Week five is in the books, and it’s time to spite drop a bunch of players to pick up more players to spite drop next week! To make this list, a player must be on rosters in at least 50% of Yahoo! leagues. It does me no good to tell you to drop Isaac Guerendo, after all.
Quarterbacks
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City (100% rostered)
That’s right. The greatest quarterback of all time, who heads the only undefeated AFC team and who is the proud owner of the biggest contract in NFL history. He finished this week with 14.44 fantasy points, finishing as QB20 on the week. That marks the fifth time in five games that Mahomes failed to finish as a top-twelve quarterback this season. He’s also lost his top-two targets by share (Rashee Rice and Isiah Pacheco). I get not wanting to do this, but there are a lot of better options out there.
You want to hang onto him in deeper leagues, and you aren’t going out of your way to cut him. But maybe try to trade him, as his name value far outweighs his actual fantasy football production this season. He could go thermonuclear at any time, so I wouldn’t flippantly toss him away. But, I get the desire to move on from him, and I can’t find any reason to stop you other than name value.
Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis (87% rostered)
Richardson is dealing with a myriad of injuries right now. But, even before that, Richardson was struggling to be a fantasy football difference-maker. He finished under 13 fantasy points in three straight games. He isn’t a lock to come back anytime soon, and he wasn’t even all that great when he was still starting.
Wide Receivers
Jaylen Waddle, Miami (93% rostered)
Waddle hasn’t had a game over 9 PPR points since week one and hasn’t finished inside the top 36 in four straight weeks. With Tua Tagovailoa’s uncertain future, the replacement options being… respectfully… sub-par, and with Waddle entering a bye week, you can move on from him in shallow leagues. You might be able to pick him back up before his Indianapolis matchup in week seven if Tua makes it back.
Rashee Rice, Kansas City (87% rostered)
The Chiefs announced that Rice’s knee injury isn’t as bad as initially thought… but he is still going to miss the season. His LCL injury will require surgery that will keep him out for the rest of the season.
Dontayvion Wicks, Green Bay (66% rostered)
We had fun while it lasted. Romeo Doubs was suspended and Wicks still only mustered two catches for twenty yards. If you want to hang on for hope of better days ahead: three of his next four matchups come against teams currently ranked in the top ten in fantasy points allowed to wide receivers.
Running Backs
There wasn’t a back who had a disastrous enough game that hasn’t shown anything in the past that would lead me to cut him. Travis Etienne struggled, but still had a ton of catches. So let’s bang this dead horse for (likely) the last time.
Zamir White, Las Vegas (52% rostered)
The Raiders are a disaster, and Zamir White is no exception. He is out with injury and is one of the least efficient backs in the NFL. He won’t even have touchdown upside with the looming Davante Adams trade decimating the Raiders’ offense.
Tight Ends
David Njoku, Cleveland (77% rostered)
Njoku returned from injury, dealt with the disgusting Browns defense for 25 snaps, and suffered a knee injury. This is his second injury, and he has 5 catches for 58 yards on the season.
