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Week 6 brings with it the beginning of the bye week season and with the injury bug starting to hit teams all over the place, fantasy managers in all league sizes are going to be pondering several difficult choices. Our first set of byes will leave teams without Deebo Samuel, Alvin Kamara, Kyle Pitts and Cordarrelle Patterson. As far as bye weeks go, it'll likely be one of the easier weeks for fantasy managers to handle. However, with injuries to Saquon Barkley, Kenny Golladay, George Kittle, Dalvin Cook and many, many others, fantasy managers will need to let go of some dead weight.
The important thing with who you're cutting – never get too high, never get too low. Who you're cutting should not be an emotional decision. In Week 4, Myles Gaskin didn't get much play and I got several messages and comments about why Gaskin wasn't on last week's cut list. No question about it, Gaskin was bad, but cutting someone cannot be an emotional decision. It cannot be a one-week decision. Prior to Week 4, he was averaging 13 touches per game, which included four catches. If you're in a PPR league, this is not someone you should be cutting after one bad week.
And so, as if on cue in Week 5, Myles Gaskin exploded for 26.9 points in half-PPR leagues. He may not be the RB2 you were expecting when you drafted him, but he's still a flex-play and at worst, he's a decent enough bench option to have to deal with the upcoming bye weeks and any possible injuries. So with that, let's make sure we're making smart decisions. Don't get swayed too much by one week – good or bad. Good luck out there!
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Quarterbacks to Drop?
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
20.8% Rostered
Okay, what are we doing here people? Say it with me, Big Ben is done. One more time with feeling. Say it out loud if you have to. Big Ben is done. He should not on your fantasy rosters. He hasn't scored 20 points a single time all season. He's been under 15 points twice. I know we're all enamored with his pass attempts and that's fair – there's a lot of volume here – but what's he done with it? And this isn't anything new. This was a problem last year, too.
Running Backs to Drop?
Kenyan Drake, Las Vegas Raiders
72.4% Rostered
Remember when we talked about not making emotional decisions with our roster? Cutting Kenyan Drake is not an emotional decision. Over the past two weeks, he has only three total touches. He had only one target in Week 5, which he did not catch. In Week 3, he played on 43% of the snaps. That dropped to 35% in Week 4 and dropped even further in Week 5, down to 18%. His playing time and touches have decreased in the last three weeks. With Josh Jacobs healthy, fantasy managers can safely move on.
Ronald Jones II, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
44.1% Rostered
Ronald Jones' truthers are some of the most stubborn out there. Look, I liked RoJo going into 2021. Leonard Fournette was inefficient in 2020 and Jones was one of the best pure runners in the league. However, it's clear that 2021 is not 2020 and we need to adapt our line of thinking here.
Since Week 3, RoJo has played on 16%, 17% and 14% of the snaps. He hasn't had more than seven touches in a single game this season. He hasn't generated more than 36 yards of offense in any single game. There are many rules to fantasy football. One of them is that we cannot love a player more than their coaches. I mean, we could, it's just not a good way of being successful.
Wide Receivers to Drop?
Jalen Reagor, Philadelphia Eagles
46.5% Rostered
The former first-rounder has been a massive disappointment since being drafted in 2020. The front office showed little faith in him when they drafted DeVonta Smith this past season. Now, to be fair, the 2020 Eagles' season wasn't one many rookies could have been successful in, but again, 2021 is a different story. The Eagles are averaging 36 pass attempts per game. The last three weeks, that number has ballooned to 41 attempts. Reagor has only received 14 targets the past three weeks – an 11.3% target share.
Jalen Hurts has thrown for 911 yards in the last three weeks. Reagor has 86 yards. If a receiver cannot be productive over a three-week span with that kind of passing volume and success, it's hard for fantasy managers to keep the faith.
Tight Ends to Drop?
Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers
69.4% Rostered
2021 is really, really not 2020. I get it, as a Packer fan, I get it. He was a top-five tight end last year. His quarterback is Aaron Rodgers. The Packers are a great offense. After Davante Adams, the Packers are significantly lacking a secondary weapon in the passing game, a role Tonyan should, in theory, be able to fill. But again, if there is a theme to this week's article, it's that 2020's success means absolutely nothing for 2021.
He is currently TE32 in half-PPR scoring. He has broken nine yards receiving just once this year. His playing time is sporadic. He's seen his snap share percentage be as low as 43% and has not been above 78%. Three weeks have seen him not even playing 60% of the time.
Jonnu Smith, New England Patriots
59.8% Rostered
In Week 5, Smith played 63% of the snaps. That was the first time since Week 1 in which he played in more than 50% of the snaps. That might sound like he's moving in the direction – think again. He ran only six routes. Hunter Henry ran 20. Smith is averaging a paltry 7.7 yards per reception.
Right now, with his lack of usage in terms of snaps played and routes run, Smith is offering fantasy managers no ceiling. The floor is the ground. While one could argue most tight ends can throw up a zero, Smith's limited volume suggests it's only a matter of time before he puts up a goose egg.
On the Hot Seat...
Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
32.2% Rostered
Fantasy managers may be surprised to see his name here, but players must produce in some capacity to stay on our rosters. I think we all love Justin Fields' potential. Most of us believe Fields is going to be a very good NFL quarterback someday and we all were enamored with the upside he brought to fantasy football. The problem is that we've seen none of that so far this year.
