NFL Analysis
7/10/24
13 min read
Ranking NFL's Top Players Over 30 Heading Into 2024 Season
There are long odds against a player ever making it to the NFL, much less still playing this sport that is so demanding physically and mentally into their 30s. The average player’s career lasts 3.3 years, so it takes great talent and dedication to survive over the long haul to the point of signing that lucrative second, third, and fourth (and beyond) contract after a rookie deal.
Players such as Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Judon, who made my list last year but missed most of the 2023 season, don’t make the cut until they overcome their injuries and resume playing at an elite level.
Here’s my list of the top 20 “oldies but goldies” who have carved out tremendous NFL careers and continue to thrive. As always, there’s an annual changing of the guard where Aaron Donald retires and Chris Jones reaches 30 and jumps high in this ranking. In fact, there are seven 30-year-olds who have vaulted onto my list.
There are five offensive linemen on this list, which shows there is usually good longevity for the top players at these positions. And no surprise, the two-time Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs have the most players listed—3.
TOP 20 PLAYERS OVER 30 ENTERING 2024 SEASON
20. JUSTIN TUCKER, BALTIMORE RAVENS, K
Age: 34
The NFL record holder for career field goal percentage (90.2% made) and longest field goal (66 yards) is the only special team player on the list. Justin Tucker made his fifth straight Pro Bowl team last season (seventh overall) and he’s an eight-time All-Pro.
Tucker was undrafted in 2012 when he joined the Ravens and has spent his entire career in Baltimore.
19. RAHEEM MOSTERT, MIAMI DOLPHINS, RB
Age: 32
Like a fine wine, Raheem Mostert has gotten better with age. After entering the league as an undrafted player signed by the Eagles, he was cut several times but showed great perseverance as he played for six teams in his first seven seasons (six of them in San Francisco). He’s had his two best seasons the past two years after leaving the 49ers for the Dolphins.
Mostert had a career year in 2023 as he led the NFL with 18 rushing TDs and added three receiving TDs to tie Christian McCaffrey for the league lead with 21 combined touchdowns. He rushed for 1,012 yards with a 4.8 yard average per carry and added 25 receptions for 175 yards.
18. JOEL BITONIO, CLEVELAND BROWNS, OG
Age: 32
Joel Bitonio was drafted in the second round in 2014 by the Browns. He has spent his entire 11-year career in Cleveland.
He’s a five-time All-Pro and has made six straight Pro Bowls. He has great strength and athleticism plus he’s a durable player who has missed only two starts over the last seven seasons.
17. JOE THUNEY, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, OG
Age: 31
A third-round pick of the Patriots in 2016, Joe Thuney is the rare offensive lineman who has blocked at an All-Pro level in front of two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time—Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. He’s a four-time Super Bowl champion, twice each with the Patriots and Chiefs.
Thuney is a three-time All-Pro including being selected First-team last season. He also is a two-time Pro Bowler with both selections coming in the last two years. He’s an elite run blocker and pass protector.
16. C.J. MOSLEY, NEW YORK JETS, LB
Age: 32
He’s an every-down linebacker who excels in run and pass defense for the Jets’ stout defense that ranked third overall last season. C.J. Mosley led the Jets with 152 tackles in 2023 to rank eighth in the league. It was his seventh season with over 100 tackles, including the last three years with the Jets. He topped the century mark in tackles four times in his first five seasons as a Ravens linebacker picked in the 2014 first round.
He also contributed one interception and seven passes defensed in coverage last season.
Mosley made four Pro Bowls in Baltimore before signing a $17 million per year free agent deal with the Jets in 2019 and was a Pro Bowler for the fifth time in 2022. He’s also been named Second-team All Pro five times.
15. DEFOREST BUCKNER, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, DT
Age: 30
Buckner is coming off his third Pro Bowl season when he produced the most tackles (81) of his eight-year career since being a first-round pick of the 49ers in 2016. He is a two-time All-Pro, once in San Francisco (2019) and the following year in Indianapolis after he was traded to the Colts.
He’s an excellent defender against the run and pass as shown by his 2023 stats that included eight sacks, 21 QB hits and 11 tackles for loss.
14. DAVANTE ADAMS, LAS VEGAS RAIDERS, WR
Age: 31
The quarterback inconsistency in Las Vegas last season caused Davante Adams’ receiving yardage to drop to its lowest total since 2019. He still produced his fourth straight thousand-plus yard season with 1,144 yards on 103 catches (eight TDs).
