Oldest Active NFL Players by Position 2024

• Aaron Rodgers is the oldest quarterback and player in the NFL at 40 and is coming off a torn Achilles. 

• The average retirement age in the NFL is 27.6 years old. 

• Cordarrelle Patterson qualifies as the oldest running back after accumulating 347 carries over the past three seasons. 

• Of the oldest defensive players, Demario Davis has the best odds of winning NFL Defensive Player of the Year at +20000.

The NFL is continuously evolving.

For example, the emphasis is on the passing game, faster linebackers, and the new kickoff rule.

With that comes a requirement for top-tier athleticism. 

Still, some players stand the test of time and can play well into their 30s and, for some positions, into their 40s. 

In the past, we’ve seen players like quarterback Tom Brady play into his mid-40s and kicker Adam Vinatieri play til nearly 50. 

Below, I’ll examine the oldest players at each position in the league heading into the 2024 season and examine some of the top betting markets associated with those players. 

All odds and markets in this article are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Click our exclusive link to earn $200 in bonus bets after you wager and win a $5 bet. Or just sign up below.

List of the Oldest Players by Position

Aaron Rodgers to Throw for 4000+ Regular Season Passing Yards (+130)

As we all know, Rodgers’ 2023 season, his first with the Jets, ended after just four snaps with a torn Achilles. 

So, on top of the torn Achilles, Rodgers will be 40 years old. 

In his last full season, 2022, with the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers threw for 3,695 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. 

Of course, the receiving corps was extremely limited that season, with numerous rookies or younger players like Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson. 

In coming to the Jets, Rodgers had more options, and they added even more this offseason. 

Historically, Rodgers has routinely thrown for 4,000 yards or more. He’s done it every year of his career, and he’s remained mostly healthy. 

From 2008 to 2022, Rodgers finished below 4,000 yards just three times: 2013 (nine games), 2017 (seven games), and 2022 (17 games). 

With the Jets, Rodgers will have Mike Williams, Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, Malachi Corley, Xavier Gipson, and Breece Hall at his disposal. 

Wilson will be the team’s No. 1 wide receiver. In his first two seasons in the NFL, he’s finished with 1,000 yards or more. 

The addition of Williams comes with the knowledge he’ll likely miss time. Over his career, he’s started 62 games (2017 to 2023) and racked up 4,806 yards, approximately 78 yards per game started. 

Rodgers has the weapon to get it done and the overhauled offensive line with Tyron Smith and Olu Fashanu to help facilitate a successful 2024 season despite his age and Achilles injury. 

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Calais Campbell: NFL Defensive Player of the Year (+30000)

The only betting market I could find associated with Campbell was his winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year at +30000.

Campbell was drafted in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He’s played for the Arizona Cardinals (2008 to 2016), Jacksonville Jaguars (2017 to 2019), Baltimore Ravens (2020 to 2022), Atlanta Falcons (2023), and now, the Dolphins. 

He finished as the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, but Campbell is a far cry from that production level. That season, he recorded 14.5 sacks, and over the past five seasons, he’s recorded 24 sacks and 13.5 over the past three. 

He’s played 712 or fewer total snaps every season since 2019. 

Campbell won’t play enough or rack up enough notable statistics to put himself in a position to win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. 

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Demario Davis: NFL Defensive Player of the Year (+20000)

Davis is entering his seventh season with the Saints. With the team, he’s become a first-team All-Pro, a four-time second-team All-Pro, two Pro Bowls, and won the Bart Starr Award. 

Though he’s 35, Davis has been wildly productive, but not in a way to become the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. 

In 2023, he finished with 6.5 sacks, 121 combined tackles, and 74 solo ones. 

Considering sacks and tackles, 2023 was Davis’s best season, but he didn’t finish within the top 11 in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting. 

Davis would need to double his sack totals while maintaining his tackles to even have a chance at winning. 

Bet on the NFL Defensive Player of the Year

Harrison Smith: NFL Defensive Player of the Year (+30000)

Smith was drafted in 2012 and has played for the Vikings since. He was part of the All-Rookie team, is a six-time Pro Bowler, and has one first-team and one second-team All-Pro nod under his belt. 

He finished fourth in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2017 after recording five interceptions, 12 pass deflections, 1.5 sacks, 78 combined tackles, 61 solo tackles, seven tackles for loss, and three quarterback hits. 

Smith played in all 17 games in 2023 but didn’t manage a single interception. 

Now 35, Smith is the clear-cut veteran of a young secondary. 

Before 2023, Smith recorded five interceptions in two of the three seasons before that (2020 to 2022). 

A safety hasn’t won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award since Troy Polamalu in 2010, and Harrison isn’t in a position to do so in 2024 either. 

Bet on the NFL Defensive Player of the Year

Adam Thielen to Score 10+ Receiving Touchdowns in the Regular Season (+600)

Thielen is the “youngest old player” on the list and is entering his second season with the Carolina Panthers.

In his first season with the team last year with rookie quarterback Bryce Young, he finished with 137 targets, 103 receptions, 1,014 yards, and four touchdowns. The targets, receptions, and yards were the most he’s had since 2018 with the Minnesota Vikings. 

His four touchdowns were his least since 2017. 

Thielen has finished with 10 touchdowns or more twice, and on the Panthers with a depth with Diontae Johnson, rookie Xavier Legette, Jonathan Mingo, and more, there are more mouths to feed than ever. 

Young finished his rookie campaign with just 11 touchdown passes. 

The team hired former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales, who assisted in Baker Mayfield’s resurgence. However, for Thielen to rack up 10 touchdowns or more, Young will need to improve mightily in 2024, which I’m not confident in. 

Thielen will be productive, but not as a touchdown scorer. 

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