12 Roster Bubble Players to Cut Following the NFL Draft

Apr 28, 2019

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Just as the corners of our homes collect filth through the cold winter months, so too do our dynasty teams. Like an undusted bookshelf, the bottoms of our rosters tend to build-up roster pieces like Jonathan Stewart and Demetrius Harris while we prime ourselves to look forward into the summer and the 2019 fantasy football season.

It’s good to always be taking stock of your fantasy teams and there’s no better time than when you are gearing up for your league’s rookie draft. It’s time to cut ties with some of these roster bubble players, begin prepping for the influx of youth and talent and start gauging our individual team needs. Below are 12 players that you should feel confident sending to the waiver wire.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Miami Dolphins

My favorite bearded gunslinger in the whole damn league, I was looking forward to watching him duck-and-chuck for an “organic” (fish) tanking Dolphins team this season. That is all likely to change after a Day 2 trade that involved Miami sending the No. 62 overall pick to the Arizona Cardinals for sophomore, former top-10 pick Josh Rosen. The Dolphins have all the reasons in the world to groom Rosen as their own and none of those reasons to make Fitzpatrick their Week 1 signal caller. They have nothing to lose riding Rosen which makes Fitzmagic our first roster casualty.

League Size/Type Exceptions: None

Jeff Heuerman and Jake Butt, TE, Denver Broncos

Denver accepted a trade-back from the Pittsburgh Steelers to move from the No. 10 pick to the No. 20 pick, passing on selecting linebacker Devin Bush or quarterback Drew Lock—both players were mocked to them heavily. The Broncos would pass on Lock again at the 20th selection (instead taking him in the second round), opting instead to take arguably the best pure receiving tight end of the draft; Noah Fant. While rookie season production is difficult to come by for the tight end position, the addition of Fant is sure to hinder the production of any incumbent tight end currently on the team.

League Size/Type Exceptions: None

Tajae Sharpe, WR, Tennessee Titans

It probably shouldn’t have taken the drafting of A.J. Brown out of Ole Miss to make Tajae Sharpe a cut candidate, but here we are. It’s possible I still play in too many leagues with people who lock themselves into “truther status” but it’s clearly time to move on. Thanks to some complications with an ankle injury, Sharpe’s snaps dwindled throughout the season until logging a total of ten snaps through the final two weeks. After the Titans filled his role with guys like Darius Jennings and Cameron Batson, they decided to pull the trigger on slot specialist Adam Humphries in free agency. Consider Taywan Taylor an honorable mention here as well.

League Size/Type Exceptions: In shallow leagues, Taywan Taylor is an acceptable cut as well.

Kendrick Bourne and Trent Taylor, WR, San Francisco 49ers

As the San Francisco 49ers offense is finally starting to flesh itself out a little bit, the draft delivered a fantasy death knell to both Kendrick Bourne and Trent Taylor. San Francisco took Deebo Samuel out of South Carolina with the fourth selection in the second round, a receiver expected to deliver much of his production from the slot. While the addition of Samuel could likely push Taylor down the depth chart to the No. 5 wide receiver and/or special teams role, Bourne could survive the fall a little better as he was used out of the slot in only about a quarter of his snaps. Nonetheless, his fantasy relevance would have to rely on a preseason injury and that’s not something you want to root for.

League Size/Type Exceptions: None