Aging Fantasy Football Players: Should You Draft Aaron Rodgers, Adam Thielen, Travis Kelce, and more?

Tommy analyzes five of the oldest skill players in fantasy football entering the 2025 season. Should you draft these aging fantasy football players?

When it comes to fantasy football content in July, it's rare to find a topic that hasn't been covered by multiple analysts in the industry. But here at RotoBaller, we truly enjoy analyzing angles that you can't find from just any talking head on a sports blog or radio show. For the second year in a row, we're going to spend some time on the players that no one in the fantasy community likes to talk about: The old farts.

Sure, the odds that a player in his 30s will carry you to a fantasy title are slim to none. However, when you see the names below, some spike weeks from the past couple of seasons will come to mind. So, while it may not be the most consistent production, there is bound to be value somewhere in this list of veteran players.

We're going to take a look at the oldest starting (or semi-starting) players at each offensive skill position. The tight end gets two entries because both deserve some discussion. Let's dive in to see if we can find a glimmer of life left in these worn, somewhat-wobbly legs.

Editor's Note: Identify fantasy football draft busts, overvalued ADPs, and key players to avoid so you can draft with confidence this season.

QB Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers | 41 years old

This feels like the final time we might be able to analyze Rodgers for fantasy football purposes. That's probably for the best. Rodgers was a disappointment to any fantasy manager who relied on Jets skill players for production in 2024. Despite the massive amount of pass volume in New York, there weren't any signs of growth from Rodgers or the offense as a whole.

Aaron Rodgers and the Jets lose their THIRD STRAIGHT and drop to 2-4 on the year 😬 pic.twitter.com/qVofsG5BS9

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 15, 2024

Obviously, the former Super Bowl XLV MVP is no longer relevant in one-QB fantasy leagues. However, in two-QB or Superflex leagues, almost every starting quarterback gets rostered at some point. So, we do have to at least think this one through...

If you are the poor soul considering Rodgers in one of those leagues, one has to ask a very simple question: Will the Steelers actually throw enough for Rodgers to be productive?

The "pro" side of the argument would include the fact that Najee Harris has left Pittsburgh, and there could be less of a run-heavy approach with Jaylen Warren and Kaleb Johnson in the backfield. It also helps that DK Metcalf will be losing his mind if he gets less than seven targets a game.

But the "con" side is that the Jets were the second-highest team in the NFL last year in terms of pass volume, and Rodgers still only scored 18.4 fantasy points per game in six-point passing touchdown leagues. It's tough to envision him coming anywhere close to either of those marks in Pittsburgh, and that's if he stays healthy.

It's difficult to see Rodgers as anything more than a third quarterback in a two-QB or Superflex league, but even then, it's possible that a better option becomes available on the waiver wire by the time one of your starting quarterbacks reaches their bye week or gets injured. All in all, it's best to leave the once-fantasy star in the pool for someone else to dream about. Look for more upside elsewhere.

RB Raheem Mostert, Las Vegas Raiders | 33 years old

To be clear, I'm very aware that Ashton Jeanty will almost certainly be the day-one starter in Las Vegas. However, Mostert has remained the most rosterable old running back in the league over the past couple of seasons, so he earns the honorary focus of this article as the most notable old running back.

Mostert stayed healthy most of 2024, and that was largely due to the fact that De'Von Achane failed to finish just one game in Miami. In that contest, the veteran backup rushed 19 times for 80 yards while catching two balls for 10 yards.

That game showed that Mostert still could be a featured back when called upon, but it also shed some light on the idea that the speedster might finally be breaking down a bit, losing some of that game-breaking upside he once possessed.

The question really becomes this: Should Jeanty owners feel obligated to spend a late draft pick on Mostert in order to handcuff their valuable running back asset?

At the end of the day, there is a world where Jeanty gets injured (let's hope not...), and Mostert is fortunate enough to start a game or two in 2025. However, the more likely scenario is that a younger running back forms a committee with the former Dolphin behind the Raiders' first-round pick, or that you have a different player on your bench that you prefer to start over Mostert if an opportunity does arise for you to use him.

After all, 10 half-PPR fantasy points in a full game of work is not something to write home about.

I'd much rather pass on the Mostert handcuff selection and go for a higher-upside running back on a different team instead. Perhaps someone like Ray Davis, Braelon Allen, or Jaylen Wright might fit the bill. If one of them becomes the starting running back on their team, they could be a league-winner. It's tough to see a 33-year-old in the same light.

