The 2024 NFL Season is upon us. The season officially kicks off on Thursday, September 5th. You’re probably as ready as I am to see games that matter. You probably also have your own hopes and predictions for the season. Below are ten bold predictions I have about the 2024 NFL Season. Feel free to leave some of your own comments in the comments, and we’ll check back at the end of the season to see how we do!
Five Rookie QBs Will Start in 2024
About: We already have three penciled in as starters, with Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Bo Nix named starters for their teams. Jacoby Brissett is starting Week 1 for the Patriots, but it seems just a matter of time until Drake Maye takes the job. With J.J. McCarthy on IR for the year, you might wonder if I’m predicting Michael Penix to overtake Kirk Cousins in 2024. I’m not. I’m looking elsewhere.
Derek Carr is a fine starter. The Saints have a fine, if unspectacular, team. They also have Spencer Rattler on the bench. I think by late in the season, with the Saints out of the playoff picture and the prospect of organizational changes in the off-season, the team will want to get a look at Rattler, who will start at least one game.
The Chiefs Will Have a Top 20 Receiver
About: The Chiefs used to have a Top 20 receiver all the time when they had Tyreek Hill. They haven’t had one in the two years since he’s been gone. Rashee Rice was close in 2023, finishing as WR27. The year prior, Juju Smith-Schuster led the way, also with a WR27 finish. So, it seems they’ve been locked into the WR3 range.
Why am I predicting a jump-up, especially with more receivers like Xavier Worthy and Marquise Brown in the fold? I think Rice is poised to be that WR1 and it looks like he’ll also avoid any suspensions in 2024. Given that, a WR2 finish seems not only possible but likely.
No Browns Running Back Will Crack the Top 30
About: The Browns have Nick Chubb, but he already started the season on the PUP List. Behind him, the team kept Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong. Surely, there will be others, but that’s where the team stands as of now. Ford was a capable fill-in during the 2023 season, finishing as RB16 in 2023. That would portend another decent season, and I think he’ll be fine while he’s in the lead and a contributor after that. Then, when Chubb returns, he’ll work himself into the lead role. You probably could have an RB2 with the main Browns’ back throughout the season if you roster them both, but I suspect neither finishes above 30 for season-long scoring.
Taysom Hill Will Finish With More Points Than Brock Bowers
About: Hill is a jack-of-all-trades for the Saints. But in fantasy platforms, he gets tight end eligibility. You might not jump on him in drafts, but he can be a great play. He finished as TE12 in 2023, TE9 in 2022, and would have been TE8 in 2020 based on his scoring. Bowers is a talented rookie on a middling offense with plenty of target competition. I think Hill can finish in Top 12 range at TE again, while Bowers will finish as a high-end TE2.
Two Eagles Receivers Will Finish in the Top 12
About: The Eagles offense struggled at times in 2023. That led to the team bringing in Kellen Moore as Offensive Coordinator and Saquon Barkley in the backfield. So, what does that mean for the receivers? I still think this will be a robust passing offense, and we’ll see A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith as the beneficiaries. Both finished Top 10 in 2022, Brown was Top 10, and Smith was WR18 in 2023. I like both to finish as WR1s again in 2024.
The Chargers Won’t Have a Top 15 Fantasy Finisher at Any Position
About: This might feel like a bold call, considering Austin Ekeler was RB1 for the Chargers in 2022, and Keenan Allen was WR8 just last year. That’s not to mention that Justin Herbert is still there.
Well, Ekeler and Allen are gone, as is the coaching staff. As the Chargers re-make their team and move to a more run-heavy offense, I think fantasy production will pay the price. I expect Herbert to be a serviceable QB2, with Gus Edwards leading the backfield in the RB3 range. The receiver group—featuring Josh Palmer, Ladd McConkey, D.J. Chark, and Quinton Johnston—is more of a work in progress. Ultimately, I don’t think anyone pops in 2024.
Aaron Rodgers Will Win Comeback Player of the Year
About: Rodgers was the focal point of the off-season last year as he moved on from the Packers to the Jets. Super Bowl expectations followed, and Rodgers lasted four plays before being lost for the season. Now, that same pressure and weight of expectation exists. I don’t know if I think the Jets are a Super Bowl team, but I think they’ll be a playoff team, and Rodgers will help push Garrett Wilson to a career year. That should be enough to earn the Comeback Player of the Year.
The Chicago Bears Will Make the Playoffs
About: Maybe I’m drunk on hype and Hard Knocks, but I’m coming around on the Bears. Chicago was a frisky 7-10 in 2023, so making the leap to nine or ten wins doesn’t feel monumental. Caleb Williams looks like the real deal, while the team added Rome Odunze and Keenan Allen to a group that already had D.J. Moore and Cole Kmet. The Bears also have a strong defense with a stellar secondary. The NFC isn’t as loaded as the AFC, and despite playing in a tough division, I think the Bears will make it to the post-season field.
The Dallas Cowboys Will Miss the Playoffs
About: For fantasy, and sometimes just in general, I enjoy the Cowboys. The team has won 12 games each of the last three seasons and still has one of the best receivers in the game in CeeDee Lamb and a lights-out defender in Micah Parsons. But the Cowboys lost a lot of role players, including some big pieces on the offensive line. They also lost Dan Quinn on defense, don’t have much of a solid running game, and spent the off-season with their best playmakers in contract disputes. I was initially OK with the Cowboys, but after this training camp, I think this could end up being an eight- or nine-win team that misses the post-season altogether.
The Lions will win the Super Bowl
About: You have to push your chips in on someone; for me, it’s the Lions. I think Jared Goff will win NFL MVP, too. I like the Lions, who were one bad half away from a Super Bowl berth last season. They have great pieces in place, have made some key improvements, and still have tremendous heart and fire, with Head Coach Dan Campbell leading the way. I like this team to take it a step further and bring the ultimate prize back to the starved fanbase in Detroit.
Matthew Fox is a die-hard NFL fan and Broncos’ homer. He’s a member of the FSWA. You can find more from him on Twitter @knighthawk7734 or as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast, a part of the Campus2Canton Network.
