Folks, it was a bloodbath out there this week. Not only did we lose De’Von Achane for the season, we also lost Malik Nabers to J.J. McCarthy. The pre-week four waiver wire is upon us, and we need to clear roster space to make room for the new hotness. Below is a list of players rostered in at least 50% of Yahoo! leagues who probably need a roster-rate haircut.
QUARTERBACK
Drake Maye, New England (96% Rostered)
Drake Maye should still be on rosters in twelve-team leagues or deeper, but there isn’t much to get excited about with the Known Schedule Merchant. Through three games, he is QB31 in fantasy points, behind Marcus Mariota, Sam Darnold, Jayden Daniels, and Caleb Williams, who all played one full game and part of a second game. The offense is dysfunctional, but if you want to hold on, the Bills, Raiders and Jets are on the docket.
Justin Herbert, LA Chargers (89% rostered)
Well, there is one thing going for Herbert: he isn’t Drake Maye. The QB21 so far this season has a completely broken offense and nothing but pain ahead. The Seahawks, Broncos, Chiefs, and Rams are on the docket; They rank 27th, 17th, 32nd, and 21st in fantasy points per game allowed to quarterbacks so far this season.
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay (50% rostered)
Baker Mayfield is out for about a month with a thumb injury. He likely won’t be the same for a while, as the dislocation is in his throwing thumb.
On Thin Ice: CJ Stroud (54%)
RUNNING BACKS
De’Von Achane, Miami (100% rostered)
Achane tore his ACL and will miss the rest of the season.
Josh Jacobs, Green Bay (78% rostered)
The video tape evidence against Josh Jacobs is set to be released to the NFL at some point. He won’t play again this season.
MarShawn Lloyd, Green Bay (72% rostered)
The Packers gambled that the above would not be true, and lost. Lloyd is the “head” of a Cerberus of Suck in the Green Bay backfield, as he splits touches three ways with Kaleb Johnson and “Chris Brooks.” He has 17.1 PPR points on the season with a touchdown. So far through three games, he has 27 touches for 81 yards, or nine touches for 27 yards per game. Yikes.
Jonathon Brooks, Carolina (61% rostered)
Chuba Hubbard showed everyone that he is the lead back on this team, and Jonathon Brooks is going to be a clear backup or handcuff when he returns. Can you get Wally Pipped if you were always kind of supposed to be the backup?
On Thin Ice: David Montgomery (98%), Blake Corum (87%), Jacory Croskey-Merritt (85%)
WIDE RECEIVERS
Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville (82% rostered)
Brian Thomas is below league-average in snap share, total routes run, yards per target, yards per reception, yards after catch per reception, yards after contact per reception, explosive catch rate, and yards per target over expectation. The only statistic that he’s well above league average in is drop rate. Get in on the fun and drop him, too. He’s fallen completely out of favor in Jacksonville for a “Josh Cameron.”
Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona (82% rostered)
MHJ has zero interest in being a part of this offense, and the feeling is mutual from the Cardinals, and it shows in his WR94 ranking. He is behind both Michael Wilson and Trey McBride in snap share, targets, yards per route run (he’s also behind Kendrick Bourne and Elijah Higgins), and the list goes on and on. Through three games, he has 105 routes, eight targets, four catches and 73 yards. That’s 11.3 PPR points through three games; Kendrick Bourne has more than double this.
Alec Pierce, Indianapolis (66% rostered)
Alec Pierce reaggravated his foot injury and he has a timeline of four-to-six weeks. This same foot injury wasn’t supposed to cost him any time this season, so I doubt the Colts rush him back. If you don’t have IR spots, you can move on from him.
Jayden Reed, Green Bay (54% rostered)
Reed’s scary back injury has his season in doubt, and he wasn’t taking the league by storm (three catches for 20 yards in week one) before that injury.
On Thin Ice: Michael Pittman Jr. (69%), Kevin Concepcion (65%), Makai Lemon (50%)
TIGHT ENDS
Kyle Pitts Sr., Atlanta (86% rostered)
I am so done with this guy. Six targets through three games, for two catches for twenty yards. The saving grace is that half of his receptions came with Michael Penix, I guess? He has four PPR points on the season. Random tight ends with more: Eric Saubert, Blake Whiteheart, Matthew Hibner, Nate Adkins, and Tommy Tremble.
Hunter Henry, New England (58% rostered)
I will keep saying this until he is no longer rostered in more than 50% of leagues: you don’t need to roster Hunter Henry in twelve-team leagues; you can beat his production streaming.
On Thin Ice: Colston Loveland (99%)
