Fantasy Football Stars who will have Cliff Years: Aaron Rodgers, Raheem Mostert, DeAndre Hopkins and More

Quarterbacks

Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets

A lot of people have high hopes for Rodgers and the Jets' offense this season. They are just assuming he gets back to his MVP form or at least close to it. However, these people are too optimistic for our liking.

There are quite a few major concerns we have here. First of all, he will turn 41 during this season and is coming off a massive injury. Torn Achilles can end careers.

He also got experimental surgery which we've only really seen with Cam Akers, who re-tore his after a speedy return. Beyond that, the last time we saw him play in 2022, he had already seen a steep decline. He wasn't awful, but he also wasn't close to what he once was.

Then of course, a now less mobile and 40-year-old Rodgers is still going to have to survive behind a terrible offensive line. The Jets made some moves this offseason but nothing that gives me confidence of a drastic improvement. The days of Rodgers being even a top-12 quarterback in the NFL or fantasy are well behind us now and we don't expect a sudden resurgence.   

Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons

Like most fantasy owners, we loved the landing spot in Atlanta for Cousins this offseason. Even if we weren't fully confident in his health, this situation was ideal. The team is loaded with young weapons and a strong line to protect him.

However, the Falcons drafting Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick scared the hell out of us. This could mean even if Cousins is playing well he could find himself benched mid-season and fantasy owners could be left scrambling.

There are just too many red flags with Cousins after this addition. You already had age and injury concerns. Adding a high first-round QB who is waiting to take his job could lead to a catastrophe this season. 

Running Backs

Raheem Mostert, Miami Dolphins

Mostert may have been the steal of fantasy drafts last season. He ended up leading the league in touchdowns and rushing for over 1,000 yards. Fantasy owners should not expect anything close to the same production this season.

The Dolphins have De'Von Achane, who is a young stud, poised for a breakout season, and the team added Jaylen Wright in the 2024 NFL Draft, who could easily turn out to be the best back in this draft class.

A name most fans may not know is second-year back Chris Brooks, who could emerge as the short-yardage and goal-line back. In limited work last year due to injury, he flashed impressive ability and has the size to be a major factor.

Mostert is also 32 years old and has an incredibly lengthy injury history. Anything close to a repeat of last season feels unlikely at best. There is a world where even if healthy he's the third-most valuable back on his own team this season.  

Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans

Pollard was a breakout star in 2022 who looked destined to be the next great fantasy running back moving forward. Unfortunately, last season he took a big step back when asked to take over the lead role for the Dallas Cowboys after Ezekiel Elliott was allowed to walk.

Despite being less efficient and noticeably unprepared to be a top guy, he still totaled over 1,300 yards from scrimmage, caught 67 passes, and found the end zone six times. After a big step back last season, he could fade into fantasy purgatory in 2024.

He goes to the Titans who are projected to have both one of the worst offenses and offensive lines in the NFL. There is also a real chance he's not the best running back on that team. Tyjae Spears' film last year was better than Pollard's and if he takes the passing-down work away on a team with a bad line that isn't going to score a lot of TDs, this year could be trouble for Pollard owners. 

Wide Receivers 

DeAndre Hopkins, Tennessee Titans

It's been a few years now since Hopkins was the superstar he once was. However, he was still a very serviceable weapon last season. In 2023, he caught 75 passes for 1,057 yards and seven TDs. Not otherworldly like he was in his prime, nevertheless, it's not awful either.

This year he will be 32 when the season starts and he may fall into total irrelevancy like everyone eventually does. The Titans are going to have an offense that will be in the bottom half of the league and Hopkins will have to rely on an unproven second-round quarterback to get him the ball.

The team also added Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd to the wide receivers room to soak up targets as well. With the money they throw at Ridley, there is no doubt he'll be the WR1 in that offense. We will have to see if an aging Hopkins can survive in a bad situation as he falls down the depth chart. 

Stefon Diggs, Houston Texans

Diggs' disappearing act last season has us very concerned about the 30-year-old wideout. We understand that the offensive system shifted and it hurt him, however, this is two straight years we saw a massive drop off in production in the last half of the season. With that said, 2023 was beyond bad.

What really scares us is the routes run, snaps and targets were still there. He just wasn't getting the job done. Now he goes to a team with Nico Collins and Tank Dell, who also love to run the ball.

If he doesn't step up, he could do another disappearing act in 2024 and it may not wait until midseason. Declining abilities aside, we don't even know how big of a role he can maintain with those young wideouts commanding the ball. 

Tight Ends

Darren Waller, New York Giants

We didn't want to go with the low-hanging fruit of Travis Kelce here. So we went with the even lower-hanging fruit of Waller. He still has a big name and is on a team with limited targets who loves to throw to the tight end position.

Expect there to be hype surrounding him as long as he's out there this summer just like there is every year. However, we believe he is washed. Injuries have piled up, he's flirted with retirement, and the team has other talented young tight ends. Don't bite on this once-great star again this year. It's over for him.