Welcome to Week 17 of the 2023 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.
This week's roundtable features these four topics:
- Gutsy Championship Lineup Decisions
- Difficult Championship Lineup Decisions
- Hanging on or Hang'Em Up? (see below)
- 2024 RB Breakout Candidates
Let's roll.
Hanging On or Hang'Em Up?
Waldman: Take a look at this list of players who are reaching an age where the fantasy public and analyst community will be concerned about the dragons at the edge of the ocean.
Time to make some choices...
Who Has the Best Shot of Hanging onto Starter Production in 2024?
Dan Hindery: Evans is the only player on this list who has not shown any signs of decline. His NFL-leading 13 receiving touchdowns (with two games still to play) are only one shy of a career-high. With 1,163 receiving yards, he is a virtual lock to post one of the three highest yardage totals of his career. Just as importantly, Evans is about to complete his 10th straight season of playing at least 13 games. Most of the other aging veterans on this list have given us reason to doubt their ability to stay healthy.
Corey Spala: Disagree there, Dan. Cooper Kupp is the player here who I believe has the best shot of hanging on to fantasy production next season. Currently, Kupp and Matthew Stafford are locked into the 2024 season, while we do not know the 2024 situations for Mike Evans and Davante Adams. All three are aging wide receivers, but I did a study on "elite" aging wide receivers. These three do not have any concerns, at least for the 2024 season.
Kupp is a top talent at the wide receiver position, and he will continue to be peppered with targets in 2024. You can tell me he is the WR2 on his team, and my answer would not change. Stafford, Kupp, and Puka Nacua will be fun to watch. There are not too many mouths to feed, and this article I wrote earlier this season explains.
Andy Hicks: Mike Evans was having managers look at moving on once Tom Brady left. He hit 30, the team was supposed to fail, and Baker Mayfield had struggled throughout his career to latch on with a receiver.
Big mistake. Evans now has an unbroken ten-year stretch to start his career of breaking 1000 yards in every season and is having his best season in years from a fantasy perspective. He is tough, has an imposing size, and shows no sign of failing to meet a record-extending successful 11th season.
Adam Wilde: Mike Evans has hit the 1,000 receiving yard threshold in just about every situation one could imagine. While some of his seasons have been disappointing relative to his draft position, he's falling to the later rounds in his older age. Assuming he once again puts together a 1,000-yard season, he's going to be a value in 2024.
Cummins: Count me in for Mike Evans. He's simply an incredible outlier.
McNamara: The answer is Mike Evans. His situation has not mattered, and he is declining in price because he's "old". I will continue to bet on him until he stops doing succeeding.