The NFL is a star-player-driven league. You need several All-Pro-caliber talents if you want to sustain a winner in today’s league, but adequate roster depth is also necessary.
Several NFL teams’ success – or lack thereof — comes down to the health and production of one specific player. If things go sideways with any of these 10 NFL stars in 2024, their seasons will be doomed.
What are the factors that could wreck the teams of these NFL stars?
Dak Prescott
Dak has had eight years now to prove that he’s able to do something his predecessor, Tony Romo, never could: Overcome mounting pressure and carry a star-studded Dallas Cowboys team to a Super Bowl.
Romo only won two playoff games in Big D. Prescott himself is no better with a 2-and-5 postseason record, the latest being an ugly blowout loss at home against Jordan Love and the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers on Wild Card Weekend.
Prescott had two costly interceptions in that humiliating defeat — including a pick-six to Darnell Savage that increased Green Bay’s lead to 27.
Dallas is loaded with all-world talents like CeeDee Lamb, Zack Martin, Trevon Diggs, Micah Parsons, and DaRon Bland. But the fact remains that the Cowboys will only go as far as No. 4 will take them, and he’s taken America’s Team no further than the Divisional Round.
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And in the Cowboys’ 2022 Divisional Round loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Prescott threw two picks in a 19-12 defeat. When you hold the 49ers to under 20 points on the road, you gotta win that game — but Prescott’s miscues crushed the Cowboys’ hopes yet again.
It’s all on Dak’s shoulders again in 2024. If they go on a deep playoff run for once, Prescott’s performance will be the main reason why. If it’s another stellar regular season that ends with a miserable playoff loss, then you can point the finger at No. 4.
So what’s it gonna be, Dak?
Stefon Diggs
The four-time Pro Bowler exceeded 100 receptions and 1,100 receiving yards in each of his four years with the Buffalo Bills. In fact, Diggs leads all NFLers in receptions since 2020 with 445.
Yet the Bills couldn’t wait to get rid of Diggs, unloading the veteran stalwart to the Houston Texans — a main challenger in the AFC, no less — for a second-round pick.
Diggs makes Buffalo worse in the short-term. But there’s a reason they were happy to unload him. He became a giant headache in the locker room, and Sean McDermott’s squad couldn’t put up with his “me-first” attitude any longer.
So now Diggs joins a Houston team that stunned everybody with a 10-win season and AFC South division crown in 2023.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans pieced together a fun-loving locker room culture that the players bought into it. Young NFL stars CJ Stroud, Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Will Anderson Jr. and Derek Stingley Jr. led the way and pushed the Texans all the way to the Divisional Round, where they fell to Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens.
Well, we wish the Texans luck now in getting on the same page as Diggs. As we saw in Buffalo and Minnesota, Diggs will always worry about his individual stats more than anything else. He pouts like a child when things don’t go his way, as evidenced by his abrupt departure following the Bills’ 2022 Divisional Round loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
If Diggs becomes a locker room problem and continuously flips out on Stroud over his lack of targets, it’s going to disrupt team morale and chemistry. We wish the Texans luck in getting him to become a team player and focus primarily on winning.
Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers’ highly-anticipated debut with the New York Jets a year ago lasted just a few short minutes.
The four-time league MVP tore his Achilles in the Jets’ home opener against the Buffalo Bills, all but crushing their Super Bowl hopes in a heartbeat. New York’s failure to have an adequate backup plan at QB was the catalyst in their undoing, as the Jets limped to a disappointing 7-and-10 finish.
So what can we say? The season depends on Rodgers staying healthy in 2024 — otherwise, the Jets are done like dinner.
It’s not just Rodgers’ health and on-field performances, though. The guy keeps going on podcasts to endorse ridiculous conspiracy theories while taking unnecessary shots at high-profile celebrities like Jimmy Kimmel.
Rodgers also didn’t hesitate to call out his Jets teammates last season while he watched from the sidelines. Not the best look for the future Hall of Famer, either.
