The first of two byepocalypse weeks are behind us, with only four teams taking a well-needed break from playing in week ten. So, that means that it’s time for some roster bloodletting as we don’t need desperation streamers any longer. Never fear, as always, we are here to help you decide who you can move on from in your fantasy football leagues, at least for now. To make the list, a player must be on rosters in at least 50% of leagues, as players on less than that… well, the decision’s already been made for you. Let’s dive into week eleven cut candidates!
Quarterbacks
Matthew Stafford, L.A. Rams (58% rostered)
It’s not often that you miss a game and your situation gets worse around you. Stafford went into the concussion protocol this week, and in the meantime, his stud receiver, Cooper Kupp, will miss multiple weeks with either a high ankle sprain or a broken ankle (as of right now, we don’t know). Without Kupp, that means the offense will be Allen Robinson, Tyler Higbee, and Darrell Henderson behind an abysmal offensive line. There’s no reason to hang onto Stafford at this point.
Wide Receivers
Diontae Johnson, Pittsburgh (87% rostered)
For a long time, the refrain with Diontae was, “he’s getting so many targets!” Then the Steelers traded Chase Claypool, paving the way for Diontae to get even more targets. He had his second-lowest number on the season (5) and the fewest since week four. Kenny Pickett isn’t very good, has eyes for George Pickens, and that leaves Diontae Johnson without much value leftover. I’ve had enough of Diontae, and I feel comfortable bouncing him from my rosters in ten-team leagues.
Brandin Cooks, Houston (76% rostered)
Cooks and the Texans are headed toward splitsville, and they won’t even have one last torrid love affair before their divorce. Cooks might not even be a top-50 wide receiver for the rest of the season, and he’s been mostly useless since week four when he had 7 catches, 57 yards, and a touchdown. He’s topped 11 PPR points once since then, and that was 11.3 PPR points.
Running Backs
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City (91% rostered)
Helaire had 2 targets and 0 carries for 0 yards in this game and played on just six snaps. He’s reached his nadir, after seeing his snaps and touches decline for several weeks. The Chiefs seem happy with an Isiah Pacheco/Jerick McKinnon one-two punch, which explains why a touchdown against San Francisco is the only thing that’s kept CEH from failing to pass 6.5 PPR points in over a month. You want to hang onto him in deeper leagues, but in shallower leagues, I don’t know what he offers.
Nyheim Hines, Buffalo (69% rostered)
Nyheim Hines had 1.9 PPR points in this one, catching one pass for 9 yards. This is 1.9 more PPR points than he scored last week, his first with Buffalo. The Bills want to use him as a super utility, break-glass-in-case-of-emergency back, and those types of players have no use in fantasy football.
Tight Ends
Zach Ertz, Arizona (97% rostered)
Ertz was carted off the field and his injury has only been described as a “multi-week knee injury.” While the Cardinals aren’t worried about his ACL, if he misses 4 weeks you’re right up against the fantasy playoffs, and the Cardinals are right up against irrelevance. We might have seen the last of Zach Ertz, and if I’m in a ten-team, shallow bench league with no IR slots, I am not going to stick around to see. At least not unless we get some good news on Tuesday.
Kyle Pitts, Atlanta (95% rostered)
Did we have fun? That week that he was TE3? Because those days are, seemingly, over. The reason has nothing to do with Kyle Pitts. It has to do with Arthur Smith and Marcus Mariota getting into a suck off (hold on wait no let me rephrase that) with Kyle Pitts stuck in the middle. He has five or fewer PPR points in six-of-nine games this season.
Taysom Hill, New Orleans (63% rostered)
The Saints seem to have stopped being incredibly stupid with their football team, and by that, I mean that they have become so terrible and bereft of production on offense that they can’t get stupid with their football team. Because of this, Hill has four rush attempts, one target, and one pass attempt in the last two games. You can move on from him (of course this means he will have 19 touchdowns next week, including 3 he somehow throws to himself).
Evan Engram, Jacksonville (52% rostered)
If you ever see me say another nice thing about Evan Engram, just slap me across the mouth. He tricked us into thinking that it was Evan Engram SZN. He suffered a back injury that bothered him last week and seemed to bother him this week, en route to 6.2 PPR points in the last two weeks combined. Engram has the Jags’ bye next week, so feel free to say bye to him this week.
