Dead Weight Report: Week 6 Droppables

This football season is an anomaly, deviating from what we know as normal possibly further than any since the NFL’s inception. The only close contender is a season during World War ll when several players, coaches and owners enlisted to fight for the USA.

Fantasy rosters are constantly evolving and major moves need to be made in order to accommodate the shifts in real NFL action. We all have players who have underperformed this season, but it’s tough to know when to let them go. I’m here to help you rip off that proverbial band-aid.

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.

Daniel Jones, QB – Giants

Heading into the Daniel Jones era in New York, the 23-year-old quarterback was being drafted as the QB15, sandwiched in between Cam Newton and Ben Roethlisberger. After five weeks of NFL play in 2020, Jones sits as the fantasy QB29, just two fantasy points ahead of Mitch Trubisky, who only played in three games before being benched. Jones couldn’t even produce a touchdown against the league’s worst defense last week and has now gone four consecutive contests without a passing or rushing score.

Unless you play in a 2QB or Superflex league, and even that feels gross, Jones is better off on the waiver wire or on someone else’s team.

Rex Burkhead, RB – Patriots

You may be thinking, but the Patriots didn’t even play this week, how can Rex Burkhead make this list? Well, there are many factors at play here, and it just feels like the right time to call it before he ruins someone’s Week 6 (COVID permitting). Sexy Rexy, as probably only I call him, has done what he is supposed to for New England when called upon, but those opportunities will most likely be few and far between moving forward.

With Sony Michel relegated to the IR, Damien Harris received the bulk of the running back work in Week 4, seeing a team-high 17 touches. James White, who’s back in the mix as well, was targeted eight times in that contest. Burkhead could vulture a touchdown or two as he tends to do, but if you need to win now and seek more consistent scoring from the running back position, say goodbye to the 30-year-old back this week.

Golden Tate, WR – Giants

We all had high hopes at the start of draft season that the Giants offense would take a step or three forward with Daniel Jones as the official starter. Golden Tate was selected as the 55th wideout off the board, as a guy who could easily outperform his ADP and be a difference-maker on fantasy rosters.

Things change and that rosy outlook isn’t so promising anymore. Tate is averaging a measly 5.9 half-PPR points per tilt in 2020, and currently sits as the fantasy WR84. Even with Sterling Shepard sidelined, it’s tough to keep trotting Tate out into your weekly lineups. It may behoove your sanity to let him go, along with his quarterback.

Hunter Renfrow, WR – Raiders

The Hunter Renfrow ride was slightly fun while we were on it, but now it’s time to get off. His output has been in the single digits on a weekly basis in half-PPR formats, with the exception of a Week 3 spike, which came mostly due to being a warm receiving body in a depleted offense. He did see 17 targets in the two weeks without Henry Ruggs, but in Week 5, Renfrow was only thrown at once, with Ruggs receiving three targets and Darren Waller leading the offense with seven.

It doesn’t hurt his droppability that the Raiders have Week 6 off, but upon their return, Renfrow is no more than a desperate flex play. The 33% of you who still roster the 24-year-old receiver should send him to the waiver wire in favor of someone with more opportunities like Ruggs, Tim Patrick or Tee Higgins.

Boston Scott, RB – Eagles

If you’re one of those fantasy managers who keep thinking Boston Scott could be worth hanging onto as a handcuff or even maybe as a stand-alone- desperation flex, it’s time to let that notion drift off into the void. Miles Sanders is the clear lead back in Philly, and he’s even having a tough time putting up consistent numbers this season.

Scott has seen just six total touches in his past three contests and is doing no one any good wasting away on their bench. Grab yourself a back with more weekly potential like Damien Harris, Justin Jackson or even J.D. McKissic.

*Tight End Disclaimer

Based on performance, usage and crap offenses, both Zach Ertz and Hayden Hurst should be on this list heading into Week 6. However, the tight end position is so infertile thus far, and if you couple that with COVID unplanned bye weeks, it makes dropping any starter at this point ill-advised. It’s truly ugly out there on the waiver wire for tight end, so unfortunately we need to just swallow that, throw up and keep playing them.