So, will Rodgers play nice and focus on football when the season rolls around? Will he actually do his part to keep the team together? Or will his big mouth divide the locker room and bring more circus-like vibes to one of football’s most dysfunctional teams?
It’s all on your shoulders, Mr. Rodgers.
Von Miller
After a heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 Divisional Round, the Bills signed two-time Super Bowl champion Von Miller to a six-year contract worth a whopping $120 million.
Miller was playing up to his usual standards in the early going of that deal, with eight sacks in 11 games. Sadly, he suffered a season-ending torn ACL in the Bills’ Thanksgiving Day win against the Detroit Lions. And the defense wasn’t the same after that.
Consider this. As noted by ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg, Buffalo had the NFL’s sixth-best pass-rush percentage when Miller was on the field. After his season-ending injury, it fell to 19th overall.
Upon returning in 2023, Miller looked like a shell of his former self. He didn’t have a single sack, takeaway, or pass breakup. In fact, Pro Football Focus gave him a horrible 45.4 grade for the season.
Well, the Bills need prime Von Miller more than ever. This offseason, they parted ways with defensive NFL stars Leonard Floyd, Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, and Tre’Davious White. And Floyd was the lone Bill to hit double-digit sacks last year.
Buffalo is thin on pass-rushing depth and difference-makers on defense. If Miller doesn’t turn back the clock and return to his all-pro form, then the Bills won’t come anywhere close to sniffing a Super Bowl this year.
He got paid $120 million to get them over the championship hump. Time to show he can do it.
Davante Adams
Adams wasn’t shy about voicing his frustrations with the Las Vegas Raiders last season – whether it was to the media or on the field.
Adams has since emphasized that he’s happy in Vegas or else he wouldn’t be here. Good on him, but it’s easy to say that before the Raiders’ inevitable problems on offense start to pile up.
We love the new culture Antonio Pierce established after taking over as the head coach mid-season a year ago. But Adams might find himself easily agitated and frustrated again with Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew as his quarterbacks.
Neither option inspires much confidence, to be sure. And with the Raiders stuck in an unforgiving AFC, you just know they won’t be a playoff team with this QB room.
If Adams is unable to remember that this is a year of transition for a retooling Raiders team, it might not be long before the locker room begins to crack again. And that would be quite problematic, considering how hard Pierce has worked to build this group together.
And yes, the Raiders need Adams to continue to perform like a top-five receiver if they’re to build off last year’s encouraging finish.
Kirk Cousins
Cousins was putting together the best numbers of his career for the Minnesota Vikings last season before he sadly suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in Week 8 against the Packers.
The Vikings were 4-and-4 with Cousins last season. They limped to a 3-6 finish without the four-time Pro Bowler, and the front office ultimately decided to part ways before drafting Michigan QB JJ McCarthy with the No. 10 pick.
As four Cousins, he signed a four-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons worth $180 million — including $100 million guaranteed.
Yes, the Falcons stunned everybody by using the No. 8 pick of 2024 on Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Maybe he is the long-term guy, but he’s not the one with $100 million guaranteed with the pressure of helping Atlanta win now.
The Falcons believe Cousins is the final piece to help them re-emerge as a contender in the NFC. They have a top-five o-line, a ridiculous set of offensive weapons in Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Bijan Robinson, and a defense that’s good enough to hold its own.
Cousins has to stay healthy and return to his Pro Bowl-like form if Atlanta is to have any hope in the NFC.
His inconsistency and long-term struggles against teams with winning records have held Cousins back from being a true superstar quarterback. He can’t afford to continue his habit of hot-and-cold play on a star-studded Atlanta offense; otherwise, they’ll see a promising season get flushed down the toilet.
Trey Hendrickson
Last season, only TJ Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers had more sacks than Hendrickson, who racked up a career-best 17.5 for the Bengals.
Hendrickson and the Bengals’ stout D kept the team in playoff contention even after Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens. Ultimately, the 9-and-8 finish wasn’t enough to help the Bengals lock down a third straight playoff berth.
Though all the attention goes to Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase in Cincy, this team simply can’t contend without Hendrickson, either.
