Special to Yahoo Sports
Drops aren’t the easiest to evaluate after only four games, but they are a necessary evil to ensure we get the maximum output from our fantasy teams moving forward.
Here are my recommendations for some players to cut loose ahead of Week 5, or at least keep in consideration moving forward. If you’re looking for players to stash, I’ve got you covered there as well.
Allen Robinson, WR – Rams (89 percent rostered on Yahoo)
Pour a six-pack out for Robinson and what could have been in this Super Bowl-winning offense. We all had high hopes for a WR that was once QB-proof, getting arguably the best signal-caller of his career. What we’re actually dealing with is a wideout who’s put up lines of 1/12/0, 4/53/1, 2/23/0, and 2/7/0 in four games so far in 2022 for a whopping 5.0 half-PPR points per contest.
Robinson is getting six targets per game, particularly around the goal line, but he’s struggling to come down with the looks he’s actually seeing from Matthew Stafford (9-of-18). It does take some time to develop chemistry, but we’re nearly a third of the way through the season, and we need wins now when it comes to fantasy football. It may be time to say goodbye to Robinson and suck up the fourth-round ADP that was spent on him.
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Julio Jones, WR – Buccaneers (54 percent rostered)
This may be a tough one for some of you hanging onto the idea of 2015 Julio Jones, but we’re dealing with a different player. Jones was back in Week 4 after missing two contests due to a knee injury and saw just two of 52 possible targets from QB Tom Brady.
The 33-year-old appeared to be on some sort of snap count, which is understandable; however, in the post-game presser, Todd Bowles declared that Jones got “nicked up” again in his limited time on the field. The former fantasy star has the ability to frustrate managers at this pace, so the 54% of you who still have him rostered in Yahoo leagues may want to consider letting go. If you’re in a larger league, Jones may be worth moving to the end of the bench, but in 10 or 12-team formats, send him packing for a higher-volume guy like Michael Gallup.
Jarvis Landry, WR – Saints (35 percent rostered)
The 29-year-old was a target monster in a former life with both the Dolphins and Browns, averaging an impressive 136.6 targets per year from 2014-2020. This season, Landry is on pace for under 90 balls and saw fewer looks last week than Chris Olave, Marquez Callaway, Juwan Johnson, and Adam Trautman.
Olave is emerging as the clear top option in the Saints’ passing game, and even Michael Thomas has shown to still be a weapon in this offense when on the field. Landry was nursing an ankle injury which could have impacted his usage in London, but there doesn’t appear to be much of a role beyond fighting for scraps with the second-tier WRs and TEs in New Orleans. As with most of the WRs in the column, you can hang on for another week in larger formats, but if you need help now, there are other options with larger upside than Landry.
Okwuegbunam’s usage is moving in the wrong direction, as he’s gone from seeing six targets in Week 1 to two in Weeks 2-3, down to not one look on just one snap Sunday against the Raiders. The Broncos seem to be rolling with the Eric duo of Saubert and Tomlinson at TE, leaving next to nothing for Albert O.
With training camp star Greg Dulcich also set to return on an offense that is struggling to get going, Albert O. can be safely dropped ahead of Week 5. I know the TE cupboard feels bare, but there are options out there, like Hayden Hurst and Robert Tonyan, who will serve you better. I’m looking at the 33% of Yahoo managers still holding out hope for that Okwuegbunam breakout.
Greg Dortch, WR – Cardinals (29 percent rostered)
The Greg Dortch era was fun while it lasted, as the preseason darling averaged 11.9 half-PPR points through the first three weeks of the season with Rondale Moore on the shelf. With Moore back from a hamstring injury on Sunday, Dortch saw just 27 snaps to Marquise Brown’s 71 and Moore’s 65 and ran half of the routes (16) of both Brown and Moore (33).
It seems like Moore and Dortch will cannibalize each other’s fantasy value behind both Brown and tight end Zack Ertz until DeAndre Hopkins returns from suspension in Week 7. While he’s been a nice waiver wire surprise for the 29% of you who snagged Dortch, it’s probably time to move on from the Arizona WR.
On Thin Ice
Chase Claypool, WR – Steelers: He was very close to being included this week but with a new QB, let’s give Claypool one more week to prove fantasy relevant.
Kyle Pitts, TE – Falcons: Who am I kidding, you’re stuck with the sophomore tight end. Let’s just hope his usage and volume turn around or you can trade him to someone who still believes that Pitts can thrive despite being in a bad offense.
This article was originally published on 4for4.com
More from 4for4.com: 9 stash candidates ahead of Week 5
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A proud alumna of the UGA Grady College of Journalism, Jennifer Eakins has been working in the sports industry for well over a decade. She has had stints with CNN Sports, the Atlanta Hawks and the Colorado Rockies. Her first fantasy football draft took place in 1996 where she selected Ricky Watters with the first overall pick, and she has been a fantasy degenerate ever since.