The Cut List – Time to Let Go? Week 5

Robert Lorge helps fantasy football managers with tough decisions on who to cut from rosters ahead of waivers for Week 5 of the 2021 fantasy football season. These QB, RB, WR, and TE fallers can be dropped in most leagues.

It's tinker time! No matter what your record is after four weeks, it's important to keep looking to improve your roster. Don't let a dead weight linger on the end of your roster. Even if you're 4–0, you should always be looking to add productive players. Bye weeks are coming out and you can never have enough depth to be content. Not to mention, you never know when the injury bug might hurt your lineup.

Last week, I had Jamison Crowder, Robby Anderson and Trey Sermon all on the hot seat and all three of them played their way off. While Anderson wasn't overly effective, he did see 11 targets, which is enough for fantasy managers to hang on and see if that's a trend that continues. Crowder hadn't played a single week yet and fantasy managers had to have been wondering if he was really in the Jets' plans for this season, but he led the team in targets in his very first outing. Sermon also looked much more comfortable in Week 4, but the bigger thing was that Shanahan appeared to look more comfortable with Sermon. All three of these guys have earned the right to stay rostered on your fantasy teams for a few more weeks, as long as they continue this positive trajectory.

As always, the following players are guys that can safely be dropped in 10 and 12–team, one-quarterback formats.

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Quarterbacks

Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns

57.7 rostered

I get it – Baker Mayfield is a big name. Cutting big names is always hard, but this one shouldn't be. After four weeks, he's QB26 in points per game. He's averaging just 14.1 points per game. He has only two passing touchdowns. He's throwing just 28 passes per game. Fantasy managers holding onto Mayfield are likely clinging to his draft pedigree and name value. The fact of the matter is he's the quarterback of a run-first offense who provides little to no value with his legs. The upside is limited and the floor is much lower than any fantasy manager would like.

Jameis Winston, New Orleans Saints

29.2% rostered

If anyone still thinks the Buccaneer Winston may show up, they're kidding themselves. Even Michael Thomas' return isn't going to fix this passing offense – or offense in general. Winston scored just over 29 points in Week 1, then went on to score only 35 total points in the next three weeks combined. He has attempted just 86 passes through four weeks, which amounts to 21.5 pass attempts per game. At this point, fantasy managers can safely chalk up his Week 1 performance as an outlier at this point. There's simply not enough passing volume in New Orleans for fantasy managers to be able to depend on Winston on a week-to-basis and like Mayfield, Winston provides nothing with his legs.

Running Backs

Mark Ingram II, Houston Texans

27.5% rostered

Speaking of outliers... let me introduce you to Mark Ingram. He's currently RB44 in half-PPR scoring. However, he scored 14.5 of his 24 total points in Week 1, which amounts to 60%. He had 26 carries in Week 1, but since then, he's had only 26 carries the past three weeks combined. After having 86 yards rushing in Week 1, he's totaled just 86 yards in the past three weeks. He hit his ceiling in Week 1, which was good for 14.5 points and it took 26 carries to get there. How many times do you think the Texans will be in a position to give a single running back that many carries? The floor, however, is under three points – something he's done twice in consecutive weeks.

Ronald Jones II, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

50.5% rostered

Fantasy managers might feel compelled to hold onto Jones after he found the end zone in Week 4, but there's little reason to. With Giovani Bernard inactive in Week 4, it was extremely concerning that Jones was only given six carries. He has only 13.1 points over four weeks and six of them were from his Week 4 touchdown. While Jones only got six touches in the team's Week 4 win over the Patriots, Leonard Fournette was given 23. For whatever reason, Bruce Arians does not trust Ronald Jones and if the head coach doesn't trust a player, how can you as a fantasy manager?

Wide Receivers

Marquez Callaway, New Orleans Saints

44.3% rostered

With each week that passes, we get one more week closer to the return of Michael Thomas, which will render Callaway even more irrelevant than he is right now. All of the concerns noted for Jameis Winston above are the same concerns for Callaway. This offense has thrown the least amount of passes of any offense through four weeks and it's not particularly close. Callaway has received only 13 targets, which is not enough volume to be a dependable fantasy asset. He has just 137 receiving yards through four weeks and once Thomas comes back, none of these numbers are likely to get any better.

Tight Ends

Jonnu Smith, New England Patriots

65.1% rostered

When he signed that monster contract in the offseason, fantasy managers were hopeful the money would lead to fantasy success for Jonnu Smith. That has not been the case, at all. He has only 21.9 points through four weeks and only 88 receiving yards. He's averaging just 6.7 yards per catch. Mac Jones is spreading the ball around to Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne, Jakobi Meyers and fellow tight end Hunter Henry. That level of target competition on a passing offense that has lacked upper-tier production is going to lead to a lot of fantasy disappointment and that's been the case through four weeks. Henry appears to be the preferred pass-catching tight end, which means fantasy managers can safely move on from Jonnu Smith.

Austin Hooper, Cleveland Browns

45.8% rostered

As bad as Jonnu Smith has been, Austin Hooper has been worse. He has only 21.2 points on the season and while he has nine more receiving yards than Smith, he has two fewer catches. The Browns – like the Patriots – want to establish the run, which leaves the pass-catchers struggling with a lack of volume to be productive. To make matters worse, the Browns are effectively using all three of their tight ends. When we're talking about tight ends, fantasy managers should be chasing volume and opportunity. Unfortunately for Hooper, he's struggling with both of them. He's only getting four targets a game, which simply is not enough for a trustworthy fantasy option.

On the Hot Seat...

Ty'Son Williams, Baltimore Ravens

70.6% rostered

Even though Williams has been the team's most effective rusher – outside of Lamar Jackson – he was still a healthy scratch in Week 4. The Ravens signed Latavius Murray, Le'Veon Bell and Devonta Freeman following the season-ending injuries to Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins. Williams was already trending in the wrong direction after being out-carried by Murray in Week 3, but a healthy scratch is something that will certainly catch the eyes of fantasy managers. If it happens again in Week 5, fantasy managers can safely move on.

Jalen Reagor, Philadelphia Eagles

53.0% rostered

Reagor is currently WR54 on the season and he has two games with under three points in half-PPR scoring. He's received 20 targets through four weeks, which is a good amount, but he just hasn't done very much with the opportunity. While fantasy managers shouldn't cut bait just yet because of that volume, eventually the production will need to follow if he wants to remain on fantasy rosters. Despite the Eagles being extremely pass-heavy the past two weeks – throwing for 713 yards – Reagor has only had 62 of them.

Hold On for One More Day

Will Fuller, Miami Dolphins

75.7% rostered

Fuller was suspended for Week 1. Then he missed Week 2 for personal reasons. Playing in Weeks 3 and 4, Fuller had only 26 combined scoreless yards. He left Week 4 early and was diagnosed with a broken finger and is now being deemed as "week-to-week." Fuller has long been plagued with injuries and receivers often struggle in their first year with a new team. On top of the new team element, Fuller is also dealing with a quarterback change. Regardless of who is at quarterback, this offense is not going to be a prolific passing attack and once he is healthy, he'll be competing with targets with Waddle, Parker and Gesicki – all of whom will have had more playing time and practice time with whoever their quarterback is. If you're in a league with IR spots, Fuller is worth the stash, but if not, I have no problem moving on if I need to.

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