Five Players Who Won You a Dynasty Championship in 2024

Congratulations to all of the dynasty managers who won a fantasy championship this season!

We know that these leagues are an absolute grind and a championship does not come easily. Often, you have to make the hard choice between winning in the present and building for the future. Now that the playoffs are over, you can pivot completely to focusing on the future, but there are still players on your roster that helped you win, or compete, in 2024. In this piece, I’ll highlight SEVERAL players who helped you win your playoff and championship matchups and what their dynasty outlook for 2025 and beyond looks like!

Sam Darnold, QB MIN

Fantasy managers who won a championship with Sam Darnold this week pic.twitter.com/5h2Et2TJGD

— Tim Riordan (@timmymr) December 30, 2024

The rare seventh-year breakout quarterback, Darnold was outstanding this year for the Minnesota Vikings, leading them to a 14-2 record. Vikings fans are celebrating this rise to greatness, but fantasy managers are as well. He’s the QB7 this season in total points, right up there with Jalen Hurts, Baker Mayfield and Jayden Daniels. In the fantasy playoffs, he’s put up back-to-back great games in weeks 16 and 17, scoring 22.94 and 24.78 points respectively.

Sam Darnold’s ADP history in 2024.

His ADP was, of course, in the dumps last off-season. He had been cast off by the Panthers and 49ers in recent years and looked destined for a career as a backup quarterback. But, with JJ McCarthy’s injury and the weapons in Minnesota, Darnold excelled and finally showed the potential that made him the number two overall pick in the NFL Draft. He’s heading towards unrestricted free agency, but it appears that the Vikings will not just let him walk away. They could franchise tag him, or sign him to a longer deal to bridge the gap to McCarthy. They could also tag him and trade him to another team, potentially Las Vegas or a return to New York with the Giants.

No matter what happens to Darnold over the next couple of months, he’ll likely be a starting quarterback in 2025 somewhere. That means he’s absolutely worth keeping and stashing through the fantasy off-season. In fact, at his currency ADP of QB26, he’s an absolute bargain for the near future in superflex leagues. Some quarterbacks going ahead of Darnold that I’d consider trading away for him include Matthew Stafford, Geno Smith, Russell Wilson and even Trevor Lawrence.

Ameer Abdullah, RB LV

Abdullah was an absolute league winner in the fantasy playoffs, if you trusted him enough to start him. He went over 17 PPR points in each of the three weeks of the playoffs, capping it off with 115 rushing yards against the Saints on Sunday.

The Raiders came into this season with one of the ugliest backfield situations in the league, and it reared its ugly head in the final few weeks of the season. Alexander Mattison was oft-injured throughout the season while Zamir White and Sincere McCormick finished the year on IR. Sixth-round pick Dylan Laube did absolutely nothing this season, fumbling the ball on his only career carry.

While Abdullah was the go-to player down the stretch, he is not a relevant dynasty option and can be dropped immediately for a long-term option. He’s heading to free agency and will likely find a new landing spot this off-season. McCormick looked the best of the backfield group and would be the player most worth stashing. He’s on a dirt-cheap UDFA contract and earned an opportunity more than White did. Mattison is scheduled to hit free agency this spring as well. Don’t be surprised if the Raiders are active participants at this position this off-season.

Isaac Guerendo, RB SF

The fourth-round rookie out of Louisville has had a major impact on dynasty fantasy football leagues this season. He was the RB14 in rookie drafts this season, behind the likes of Will Shipley and Kimani Vidal, but he certainly out-earned that draft capital. Injuries to Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason forced him into action and he played well with the opportunity, rushing for 5.1 YPC and four touchdowns on the season.

Isaac Guerendo’s ADP history in 2024.

While fantasy managers may be tempted to sell high on the rookie, I’d think again. Jordan Mason, Elijah Mitchell and Patrick Taylor are all scheduled to hit free agency this off-season, leaving only McCaffrey, Guerendo and Israel Abanikanda under contract for 2025. The Niners are well-known for having a deep running back room, and they could bring any of those expiring players back, but the plan will likely be for McCaffrey and Guerendo to lead the backfield in a 1A and 1B rotation. McCaffrey’s injuries and lack of explosiveness this season was glaring, so Guerendo could be the most reliable player in that backfield. I would suggest holding onto Guerendo, or maybe even trading for him.

Adam Thielen, WR CAR

At 34 years old, Thielen continues to be a dynasty fantasy asset that helped managers win leagues this year. Over the crucial final five weeks of the fantasy season, Thielen scored double-digit fantasy points in every game. He averaged 19.3 ppg in that span and scored four touchdowns. He deserves plenty of credit for Bryce Young’s career renaissance and it’s clear that he still has a knack for getting open.

Adam Thielen’s Dynasty ADP history.

Thielen is under contract for another season in Carolina, but he can be cut to save up to $6.7 million against the cap in 2025. Given how much better Young has looked with the veteran on the field, the Panthers would be foolish to let him walk away. But, the Panthers should also focus on beefing up their group of receivers this off-season. Xavier Legette had a solid rookie season and UDFA Jalen Coker was a nice surprise, but this offense needs an alpha wide receiver. New blood on the field could push Thielen into a part-time or reserve role next season.

Now that the fantasy playoffs are over, I’d try to move on from Thielen if possible. It won’t be easy to trade him as a 34-year-old receiver, but he could be used as a piece in a bigger trade to a manager who will be trying to contend in 2025. Thielen is still a good fantasy player and wide receiver, but another year will do him no favors. Sell if you can, even if it’s a sell-low situation.

Travis Kelce, TE KC

If you have Kelce on your dynasty team, you have to be doing backflips about his week 17 performance. Nothing could revitalize his fantasy value better than a run of good games to close out the season and into the playoffs. He proved on Wednesday that that’s a possibility over the next several weeks.

Travis Kelce’s Dynasty ADP history.

Kelce’s 8-84-1 performance on Christmas day was his first 20-point fantasy game since week ten and his first double-digit fantasy game since week 13. His touchdown was only his third of the season, as Noah Gray appears to be the red zone tight end for the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes this season. Kelce has been on the field, he’s been running routes, he’s been targeted, he just isn’t producing like the TE1 that we’re all used to.

Fantasy managers with Kelce should root for another huge playoff run for Kelce and the Chiefs to help resurrect some fantasy value for the veteran before trading him off to the highest bidder. It’s clear that Kelce has lost a step and, going forward, if he does continue to play, the Chiefs will work hard to keep him fresh for the NFL playoffs. Despite the rough season, Kelce is still the TE5 in total points this season. Use that, and his name value to get as much as you can for him this off-season, and pivot to a younger option at the tight end position.