There always seems to be a fear in Fantasy Football that a veteran will have his decline in a particular season, which contributes to those veteran players being undervalued in drafts. Take Julio Jones for example, who averaged 20.4 Fantasy PPG (points per game) in 2018, then 18.3 Fantasy PPG in 2019, then 16.2 Fantasy PPG in 2020 before never averaging above eight from 2021-2023. A once dominant wide receiver for Fantasy Football, with years of heavy production, fell drastically as he aged and burned many managers who did not completely expect.
This “Julio Jones” fear can also create values in Fantasy Football drafts. Keenan Allen could be a great example from 2023. Allen played in just 10 games in 2022, which created a fear that the 30+-year-old veteran was at the end of his relevance. Heading into 2023, at age 31, Allen fell to the WR19 and 41st overall for where he was being drafted. Although Allen missed some time again, he was still extremely dominant for Fantasy Football, averaging 21.5 PPG for the year which ranked third. People feared that Allen was “falling off” heading into 2023, just to see him score heavily for Fantasy Football as an aging veteran.
The point of this post is clear – give you veterans that still have gas left in the tank for Fantasy Football, that may be undervalued heading into Fantasy drafts. We will define a “veteran”, as a player who is 29+ years old. The players below may have had concerning signs, but should not be overlooked in drafts due to their age. Target these guys, at cost (ADP), with confidence.
10 Undervalued Veterans for Fantasy Football in 2024
1. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons QB (age 35)
There is plenty of concern for Kirk Cousins at age 35 and coming off of an Achilles tear. In 2023 prior to this injury though, Cousins was playing at an MVP level in Minnesota. In Weeks 1-8 Cousins ranked:#2 in passing yards (2,331), was tied for #1 in passing touchdowns (18), was #6 in total Fantasy Points (154.9), and #8 in Fantasy PPG (19.4).
A four-year deal worth $180 million this 0ff-season to Atlanta was a great career move for Cousins. There are not many trios better than the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and TJ Hockenson in the NFL, but the Falcons’ Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Bijan Robinson have to be up there. Pitts (age 23) was selected with the fourth overall pick in 2021, London (age 23) with the eighth overall pick in 2022 and Bijan Robinson (age 22) was selected with the eighth overall pick in 2023. Great young trio anchor for the running back, wide receiver and tight end positions. Cousins will also have field-stretcher Darnell Mooney and reliable outlet Rondale Moore.
Cousins is being drafted as the QB18 off the board for 2024, but I feel he has the Fantasy resume, skillset and set of weapons to smash that. Cousins has averaged 18+ Fantasy PPG for the last four seasons in a row and was on fire last season prior to the injury. Cousins has never been a rushing quarterback, never hitting 180 yards on the ground, so the Achilles recovery impacting his actual upside is not as massive of a factor as it would be to a Jalen Hurts / Lamar Jackson type of player. I love the playmakers in Atlanta for Cousins, and I am optimistic this entire offense is elevated due to the move for Cousins.
2. Aaron Jones, Vikings RB (age 29)
Do not let Aaron Jones missing time (11 games) and averaging 12.3 Fantasy PPG overshadow how hot he was to finish off his career with the Packers. Across Aaron Jones’ last five games for Green Bay he rushed for: 127 yards (Week 16), 120 yards (Week 17), 111 yards (Week 18), 118 yards (NFL Wild Card ROund), and 108 yards (NFC Divisional Round). Three rushing touchdowns against a stout Dallas offense in the playoffs was a major reason the Packers defeated the Cowboys.
Jones signed with the Vikings this off-season, staying in the NFC North noting “I just wanted to go where I felt wanted“. I believe there is a chip on his shoulder, and I believe the Vikings will make Jones a huge piece of their weekly game plan. It was not long ago (2022) that Jones rushed for 1,121 yards and caught 59 balls as a true dual-threat, playmaking running back. He has the skillset on the ground and through the air.
Aaron Jones is being drafted as the RB19 right now for Fantasy Football, which is a value vs what he has the potential to do in 2024. The impacts of TJ Hockenson recovering from an ACL tear in 2023, Jordan Addison potentially being in trouble and the quarterback situation between rookie JJ McCarthy and Sam Darnold could mean plenty of working the passing game. A healthy Aaron Jones has meant four of seven seasons finishing top 12 in Fantasy PPG, so the range of outcomes finishing RB12-15 are very realistic in 2024.
3. James Conner, Cardinals RB (age 29)
4. Austin Ekeler, Commanders RB (age 29)
5. Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys RB (age 29)
Right now James Conner is being drafted as the RB22, Austin Ekeler as the RB40 and Ezekiel Elliott as the RB39 for Fantasy Football. All three of the guys can out-produce those ADP’s. I recently talked about these three veterans in my running back sleeper article you can read here
6. Stefon Diggs, Texans WR (age 30)
The 2023 season of Stefon Diggs has left a terrible taste in Fantasy managers’ mouths. Here is how the split looked from Weeks 1-9, then Weeks 10-18:
- Fantasy WR Rank / Fantasy PPG
- Weeks 1-9: WR3 / 21.7 PPG
- Weeks 10-18: WR44 / 9.8
- Receiving Yards / Receiving Yard Rank
- Weeks 1-9: 834 / #3
- Weeks 10-18: 349 / #48
Diggs still finished 2023 with 160 targets, 107 receptions, 1,183 receiving yards, eight touchdowns and 16.1 Fantasy PPG (#13). The drop-off in production has meant being drafted as the WR23 this off-season. This is despite Diggs finishing as the WR13, WR6, WR9 and WR3 in Fantasy PPG the four seasons.
