Should I Drop C.J. Stroud, Dalton Kincaid, Rachaad White? Fantasy Football Outlooks For Week 13

Fantasy football wouldn't be fun to play if surprising things didn't happen during the season. There are two big ways players can surprise fantasy managers -- by being a lot worse or a lot better than they're expected to be before the season starts. Unfortunately, for some managers, that's not a fun experience.

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid (knee), and Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White are three players that have massively disappointed this season. All were ranked highly at their respective positions and have failed to deliver good results so far.

So which of these players should you drop ahead of Week 13?

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Should I Drop C.J. Stroud in Fantasy Football?

Stroud has been a difficult quarterback to deal with in fantasy this season. It seemed that he was destined to play like one of the NFL's elite after a stellar rookie season, but that simply hasn't happened. His top-2 wideouts, Nico Collins and Tank Dell, have dealt with injury issues throughout the season, and the offensive line has been atrocious in pass protection.

CJ Stroud has been pressured in under 2.5 seconds at the 3rd highest rate in the NFL (20.6%) #Texans

Hines-Allen and Walker are the only other duo in the NFL that are in the top 15 pass rush rankings - the Texans are the other one.

Can the Texans offensive line hold up for one… https://t.co/gaCqQzITdw pic.twitter.com/ZS6q52hUcD

— VT (@brownchubbybear) November 26, 2024

The top part of the tweet gives us a useful stat. Houston's offensive line has been one of the worst in the league at giving their QB time to throw before pressure arrives. This has disrupted every facet of the team's passing attack. It's evident on tape that No. 7 looks much less confident and has made some puzzlingly bad throws.

Is it time to have a conversation about cj stroud? pic.twitter.com/hSco6Ac0Ng

— whirlybird (@HashTaguars) November 24, 2024

But we've seen him look like an absolute stud, so it's hard to blame him completely for his production woes. But he'll need to adjust to life without good OL play. The awkward, low-velocity, highly off-target throws are something he'll need to clean up. It's possible some of these plays could be due to the WR running the wrong route, of course.

That all said, you shouldn't drop him. In most leagues, it's a good idea to have a QB on the bench. Many don't have positional limits, so teams can hoard three or more QBs on their benches, leaving virtually no viable options if your starter suffers an injury or has a bye week.

Should I Drop Dalton Kincaid in Fantasy Football?

One of the hype trains with the weakest foundations of fact and logic didn't take long to derail after the season started. Kincaid was seen as an elite TE by many in his sophomore year, because all tight ends totally break out in year two and wHo eLsE wIlL jOsH aLlEn tHrOw tHe bAlL to????

Josh Allen ... Dalton Kincaid ... sheesh pic.twitter.com/jGzSOOlMau

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) November 11, 2024

As it turns out, Kincaid did lead the team in targets through his healthy games. But he's not looked like some world-beater. He's pretty much looked like he did in his rookie season -- a solid player. Allen has had more success throwing it to wide receiver Khalil Shakir, proving that in fact, there was someone else to throw it to.

Kincaid has just been alright in fantasy. He's the TE21 in full-PPR through 12 weeks, though he's played in 10 games. He's not even a top-12 option at his position. He has just two receiving touchdowns and zero games with above 55 receiving yards. He plays a role in Buffalo's passing game and is just... fine.

We're honestly on the fence about dropping him. There would need to be a better option on your roster or on waivers. TE is a thin position. It's not horrible to keep starting him when he returns, though he did miss practice on Wednesday. You might need to pick up someone else anyway.

Should I Drop Rachaad White in Fantasy Football?

No. His role in the offense is still valuable. Sure, he was out-snapped by rookie back Bucky Irving in a game for the first time this season, and third-string man Sean Tucker was given goal-line carries, but White still has strung together five straight games of double-digit PPR fantasy points.

Rachaad White is very good in Pass Pro. pic.twitter.com/Hz1sKunJAr

— Evan Closky (@ECloskyWTSP) November 26, 2024

He's still a great pass protector, is still involved in the running game, and still scores touchdowns (at least recently). He has six total scores in his last five games. He's been used in the red zone plenty. He's a solid RB3/FLEX player for now, though we could see that change.

That doesn't mean you should drop him. He'd be a clear priority waiver pickup in any league where a fantasy manager decided to dump him. He's rostered in 92% of leagues still. He's not the weekly must-start in all leagues that he was in 2023, but that doesn't mean his value is completely gone.

A committee with Irving is likely in White's future for the rest of the season. If the TDs dry up, he should probably ride benches for a while. But if Irving were to go down with an injury, No. 1's fantasy value would skyrocket. He would likely take the lion's share of touches in the backfield in that case. So don't drop him.

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