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I turned 34 this year, which doesn't feel old until you start looking at a list of the NFL's oldest skill-position players and you realize that if you'd been a football player, your career would be over at this point. There aren't many skill-position players in their mid-to-late 30s in the NFL, though there are a few left.
For the purposes of this article, we're excluding quarterbacks from the discussion. Why? Because if they were included, four of the five oldest players would be quarterbacks and three of those would be backups, and that's no fun to discuss.
Below are the five oldest skill-position players in the NFL. Do they still have fantasy value?
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Marcedes Lewis - TE - Chicago Bears
Age: 40
It's hard to believe that 40-year-old Marcedes Lewis is still in the NFL. He's the only non-QB skill-position player in the league over the age of 35 and is entering his 19th NFL season.
Bears TE Marcedes Lewis looking forward to "proving that it can be done one more time" in 19th seasonhttps://t.co/cNyugoZ73h pic.twitter.com/uV7DaOZf8J
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) July 15, 2024
Of course, Lewis has been sapped of a lot of his athleticism because time has a way of doing that to a player, so fantasy managers don't need to really factor him into anything when planning for 2024. Lewis is still an exceptional run-blocker, but at this stage, he's essentially just a sixth offensive lineman. Last season, he caught just four passes for 29 yards and a touchdown. Lewis should not be on anyone's fantasy radar.
Travis Kelce - TE - Kansas City Chiefs
Age: 35
We go directly from a tight end who isn't a factor in the passing game to a tight end who is arguably the biggest factor in the passing game of anyone at his position: Travis Kelce.
The Chiefs star might be coming off his worst season since 2015, but he still managed to catch 93 passes for 984 yards and five touchdowns while missing two games. Maybe Kelce isn't quite the destructive force that he was in his prime, but he's still option No. 1 for quarterback Patrick Mahomes and KC's addition of Marquise Brown to stretch the field should open up more of those underneath routes for Kelce.
One concern is that Kelce had just four broken tackles last season. Pro Football Reference has broken tackle data back to 2008 and Kelce's 23.3 receptions per broken tackle is his worst mark in that span by a good bit. Maybe that's one way age is starting to show for him. Still, Kelce's massive role in this Chiefs offense makes him the fantasy TE1 heading into 2024.
Adam Thielen - WR - Carolina Panthers
Age: 34 (in August)
Last season, 33-year-old Adam Thielen made the move to the Panthers, ending his nine-year tenure with the Minnesota Vikings. Thielen ended up serving as rookie quarterback Bryce Young's top receiver, catching 103 passes for 1,014 yards and four touchdowns. It was the most receptions and yards for Thielen since his 2018 Pro Bowl campaign.
I hear what y’all be saying about age, but with Adam Thielen as our slot WR and kind of more like our “safety blanket”
I think that would be HUGE for the entire Offense. AT as your WR3 is 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/kkbsWlf3ZE
— IAmWestsideFetti 💙🖤🤟🏾 (@4MR_Fetti) June 5, 2024
But heading into 2024, the picture is cloudier when it comes to Thielen's production. The Panthers signed Diontae Johnson, who was a bit of a target hog during his time with the Steelers, with 140-plus targets in three of his five seasons. The team also used a first-round pick on South Carolina receiver, Xavier Legette.
All that likely means Thielen won't produce as much in 2024 as he did in 2023, though age isn't the reason why. It'll just be hard to have another 1,000-yard season when you have a QB who struggled with accuracy as a rookie trying to spread the ball around to three different talented receivers.
Taysom Hill - TE - New Orleans Saints
Age: 34 (in August)
It's wild that Taysom Hill is this old, right? He only emerged as an NFL weapon in 2018, which wasn't that long ago, but Hill was already in his age-28 season when that happened.
Hill has played all over the field, from QB to RB to WR to TE, but it's at the latter position that he has fantasy eligibility heading into 2024. Last season, Hill had 81 carries for 401 yards and four touchdowns while also adding 33 receptions for 291 yards and two scores. It was his best season as a receiver, and his 692 scrimmage yards were his most in the NFL.
So despite his age, it seems like Hill is still a versatile threat for the Saints. The problem when it comes to fantasy is that his production isn't very predictable. Hill had seven games with 10 or fewer rushing yards last season and in five of those had four yards or less. He also had eight games where he finished with zero or one reception. I love Hill if I'm playing TE-premium best ball, but he's super risky in normal redraft leagues.
Zach Ertz - TE - Washington Commanders
Age: 34 (in November)
Zach Ertz was once one of the NFL's best tight ends. His past two seasons with the Cardinals suggest that isn't true anymore, but he'll get a chance to be productive in Washington this season. Ertz, who caught 27 passes for 187 yards and one touchdown last season, should get the first shot at the starting job with the Commanders, ahead of John Bates and rookie Ben Sinnott.
In theory, Ertz could serve as a reliable short-yardage option for Washington rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, but his age, injury history, and lack of recent production make it tough to trust him in fantasy. Sinnott has more upside and Ertz should be viewed as a low-end TE3 who will likely see his best production come at the beginning of the season.
Bonus: Oldest Running Back
Cordarrelle Patterson - Pittsburgh Steelers
Age: 33
Running back is a young man's game, which explains why no running back made the list of the top-5 oldest skill-position players and why the oldest running back on a roster right now is Cordarrelle Patterson, a converted wide receiver. If we were looking for someone who has played running back for his entire career, we'd be looking at Raheem Mostert with the Dolphins.
Patterson looks to be the team's No. 3 running back behind Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren and won't have fantasy value unless one of those two is injured. His biggest impact will come as a kick returner, so unless your fantasy league awards points for return yards, you can leave Patterson on the waiver wire.
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