RADIO
We're halfway through the fantasy football regular season. Regardless of where you stand in your league's standings, it's important fantasy managers continue to tinker with their rosters. Part of that process is deciding which players need to be sent packing. This article, as difficult as cutting players can be, should help you do that.
There are plenty of big-name quarterbacks that fantasy managers are likely struggling with. Guys like Deshaun Watson, Jordan Love, and Trevor Lawrence have all put fantasy managers in a bind the last few weeks. In this article, I'll be discussing each of these three signal-callers so fantasy managers can have a better idea of how to handle all three players.
Deciding who to cut can always be a difficult process, but it's important to take emotions out of the equation. It's important to stay active on the waiver wire and continue making tweaks to your fantasy team. To do that, you'll need to say goodbye to some of your players. Below you'll find the biggest names that managers can safely cut in traditional 10 and 12-team leagues. You will also find players that you should hold if possible. If you have any questions, give me a follow @RobFFSlayer and shoot me a message. My DMs are always open and I’m more than willing to answer questions.
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Quarterbacks to Cut in Week 8?
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers – 74% Rostered
Over the past three weeks, Jordan Love has thrown six interceptions and just three touchdowns despite having ample preparation time against two of the worst defenses in the NFL - the Raiders and the Broncos. Love managed to score 17.6 points in Week 4 against Detroit, but that consisted of a rushing touchdown on negative two yards rushing. Without that rushing score, he would have had just 11.6 points. Yes, he scored that touchdown. No, we cannot actually take it away, but we can ask ourselves whether we can trust that kind of production when he has negative two yards rushing. The answer is, most likely not. In Week 5 against the Raiders, he scored less than five points. Then coming out of their Week 6 bye, Love posted just 15 points against the worst defense in the NFL.
Jordan Love’s QB ranks through WK7:
PFF Passing Grade (60.6) – 27th
Y/A (6.5) – 25th
Completion % (57.5%) – DEAD LAST IN THE NFL
CPOE (-5.6%) – 33rd (that is correct, there are a only 32 starters)
INT’s thrown (7) – 2nd worst
Bad in every imaginable way.
— David J. Gautieri (@GuruFantasyWrld) October 23, 2023
A lot of his early production in Weeks 1 to 3 was due to an insanely high touchdown rate. During those first three weeks, he had seven touchdowns on 96 attempts. That amounts to a 7.3% touchdown rate. Patrick Mahomes led the league in touchdown rate last year at 6.3%. Former Packer Aaron Rodgers had a 4.8% touchdown rate, which was also the league average last year. Love's touchdown rate was destined to fall and since it has, so has his fantasy production. It's incredibly difficult to trust him right now.
Running Backs to Cut in Week 8?
Jeff Wilson Jr., Miami Dolphins – 54% Rostered
I'll be honest here, this is more of a gut call than anything else. Jeff Wilson Jr. was active for the first time this past time and played seven of the team's 49 snaps. He didn't receive a single carry. Starting running back Raheem Mostert has been on an absolute tear and it's hard to imagine much of a change in the way this backfield has operated. Not only that but rookie sensation De'Von Achane is eligible to return in Week 11. The team has a Week 10 bye, so there's just Week 8 against the Patriots and Week 9 against the Chiefs. It's virtually impossible to trust Wilson next week considering his utilization in Week 8. That means fantasy managers might have one week to use Wilson if his utilization improves substantially next week. Once Week 11 comes around and Achane is activated, fantasy managers won't be able to trust Wilson at all.
Antonio Gibson, Washington Commanders – 53% Rostered
Antonio Gibson has yet to have more than 20 rushing yards in any game this season. He doesn't have a single game with seven carries. He has two or fewer targets in four out of seven games. He has 10 or fewer receiving yards in four or more games. He's been held to less than five half-PPR points in four out of seven games. He has not scored more than 8.5 half-PPR points in any game this season. If that wasn't bad enough, the team also introduced rookie Chris Rodriguez Jr. to the running back rotation this past weekend.
