For every fantasy stud who emerged in the 2024 NFL season, there is a player on the other end who simply did not live up to expectation. Here is our list of this year's biggest fantasy football disappointments.
We started our season in review by looking back at Sleeper's 2024 Fantasy Football MVPs, but now it’s time for their counterparts on the opposite end of the spectrum. For every fantasy superstar or breakout stud, there’s one who vastly underperformed and made that summer ADP look downright cringeworthy.
As you read this, we hope that if you drafted or started any of the players you find listed here, you were still able to find a way to be crowned your league champion. But if you weren’t, it’s easy to understand why.
Let’s recap the carnage, going position by position (QB, RB, WR, TE) before picking out those who were particularly poor during the fantasy playoff weeks.
Quarterback Nominees
Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
The preseason hype saw A-Rich go in drafts at a Sleeper ADP of QB6. After a period of being benched in favor of Joe Flacco, the second-year QB finished as the overall QB25 — ending the season on the waiver wire in many leagues.
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
The three-time Super Bowl MVP was the consensus third QB off the board in Sleeper leagues — ahead of Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. While Mahomes managed to barely sneak into the QB1 tier as the overall QB11, he failed to deliver consistent elite production. He was outscored by the likes of Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix.
C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Fantasy managers invested heavily (Sleeper ADP of QB5) in last season’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and for good reason. He was blessed with WR Stefon Diggs, to accompany breakout stars Nico Collins and Tank Dell, and the offense was further boosted by the addition of RB Joe Mixon. Instead, he regressed considerably, finishing as the overall QB18.
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
After passing for more than 4,000 yards and 32 touchdowns in 2023, the expectations were immense coming into the 2024 season. Despite a dominant running game led by Josh Jacobs, Love disappointingly finished as the overall QB17, failing to top 224 passing yards in nine of 15 starts.
Biggest Flop: Stroud
Stroud slightly edges Richardson due to the fact that he only topped 20 fantasy points once in 17 starts — something Richardson did four times in six fewer starts.
Running Back Nominees
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
CMC earns a spot here simply because so many fantasy managers were burned by the blatant deception of the 49ers hiding the severity of his injury status in the preseason. Last season’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year, who was widely drafted No. 1 overall, played in just four games and failed to score a single TD.
Travis Etienne Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
After consecutive 1,000-plus rushing campaigns and 17 total TDs in his first two seasons in the NFL, the expectations were sky high. Instead, he finished as RB35 in PPR, rushing for only 558 yards and two TDs and barely out-scoring the player who cut into the bulk of his touches, Tank Bigsby.
Breece Hall, NY Jets
Hall gets a mention despite averaging 15.1 PPR points per game simply due to the fact he came off the board as a top-three RB and very early pick in most drafts (or at significant cost in auctions). Many fantasy managers were expecting the numbers posted by Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs. All four wound up scoring at least 95 more PPR points than Hall, who finished as the PPR RB16.
Devin Singletary, NY Giants
Following Barkley’s exodus to Philadelphia, the expectations were that Singletary would fill in as a solid, if not flashy, RB2 in 2024. Unheralded rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. wound up becoming the starter, and Singletary finished as the overall RB46, averaging a dismal 6 PPR fantasy points per game.
Biggest Flop: Etienne
After commanding a preseason Sleeper ADP of RB8, Etienne was a colossal disappointment, and he was RB41 in average PPR points per game (8.7). He may have started with three straight double-digit PPR performances, but after that he had some sensational bust weeks, none worse than scoring -0.1 points in Week 6.
Wide Receiver Nominees
Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers
Aiyuk was drafted as a low-end WR1/high-end WR2 after receiving a $120 million contract extension. He wound up only playing in seven games and wasn’t particularly good when he did feature, posting more than 9.8 PPR points just once.
Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
When you see Hill publicly proclaiming his exit from Miami immediately after not qualifying for the playoffs, you know things did not go right in 2024. Hill, who was a top-two WR in most drafts, finished as the WR18. Tua Tagovailoa’s injuries surely had a knock-on effect on Hill’s numbers, but the Cheetah was more stop-start than full speed ahead this season.
Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns/Buffalo Bills
Fantasy managers rejoiced when Cooper was traded to Buffalo in mid-October. Despite upgrading to Josh Allen as his QB, the production never materialized. Cooper averaged just 7.7 PPR points per game in eight games with the Bills.
Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
Olave, who was drafted as a top-end WR2, appeared in just eight games due to injury and was very boom-or-bust when he did play. Olave had four games of at least 12.8 PPR points and four of 3.1 or less — including a -0.5 in Week 6 — finishing as the overall WR94 and WR55 on average PPR points per game.
