fantasy football, we’re picking a coach—and Andy Reid is our guy, hands down. Coming off back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, Andy Reid and his walrus mustache have the Chiefs poised to make back-to-back-back Super Bowls. Kansas City has made the playoffs seven times since Reid took over as coach in 2013.

TL;DR

We put together our 2021 NFL All Facial Hair Team.

Here’s the catch—to simplify things, we tried to build the best fantasy football team possible only featuring players with facial hair (meaning we solely focussed on quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, and kickers).

We call this ranking of the best beards in the NFL the Beardbrand Fantasy Football All-Facial Hair Team.

This was our criteria:

1. An NFL player had to have facial hair at the start of the 2021 season.
2. They had to be on an NFL roster at the start of the 2021 season.
3. They had to be relevant enough to warrant being drafted in most fantasy football leagues.

Beardbrand’s ranking for the best beards and mustaches in the NFL in 2021:

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Need help with your beard or style? Shoot us a message at support@beardbrand.com, or Text "STYLE" to 512-879-3297 for a free personalized consultation. We’ll be happy to help you out.

Keep on Growing.