It’s hard to let go. But, as Frozen taught us, sometimes you have to Let it Go. I don’t know the context of that, I haven’t seen Frozen. Maybe it has something to do with the snowman? I don’t know. Anyway, in order to take full advantage of Waleed Ismail’s waiver wire column, you need to remove some players from your roster. So, consider this a companion piece. Like the snowman and… Elsa(?). These aren’t recommended drops, as every league is different and every bench is different. These are more guidelines than actual rules. Ha! Pirates of the Caribbean! I know that one! To make this list, I looked exclusively at players rostered in 50% or more of Yahoo! leagues. If you’re holding onto Rex Burkhead, I don’t need to tell you that you should probably move along at this point.
Quarterback Cut Candidates:
Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns (67% rostered)
I mean, what is it, at this point? Oppositional defiance? A love for the Progressive ads? Latching onto his play down the stretch in 2020? What is it? Because I doubt two-thirds of Yahoo! leagues are either deep enough to justify this or two-quarterback leagues. Through three games, Mayfield averages 260 passing yards, with two touchdowns in three games. He has just 16 rush yards per game on top of that. That all comes out to QB27, QB16, and QB18 in each of the last three weeks, and QB23 overall.
There’s no reason to have Baker Mayfield on your roster in a 10-team or 12-team, 1QB league. The upside just isn’t present as long as the game plan revolves around putting the ball in the running backs’ belly as much as humanly possible.
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (61% rostered)
Unlike Baker Mayfield, who has played well, just with a low volume… Trevor Lawrence has been actively bad. A lot of it has to do with the offensive line being terrible, but the man just isn’t producing. After lighting up the Texans for 332 passing yards and 3 touchdowns in week one, Lawrence has just 337 passing yards and two touchdowns… in his last two games combined. TLaw also leads the NFL with seven picks on the year. He’s chipping in about 2 fantasy points per game in his rushing, but things are just a mess there for him.
If you believe in Lawrence, you can look at his upcoming match-up with Cincinnati as a litmus test. Cincy has allowed two 300+ yard passers in three games, and one of those passers was Ben Roethlisberger’s corpse.
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons (57% rostered)
Please stop the madness. Matt Ryan has 40.3 fantasy points on the season, just 0.2 fantasy points above Tyrod Taylor, who did it in just two games to Ryans’ three. We all saw how poorly Jimmy Garoppolo played for most of Sunday Night Football… Matt Ryan sits 3 fantasy points per game below Jimmy G’s QB22 ranking on the season. The Arthur Smith Offense is too conservative, and Matt Ryan is too washed up at this point in his career, for him to matter for fantasy football outside of peaking as QB8 or so in good matchups. He has a couple of those coming up (Washington and the Jets) so maybe he’ll hang on long enough to spite me.
Wide Receiver Cut Candidates:
Robby Anderson, Carolina Panthers (86% rostered)
Robby Anderson isn’t a guy I want to cut, per se. Instead, try to trade him to a team that still believes in Robby. I mentioned on our podcast that Robby Anderson is a guy to trade after week one, rather than cut. Through three games, he has 12 targets, five catches, and 103 yards… and 57 of those were in week one! The Panthers’ offense moved away from Robby, so you should too. Those of us in deeper leagues probably need to keep him around, but he doesn’t belong on rosters in shallow leagues. He hasn’t shown anything this year.
Laviska Shenault, Jacksonville Jaguars (68% rostered)
I wrote hundreds of words on this yesterday. But, you’re smart. You know the answer to the “is Laviska Shenault droppable” question is yes since he’s listed here… in the drop candidates article.
Running Back Cut Candidates:
This one is a doozy, so don’t expect a lot of detail about these guys. Here are six(!) running backs rostered in too many fantasy football leagues.
A.J. Dillon, Green Bay Packers (70% rostered)
Dillon is nothing but a handcuff at this point. We speculated that he would have standalone value, but through three games, he has 19 touches for 4.1 yards per touch. That comes out to 26 yards per game. He has no value until an Aaron Jones injury happens.
Ronald Jones, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (70% rostered)
I don’t want to do it, and you should find a way to hold onto him just in case. But, like Robby Anderson, we haven’t seen anything from him to merit keeping him around in shallower leagues. Through three games, he has 15 carries and one catch per game… Hold on… I am getting news… that’s fifteen carries and one catch on the season.
I’m not ready to give up on RoJo, but I understand if you want to drop him to the depths of Hades.
Latavius Murray, Baltimore Ravens (57% rostered)
He led the Ravens with seven carries on Sunday. Let me repeat that with emphasis. He lead the Ravens with seven carries on Sunday. This backfield is going to be a muddled mess, and Rashod Bateman’s looming return means the passing game is likely to take over the bulk of snaps.
James White, New England Patriots (57% rostered)
White suffered a hip subluxation (the same injury as Ryan Fitzpatrick) and has no timetable for return.
Michael Carter, New York Jets (56% rostered)
I am on an unapologetic “cut all Jets” kick. He flashed what he could be in week two (a decent depth guy) so I understand keeping him around. I’m just really mad at the Jets right now.
Mark Ingram, Houston Texans (50% rostered)
The Houston Texans’ situation with Phillip Lindsay, Mark Ingram, and David Johnson is as hideous and muddled as the Ravens, but without the luxury of the team being good at football.
Tight End Cut Candidates:
Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packer (91% rostered)
If you made a face at this suggestion, then it probably isn’t for you. Tonyan still belongs on rosters in 10-team or bigger leagues. But eight teamers? Get him out of there. He’s touchdown-or-bust, and through three games, he’s busted twice (3 combined catches for 14 yards) and touchdown..ed(?) once (3/52/1 in week two). His rostership should be about 80%, in my opinion.
Jonnu Smith, New England Patriots (61% rostered)
The passing game is a massive slog and I don’t know why we want to hang onto portions of it. Jonnu had four drops on Sunday. Four! He was always a marginal play and the margins broke wrong so far this year.
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