WR Adam Thielen, Carolina Panthers | 34 years old

Thielen is the first player on this list who is likely to be drafted in a traditional fantasy league. The Minnesota man and former Viking missed a bunch of 2024 due to injury, but he finished with a flurry of production, forming a great rapport with young quarterback Bryce Young.

The Panthers went and got another young stud at receiver in Tetairoa McMillan to go along with Xavier Legette, but there's something about Thielen's experience and spatial awareness that makes him a great fit for someone like Young.

Despite really struggling to the point of losing his job in 2024, Young has folks cautiously excited about the Panthers offense this year. The upside for Thielen isn't nearly as high as his teammates, but we didn't think he could finish the way he did last year, coming off injury, either, and here we are.

Adam Thielen is the oldest active WR in the league. Watch him take care of business last season 💼@athielen19 | @Panthers pic.twitter.com/yV4oXMZYvp

— NFL (@NFL) June 6, 2025

If you decide to go heavy with running backs in the middle rounds of your fantasy draft, and you find yourself needing a more reliable bye week or injury backup at the wide receiver position in the double-digit rounds, Thielen is a decent option. He could get off to a hot start with nice matchups out of the gate, especially considering his rapport with Young and McMillan's likely slower rookie start.

Then, you can shop Thielen around a bit or save him for the bye weeks. The Panthers don't have their bye until Week 14 this year.

TE Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs | 35 years old

It's crazy to think drafting Kelce in the first round was normal as recently as two years ago. Despite his unique ability to always be open against zone coverage and constant command of targets in the red zone, the revolutionary tight end had clearly lost a step last year.

Maybe you want to blame it on Taylor Swift. Maybe you want to say the Chiefs were saving him for the playoffs. Or maybe you think Kelce is just plain old now. No matter the assumed reason, the evidence adds up.

Obviously, with the tight end landscape being much thinner than the wide receiver landscape, Kelce is still much more valuable at his position than a guy like Thielen above. Even still, we have to reshape the way we value him moving forward. After all, he's 35 years old. But when SHOULD we draft him?

Kelce's snap rate in his 16 games played last year was still an impressive 84% compared to Noah Gray's 58%. It felt like the veteran's usage was much lower still, especially early in the season. There may be merit to saving his best stuff until the end of the season, but that theory only carries so much weight compared to the numbers.

With questions swirling about a possible Rashee Rice suspension, rumors that Kelce has lost a lot of weight this offseason, and the fact that Patrick Mahomes is still the guy throwing him the ball, there's no real reason to move Kelce outside the top-8 tight ends yet.

However, the idea of viewing Kelce as that eighth tight end behind Evan Engram and only taking him if the other seven have gone looks pretty appealing at the moment. If you do end up with Kelce, a high-upside, younger tight end at the end of your draft might not be such a bad idea either.

TE Zach Ertz, Washington Commanders | 34 years old

Ertz was just what rookie phenom Jayden Daniels needed last season, alongside veteran outside receiver Terry McLaurin. The former Eagle and Cardinal came on strong at the end of the year, converting massive first downs for the Commanders in real life, and putting together a surprisingly good fantasy tight end season as well (ninth in fantasy points per game at the tight end position).

Commanders re-signing TE Zach Ertz to one-year, $6.25M deal worth up to $9M with incentives.

(via @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/e7USJ3M9d6

— NFL (@NFL) March 9, 2025

Some analysts still see Ertz as a fringe starter at the position this year, ranking him as high as 11th or 12th among TEs, while others see him fading away, ranking him closer to 20th. It's easy to see it going both ways.

On one hand, the Commanders have no reason to save him or manage his usage. He's on another one-year deal, and they have a young backup in Ben Sinnott who could step in if an injury popped up. There's also the idea that efficiency should improve with Deebo Samuel Sr. coming to town, and Daniels should only improve from here.

However, the argument for negative regression is a solid one, too. Ertz is bound to miss a game or two this year just based on age. The aforementioned Sinnott could also phase him out a bit now that he's entering his sophomore campaign. Ertz already had a pretty low target rate at 5.4 targets per game in 2024. Could that go down with Samuel in the mix? There are plenty of factors both ways.

In the end, there are plenty of options out there at tight end. When you start looking outside the top-10, usually upside is really important. Despite being in a great offense and showing some sparks last year, I have trouble seeing a big ceiling for Ertz.

For that reason, I'll be looking elsewhere if I miss on a tight end in the early-to-mid rounds. Not to mention, I'd much rather roster a high-upside backup running back than Ertz, at least for the first five weeks of the season.

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