Diontae Johnson, Carolina Panthers/Baltimore Ravens/Houston Texans
After being traded by Pittsburgh, Johnson was a popular middle-round target in drafts, expected to be a PPR monster in Carolina. However, he quickly fell out of favor and was subsequently traded to Baltimore after just seven games. He had a falling-out with the Ravens, too, and was released before being scooped up by Houston. Johnson’s fall from grace, resulting in overall WR86 finish, completely blindsided the fantasy football community.
Biggest Flop: Aiyuk
Fantasy managers likely wish Aiyuk never ended his holdout prior to the beginning of the season, since many late drafters invested higher draft capital on the 49ers wideout than early August drafters. Despite the discount, all fantasy managers who banked on him failed to find any sort of ROI on a player who scored 0 TDs and finished as PPR WR105.
Tight End Nominees
Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
After an impressive rookie campaign, LaPorta was a consensus top-two tight end in drafts. Despite being part of a Lions offense that led the NFL in scoring, LaPorta had to rally to finish as the overall TE8, averaging just 10.9 PPR fantasy points. He had only three double-digit PPR efforts over the first 10 weeks of the season.
Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
Following last April’s trade of Diggs to Houston, the expectations were that Kincaid would be the beneficiary of the vacated targets. The increased production never came to fruition, with Kincaid finishing as the overall TE30 and averaging just 7.8 PPR fantasy points.
Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
Engram was a reception machine in 2023, hauling in 114. After Calvin Ridley bolted to Tennessee in the offseason, expectations were that repeat production was in store. That failed to transpire, as injuries limited him to just nine games and an overall TE33 status.
Biggest Flop: Kincaid
Kincaid edges out LaPorta due to the fact that while both fell far short of expectations, Kincaid finished with nearly 74 fewer PPR points — and LaPorta came through during the fantasy playoffs.
Fantasy Playoff LVPs
Getting the job done in the fantasy regular season is great, but letting fantasy managers down in Weeks 15-17 will undo all of that goodwill. Those who had some of the worst-timed off-weeks include:
Quarterbacks
Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Heading into the fantasy postseason, Hurts was the overall QB4, averaging 22.1 points per game. He was great in Week 15, scoring 28.1. He dashed many championship aspirations when he was forced from the Week 16 showdown with Washington (concussion), though, scoring just 4.5 points in the semifinals and being inactive for the championship.
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
Despite being armed with a WR dynamic duo and plus matchups, Smith largely busted in the fantasy playoffs, posting games of 5.5, 23.4 and 8.3 points. His Week 17 Thursday night production also hurt those who started DK Metcalf or Jaxon Smith-Njigba in their championship games.
Matthew Stafford, LA Rams
Stafford posted just 24.4 combined fantasy points in three starts during the playoff weeks, tossing for no more than 189 yards in each game and one total TD. Pure pain.
Running Backs
Joe Mixon, Houston Texans
Heading into the fantasy playoffs, Mixon was the overall RB2 in average PPR points per game (21.2). He was putrid in the fantasy postseason, though, averaging just 8.2 points and getting progressively worse each playoff week. He capped it with a 5.9-point championship week death blow.
Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers
Harris was a solid RB2 through the first 14 weeks of the season, averaging 13.2 PPR fantasy points per game. The fantasy postseason was an absolute nightmare, though, as he averaged 5.8 PPR points over the three weeks.
Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs
After Pacheco missed nine games with a fractured fibula, fantasy managers were excited about getting a star RB1 back in time for the fantasy postseason. However, he still ceded work to Kareem Hunt and produced a combined total of just 11 PPR points in the three games.
Wide Receivers
Cooper Kupp, LA Rams
The normally reliable Kupp posted games of 0, 5.4 and 3.9 PPR fantasy points, respectively, over the three weeks of the fantasy playoffs. That is not a misprint.
George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers star averaged 13 PPR points throughout the regular season, but any fantasy managers hoping for a late explosion had their hopes destroyed. Pickens was inactive for the first two weeks of the fantasy playoffs only to return to post 8 PPR points in championship week.
DeAndre Hopkins, Kansas City Chiefs
After being traded by Tennessee, Hopkins was a revived PPR asset, averaging 11.3 points per game playing with Mahomes. In the fantasy playoffs, his production disappeared, as he averaged only 6.3 points – culminating with a dismal 2.7 in championship week.
Tight Ends
Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
After missing Weeks 12 and 13, Ferguson returned for the fantasy playoffs only to post single-digit PPR fantasy points in two of the three weeks. He concluded with a disastrous 2.8-point PPR effort in championship week.
Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Otton was one of the biggest pleasant surprises, ranking as the overall TE6 for the first 14 weeks. He suffered a knee injury against the Chargers in Week 15, though, producing just 4.4 PPR points in the first week of the fantasy playoffs and missing the rest of them, forcing any managers counting on him to scramble and stream.
