This was an incredibly difficult article to write this week. The entire week was so strange and drunk and convoluted that it was tough to find definitive players about whom I could form strong enough opinions. The waiver wire is likely to be light this week, with nobody on bye in week eight, and nobody taking a huge step forward. The Cut List reflects that, as there were very few players deserving of our ire who were rostered in at least 50% of leagues.
Quarterbacks
Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns (75% rostered)
Watson is completely non-committal about playing next week after getting benched with an acute case of “I don’t wanna go back out there” in week seven. He’s still a fantasy force when he’s on the field, but everyone who started him this week would have been better off starting nobody, as Watson finished with -0.8 fantasy points thanks to 5 passing yards and a pick.]
Wide Receivers
Calvin Ridley, Jacksonville Jaguars (99% rostered)
Before you go out and go out of the way to drop Calvin Ridley, this is for the shallowest leagues only. In very shallow leagues, you likely have enough other options that you can move on from Ridley (maybe trade him elsewhere) because he is looking to be an incredibly inconsistent option moving forward. On Sunday, he finished with 1.5 PPR points. If you want to hang on in deeper leagues, I won’t argue, as he has the Steelers next week. But if he can’t produce against the Steelers, then move on.
Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders (53% rostered)
The man finally got targets and still did very little with them. He finished with 5 catches for 43 yards on 8 pass attempts… All of those are a season-high (except targets), and he’s still on pace to finish outside the top 36 on a week without six teams. If he’s not a good start now, then when?
Running Backs
Antonio Gibson, Washington Commanders (54% rostered)
Gibson and the Commanders took on a Giants run defense that allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to running backs coming into the game. In this one, he finished with 2 rush attempts and 2 targets, for 5.1 points. That marks the sixth time in seven games he failed to cross into double-digit fantasy points, and the fifth time in six games that he failed to get more than five touches.
Tight Ends
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams (61% rostered)
He’s dust and caught just one of his three targets this week. The emergence of Puka Nacua has rendered Hate Crime Higbee borderline irrelevant.
