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Updated weekend fantasy football cut list rankings for Week 6 of 2025. The top fantasy football players to drop and cut from rosters including Jalen Tolbert, Emari Demercado, Chris Rodriguez Jr., Malik Washington more.
Welcome back, RotoBallers, to our Cut List Rankings for fantasy football Week 6 of the 2025 NFL season. This weekend, we saw several backfields that were expected to rely on a committee approach, instead pivoting to a lead option. As a result, several running backs have now fallen into handcuffs territory and out of FLEX territory.
Additionally, several top defensive units have been underperforming in relation to expectations and are safe to drop in all formats.
So, which injured or disappointing players is it time to get rid of for fantasy football lineups? Read about our top players to cut for Week 6 of the NFL season. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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Who To Drop for Fantasy Football Week 6?
The top players to consider cutting for fantasy football, in priority order. Players at the top of the list should be dropped first and replaced on the waiver wire:
| Rank | Player Name | Pos. | % Ros | Baller Move |
| 1 | Tyreek Hill | WR | 35 | Drop in All Leagues |
| 2 | Spencer Shrader | K | 70 | Drop in All Leagues |
| 3 | Baltimore Ravens | DEF | 35 | Drop in All Leagues |
| 4 | Chris Rodriguez Jr. | RB | 15 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 5 | Malik Washington | WR | 25 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 6 | JuJu Smith-Schuster | WR | 10 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 7 | Green Bay Packers | DEF | 50 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 8 | Arizona Cardinals | DEF | 85 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 9 | Jonnu Smith | TE | 10 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 10 | Calvin Austin III | WR | 10 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 11 | Taysom Hill | TE | 20 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 12 | Tyquan Thornton | WR | 20 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 13 | Jalen Tolbert | WR | 20 | Drop in Most Leagues |
| 14 | Sean Tucker | RB | 15 | Drop in Shallow Leagues |
| 15 | Emari Demercado | RB | 60 | Drop in Shallow Leagues |
| 16 | Juwan Johnson | TE | 65 | Drop in Shallow Leagues |
| 17 | Zach Ertz | TE | 75 | Drop in Shallow Leagues |
| 18 | Marquise Brown | WR | 45 | Drop in Shallow Leagues |
| 19 | Darius Slayton | WR | 45 | Hold in Deeper Leagues |
| 20 | Mark Andrews | TE | 95 | Hold in Deeper Leagues |
| 21 | Ollie Gordon II | RB | 45 | Hold in Deeper Leagues |
| 22 | Trey Benson | RB | 65 | Hold in Deeper Leagues |
| 23 | Elic Ayomanor | WR | 75 | Hold |
| 24 | Jerry Jeudy | WR | 100 | Hold |
| 25 | Woody Marks | RB | 85 | Hold |
Fantasy Football Drop Candidates
Read the recent news and fantasy outlooks of some of the top cut candidates:
Spencer Shrader, K - Indianapolis Colts (Cut List Ranking No. 2)
Indianapolis Colts kicker Spencer Shrader (knee) is doubtful to return to his team's Week 5 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders due to a knee injury. Shrader was crashed into by a Raiders defender and left the field with a significant limp. Before getting injured, Shrader knocked in both of his extra-point tries, but did not attempt a field goal.
If Shrader is unable to return, Indianapolis may have to turn to punter Rigoberto Sanchez to handle all of its kicking duties.
Chris Rodriguez Jr., RB - Washington Commanders (Cut List Ranking No. 5)
Chris Rodriguez Jr. took the backseat to Crosky-Merritt during their victory over the Chargers and appears to be trending toward a reserve role. Washington Commanders rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt had the best game of his young career in his team's 27-10 Week 5 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Croskey-Merritt recorded 14 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns, adding two catches for 39 yards as well. The 24-year-old has now recorded 43 carries for 283 yards and four touchdowns so far this season. Perhaps most encouragingly, Croskey-Merritt earned more than double the touches in Week 5 (16) of fellow Commanders running backs Chris Rodriguez Jr. and Jeremy McNichols combined (seven).
