{"id":203686,"date":"2024-12-31T11:00:29","date_gmt":"2024-12-31T16:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=203686"},"modified":"2024-12-31T00:21:52","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T05:21:52","slug":"fantasy-footballs-brightest-stars-and-biggest-letdowns-of-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/12\/31\/fantasy-footballs-brightest-stars-and-biggest-letdowns-of-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy Football’s Brightest Stars and Biggest Letdowns of 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another fantasy football season has come to a close, and it’s time to review the ups and downs. Many players exceeded expectations based on their average draft positions or delivered on the hopes of their managers, while others were significant disappointments that negatively impacted many teams. Let\u2019s take a closer look at three players who met or exceeded their potential this season, as well as three players who let the fantasy world down in 2024.<\/a><\/p>\n

Fantasy Football’s Brightest Stars and Biggest Letdowns of 2024<\/h2>\n

Josh Allen Proves That He Will Always Be That Guy<\/h3>\n

After the departure of wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, many expected quarterback Josh Allen’s fantasy numbers to decline. However, in 2024, his statistics remained unchanged despite having weaker receiving options. With one regular season game left, Allen has over 3,800 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and only 6 interceptions, which is the lowest of his career. This performance contributed to Allen maintaining over 390 fantasy points yearly since 2020.<\/p>\n

What was particularly impressive about Allen’s season was his ability to limit mistakes which made the Buffalo Bills a force<\/a> to be reckoned with. Previously, he had been compared to “Brett Favre ” due to his tendency to throw a significant number of interceptions by extending plays too much. Perhaps without Diggs and Davis, Allen was not forced to look for those two downfield targets, which may have helped him reduce turnovers.<\/p>\n

Many NFL fans and even some top football analysts tend to nitpick Josh Allen’s game and his value as an NFL quarterback. However, time and again, he proves them wrong and makes them eat their words. His calm demeanor is reminiscent of Peyton Manning, as he steps onto the field, performs at a high level, and walks back to the sideline, eager for the next drive. Allen is always looking to improve and with his dual threat capabilites (12 rushing touchdowns), he will be targeted early in 2025 fantasy drafts.\u00a0Each year, teams may “reach” for Allen in their fantasy drafts, but more often than not, he over-performs and continues to defy expectations. This is simply who Allen is. Moving forward, he stands out as one of the safest, if not the safest, quarterbacks in fantasy football.<\/p>\n

The Brock Bowers Hype Was True<\/h3>\n

Some readers may wonder why Las Vegas Raiders<\/a> tight end Brock Bowers is included on this list, especially since there are many other deserving players. However, when you consider the circumstances, it becomes clear why he deserves recognition.<\/p>\n

Entering the NFL, Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers generated significant hype, the most for an incoming tight end in quite some time. Given his outstanding college career at Georgia, it was reasonable to anticipate Bowers’ success. However, predicting a player’s transition to stardom in the NFL is always uncertain.<\/p>\n

Bowers possesses an impressive route tree for a tight end, along with reliable hands and toughness, which makes him a valuable asset on the field. As a result, he emerged as a fantasy standout in 2024. He recorded 1,144 receiving yards, ranking second among all rookies, and finished the season as the overall tight end 2, accumulating 140 fantasy points over 17 games. His total of 240 plus fantasy points<\/a> places him in the range of WR19 numbers, just behind Tee Higgins, Courtland Sutton, and Davante Adams. By the statistics, Bowers had one of the greatest rookie seasons ever for a tight end.<\/p>\n

What is also staggering about Bowers is that he proved that he is QB-proof. When your quarterbacks are Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Donnell and Desmond Ridder and your still able to thrive, that’s special. In 2025, Bowers could likely be the top tight end taken in fantasy drafts, especially if the Raiders make an upgrade at quarterback. Bowers is the real-deal and do not overthink it when next summer comes around.<\/p>\n

Honorable mention: Joe Burrow and JaMarr Chase (CIN), Saquon Barkley (PHI), Sam Darnold (MIN) , Josh Jacobs (GB),\u00a0 Joe Mixon (HOU), Brian Thomas Jr (JAX)<\/p>\n

