Fantasy Football 2018: 5 More Players Okay to Cut

With Week 9 underway, fantasy football owners are making their push for the playoffs. Here are five players you should drop from your team.

In Week 6, I wrote about five players fantasy football owners should feel okay dropping from their team. Those players were Jay Ajayi, Chris Hogan, Derrick Henry, Kenny Stills and Giovani Bernard. I don’t think owners are missing those players. So, with Week 9 already underway, here are five more players you should feel no shame in dropping from your team.

The players I list have an ownership of 50 percent or more in ESPN leagues. These players could bounce back and help you in the playoffs, but they are no help to you currently. In shallower leagues, there are plenty of replacement options available that owners in deeper leagues don’t have access to.

I will list three wide receivers and two running backs that owners should drop as soon as possible. The tight end position is too shallow to be cutting a player. If anything, you should add a second tight end to your team just in case.

Le’Veon Bell, PIT

If you own Bell and held out this long, it will be hard to drop him. Even if he is expected to sign his tender in Week 11, I wouldn’t trust him. What reason do the Pittsburgh Steelers have in playing Bell? The team is having success with James Conner at running back.

The only reason Bell will sign his tender is to allow him to test the free agent market this offseason. It’s not about the team or fantasy owners.

I hope you weren’t banking on Bell playing this season because that doesn’t look like it’s happening.

Calvin Ridley, ATL

Ridley put up a nice three-game stretch between Weeks 2 and 4. He recorded 15 catches for 264 yards and six touchdowns. Since then, he has 12 catches for 128 yards and zero touchdowns.

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The Atlanta Falcons offense is interesting. Ridley still leads the team in receiving touchdowns but Mohamed Sanu and Austin Hooper are catching up. Running backs Ito Smith and Tevin Coleman are also a part of the passing game.

Ridley can still be explosive but Matt Ryan isn’t targeting him for that reason. It’s boom or bust for Ridley and the risk isn’t worth the reward.

Randall Cobb, GB

It’s surprising to me that he’s still owned in 71 percent of leagues. He’s scored double-digit fantasy points just once this season, Week 1. Since then, Cobb has 12 receptions for 92 yards.

Aaron Rodgers targets Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Geronimo Allison more. Not to forget about Jimmy Graham, this makes Cobb the fifth option in the passing game.

If Valdes-Scantling and Allison are still available, I’d look to add them in place of Cobb.

Duke Johnson Jr., CLE

Okay, I cheated a little here. Johnson is owned in 48.7 percent of ESPN leagues. Yet, even with Carlos Hyde out of the picture, Johnson was not a factor in the Cleveland Browns game last week.

He carried the ball twice for zero yards and caught two passes for 16 yards. The Browns had a trio of running backs to start the season and Johnson wasn’t expected to lose any playing time as the pass-catching option.

Whether it’s because of game flow or the emergence of Nick Chubb, Johnson isn’t getting enough touches to warrant owning in fantasy leagues.

Corey Davis, TEN

The Tennessee Titans offense is still looking to find its identity. Many thought moving on from DeMarco Murray would open up the field for Henry, but that hasn’t happened. The passing game is still a work in progress with Marcus Mariota spending more time on the grass.

Davis, as a result, has been a disappointment this season. Despite just one big game in Week 4, he hasn’t done much. Outside of that game (six games), he has 21 receptions for 234 yards and zero touchdowns.

If possible, I’d stay away from all Titans players until next year. This offense is producing very little for fantasy owners.

Honorable Mention: Doug Baldwin (SEA), Nelson Agholor (PHI), Isaiah Crowell (NYJ)

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These five players were looked at as difference makers early in the season. However, with eight weeks in the books, they don’t seem to be factoring into their respective teams, which means you should move on as well.

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