Dead Weight Report: Week 10 Droppables
After last week you may be tempted to drop your whole roster, as it was a total mess across the NFL. No one was safe from the cluster that was Week 9. We have four teams watching from home or a restful vacation spot again this week, along with a myriad of injuries continuing to plague the league, but there are still drops to be had and moves to be made.
We should always be looking for roster improvements, so cutting players who aren’t producing is a necessary evil. If you’re looking for some players to stash for future use, I have you covered there as well.
Jakobi Meyers, WR – Patriots
We’ve waited long enough for the third-year wideout to breakout and the light is growing dimmer with each passing week. It’s no secret Jakobi Meyers has yet to find the end zone, and his usage isn’t exactly keeping him in startable territory either. He’s averaged 3.8 receptions per game over his last five contests, which he’s turned into an unremarkable 8.1 half-PPR points per game.
Meyers is still the target leader in the New England offense, but with Mac Jones still learning how to be an NFL QB, he may not be a player to help you win fantasy contests. It’s understandable if you feel like he’s worth keeping around through the bye weeks, but Meyers’s rest week is still to come and the Patriots will be facing some tough opponents, including the Bills twice in the near future.
Tyler Boyd, WR – Bengals
Coming into this season, the expectation was that Tyler Boyd would be a PPR asset and that his usage would still be noteworthy despite the addition of rookie Ja'Marr Chase. After nine games, Boyd is the WR45 in targets per game (6.9) and the WR51 in half-PPR points per game (9.2.) He’s been the third-targeted wideout in the Bengals' offense in five of nine weeks and has even been tied or behind C.J. Uzomah in balls thrown to in four of those contests.
Boyd is currently putting up low WR4 numbers and the Bengals' schedule after this week’s bye is not exactly a favorable one. If you need to win now, which is pretty much everyone at this point in the season, you may want to let Boyd go in favor of a WR higher in their team’s pecking order like Elijah Moore or Rashod Bateman.
D'Ernest Johnson, RB – Browns
He served you well as a fill-in for Week 7 and you spent plenty of FAAB money on him, but D'Ernest Johnson is now just insurance if both Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are out at the same time again. Chubb is healthy and back, and now Johnson is taking up roster room.
If you can afford to stash him, that’s fine, but if you need the space due to other injuries or bye week issues, let Johnson go for someone who’s more involved on a regular basis like Ty Johnson or Mark Ingram.
* UPDATE: With Nick Chubb and Demetric Felton testing positive for COVID-19, hang onto Johnson for now!
Mecole Hardman, WR – Chiefs
I included Mecole Hardman in this column in Week 5, but he’s worthy of another go considering he’s still rostered by 47% of Yahoo! managers. I understand why some of you held out, thinking the Chiefs offense would return to normal and he would benefit, but that doesn’t seem to be happening with each passing week.
Hardman is currently a fantasy WR5 as we head into double-digit weeks, and three of his next five contests are against teams ranked among the top 10 in schedule-adjusted fantasy points (aFPA) per game to WRs. Go find yourself a more reliable option on a more consistent offense like Bateman or even Van Jefferson.
David Johnson, RB – Texans
The lead-back hype after Mark Ingram was dealt to the Saints has failed to come to fruition for David Johnson. He posted a paltry 11 yards on four rushes last week with another three catches for 29 receiving yards against Miami. That makes a total of six carries and six targets in the two weeks since he was supposedly given the reins of the Houston backfield.
Things likely won’t get any better for the 29-year-old back moving forward, plus Johnson has a bye this week, so he can be safely dropped in all formats.
