October 12, 2016

Tony Peters and Ben Hamren's fantasy football busts & overrated NFL players to consider cutting for Week 6 of the 2016 season. These Ks, RBs, WRs, and TEs should be cut in both PPR & standard leagues.

Welcome to Week 6's edition of The Cut List, Rotoballer's weekly column filled with advice on who is fat to be trimmed from your roster and who deserves a little more time on your plate. Each player receives both statistical and social media analysis, providing both real and ridiculous reasons why we--Tony Peters and Ben Hamren of the All Stats A Salad weekly fantasy football podcast--feel the way we do. The season's chalk full of angst and anxiety, let us take you beyond the stats to tickle your funny bone and your brain.

All ownership rates are taken from Fleaflicker. Be sure to check out the weekly football (and NSFW) podcast, All Stats A Salad, by clicking here.

Editor's Note: Once you're done here, be sure to read about more Week 6 waiver wire recommendations, for all other positions. Just click on any link: ALL - RB - WR - TE - QB - DEF - FAAB - CUTS

Week 6 Players to Consider Cutting or Replacing

Ryan Tannehill (QB, MIA) - 40% Owned

WK5: 12-of-18 for 191 yards, zero TD, two INT
2016: 100-of-156 for 1,272 yards, six TD, seven INT
wK6 Opponent: Steelers (17th in points allowed to QB)

TONY: There's a kiss of death in the NFL that works almost as potently as the mafia's kiss of death: the dreaded vote of confidence. After his second straight start with less than 200 yards in the Dolphins' Week 5 loss to the Titans, head coach Adam Gase came out in defense of his quarterback, saying he'll not only stick with Tannehill but that the offensive line is to blame for his terrible season so far. Regardless of the reason why, his next three weeks involve two tough matchups with the Steelers and Bills before the Dolphins' bye in Week 8. He's an easy cut in most single quarterback leagues until at least Week 9.

All stats a salad...this might be the easiest answer this column comes up with all season long. The man has a newborn child in his house. The more active a father he is, the higher his chance of exhaustion, deliriousness and mental instability are. No sleep will make anyone a bad passer.

 
 
Donte Moncrief (WR, IND) - 59% Owned

WK5: DNP
2016: 7-of-10 for 73 yards, one TD
WK6: Texans (28th in points allowed to WR)

BEN: Shoulder concerns have sidelined Moncrief for the majority of the year so far, which is bad news considering T.Y. Hilton is coming alive and Andrew Luck is discovering Phillip Dorsett. For a man who has played one singular game this year to be owned in 59% of leagues is obscene. He is currently designated as week-to-week by his coach, but what role will he carve out when he finally returns? Hopefully a big one in the FA bin. Shallow leagues shouldn't wait any longer, deeper leagues may want to hold tight though.

My dog @TYHilton13 is a straight dog.. Don't ever question greatness..Got my vote for anything, and he hit the Mo Head Swag.. Straight dog!!

— Donte Moncrief (@drm_12) September 25, 2016

All stats a salad...here is my new segment: The Double Feature! Not only is Moncrief my new go-to source of tweets about blessings being blessings and extremely exuberant--albeit incoherent--praise tweets about teammates, he also has a shirt. In all seriousness, what does straight dog mean?

 
 
Ryan Fitzpatrick (QB, NYJ) - 37% Owned

WK5: 25-of-38 for 255 yards, one TD, zero INT
2016: 111-of-192 for 1,267 yards, five TD, 10 INT
WK6: Cardinals (23rd in points allowed to QB)

BEN: Say it ain't so! This one hurts the most out of all the players on my list, but Fitz already has 10 interceptions on the year. On top of that, he has put the ball on the ground every game, though for his sake, the Jets've maintained possession each time. Brandon Marshall dropping passes and Eric Decker on the IR has done him no favors, but that's still no excuse for the turnover train that continues to follow him throughout his career. Unless you are in a two QB league, cut bait.

Soon...#Jets pic.twitter.com/kqAD6B8KxY

— Bryan Fonseca (@BryanFonsecaNY) October 2, 2016

All stats a salad...The Amish Rifle, Mr. Ivy league; why aren't you better?! I miss last year, I miss his Buffalo days (we'll all pretend there's no Houston days). I think what we need is more beard. He cleaned up a little over the summer and look where that got him. We need this man to exude the essence of a lumberjack, reclaim his Amish Rifle title and still miss the playoffs because the Jets.

