Fantasy Football Rankings 2024: Busts from proven NFL model that nailed Jaylen Waddle’s down season

James Conner is a 29-year-old running back, one season away from hitting that dreaded 30 that seems to scare NFL general managers and Fantasy owners. However, Conner proved he still had plenty of juice in his seventh season last year, potentially sending him up the 2024 Fantasy football rankings. Conner finished seventh in Fantasy football RB rankings over the final nine games last season. He totaled at least 100 yards in four of his final five contests, so how should you feel about selecting Conner with your 2024 Fantasy football picks?

Should you expect him to repeat his late-season success, or could his age and usage catch up to him and make him one of the 2024 Fantasy football busts? Where should he fall in Fantasy football rankings 2024 compared to younger running backs who aren’t as established in the NFL? A challenging part about forming a 2024 Fantasy football strategy is weighing what a player has done over his career against what they’ll do in the upcoming season. As you begin your 2024 Fantasy football draft prep, be sure to check out the 2024 Fantasy football cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

Last year, the model accurately predicted that Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle would fail to live up to his Fantasy football ADP. Waddle’s 2023 Fantasy football ADP was 34.86 overall and he was the 11th receiver off the board on average. He’d go on to notch a 1,000-yard season but only had 72 receptions with four touchdowns and he’d finish as the No. 34 Fantasy football wide receiver in CBS Sports PPR leagues.

The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, identifying A.J. Brown as a sleeper in 2020 and nailing Jonathan Taylor’s monstrous season in 2021. Additionally, it’s called past Fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017. Anybody who banked on players like those made a run at their league title.

The model is powered by the same people who generated projections for all three major Fantasy sites, and it beat human experts last season when there was a big difference in ranking. The 2024 Fantasy football PPR rankings and 2024 Fantasy football standard projections update multiple times daily, so you’re always getting the best Fantasy football advice.

Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest Fantasy football rankings 2024, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them. 

Top 2024 Fantasy football busts

One of the 2024 Fantasy football busts the model is predicting: Texans running back Joe Mixon. The 27-year-old former Pro Bowler is entering his first season with Houston as the projected RB1 ahead of Dameon Pierce, Dare Ogunbowale and Jawhar Jordan. With how impressive the Texans were last season, one would think this would up Mixon’s 2024 fantasy football projections.

However, Mixon’s production is mostly due to volume instead of efficiency. At his best, Mixon has generated 18.0 fantasy points per game. Aging running backs historically haven’t done well in their first years on new teams, and Mixon is joining a team that will likely favor C.J. Stroud feeding the pass game. He will get plenty of work due to where he is in the Texans depth chart, but his fantasy contributions will be limited.

Another bust that SportsLine’s Fantasy football rankings 2024 have identified: Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco. Fantasy players often want a piece of Kansas City’s offense, and who can blame them since the Chiefs are coming off back-to-back Super Bowl championships? However, that postseason success and the name appeal of players such as Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce may have given the Kansas City offense more credit than it deserves over the last two seasons.

The Chiefs ranked eighth in total offense and 17th in rushing yards per game last season. Pacheco rushed for 935 yards in his second NFL season last year, yet he’s going ahead of proven players like Josh Jacobs and Joe Mixon. Pacheco played at least 70% of the snaps in each of the team’s three postseason games last year, but Kansas City likes to keep its running backs fresh and rotated, resulting in his playing at least 70% of the snaps just three times during the regular season. Given his elevated 2024 Fantasy football ADP, the model suggests staying away from Pacheco where he’s being selected in 2024 Fantasy football drafts. See which other Fantasy football busts 2024 to avoid here.

How to find proven 2024 Fantasy football rankings

SportsLine is also low on a wide receiver who is being drafted as a top-15 player at his position. The model ranks him outside its top 20 wide receivers for 2024 and expects him to see major regression. You can only see who it is, and the 2024 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.

So which 2024 Fantasy Football busts should you avoid, and which receiver will fail to live up to expectations? Visit SportsLine now to get 2024 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that told you to avoid Jaylen Waddle in 2023, and find out.