Through three starts, he has 25 rushing yards. He cannot give fantasy managers the upside we were expecting unless he starts running the football. This should be an element that is worked into the game plan, but he has only nine carries. That's not going to cut it, especially since fantasy managers need that rushing upside to make up for the lack of production in the passing game.
Through his first three starts, he is averaging 129 passing yards. And it's not like he went up against some real tough defenses. Games against the Lions and Raiders were ripe for Fields to make his mark. He did not do that, not even a little bit. I'm not cutting bait yet, but I'm thinking about it. In shallow leagues, 10-team leagues, he's probably got to go.
Devin Singletary, Buffalo Bills
75.2% Rostered
I'm going to give Singletary one more week since the Bills have somewhat fluctuated how they've used their running backs on the young season, but Week 5 was not a good look for Singletary. In Weeks 1 and 2, he played 75% and 66% of the snaps. That fell to 43% and 44% in Weeks 3 and 4. In Week 5, it plummeted to 26%. Despite Zack Moss being inactive in Week 1 – which seems like a lifetime ago – Singletary has only a nine carry advantage on him this season.
Moss is the only one getting red zone work – he already has three scores. That's not happening for Singletary due to the four times he put the ball on the ground. If there was one thing that was supposed to be Singletary's saving grace, it was his receiving work. However, despite running 38 more routes, he's received just two more targets. Moss and Singletary each have eight catches on the season. The problem, Moss has turned his eight catches into 94 yards and a score – Singletary has 22 scoreless yards. The snap share was telling in Week 5. If that happens again in Week 6, fantasy managers will need to move on.
Trey Sermon, San Francisco 49ers
59.1% Rostered
Speaking of telling snap shares, Sermon played on only two plays in Week 5. That is not a typo. Two total snaps. That tells me one thing – actually it's screamed at me – Kyle Shanahan does not want Sermon on the field. The only reason Sermon was on the field in Week 3 and 4 was because he didn't have a choice. Despite this being Elijah Mitchell's first game back from a shoulder injury, Shanahan wasted no time putting him right back into his lead-back role. And not just lead back – workhorse.
I'm not advocating for outright dropping Sermon yet because he still has value as a handcuff and Shanahan has a way of changing up his running back hierarchy on a weekly basis. I was expecting Mitchell to be the 1A with Sermon as the 1B – that was not the case. With each passing week, Jeff Wilson Jr. gets closer to returning and while I do not expect him to take Mitchell's job whatsoever, he will challenge Sermon.
Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers
70.9% Rostered
If it wasn't for his undeniable talent, which I do think is undeniable – I think – Aiyuk would most definitely be a drop candidate and if he doesn't produce in these next two weeks with Kittle on IR, he'll need to go. I can understand where fantasy managers are getting fed up with Aiyuk. In his defense, he struggled with a hamstring injury Week 1. He then had to deal with a quarterback change to a rookie quarterback who has a lot of work to do as it relates to passing the ball effectively.
Right now, this offense is going through Deebo Samuel, but that doesn't mean Aiyuk cannot be a decent bench player to have stashed. That said, eventually, he's going to have to show fantasy managers something, anything. As I said before, Aiyuk is essentially on a 1–2 week audition for me. If he doesn't show me something with Kittle on IR, he'll have to go.
Hold On for One More Week
Cole Beasley, Buffalo Bills
70.0% Rostered
After a great 2020 season, Beasley has disappointed early, but I'm not giving up on him yet. On average, he's running 31 routes per game, with 30 of those coming from the slot. He's also still seeing 6.5 targets per game, which is more than enough to be a viable bench player, especially when those 6.5 targets are coming from MVP candidate Josh Allen. This is one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NFL with one of the most pass-heavy gameplans.
With Knox's third-year emergence, Beasley may not end up being that WR3 you were hoping for when you drafted him, but he's still a viable bye week or injury replacement player. On any given week, he's capable of popping off for seven catches and 100 yards. Don't lose faith after two bad games. The Bills didn't need much out of their passing game in Week 4 against the Texans anyways.
Miles Sanders, Philadelphia Eagles
95.6% Rostered
I don't think he should be anywhere close to this kind of article, but I've been seeing some stuff on Twitter about what to do with Miles Sanders. That question is easy. You put him on your bench. He can't be started right now, but he cannot be dropped either. You can try to trade him, but his value is so low, you'd be selling for pennies on the dollar. For all the talk about Kenneth Gainwell, Sanders has played 66%, 67%, 60%, 64%, and 75% of the snaps. And the 75% just came in Week 5. He is still dominating the snaps for the Eagles and it's not trending down either.
Another common misconception is that Gainwell has taken over the passing-down role, but that's an exaggeration. Sanders has 17 targets to Gainwell's 18. While fantasy managers would like Sanders to be getting more targets, this is a 50/50 share at worst. Here's the thing though, Sanders has run 116 routes to just 63 for Gainwell. Sanders also has 48 carries to Gainwell's 21. He's averaging 13 touches per game, which is again, maybe not what you were expecting, but it's far from a droppable player. The offensive line has been hampered by injuries in recent weeks, so the hope is once they get back to health, the Eagles will get back to some balance on offense.
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