It seems like he’s fine returning to the Jungle following a trade request that hasn’t gone anywhere, so that’s a win for Cincinnati. Now they need Hendrickson to put that behind him and continue his NFL star-like production.
If he continues to be the leader and alpha male of the Bengals’ defense, this team will be in the mix for a Super Bowl championship. But an injury to Hendrickson, or an unexpected decline in production, will doom a Cincy team that’s otherwise oh-so-close to getting its hands on the Lombardi Trophy.
Nick Bosa
The 49ers have the most star-studded roster in football, and it’s not up for debate. Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Talanoa Hufanga, Charvarius Ward, Leonard Floyd, AND Javon Hargrave on defense.
And then there’s the Brock Purdy-guided offense with Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle leading the way. If not for Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs, Kyle Shanahan’s squad would be celebrating a second Super Bowl championship in five years.
But alas, the 49ers haven’t been able to break through the Lombardi Trophy obstacle with this core. And if there’s one player who will make-or-break their championship dreams more than anybody else, it’s Bosa.
We saw how much the 49ers’ defense fell apart when Bosa tore his ACL against the Jets back in Week 2 of the 2020 season. In his last four HEALTHY seasons, the 49ers have played in four NFC Championship Games and won two Super Bowls.
And since 2021, only TJ Watt and Myles Garrett have more sacks than Bosa.
So in short, the 49ers absolutely need Bosa to be explosive and at his peak form again this year. An injury of some sort will greatly affect this defense that doesn’t exactly boast another elite-elite pass-rusher to get after the QB.
If Bosa plays up to his usual standards, then the 49ers will remain the team to beat in the NFC. Plain and simple.
Tyreek Hill
Tua Tagovailoa didn’t start putting up NFL star-like numbers until Tyreek Hill arrived via trade in the 2022 offseason.
With a future Hall of Famer at his disposal, it’s no wonder Tagovailoa is starting to look like the franchise quarterback the Miami Dolphins envisioned when they drafted him fifth overall back in 2020.
Take a quick peak at Tagovailoa’s statistics without Hill since the former turned pro four years ago. Not so MVP-caliber without the Cheetah, huh? So yes, Miami’s success in 2024 comes down to a healthy and productive Hill more than Tagovailoa.
Obviously, Hill showed zero signs of slowing down last season. He led the NFL with 1,799 yards — on 113 receptions — and 13 touchdowns.
But Hill is now 30 years of age and relies on his speed. Even if he loses one or two steps, it will be noticeable. And don’t forget how ineffective Miami’s offense was in the playoff loss to Kansas City, who made Hill a non-factor for most of the game.
So it’s simple. Miami needs Hill to stay healthy, retain his All-Pro production, and find ways to be more impactful in big games. Even with Jaylen Waddle as his No. 2 receiver, Tua obviously isn’t the same quarterback if Hill isn’t taking over games.
Just the facts. An injury to Hill or a sudden drop in on-field performance will put an end to Miami’s Super Bowl hopes.
Deshaun Watson
The Cleveland Browns gave up a massive package highlighted by three first-round picks to land Watson in a trade with the Texans back in 2022. The Browns then gave Watson a $230 million contract, with every cent of it guaranteed.
Because of a suspension and injuries, Watson has only appeared in 12 games over his first two seasons with the Browns. With 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions, his play has left a ton to be desired.
And as we’ve said before, the Browns offense functioned better with Jacoby Brissett and Joe Flacco in 2022 and 2023, respectively. For some reason, Watson just hasn’t found his Pro Bowl form on a star-studded Browns team.
As fun as Flacco’s Browns were last year, Cleveland just isn’t going to compete for a Super Bowl unless Watson regains his superstar form. Another injury will doom the Browns’ championship hopes, and it might even prompt the front office to consider a future without Watson.
He was paid $230 million to win Super Bowls in Cleveland, not to be outplayed by backups.
Also Read: Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill Reveals The Actual Number Of Children He Has, And The Number Is Mind-Blowing