Adams was the Green Bay Packers’ second-round pick in 2014 and combined with Rodgers to form one of the league’s top QB-WR duos from 2016-2021 with 69 TD connections over that period. Adams was selected First-team All-Pro and to the Pro Bowl in 2020 and 2021 before contract issues forced his trade to the Raiders in 2022. He then was on the receiving end of Derek Carr’s passes, leading the league with 14 TD receptions in 2022.
In 2024, Adams will continue to showcase his elite route running and receiving skills as he works with Aidan O’Connell or Gardner Minshew.
13. LANE JOHNSON, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES, OT
Age: 34
Lane Johnson was the fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft and has been a stalwart member of the Eagles’ excellent offensive line that has helped the team to the playoffs in six of the last seven years. Johnson was a Super Bowl champ in 2017.
Johnson is a four-time All-Pro (Second-team last year) and has been selected to five Pro Bowls including the last two seasons. He’s an outstanding run blocker and pass protector for Jalen Hurts.
12. BOBBY WAGNER, WASHINGTON COMMANDERS, LB
Age: 34
Talk about never seeming to age—that’s Bobby Wagner who just led the NFL with 183 tackles in his 12th season. He’s had over 100 tackles in every season and was a key member of the vaunted Seattle defense that went to two Super Bowls.
After being drafted in the 2012 second round by Seattle, he played there 10 years, then spent one season with the Rams before returning to the Seahawks last season. His production has never wavered yet with their coaching change from Pete Carroll to Mike Macdonald, the Seahawks deemed Wagner expendable even after he was selected to the Pro Bowl for the ninth time and gained his tenth All-Pro honor (named to the Second-team in 2023). So he signed with Washington where he’ll surely continue to play at the level we’re accustomed to seeing from this future Hall of Famer.
11. DAK PRESCOTT, DALLAS COWBOYS, QB
Age: 30
Despite his playoff flop with two costly first-half interceptions in last season’s wild card round home blowout by the Packers, Prescott belongs on this list after his outstanding 2023 regular season when he led the league with 36 TD passes, ranked third in passing yards (4,516) and third in passer rating (105.9, a career high for the 2016 fourth-round pick of the Cowboys who has started every year).
Prescott is a three-time Pro Bowler (including last year when he also was named Second-team All-Pro). He has an impressive 73-41 career regular season record. The problem that has led to his $40 million per year contract not being extended is Prescott’s 2-5 playoff record and the fact that he hasn’t led Dallas to a conference championship game. If he’s able to take that next step up in 2024, he’ll surely be near the top of this list next year along with the recipient of a massive new deal in Dallas. Or he could be headed to free agency and another team without a big season that includes a significant playoff run.
10. MATTHEW STAFFORD, LOS ANGELES RAMS, QB
Age: 36
The Super Bowl victory led by Matthew Stafford for the Rams in 2021 is what puts him ahead of Prescott.
Stafford was the first overall pick by the Detroit Lions in 2009. He’s their career passing leader in numerous categories including career passing yards (45,109) and TD passes (282). He led the Lions to the playoffs three times in his 12 seasons in Detroit (without a postseason victory). Stafford broke through with his Super Bowl run in the first year after being traded to the Rams.
After an injury-filled season in 2022, Stafford led the Rams to a wild card berth last season as he threw for 3,965 yards and 24 TDs in his second Pro Bowl season.
9. ZACK MARTIN, DALLAS COWBOYS, OG
Age: 33
Zack Martin should get the call to the Pro Football Hall of Fame after his tremendous career. He was the Cowboys’ first-round pick in 2014 and has spent his entire career as one of the league’s best guards who excels as a run blocker and in pass protection.
Martin has been selected to nine All-Pro teams including seven times on the First-team (2021-2023 among them). He also is a nine-time Pro Bowler.
8. KHALIL MACK, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS, EDGE/OLB
Age: 33
Khalil Mack had a bounce-back year sack-wise in 2023 as he ranked fourth in the league with 17 sacks. This followed four straight years without double-digit sacks after producing at that level in four of his first five seasons (in 2015-2017 with the Raiders after being their first-round pick in 2014 and then in 2018 with the Bears after being traded from Oakland).
Mack added 22 QB hits, 74 tackles and 21 tackles for loss last season as an impact player against the pass and run. He’s a four-time All-Pro and has made eight Pro Bowls including the past two years with the Chargers following his trade from Chicago.
7. DERRICK HENRY, BALTIMORE RAVENS, RB
Age: 30
After his outstanding eight-year career with the Tennessee Titans as their second-round pick in 2016, Derrick Henry will try to reach his first Super Bowl as Lamar Jackson’s backfield mate in Baltimore following his free agent signing with the Ravens.