Hot Seat - Sending Warning Signals

Eddie Royal (WR, CHI) - 51% Owned

WK5: 7-of-9 for 43 yards, zero TD
2016: 25-of-31 for 284 yards, two TD
WK6: Jaguars (fifth in points allowed to WR)

TONY: Talk about wasting a prime opportunity. Eddie Royal was set to be the Bears' main receiver two weeks in a row in the team's Week 5 game against the Colts with all the other receivers banged up. But instead, he added himself to the injury pile and gave way to Cameron Meredith taking that spot. The Bears clearly realize that a hobbled receiver is better than no receiver, which works well in real-life (Bears' fans might disagree) but not so much in fantasy. Quarterback Brian Hoyer has been targeting the team's young and healthiest receivers the heaviest, and Royal is no longer either.

All stats a salad...looks like the internet and Batman were ahead of me on this one. Can we trust him? I'm fairly certain we cannot, but even if I didn't, I can't argue with Michael Keaton. Batman's snarl is simply too convincing.

 
 
C.J. Anderson (RB, DEN) - 100% Owned

WK5: 11 carries for 41 yards, zero TD; 3-of-4 for 21 yards, zero TD
2016: 84 carries for 293 yards, three TD; 12-of-19 for 94 yards, one TD
WK6 Opponent: Chargers (third in points allowed to RB)

TONY: Things aren't looking good for one of 2016's first running backs off the board, C.J. Anderson. He has been a ghost since Week 3, picking up a sad 127 yards and a touchdown on 44 carries after collecting 166 yards and two touchdowns during the first two weeks. With rookie Devontae Booker seeing his touches up to a career-high 10 in Week 5, the ground already shakes with running back committee whispers. If Anderson doesn't come up big against a Chargers team giving up the third-most fantasy points to running backs, he could be on his way to the bench.

All stats a salad...he has an unhealthy obsession with Sonic the Hedgehog, who's career arch is not one to follow. Much like the Blue Blur, Anderson started out his career with a jolt of lightning just to see diminishing returns as the years went on. If he keeps following his idol, he'll be wearing a scarf and putting everyone he comes to contact with into a boredom coma before we know it.

 
 
Eli Manning (QB, NYG) - 91% Owned

WK5: 18-of-35 for 199 yards, one TD, one FUM
2016 Season: 119-of-187 for 1,385 yards, five TD, four INT
WK6: Ravens (26th in points allowed to QB)

BEN: You can't spell elite without "Eli," but you can spell success. These are pretty standard current-day Manning stats: 50/50 on that TD/INT ratio with a few fumbles mixed in for flavor. He'll throw balls nowhere near his receivers and be confused about why it didn't work. If I were Odell Beckham Jr., I'd be upset too if I was getting more blame than this guy about why the offense isn't bumping. Manning has too many wonderful toys to play with to just cut, but he's certainly on notice.

All stats a salad...Manning's sad face from Super Bowl 50 was the wake-up call that any silly theories that he was a better quarterback than his brother Peyton are hot air. After winning two rings himself due to stellar defenses and dumb luck, he's grasping at straws and lashing out at those that he should be rallying with. Is ODB's professionalism really the issue or is it Eli's love of throwing INTs?

Stash and Pray

Julius Thomas (TE, JAC) - 70% Owned

WK5: DNP
2016: 11-of-17 for 148 yards, one TD
WK6 Opponent: Bears (14th in points allowed to TE)

TONY: After giving much credence to being a Peyton Manning guy with a lacking 2015 in his first year away from the Broncos, tight end Julius Thomas is doing nothing to change that way of thought. Dealing with an elbow injury since Week 3?, he's set to return to the field in Week 6 against the Bears after sitting out Week 4 and the Jaguars' having a Week 5 bye. With tight end as a whole all over the place in terms of fantasy production, Thomas is too valuable as a mediocre player to cut in most leagues. But he needs to show he can move past this injury to hold onto to even that.

All stats a salad...instead of appreciating his time with his current quarterback, Blake Bortles, he's publically pinning for those dreamy Denver days of yore with the now-retired Peyton Manning. Those days are never coming back, not matter how many times you sing "Peyton Manning Dreaming" to the tune of The Beach Boys' "California Dreamin'."