Dead Weight Report: Week 3 Droppables

Whether they were chosen for the starting lineup or parked on the bench, we all had players who underperformed in Week 2. Should you hang on to them for another week or cut them loose now?

In this weekly article, I comb through the weak and underwhelming performances to see who’s droppable in favor of some waiver wire magic. There are many variables in determining a player’s remaining worth, including their own production, offense and health, to name a few. All will be taken into consideration when determining each week’s dead weight.

Chris Herndon, TE – Jets

The Jets tight end has been killing us softly, or maybe not so much over the past few seasons. This was to be the one where he stays healthy and builds on the chemistry we saw with Sam Darnold in 2018, right? Well, it’s not looking so good on that front. Herndon has a whopping seven catches for 42 yards through the first two games and has been nonexistent in an offense that desperately needs some playmakers.

In a year with many productive tight ends rising on their respective teams, let Herndon go and grab someone off the waiver wire like Logan Thomas, Mo Alie-Cox or Dalton Schultz.

Anthony Miller, WR – Bears

There were such high hopes for Anthony Miller this season, including yours if you drafted the third-year wideout. Miller has four catches through the first two games, and all of them came in Week 1. He’s been playing behind rookie Darnell Mooney thus far and there’s nothing to indicate he’ll step out in this offense.

The Bears offense can barely support Allen Robinson and it seems like a stretch any other pass-catcher will emerge as fantasy relevant. I know it’s tough to let someone with such promise go, and you may need to take another week or so to do it, but if you need immediate points on the wide receiver front, Miller is one to think about parting with.

Ian Thomas, TE – Panthers

It appears the breakout of Ian Thomas has been delayed another season, or perhaps isn’t meant to be at all. He saw two targets in Week 1 and zero last week, contributing just 2.6 half-PPR points to fantasy rosters everywhere so far in 2020. Carolina has struggled on offense as a whole and hopefully will work out their issues as the weeks go on.

Until that happens, it may behoove you to look elsewhere for tight end contributions, especially with the amount of low-rostered producers out there.

Corey Clement, RB – Eagles

So, you picked up Corey Clement in a panic when Miles Sanders was out Week 1? Sadly, he only got six carries and two targets in Sanders’s absence, even with Boston Scott also banged up that day. Then last week, Clement’s usage dipped down to a big fat goose egg. Even with all the issues and injuries to the Eagles' offense, Clement is not worth a squad spot moving forward.

Do your roster a solid and swap him out for a back in a better situation like Myles Gaskin, Frank Gore or Dion Lewis.

James Washington, WR – Steelers

This is another player who we really wanted to be a thing this season, but it looks like James Washington could be just a boom-or-bust, big-play-only guy. The 24-year-old receiver is clearly below JuJu Smith-Schuster and Dionte Johnson in the Pittsburgh target pecking order, and it may take an injury to someone else for Washington to see fantasy-relevant work.

If you’re in need of some depth with greater potential, put in claims for wideouts in line for more consistent volume like Robby Anderson, Brandin Cooks or Russell Gage.