As we approach Week 5, the Broncos, Falcons, Redskins, and Saints are our first round of teams with a bye week in 2017. Fantasy owners with more than one or two players taking the week off, and/or fantasy owners in shallower leagues are, no doubt, going to have to make some very difficult add/drop decisions.

In my weekly effort to defend some temporarily down-trodden fantasy assets, for the first time, I don’t find myself compelled to put a single quarterback or tight end on the list. Derek Carr would have been a hold in deep formats, but after it was reported that he suffered a transverse process fracture in his back, and will miss at least two weeks, he looks expendable. Jason Witten was fantasy’s overall TE1 through the season’s first two weeks, but has been virtually invisible in the last two. For the purposes of this article, these two guys only earn an honorable mention in the intro.

Moreover, because fantasy owners only need to start one at each position, I’m always going to be generally more amenable to cutting a QB and/or TE than a RB or WR, if push comes to shove. Without further ado, here is my list of players who you might want to cut, that I’m inclined to defend.

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Do Not Cut - Running Backs

Isaiah Crowell, Cleveland Browns

I admit it’s difficult to defend the Crow with a straight face. The consensus third-round pick in 2017 fantasy drafts has been nothing short of a disaster through four games. Sometimes there’s catharsis to cutting a player who has torpedoed the early part of your fantasy season and I can’t promise you that banishing Crowell to the waiver wire won’t *feel* good. Still, I can’t get away from the volume until I see a running back that challenges Crowell’s role. If for no other reason than a home date with the Jets offers Crowell an opportunity at a favorable game script in Week 5, I recommend giving him at least a one week stay of execution.

Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans

Owning Derrick Henry has been a roller coaster through the season’s first four weeks. Henry has gone from straight backup to presumptive starter to solid committee member to straight backup again as his owners are left scratching their heads from week to week. Week 4 saw him finish with a particularly ugly seven yards on six carries. Week 4 also saw the Tennessee Titans absorb a 57 point shellacking from Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans. In a drubbing like that, there will be casualties, especially among the ranks of gameflow dependent committee running backs. Henry remains a high-end handcuff at worst and second-half RB1 at best. Hold tight.

Javorius Allen, Baltimore Ravens

Even with as miserable as the Ravens have looked as a team throughout the season’s first four weeks, Allen has accumulated 61 total touches. Alex Collins looks to be more of a direct threat to Terrance West’s role and has himself lost fumbles in two of his last three games despite handling the ball just 25 times over that span. Wait for the dust to settle before making any hasty moves with Allen. He’s still a potential lead back.

Jacquizz Rodgers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With Doug Martin returning from suspension in Week 5, Quizz’s reign as the lead dog in the Bucs backfield is likely over. That said, I’ve never been a big fan of cutting a guy until I actually see the role disappear in a game situation. As of this moment, Rodgers is at least a fairly high-end handcuff, but I would want proof that Martin is completely out of the doghouse and looking physically up to the task of handling a workhorse RB load before I preemptively cut a guy who has posted double digit fantasy points in two of three games.

Thomas Rawls / C.J. Prosise, Seattle Seahawks

This has everything to do with the injury to Chris Carson in Sunday night’s game. CJ Prosise is tentatively expected to be healthy enough to play in Week 5 and still probably has the edge over JD McKissic, who did his best Chris Thompson impression, scoring on two of five touches in his NFL debut. Pete Carroll also hinted at the idea that Thomas Rawls may go back to lead duties once back to 100% health, and with Carson’s lengthy absence opening things back up for him. It’s a crowded backfield even with Carson going to the shelf, but as with the Baltimore situation, this is a prime ‘wait for the smoke to clear’ situation.

D'Onta Foreman, Houston Texans

In a game in which Houston scored a league-high 57 points, and in which Lamar Miller reestablished himself as the #1 RB for the Texans, Foreman posted a relatively pedestrian fantasy line of just 45 yards on 13 carries. While fantasy owners probably added him largely due to the perception that he posed a significant threat to Lamar Miller’s starting job, now is arguably not the time to lose heart. With at least 12 carries in two of his last three games, and 90 yards from scrimmage in the other, Foreman needs to be held in essentially all leagues. He has fairly secure opportunity at the moment with league winning potential if he can, by hook or by crook, ascend to the lead role.

Do Not Cut - Wide Receivers

Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders

Each week when I write this piece, I weigh whether or not I even need to comment on certain players, or whether it’s simply too obvious that a player is still a hold. I think we’ve reached the point where I can’t assume as much as it pertains to Amari Cooper. No player in fantasy has been a bigger disappointment, outside of injury, than Cooper. Failing to clear a measly ten yards receiving in consecutive games, punctuated by some absolutely breathtaking drops, Cooper is probably going to tempt some owners to outright cut bait. The fact that Derek Carr is out 2-4 weeks only hurts his value more. While his stock is admittedly way down, I can almost guarantee that someone in your league will give you something better than what you can find on waivers if you put him on the block. An even better idea would be to plant him on your bench and wait for better days, which I still believe are coming.

Willie Snead, New Orleans Saints

In one of the most surprising developments of the offseason, Willie Snead went from popular upside WR3 to afterthought when news broke of his three-game suspension for a DUI. Then, when finally eligible to return, fantasy owners learned of a hamstring injury that kept him out of Week 4’s London game against the Miami Dolphins. Now with the Saints looking at a bye in Week 5, Snead is likely going to be a drop candidate for a lot of teams. It’s worth noting, however, that none of Brandon Coleman, Ted Ginn, Coby Fleener, Tommylee Lewis, etc. have established themselves as a consistent, week-to-week producer in Snead’s absence. If this receiving corps has a startable wide receiver outside of Michael Thomas, it is still Snead, and it’s not close. I’d look to hold him if I could.

Corey Davis, Tennessee Titans

After being ruled out rather early in three consecutive weeks, fantasy owners looking to clear some space for a bye week fill-in are likely eyeing Corey Davis’s roster spot. I admit that at the moment the outlook seems bleak, but Corey Davis passed the eye test in his short sample to start the season, and Eric Decker, regrettably for Titans fans, has not. Davis easily projects to be the most talented wide receiver on this roster. Even on a run-heavy Titans team, Davis is worth holding as a potential upside WR2 for the season’s second half for fantasy owners with the luxury of playing the long game. One need look no further than Odell Beckham Jr. to find a rookie WR left for dead early in the season that turned into a league-winning asset.

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