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With just two teams on bye this week and players’ usage or lack thereof becoming clearer, droppable fantasy players for Week 8 are a little easier to come up with, but some may be tough to actually let go of for many of you.
It’s the halfway point of the regular fantasy season, and 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.
A.J. Dillon, RB – Packers (91 percent rostered on Yahoo)
I’m doubtful that many of you will heed this advice and I get it, but A.J. Dillon is just not producing the way any of us expected when we drafted him in the gulp, fifth round this summer. Dillon has just one double-digit game this season in half-PPR scoring, and that was in Week 1, and the 24-year-old sits as RB36 on the season.
The workload for Dillon has been inconsistent, while efficiency has also been an issue, as he’s averaging just 3.9 yards per attempt and 3.8 yards per target through the first seven games. With Green Bay struggling to move the ball as a whole, his touchdown opportunities have been shut down, and Dillon hasn’t seen the end zone since Week 1. We keep waiting for the Packers to return to what we’re used to, but fantasy points are being scored by others while Dillon is just taking up space and creating weekly mental anguish for the 91% of managers out there in fantasy land. Dillon may go off one week, and you’ll feel a tinge of regret, but if you can swing the drop now, it could help your season long-term.
Robert Woods, WR – Titans (62% rostered)
The former Ram has probably been dropped and added a few times this season in your league, and for good reason. Sure, he’s technically the WR1 for the Titans, but that carries no weight at this point. Tennessee is a run-heavy, low-volume passing offense, and it shows on the fantasy scoreboard.
Woods has topped 39 receiving yards just once in 2022 and currently sits as WR67 (he’s averaging 6.5 half-PPR points per tilt). There are decent WR options out there like Wan’Dale Robinson, Marquise Goodwin, and even Parris Campbell, so the 62% of Yahoo managers still holding out for Woods; feel free to send him packing.
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Drake London, WR – Falcons (82% rostered)
It’s been a disappointing rookie campaign, to say the least, for Drake London, and there’s nothing he can do to make it any better for fantasy managers. What started out as decent output of 71 average receiving yards over the first three weeks has tapered off to just 25 per tilt since Week 4. 4for4’s own Sam Hoppen captured all our sadness over both London and teammate Kyle Pitts in this tweet.
Atlanta Falcons:
*Use 4th overall pick on pass-catching tight end Kyle Pitts
*Use 8th overall pick on wide receiver Drake London
*Throw 13 times for a combined 6 times to the above two players in favor of giving carries to a 5th-round RB in a full game of a negative game script— Sam Hoppen (@SamHoppen) October 24, 2022
I understand waiting in anticipation of a change at QB and/or a shift in the playcalling for Atlanta and if you can hang on then do so, but if not it may be time to grab a more productive WR to get you closer to the playoffs.
Kenyan Drake, RB – Ravens (57% rostered)
Some of you probably spent some FAB on Kenyan Drake last week and probably don’t want to cut bait yet, but he’s not going to serve you well moving forward with the return of Gus Edwards. In his debut after a torn ACL in 2021, Edwards rushed 16 times for 66 yards and two touchdowns, while Drake was awful in his 11 attempts, posting just five total yards on the day. The Browns are 30th in RB schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed this season which makes Drake’s poor performance even more concerning.
It’s fine if you want to hang onto Drake until J.K. Dobbins returns as a bench stash, but if you need help now, he’s not someone to count on for consistent fantasy points.
J.D. McKissic, RB – Commanders (18% rostered)
The Washington RB is now the clear third-wheel in the Commanders’ backfield, with Brian Robinson healthy and back in the fold. Since Robinson’s return in Week 5, his share of carries has increased with every contest, going from nine to 17, to 20 rushes last week, while J.D. McKissic has touched the ball three times total in the last three games.
Even the pass-catching realm, which has been his bread and butter, is now becoming more of an Antonio Gibson thing, with just five targets for zero receptions in the last two weeks to Gibson’s eight balls, which he turned into six catches for 36 yards and a score. With decreased volume and snaps — McKissic played just 12 on Sunday — fantasy relevance is no longer in the conversation for the 29-year-old, and he can be safely dropped in most formats.
Writer’s Note: Jeff Wilson is probably droppable due to the presence of Christian McCaffrey, but you can keep him as injury insurance if you’re able due to the perennial fragility of the 49ers’ backfield.
On Thin Ice
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Michael Gallup, WR, Cowboys: If you started Gallup last week, you were handed a massive bagel in Dak Prescott’s return, but it was a weird week where Prescott attempted just 25 passes, only two of them to Gallup. Let’s give him one more week to see where his volume lands before cutting bait.
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Romeo Doubs, WR, Packers: Another member of the goose egg club in Week 7, Doubs has the lowest output of his young career, but he’s been operating as a fantasy WR4 and he’s still heavily involved in the offense with the second-highest snap percentage among their WRs (79%) and a WR-room high 174 routes run so far in 2022. He gets another week to see what Aaron Rodgers can do in Buffalo.
This article was originally published on 4for4.com
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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.