As the season wears on, this list will feature more name brand players that you may have trouble letting go. Peyton Manning owners remember all too well how a big name can derail an entire season if you refuse to accept that he simply no longer has value. The names on this list no longer have fantasy value.
Each week from now until the end of the season, I’ll be offering my thoughts on players who don’t deserve to keep a roster spot on your fantasy football teams. Below are my Week 8 cuts and drops for fantasy football.
Let's get to it.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2024:- Quarterback fantasy football rankings
- Running back fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
- Tight end fantasy football rankings
- Kicker fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Superflex fantasy football rankings
- IDP fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Players to Consider Dropping or Replacing
Matt Ryan (QB, ATL)
He was here last week and after becoming the first QB to fail to reach 300 yards against the Patriots, he's here again. I will keep this short and sweet: those of you who own Matt Ryan while Josh McCown is on waivers, I have one simple question: why?
Carson Palmer (QB, ARI)
It was a nice story for the Cardinals' trio of old guys, but it all came to a screeching halt when Carson Palmer broke his left arm last week. He's probably going to miss the remainder of the season. He's obviously not worth holding onto.
Ty Montgomery (RB, GB)
It was a nice story when Ty Montgomery converted from WR to RB, but few thought it would last. They were going to be wrong. I was going to be wrong. Then Montgomery cracked a few ribs, missed one game, and Aaron Jones looked great. That was all she wrote. Montgomery is a pure backup in the mold of Alfred Morris or Mack Brown or James Connor. There is absolutely no reason to roster him outside of injury insurance for Jones. Montgomery has zero fantasy value. None. He played seven more snaps than you did last week. The value in Montgomery stemmed from the value in having the starting RB for an Aaron Rodgers offense. Montgomery cannot check either box.
Mike Gillislee (RB, NE)
On Sunday night, James White played 23 snaps and Dion Lewis played 26 snaps. Mike Gillislee tied a returning Rex Burkhead with 13 snaps. Gillislee has one job on the Patriots - convert short yardage opportunities. And guess what? He's terrible at it. Think about every possible skill an RB can have and then realize that Gillislee is the worst on his team at all of them. He is a terrible football player on a team that does not want to run and he's barely seeing the field. His carry count continues to drop and he hasn't fallen into the end zone since week 2. Lewis and White are the guys going forward.
Sammy Watkins (WR, LAR)
He scored 27.6 fantasy points in half PPR leagues on that Thursday night shootout against the 49ers. He does not have as many points in the rest of his games combined. Sammy Watkins' 3-42 performance last week was actually his best outing since that game. Robert Woods is the primary and Cooper Kupp is the secondary. Watkins is an afterthought for Jared Goff and should require no thought to release from your fantasy team.
Randall Cobb (WR, GB)
The third WR on most NFL offenses has no value. Randall Cobb's value stemmed entirely from Aaron Rodgers. Now, there is no Aaron Rodgers. Cobb can go.
Martellus Bennett (TE, GB)
The Aaron Rodgers' TE never really had much value anyway. Now, Martellus Bennett is the Brett Hundley TE. He also can go.
Eric Decker (WR, TEN)
57% owned? Seriously? I encourage all of you to watch film on Eric Decker. In fact, I'd recommend saving Decker film just so you have a response on the ready whenever someone asks what being "done" looks like.
Terrelle Pryor (WR, WAS)
For all the smack I'm talking about Jordan Reed, Terrelle Pryor's situation is even worse. He barely played a snap on Monday night. He's fallen behind Josh Doctson and Ryan Grant on the depth chart. It's pretty clear the Redskins have thrown in the towel on Pryor. There is no reason for fantasy owners to not do the same.
Rob Kelley (RB, WAS)
He's just not good at football. He never was. He has some of the worst measurables in league history. He is the least athletic RB in the league and that's including Eddie Lacy and Paul Perkins. The Redskins are committed to using Chris Thompson as their main back. Rob Kelley needs to fall into the end zone to have any value. He's basically a lesser talented Mike Gillislee on an offense that doesn't have Tom Brady. I stand by my claim that Kelley will be out of the NFL by 2019.