This off-season, Diggs landed in Houston via a trade to pair up with CJ Stroud, Nico Collins and Tank Dell. Stroud had a phenomenal rookie season in 2023, posting 4,108 passing yards and 23 passing touchdowns. The dilemma at hand is who the WR1, WR2 and WR3 is between the new trio of Diggs, Collins, Dell. Collins racked up 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns last season, and rookie Dell finished with 709 yards and seven touchdowns through 11 games. The difference between these two wide receivers, and Diggs, is that Diggs has historically been a target earner. Dell averaged 6.8 targets per game, and Collins earned 7.3 targets per game in 2023. Diggs has earned a heavy 160, 155, 164, and 166 targets the last four seasons. I believe Diggs is the WR1 in targets for the Texans in 2024, and out-produces his current ADP despite the competition.
7. Amari Cooper, Browns WR (age 30)
In 2023 all of Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, PJ Walker, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson passed for at least 111 attempts each for the Browns. Despite the mixture of quarterbacks, Amari Cooper still finished with a career-high 1,250 receiving yards and averaged 15.1 Fantasy PPG which ranked #17 for the position. Cooper has finished back-to-back seasons as the #17 wide receiver in Fantasy PPG, with over 1,100 receiving yards in each of them. Cooper has five seasons of 1,100+ receiving yards on his NFL resume.
This off-season, Cooper is being drafted as the WR29 for Fantasy Football. The Browns did bring in Jerry Jeudy to serve as the team’s WR2, and David Njoku had a highly productive season with the Browns last year but not much indicates Cooper should slope down in production. Flacco did elevate Cooper and Njoku at times, but I have full faith in the Watson bounce-back, who we once regarded as one of the league’s premier quarterbacks. You should lock Cooper into 120+ targets, and expect him to again be over 1,000 receiving yards. Cooper took a step back in 2023 with five touchdowns vs. scoring nine and eight in the two seasons prior, so a bump here can elevate him for Fantasy Football even further.
8. Calvin Ridley, Titans WR (age 29)
After playing just five games in 2021, Calvin Ridley finally returned to the field in 2023 to play a full season with the Jaguars. Ridley finished the season earning 136 targets, catching 76 of them, producing 1,016 receiving yards, scoring eight touchdowns, and averaging 13.5 Fantasy PPG which ranked 27th for wide receivers. 2023 did not live up to his previous full season in 2020, which Ridley finished with 1,374 receiving yards and averaged 18.8 Fantasy PPG, but it was a solid comeback. This off-season the Titans signed Ridley to a four-year, $92 million dollar deal.
Ridley is being drafted right now as the WR36 for Fantasy Football in 2024, after dusting off the cobwebs in 2023 and finishing nearly 10 spots higher on a PPG basis. Sophomore Will Levis will open up 2024 as the starter in Tennessee, after playing in nine games as a second-round rookie in 2024. Levis led all quarterbacks in air yards per attempt (10.4), and his opening game was a big one tossing four touchdowns in it but we did not see much else last year. DeAndre Hopkins matched Ridley’s 136 target mark in 2023, and Tyler Boyd is also an incoming wide receiver with previous history in Cincinnati. Both Tyjae Spears and Tony Pollard are pass-catching profiled running backs, and Chig Okonkwo will continue to operate as the TE1.
I expect Ridley to lead the Titans in targets for 2024, even with other veterans with solid NFL resumes. This man literally just got back to playing football and had a good 2023 season in his return. Look for Ridley to build off of a returned season in 2024 pending Levis steps up to the occasion.
9. Mike Williams, Jets WR (age 29)
We received reports last week that Mike Williams was moved to the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, which was expected seeing as though Williams tore his ACL last season. The Jets are expected to have Williams ready to go by Week 1. With the Chargers last season, MikeWill started off the year hot through the first three weeks, averaging 8.67 targets, 6.33 receptions, 83 receiving yards, and 16.73 Fantasy PPG. The expectation for 2024 is that Williams will operate as the WR2 behind Garrett Wilson for Aaron Rodgers, which should bring Fantasy relevance.
Back in 2021 Williams had a big season, finishing with 1,146 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Williams has finished four seasons over 15 yards per reception and scored double-digit touchdowns back in 2018. There is upside attached to Williams, and with an ADP of WR62, I am willing to take a shot on him being FLEX-worthy this season. Williams has averaged 16.7, 13.6 and 15.4 Fantasy PPG the last three seasons.
10. Taysom Hill, Saints TE (age 33)
Death, taxes, and random Taysom Hill spike weeks as the TE, RB, QB, FB, etc for the Saints. Hill finished as the TE12 for Fantasy Football in 2023 and the TE9 in 2022. He is the single most diverse player for Fantasy Football we may have ever seen, as a guy who can throw, run, and catch. Hill has attempted over 10 passes the last two seasons, rushed the ball over 80 times during this span, and caught a career-high 33 passes in 2023. Hill has accounted for 18 total touchdowns across the last 2 years.
I will admit that Hill is extremely hard to trust in redraft leagues on a weekly basis, but we know the upside is there due to the gadget use. Hill is likely best suited for best ball formats, but if we open up the season with him consistently touching the ball then he should be on rosters. The tight end position is always a difficult one to tackle for Fantasy Football with so many tight ends holding such little upside, but Hill simply offers something different than any other in the league.
Who’s your favorite dark horse QB1? Drop some names in the comments below and then make sure to check out our 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit for more great rankings and analysis.