October 17, 2017

NFL players to consider cutting, dropping or benching for Week 7 of the 2017 season. Jason's list of fantasy football busts, injuries, and overrated players.

Plainly and simply, this will be your weekly list of those end-of-roster guys that you can safely let go of, with the occasional unfortunate star player that finds his way here due to injury.

Each week from now until the end of the season, I’ll be offering my thoughts on players who don’t deserve to keep a roster spot on your fantasy football teams. Below are my Week 7 cuts and drops for fantasy football. 

Let's get to it.

Players to Consider Dropping or Replacing

Matt Ryan (QB, ATL)

Please do not just look at his name on this list and run out to cut him. Hear me out. Matt Ryan is not a QB1. He's barely a QB2. However, he does have the Patriots and their laughably poor secondary on the horizon followed by the Jets. It is completely reasonable to give him a chance to wake up. However, it is also completely reasonable to realize that 2016 was an outlier when compared with the rest of Ryan's career. This is who he is. And that fact is how the Falcons managed to blow a 17-0 halftime lead...at home...off a bye...to Jay Cutler. Ryan is the QB21 by average points and has yet to reach 20 fantasy points in any week in six point passing touchdown leagues. You don't have to drop him, but, you also don't have to not drop him.

Aaron Rodgers (QB, GB)

This is not a consideration. Drop him. He is not coming back for the fantasy season. Best case scenario, Brett Hundley takes the Packers to the postseason and then Rodgers returns. We will not see Rodgers soon enough for him to matter in fantasy. And even if he were going to be able to return in week 15 or 16, you still have to get there and that's difficult to do wasting a roster spot on an injured QB. It is incredibly unfortunate as it affects so many players beyond Rodgers himself, but the best QB in the NFL is done for 2017.

Amari Cooper (WR, OAK)

He was here last week. He's here again. This one is just a quick reminder that you do not need to roster Amari Cooper. The "talent" can only be there for so long before reality supersedes it. Cooper had his best game in weeks last week, which amounted to five catches for 28 yards. He has absolutely no fantasy value, which still does not make sense, but that does not change the reality of the situation.

Jamison Crowder (WR, WAS)

How is this guy 67% owned? Seriously? He caught three passes for 15 yards last week. He has 17 catches for 121 yards on the season. That's five games. Kirk Cousins is lighting up the scoreboard by apparently not throwing to Terrelle Pryor, Jordan Reed, or Jamison Crowder. I still can't entirely figure it out, but I do know that Crowder has no business being owned this much.

Tyrell Williams (WR, LAC)

I apologize for not having him here two weeks ago. I am a huge Tyrell Williams fan and it was hard for me to let go. This is me letting go. Tyrell Williams has a ton of talent and I can't wait for him to get out of Los Angeles and onto a team that treats him with respect. Philip Rivers most certainly does not. Rivers has devolved into a one read QB that literally throws to a covered Melvin Gordon over a wide open Tyrell Williams because Rivers' eyes can only see Gordon and Keenan Allen. Aside from Williams' 5-115-1 explosion against Philly, he hasn't exceeded 54 receiving yards in any other game. He has just five targets over the past two weeks. To make matters worse, here's what his next five weeks look like: Denver, New England, Bye, Jacksonville, Buffalo. You can't even think about starting him in four of those weeks. This is not one of those "if you want to" guys - cut him - now.

Martavis Bryant (WR, PIT)

90% owned? Are you kidding me? Martavis Bryant caught one long touchdown in week 2. He hasn't exceeded 7.8 PPR points in any other week. Ben Roethlisberger is falling apart. He can't sustain two viable fantasy WRs anymore and you know that Antonio Brown is not about to get his workload cut. JuJu Smith-Schuster is close to passing Bryant on the depth chart if he hasn't already. There were rumors Bryant had requested a trade, which I completely believe even after he denied them. There are a number of teams that could use him (Dallas, Seattle, and the Giants come to mind), but you can't go rostering a useless player banking on a trade. Ignore the name value and drop him.

Isaiah Crowell (RB, CLE)

Isaiah Crowell almost matched his season high in rushing yards last week with 58 (his high is 60). He hasn't scored a touchdown and his prospects for doing so aren't great on the Browns. He is losing playing time to Duke Johnson. The Browns are a mess. The volume is gone. The efficiency is gone. The touchdowns are gone. There is nothing enticing about Crowell.

Latavius Murray (RB, MIN)

He is a Jerick McKinnon handcuff. Nothing more. Latavius Murray might continue to get the first crack at the goal line, but he's essentially a glorified Jeremy Hill. McKinnon is better than Murray at literally every aspect of football, apparently even the goal line as McKinnon got in when Murray failed last week. Two weeks of McKinnon's athleticism being on full display are enough for me to declare it over for Murray.

Mike Gillislee (RB, NE)

Again, I must remind you that this is not a must drop list, just a "don't feel bad about dropping this guy" list. Mike Gillislee has been remarkably consistent the past three weeks, posting rushing totals of 44, 52, and 49 on carry counts of 10, 12, and 12. That's exactly what we all should have expected from him. He hasn't scored since week 2. The Patriots' inability to play defense has removed a huge chunk of expected positive game script. Gillislee's job is to grind out the clock. The Patriots haven't been in a position to do so. Gillislee's job is to score short touchdowns. The Patriots have been throwing and using more Dion Lewis from the red zone. You knew this going into the season with Gillislee so this should not come as a surprise. If you don't want to deal with it anymore, do not feel bad about it.

Players To Add - Waiver Wire Pickups