#Commanders Week 7 RB opportunities (carries + targets):
Brian Robinson - 9
Chris Rodriguez - 7 👀
Antonio Gibson - 4— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) October 23, 2023
Many fantasy managers have likely held onto Gibson as a handcuff to starter Brian Robinson Jr. However, now with Rodriguez being introduced, it's hard to even be confident in that anymore. Rodriguez earned more carries this past weekend, a sign that if Robinson were to go down, Rodriguez would likely enter Robinson's role and Gibson would stay in the same fruitless role he's in now.
Zach Evans, Los Angeles Rams – 36% Rostered
After starter Kyren Williams and backup Ronnie Rivers were both placed on IR, fantasy managers flocked to Zach Evans. He had been the only active running back for the Rams in addition to veteran Royce Freeman on the practice squad. It was assumed that the rookie would be the biggest beneficiary of the injuries ahead of him. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
#Rams RBs in first game without Kyren Williams (IR, ankle). Credit @AdamSchefter for being all over it:
* Snaps: Darrell Henderson 39, Royce Freeman 29, Zach Evans 0
* Routes: DHendo 12, Freeman 7
* Opportunities: DHendo 20, Freeman 12Note Myles Gaskin could be active Week 8.
— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) October 23, 2023
He didn't receive a single carry, didn't earn a single target, didn't run a single route. Evans didn't even get on the field this past weekend. Even if Darrell Henderson Jr. or Freeman were to get hurt, it's clear the team doesn't trust Evans whatsoever.
Other Running Backs to Cut: Ezekiel Elliott, New England Patriots – 46% Rostered, Justice Hill, Baltimore Ravens – 41% Rostered, Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks – 40% Rostered, Dalvin Cook, New York Jets – 40% Rostered, Samaje Perine, Denver Broncos – 27% Rostered, Keaontay Ingram, Arizona Cardinals – 26% Rostered
Wide Receivers to Cut in Week 8?
Elijah Moore, Cleveland Browns – 53% Rostered
Elijah Moore is a really tough case for fantasy managers because he's had seven or more targets in five out of six games. Despite the excellent utilization, he has not scored eight half-PPR points in any game this season. He's scored above five half-PPR points in four out of six games. There's at least opportunity here, which makes it difficult to consider cutting him. However, despite having 43 targets in six games, Moore has just one game over 50 yards receiving and has yet to find the end zone.
Elijah Moore hasn’t finished as a WR3 or better once this season
— Austin Abbott (@AustinAbbottFF) October 21, 2023
The Browns currently rank 31st in passing yards and 29th in passing touchdowns. Due to that, the poor quarterback play, and the injuries to Deshaun Watson, fantasy managers shouldn't feel bad if they need to send Moore packing.
Tutu Atwell, Los Angeles Rams – 46% Rostered
Since Cooper Kupp has returned, there really hasn't been much to go around. Kupp and Puka Nacua have dominated the target share and it's left very little for Tutu Atwell or really anyone else for that matter.
#Rams WR target shares since Cooper Kupp returned three games ago:
Puka Nacua: 33%
Cooper Kupp: 28%
Tutu Atwell: 9%— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) October 23, 2023
Atwell has been lucky to find the end zone in two of the three games Kupp has been active. That has helped maintain some of his fantasy football value, but it's not something fantasy managers can count on.
Other Wide Receivers to Cut: Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders – 50% Rostered, Kadarius Toney, Kansas City Chiefs – 33% Rostered, Skyy Moore, Kansas City Chiefs – 27% Rostered, Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans – 22% Rostered
Tight Ends to Cut in Week 8?
Zach Ertz, Arizona Cardinals – 40% Rostered
Over the past two weeks, second-year tight end Trey McBride has cut further and further into Zach Ertz's role. McBride has been more productive the past two weeks and as the season continues, it seems likely that Ertz's role will continue to decline.
#Cardinals TE Usage the last two weeks
- Trey McBride: 38 routes, 11 targets, 7 catches, 91 yards, 89.6 rating when targeted, 64% catch rate
- Zach Ertz: 43 routes, 9 targets, 5 catches, 41 yds, 27.8 rating when targeted, 56% catch rate
Changing of the guard happening!
— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) October 23, 2023
Other Tight Ends to Cut: Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams – 60% Rostered, Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers – 45% Rostered, Luke Musgrave, Green Bay Packers – 36% Rostered, Hunter Henry, New England Patriots – 31% Rostered
On The Hot Seat
Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns – 75% Rostered
I'm not exactly sure what is going on with Deshaun Watson. Maybe even the Cleveland Browns don't know. There were reports that team doctors had cleared him prior to Week 6, but he didn't feel confident driving the ball downfield so he sat out against the San Francisco 49ers. He returned to action this past weekend and promptly threw an interception. Shortly thereafter he was knocked out of the game due to a possible concussion. He passed concussion protocol, but never returned to the game. It appears he's still dealing with some soreness in his throwing shoulder. He's been dealing with a strained rotator cuff on his throwing shoulder.
I know no one likes Deshaun Watson but he looks like a QB who is truly injured and struggling to generate any power on throws.
Some of these passes are duck farts he’s floating out there.
He might be washed but his diagnosis actually could explain his struggles. pic.twitter.com/pl2VRA1bl2
— Adam Hutchison (@TheRealAdam_H) October 23, 2023
It can be difficult cutting ties with someone due to injury especially when their status is so much up in the air. Could he return in Week 8? Theoretically, yes. Could he also be out for several weeks? Also, yes. Fantasy managers have very little information to go on with regard to the injury. It's tough because, in the first three weeks of the season, Watson scored over 20 points on two occasions. Considering his fully guaranteed contract, there are already whispers that Watson simply does not want to play football. I'm not entirely sure if that's true and I won't speculate on that. His rushing advantages are still present. In the first three weeks, he had 15 carries for 83 yards and a score. That's a pace of 470 yards and 5 to 6 touchdowns. However, it's getting awfully hard to trust him, hence his spot on the hot seat.
Hold On
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars – 94% Rostered
Through seven weeks, Trevor Lawrence has been a slight disappointment for fantasy managers. Many were expecting Lawrence to compete for a top-five spot among quarterbacks and that has not materialized. However, that doesn't mean he's played poorly. He's just gotten a little unlucky. For example, he has 41 carries on the season and zero rushing touchdowns. He's currently on pace for 500 rushing yards. That kind of rushing upside gives him the ceiling fantasy managers were chasing. Unfortunately, as previously stated, he has yet to find the end zone on the ground. That isn't the only area he's been a touch unlucky.
60.6% of all Offensive TDs this season have been passing.
Teams that are well above that base rate right now...
MIN 100%
DEN 92.9%
HOU 90.9%
TB 88.9%
CIN 87.5%
CAR 80.0%Below...
CLE 36.4%
TEN 37.5%
BAL 42.1%
IND 42.1%
SF 45.5%
LAR 46.7%
JAX 47.1%— Rich Hribar (@LordReebs) October 23, 2023
You can see from the tweet above that Jacksonville is one of the teams with the lowest percentage of touchdowns coming via the pass. Last year, Lawrence had a 4.3% touchdown rate. In the second half of the season (Weeks 8 to 18), that rate went up over 5.0%. However, through seven games this year, he's at just 3.3%. Travis Etienne has two rushing touchdowns in three straight games. It's reasonable to expect that pendulum to swing sooner rather than later. Once it does, Lawrence will not only find the end zone on the ground but also see his rate of passing touchdowns increase.
Sell High
Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers – 95% Rostered
Najee Harris has now scored 10 or more half-PPR points in two of his last three games, which includes 14.8 this past weekend. The one game where he didn't reach double-digits in the past three weeks was a tough matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. This two-game stretch should present an opportunity for fantasy managers to potentially get RB2 value back for him.
#Steelers Week 7 RB opportunities (carries + targets):
Najee Harris - 17
Jaylen Warren - 8— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) October 23, 2023
The touch differential this past weekend should also give fantasy managers extra ammunition to deal Harris. It may not be easy and it's possible fantasy managers may only get RB3 value, but it's still a trade fantasy managers should seek out.
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