As a result, he is no more than a stash option in deep leagues.
Calvin Austin III, WR - Pittsburgh Steelers (Cut List Ranking No. 11)
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III (shoulder) managed just two receptions for 13 yards in a Week 4 victory over the Minnesota Vikings before exiting with a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter. Austin was evaluated at a hospital in Dublin, Ireland before heading home for a Week 5 bye. There have been conflicting reports regarding the severity of Austin's injury, but the consensus seems to be that he will miss some time.
The 26-year-old had been operating as Pittsburgh's WR2 behind DK Metcalf and displayed encouraging signs of chemistry with new quarterback Aaron Rodgers. There is potential for Austin to become a fantasy contributor later in the season, but it's difficult to justify stashing him through the team's bye in most redraft leagues, especially if he can't be moved to an IR spot.
Taysom Hill, TE - New Orleans Saints (Cut List Ranking No. 12)
The New Orleans Saints' Swiss-Army Knife and "do it all man" Taysom Hill suited up on Sunday for the first time in 2025 after suffering a torn ACL in Week 13 of 2024. He served as the backup quarterback behind starter Spencer Rattler, while also fulfilling his regular role as a gadget player. He stepped in and completed his only pass for 19 yards, and had six carries for negative one yard, good for 0.66 fantasy points.
Hill has always been a bit of a boom-or-bust option in the fantasy community. Still, if he were to step in for any serious time at quarterback, or continue to see six to 10 carries a game, he could easily provide TE1 fantasy production; however, there will be weeks like this, where it's close to a goose egg. Fantasy managers in deeper leagues can roster him and see how things play out over the next few weeks.
Emari Demercado, RB - Arizona Cardinals (Cut List Ranking No. 16)
While Emari Demercado appeared poised to take on a large role with Benson sidelined, instead, the Cardinals opted to lean on Michael Carter during their loss to the Titans.
Arizona Cardinals running back Michael Carter rushed for 51 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries during Sunday's Week 5 loss to the Tennessee Titans. He also caught all five of his targets for an additional 22 receiving yards. After plenty of speculation about the backfield roles in Arizona, Carter handled early-down work, Emari Demercado played third downs, and Bam Knight rotated in occasionally. Carter easily saw the bulk of the workload, totaling 23 touches while staying involved both on the ground and through the air.
His lack of yardage efficiency could leave the backfield in a by-committee state ahead of Week 6, but Carter has the early advantage in the competition. He'll continue to rank as a high-end RB3/flex for next week's clash in Indianapolis. While Demercado can still hold value, he is best left for deeper leagues heading into Week 6.
Trey Benson, RB - Arizona Cardinals (Cut List Ranking No. 23)
Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson (knee) is expected to miss four to six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his meniscus, another setback for a backfield already reeling from the season-ending loss of James Conner (Achilles). Benson had been working into a steady role with 29 carries for 160 yards and 13 receptions for 64 yards through four games.
While Benson showed flashes of efficiency early, his return timetable places him on injured reserve and makes him droppable unless you have an IR spot available.
Waiver Wire Articles
After diving into the cut list rankings, read about some waiver wire pickups to consider instead:
- Week 6 waiver wire pickups (all positions)
- Week 6 running back waiver wire pickups
- Week 6 wide receiver waiver wire pickups
- Week 6 tight end waiver wire pickups
- Week 6 quarterback waiver wire pickups
- Week 6 defense (D/ST) streamers and pickups
- Week 6 kicker streamers and pickups
- Week 6 FAAB waiver wire bids
Each week, our NFL team puts out a complete array of fantasy football waiver wire articles to compliment our slick Who Should I Pickup? Waiver wire player comparison tool. Bookmark it!
In addition, be on the lookout for our other waiver wire articles all season long. We will be releasing weekly waiver wire articles for each position, FAAB bidding recommendations, streamers and more throughout the week.
More Waiver Wire Analysis
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