Fantasy Football's All-Boring Team: 7 of the un-flashiest vets to trust in 2024
We're meandering our way through the 2024 fantasy football draft season, and I understand why managers are chasing for upside. I understand why buzzy players climb the ADP boards regularly. I know we want needle-movers and the rarest of unicorns, the league-winning pick. I want those guys, too.
But there's something to be said for a few steady, floor-driven, value-fetching players on your roster, too. That's today's assignment, to present a few boring but useful veteran players who make sense at their current market prices.
Nobody ever went broke making money.
WR Amari Cooper, Browns
The Browns rolled out five quarterbacks last year, a motley crew, and none of them held Cooper down. He posted a snappy WR14 17-week season, on the heels of his WR9 17-week campaign the previous year. So why is the Yahoo market giving you Cooper at a friendly WR22 sticker this year? Because he's become a boring-value vet as he enters his 10th NFL season.
Maybe Cooper won't smash his ADP given the limitations of Deshaun Watson these days, but I trust Kevin Stefanski to get the ball to his best outside playmaker. And Cooper was probably a little unlucky with touchdowns last year; that likely regresses back to his career mean. Cooper is a preferred value punch for me all summer.
RB Devin Singletary, Giants
Singletary has made a career out of providing sneaky value. He didn't go to a big-name school (Florida Atlantic) or command a heavy draft price (Round 3, pick 74). The Texans brought him in last year as a backup, essentially as insurance — but he shoved Dameon Pearce out of the way in the second half of the season. From Weeks 9 through 17 last year, Singletary was the RB9 in half-point PPR leagues. That's the consistency you can hang your hat on.
The challenge will be steeper this year, running behind a makeshift New York offensive line. But Singletary has very little competition for the ball on his new team, and Giants head coach Brian Daboll trusts Singletary, given their time together in Buffalo. Singletary currently is drafted as the RB30 in Yahoo leagues, a slot he's beaten for three straight seasons.
RB Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys
It's no fun to play fantasy football like an actuary, but we need to be mindful of aging curves — especially at running back. And Elliott certainly looks like a declining player as he enters his age-29 season. He made just 3.5 yards per carry in his one New England run, and he was at 3.8 YPC in his last year with Dallas.
Now Elliott is back with the Pokes, and maybe Rico Dowdle is the team's most-talented back. But Elliott is still effective in short-yardage work and could become the designated scorer for Dallas when it moves inside the five-yard line. Elliott might not sniff 1,000 yards or make it to 4.0 yards a carry, but 8-11 touchdowns could be in play. He's an interesting depth target at a reasonable Yahoo cost of RB34.
TE Evan Engram, Jaguars
Tight end has become a glamorous position in the last few years. Travis Kelce is a bonafide celebrity, both for his play and for his high-profile girlfriend. Sam LaPorta broke the rookie tight end rules last year. George Kittle is a threat to score from anywhere on the field. Kyle Pitts was the fourth pick in his draft class, the highest draft capital ever spent on a tight end.
What does Engram do? He catches the ball and generally gets tackled shortly after the grab. Although he piled up 114 catches last year, he didn't make it to 1,000 yards — nor did he have 100 yards in any game. His average reception went for a modest 8.4 yards.
But there's something to be said for trust, and Trevor Lawrence certainly trusts Engram. And Doug Pederson's offenses generally tend to be tight-end friendly. After a couple of TE6 17-week seasons, the Yahoo market is allowing you to take Engram as the TE8 this summer. Sounds like a sturdy floor.
QB Jared Goff, Lions
QB Kirk Cousins, Falcons
QB Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars
There's a lot of buzz at the top of the quarterback board this year. The top 10 at the position boasts several dual-threat quarterbacks and the ones who don't run as much (like C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love) are seen as superstars on the escalator. You can grab someone exciting at almost any draft price point.
But most fantasy managers will likely draft a backup, and in Superflex formats, you need at least two solid quarterbacks (likely three). And for those fills, I'm happy to saddle up with an established name who works from the pocket, even if the upside isn't as juicy as the earlier tiers.
| Player | Yds | PasY/G | Pct | TD | QBRat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 J. Goff | 4,575 | 269.1 | 67.3 | 30 | 97.9 |
 K. Cousins | 2,331 | 291.4 | 69.5 | 18 | 103.8 |
 T. Lawrence O | 4,016 | 251 | 65.6 | 21 | 88.5 |
The Lions have the band back together, keeping OC Ben Johnson and working behind the league's best offensive line. You'd like to see Goff produce better stats in road games, but he's absolute money in the Detroit dome.
Cousins was leading the NFL in passing yards per game when he got hurt last year. Sure, he doesn't have Justin Jefferson any longer, but the Falcons have a fun set of triplets ready to go — Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Kyle Pitts. Throw in a schedule that's both easy and dome-friendly and Cousins is likely to beat his QB17 ADP, perhaps even smash it.
The Lawrence call is a nod towards the post-hype sleeper theme. Before Lawrence was even drafted, he was seen as such a can't-miss prospect that some felt NFL teams should tank an entire season for a chance to draft him. Lawrence has probably been a little more productive than given credit for the last two years, charting as the QB7 and QB12. Calvin Ridley is gone, but maybe that's not a major loss. The depth of the QB position presents Lawrence as a nifty value, currently landing at QB16. Give him a full season and he'll beat that slot.