Lavonte David: Will he Bust in 2024?

Photo: USA Today Sports

We all have a favorite article of clothing. Whether it is that T-shirt you caught at the game or a sentimental gift of socks during the holidays, most people have something they value and may even fit better with age. What happens when the shirt gets a hole? Or when the elastic of the shorts begins to give? In most cases, you discard the article of clothing and move on with your life. Why, then, is it so difficult to do this with our reliable fantasy football players? Lavonte David of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is a great example of this phenomenon in IDP fantasy football. He’s been a consistent contributor for the entirety of his 13-year career, but just like those shoes that have seen better days, so too has Lavonte David.

Who is Lavonte David?

Lavonte David started his career in 2012 when he burst onto the scene with 112 solo tackles as a rookie! He was an immediate contributor and became a fan favorite at the linebacker position. The following year, he was hard-pressed to replicate those numbers but put together 106 solo tackles while increasing his assist and tackle-for-loss numbers (not to mention the five interceptions and six sacks to go along with this). Just like that, we have a case for David to be the overall LB1, if not IDP1, for the entire league! David never really hit those 2013 numbers again, but he was far from being a bad player. He has been a model of consistent big-play performance while also manning the green dot for the Buccaneers. While he may not have been the consistent LB1 overall, he was a perennial set-and-forget linebacker in your lineup for the better part of 13 seasons.

So What's the Catch?

If David is so good, why is he being talked about here? Simply put, he can’t continue this pace much longer and it is better to be ahead of this type of player than behind. David will come into this season at the wise age of 34, which in NFL circles may as well be ancient Egypt’s age. At the linebacker position, your main objective is to get the ball carrier down by any means necessary, which at times requires an immense amount of force. His body takes car crash-type impact 8-12 times a game. In your 20s, you take an ice bath and do some stretching, but in your mid-30s, the recovery requires more thought and execution. At some point, the body will break down. David has been uniquely an ironman in his career, never really suffering a devastating injury, but last season, he suffered a soft tissue injury that tends to linger the older you get.  It’s a cheap copout to point out age as the main reason for a potential downtick in point production, but there’s a myriad of reasons why we need to begin to look for the ugly when it comes to David’s short-term career.