The Cut List – Who to Drop for Fantasy Football Week 5

October 3, 2023

Justin's fantasy football players to drop when making waiver wire moves for Week 5. He helps fantasy football managers decide on who to cut from rosters.

Week 4 is in the books and the majority of fantasy football seasons are at or near the quarter mark. The football's been happening fast, but there's still plenty more of it to come this season.

Whether due to injury or ineffectiveness, not every player maintains fantasy value throughout the season. Sometimes, you've just got to send a guy back to the waiver wire.

Below you'll find the biggest names that managers can safely cut in traditional 10 and 12-teams. In order to add a player to your fantasy team, you've got to move on from someone. Let's figure out which underperforming players can be dropped.

Quarterbacks to Cut in Week 5?

Mac Jones, New England Patriots — 17% Rostered

I haven't really been a fan of Mac Jones in the NFL. But after he threw three touchdown passes against Philly in the season opener, I started thinking I could be wrong. Maybe Jones could be an above-average NFL quarterback. Maybe he was going to have a strong third season.

In the three weeks since Jones has thrown just two total touchdowns. Against Dallas this week, he failed to find the end zone but did throw a pair of interceptions. His lack of rushing upside meant he needed to consistently throw multiple touchdowns and avoid turnovers to be a good fantasy option. The past three weeks have shown that's not the case. Go ahead and send Jones to the waiver wire in single-QB leagues.

Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers — 27% Rostered

Kenny Pickett was injured during Sunday's loss to the Texans, suffering a left knee issue. While it appears he won't be out for the season, he's expected to miss some time.

Pickett has thrown at least one interception in three of the four games so far and hasn't gone over 235 passing yards in a contest yet. He's a passable fantasy QB2, but in most formats, there's not really a need to burn a roster space on him while he's injured.

Update: It sounds like Pickett could play this week against the Ravens. That doesn't change my decision to drop him, though. He's not really performing that well when healthy and he's got the Ravens (if he plays) and a bye coming up.

Running Backs to Cut in Week 5?

A.J. Dillon, Green Bay Packers — 72% Rostered

In 2021 and 2022, the Packers' backfield was fairly split. Aaron Jones was the lead back, but A.J. Dillon got his opportunities. That hasn't really been the case this year. Jones has missed a couple of games, but when he's been on the field, Dillon hasn't had a role.

In Week 1, Dillon had 13 carries, but six of those came after Jones exited the game. With Jones back this past week, Dillon saw a season-low five carries, finishing with 11 yards. It was the second time this season he's had under 20 yards on the ground. With Jones in the lineup, Dillon can't be trusted in fantasy. If you want to keep him as an injury hedge for Jones, fine. But he'll be languishing on your bench as long as Jones is healthy.

Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints — 21% Rostered

While I remain a long-term fan of Kendre Miller, the return of Alvin Kamara squashed any momentum that Miller had in 2023. He had just one carry on Sunday against the Buccaneers, gaining three yards. He was also targeted once, catching the pass for five yards.

Meanwhile, Kamara had 11 carries and 14 targets in this one, showcasing that he's the go-to back in the run game and the passing game. Kamara played 75% of the team's snaps, while Miller played 8%. He had six fewer snaps than Tony Jones Jr. I think it's safe to say Miller is not fantasy-viable as long as Kamara's around.

Dalvin Cook, New York Jets — 77% Rostered

Dalvin Cook just doesn't seem to have it anymore. He's currently averaging 2.5 yards per carry, a number that's, well... not good. A few years ago, Cook was a top NFL running back, averaging 111.2 rushing yards per game in 2020. This year, he's at 18.5 rushing yards per game.

And the Jets seem to realize this. After playing half the snaps in Week 1, Cook has seen his snaps drop. He was at 36% in Week 2, then was down to just 25% in each of the last two contests. Cook just doesn't have a fantasy-relevant role with the Jets at this point.

Wide Receivers to Cut in Week 5?

Brandin Cooks, Dallas Cowboys — 55% Rostered

It looks like we have a winner in the battle for the No. 2 wide receiver role for the Cowboys. It's not Brandin Cooks, who most expected would come out ahead. Instead, it's Michael Gallup, who has been targeted 13 times over the past two games.

Meanwhile, Cooks is fairly close to Gallup in targets with 12 over the last two games, but he's not producing. Gallup has turned his 13 targets into 11 catches for 152 yards. Cooks has turned his 12 into six catches for 44 yards. Pretty sizable difference there. Cooks' value relies pretty heavily on the idea that he's a reliable volume receiver, but that simply hasn't been the case this year.

JuJu Smith-Schuster, New England Patriots — 46% Rostered

Consider this a companion to the Mac Jones cut above. JuJu Smith-Schuster struggled to gain yardage over the first two games of the season, but the overall strength of the passing game kept him as an option in full PPR leagues, as he averaged 4.5 receptions per game over that span.

But the last two weeks... yikes. Smith-Schuster was targeted three times in Week 3 against the Jets, catching just one of those for five yards. He was a prime drop candidate after that, but it's possible you kept him around, hoping for a bounceback against the Cowboys this week.

That didn't happen. He saw more targets, as the ball came his way five times. But he caught just one of those for 14 yards and played a season-low 47% of snaps. Jones likes to spread the ball around but doesn't have the volume or yardage totals to support fantasy-relevant wide receivers unless he starts to focus on one or two of them more often.

Tight Ends to Cut in Week 4?

Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills — 67% Rostered

While Sam LaPorta has proven this season that rookie tight ends can come in and make an immediate impact, Bills rookie Dalton Kincaid hasn't done that yet.

He's averaged 24.8 receiving yards per contest and has seen a drop in offensive snaps, playing just 52% of them in Week 4. This week against the Dolphins, he was second on the team in targets, but it didn't end up mattering, as he caught four passes for 27 yards. He's run 70% of Buffalo's routes this year, but he has just 6% of Buffalo's air yards per Fantasy Life. It doesn't look like a rookie breakout is coming for Kincaid.

Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans — 42% Rostered

I was beating the Chigoziem Okonkwo drum in the preseason. Before the DeAndre Hopkins trade, it was a defensible position to take. But with Hopkins in tow, the reality of the 2023 Titans is that there's just not really a role for Okonkwo.

Okonkwo hasn't been targeted more than four times in a game yet. This week, the ball came his way just three times, putting him fourth on the team in targets. Notably, this came with Treylon Burks out with a knee injury. There was some optimism that Okonkwo might be in line for an increased role with Burks out. The fact that it didn't happen is another nail in his fantasy coffin.

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