Deebo Samuel Shows No Bully Instead Makes Case For 2024’s Biggest Letdown<\/h3>\n

San Francisco wide receiver Deebo Samuel is typically a top-tier fantasy target due to his versatility. In his time, Samuel has been a great choice, especially in PPR formats. In his five previous seasons, Samuel has eclipsed 215 fantasy points in three, with 2021 being his career-best season. That year saw him go for 339 fantasy points and over 1600 all-purpose yards. Being a threat downfield or out of the backfield, Samuel is the perfect “fantasy” gadget. In 2024, that was not the case.\u00a0 Much like the 49ers team overall, Samuel was a significant disappointment.<\/p>\n

With injuries to Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk, Samuel was expected to be the primary option in the offense. Because of his new role, he was the most traded-for player early in the season. However, as the weeks progressed, Samuel failed to live up<\/a> to expectations.<\/p>\n

Scoring only 50.8 points from weeks 8-15, Samuel was a complete non-factor for the 49ers. When he was not getting looks downfield, he also struggled in the screen game, rendering his two main attributes ineffective. In week 16, he finally had a breakout game, scoring 25 fantasy points. Although, it is likely that most fantasy managers had him benched by that time. Simply put, Samuel was one of the biggest disappointments of the season. This underperformance may have contributed to the 49ers’ struggles as a team this year. Still for a player of his caliber, Samuel hurt many fantasy teams in 2024.<\/p>\n

Samuel’s draft stock is likely to take a substantial hit next season, which could make him a steal in the later rounds. However, there is not much to be excited about regarding Deebo going forward. 2024 was expected to be his year, but it turned out to be one of his worst.<\/p>\n

Once A Fantasy Football League-Winner Jaguars’ Travis Etienne Has One Of The Biggest Production Declines You Would See<\/h3>\n

After his first two seasons, Jacksonville Jaguars’ Travis Etienne was one of the better RB options in fantasy. Although he is not the largest running back (standing at 5’10” and weighing 215 pounds), Etienne plays with an impressive physicality. He can effectively run as a bruiser, excel in open field situations, and catch passes out of the backfield.<\/span><\/p>\n

In both 2022 and 2023, Etienne finished among the top 10 RBs, accumulating over 1,300 all-purpose yards. Etienne also had over 210<\/a> fantasy points both seasons. His consistent performance has solidified his status as a worthy top 40 selection in 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the year progressed and Travis Etienne’s production dwindled, backup Tank Bigsby began to take over. When a backup shines, it\u2019s often difficult for the team to go back to the week one starter. NFL teams tend to ride the hot hand when it comes to running backs. Bigsby had more per-game touches and as a result Etienne struggled. He never finished one game surpassing 14 fantasy points or 70 rushing yards. This is hard to accept judging by his first two years in the NFL. Etienne<\/span> ranks as the RB37 for the year, a significant drop in fantasy production.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the Jaguars struggled as a team, Brian Thomas Jr, Evan Engram, and Tank Bigsby still produced. This suggests that Etienne’s fantasy struggles are not solely due to the team\u2019s overall performance. Moving forward, fantasy managers might regain trust in drafting Etienne if there are some change in Jacksonville. The team could use a new coach, improved offensive line and a better QB. If none of these issues are addressed, Etienne is likely to be an afterthought in fantasy football.<\/span><\/p>\n

Honorable Mention: Aaron Rodgers (NYJ), Zamir White (LV), Caleb Williams (CHI),\u00a0 Anthony Richardson (IND), Rachaad White (TB), Tyreek Hill (MIA)<\/p>\n

Main Image: Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following another high scoring season in 2024, here are the biggest breakouts and letdowns of fantasy football this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5178,"featured_media":207341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[10068,4793,294,2599,7239],"class_list":["post-203686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy","tag-brock-bowers","tag-deebo-samuel","tag-fantasy-football","tag-josh-allen","tag-travis-etienne"],"modified_by":"Isaac Zuniga","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5178"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203686"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207342,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203686\/revisions\/207342"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}