Henry is coming off a 2023 season with 1,167 rushing yards (despite teams loading the box against him as the Titans broke in rookie QB Will Levis). King Henry is a big, physical runner who scored 12 TDs on the ground and added 28 receptions for 214 yards in 2023. He made the Pro Bowl for the fourth time and has been named All-Pro twice.
Henry has led the league in rushing twice including his best season in 2020 when he ran for 2,027 yards (and 17 TDs).
6. MIKE EVANS, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, WR
Age: 30
In his tenth season since joining the Buccaneers as their 2014 first-round pick, Mike Evans tied for the NFL lead with 13 receiving TDs last season.
He had his tenth straight season with over 1,000 receiving yards, an NFL record for a player to start his career. Evans also earned his fourth Pro Bowl selection and it was the second season in which he’s been named Second-team All-Pro.
Evans helped Bucs QB Baker Mayfield revive his career in another division-winning season for the team.
5. TRAVIS KELCE, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, TE
Age: 34
He was No. 1 on my over 30 list last year after a 2022 season with 110 catches for 1,338 yards and 12 TDs. But Travis Kelce’s NFL record streak of seven straight thousand yard receiving seasons by a tight end was ended in 2023 when he missed his first game due to an injury (knee) since his rookie year in 2013. That was when Kelce joined the Chiefs as a third-round pick. He wound up just short of the thousand-yard mark last season with 984 yards on 93 catches (five TDs).
Kelce still earned his ninth Pro Bowl appearance and seventh All-Pro selection (Second-team). More importantly, he is now a three-time Super Bowl champion and he passed Jerry Rice as the postseason career reception leader with 165. And oh yeah, there’s that certain singer he hangs out with that has significantly increased the attention on this future Hall of Famer.
4. GEORGE KITTLE, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS, TE
Age: 30
George Kittle edged ahead of Kelce in this ranking after his great 2023 season with 65 catches for 1,020 yards and six TDs.
Kittle also is relied on more than Kelce as a key blocker in the run game that ranked third in last year’s Super Bowl season for the Niners.
He was a 49ers’ steal as a fifth-round pick in 2017 and made his fifth Pro Bowl team last year along with his fourth All-Pro selection (this time as the First-teamer ahead of Kelce).
3. TRENT WILLIAMS, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS, OT
Age: 35
Trent Williams continues to rank as the best left tackle and top offensive lineman in the league. He was Washington’s first-round pick in 2010 and made seven Pro Bowls before a contract and medical dispute resulted in Williams being traded to the 49ers in 2020.
The physical and athletic Williams has made the Pro Bowl all four years in San Francisco and has been named First-team All-Pro the last three years. His total is now 11 Pro Bowls and four All-Pro selections.
Williams allowed zero sacks last season as Brock Purdy’s blindside protector. He also was the main lead blocker for the NFL’s leading rusher—Christian McCaffrey—in a Super Bowl season for the 49ers.
2. TYREEK HILL, MIAMI DOLPHINS, WR
Age: 30
The most feared deep threat in the NFL is still Tyreek Hill as he’s now turned 30. He entered the league with character questions that dropped him to a fifth-round pick when the Chiefs drafted him in 2016.
After a terrific start to his career with six straight Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl title, Hill was traded to Dolphins due to contract and salary cap issues in Kansas City.
He’s continued on a blazing pace in Miami as he led the league last season with 1,799 receiving yards on 113 catches (both career highs) with 13 TD receptions that tied for the NFL lead and brought his career total to 76 receiving TDs (plus seven rushing TDs).
Hill has now made the Pro Bowl every year of his career with selections both seasons in Miami plus he’s been First-team All-Pro the past two years (to bring his total to six All-Pro selections).
He's going into the second year of a four-year, $120 million extension signed in 2022 but it's no surprise he’s now making noise about wanting a new contract after Justin Jefferson’s recently signed $35 million per year extension.
1. CHRIS JONES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, DT
Age: 30
The 2016 draft was franchise altering when the Chiefs landed Chris Jones in the second round along with his classmate Tyreek Hill three rounds later. Throw in Patrick Mahomes a year later and we see a big part of how the Chiefs built a powerhouse.
Jones just turned 30 last week to gain consideration in this ranking. He’s such a dominant player with size, strength and athleticism. He’s now a three-time Super Bowl champion who had 11 sacks, 35 QB hits and 13 tackles for loss between regular season and playoff games last season. He’s the best player on the Chiefs D that ranked second overall in 2023. His training camp holdout and constant double teams prevented him from reaching his career-best sack total of 17.5 from 2022.
Jones has made five straight Pro Bowl teams and has been chosen All-Pro five times including First-team All-Pro the last two years.
