The Cut List - Who to Drop for Fantasy Football Week 3

Each new week of NFL games gives us more information to make better, more informed decisions. That’s crucial when figuring out who to add and who to cut. When cutting a player, it can be difficult to admit we were wrong on a particular player. Or the worst is when we use a high draft pick on someone, and cutting a sixth-rounder so early in the season can be demoralizing. However, the only thing worse than making a mistake is not being able to admit we made one in the first place.

Don’t be afraid to make bold decisions, but be careful not to be too reactionary. Bad weeks are going to happen. Sometimes, opportunity doesn’t always translate into box-score success. The flip side of that is true, too. Sometimes, the box score can look amazing despite poor utilization. This article will help you determine who to send packing and how to value players whose value is falling.

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The Parameters

There are a few different categories here. Anyone listed under the “Insert Position to Cut for Insert Week” can be safely cut. Seems pretty self-explanatory, correct? No surprise there.

The following two categories are “Uh-Oh…” and “On the Hot Seat.”

If a player is listed under “Uh-Oh…”, that doesn’t mean they’re a cut… yet. It just means their value is falling. That could be due to several reasons. Maybe it’s due to repeated inefficiency. Perhaps it’s due to a change in role and utilization. Whatever the reason, these players are not as valuable today as they were before last week’s games.

The other category is “On the Hot Seat.” This one is also pretty self-explanatory. These players do not need to be cut, although if you’re on the hot seat, there’s certainly an argument to be made that they could be cut if you’re in a tough roster predicament. These players should be given one final shot to make your roster. Especially early in the season, we don’t want to overreact to a change in utilization or a bad week or two, but we also don’t want to ignore it. Players in this section are a bad week away from being on the cut list.

One of the final categories that we'll sometimes touch on is "Hold On" players. These players may have had some bad weeks, but their utilization is good, indicating better days are ahead.

On occasion, we’ll also identify sell-high and sell-low players. A sell-high player is one whose production has spiked, but maybe their role creates questions about whether the production is sustainable. These players have increased their value recently, so it makes sense to see if you can trade them at peak value. Players who are sell-lows are often players with a lot of name value. These players are best explained as “get some value for them while you still can before their value falls to nothing.”

Quarterbacks to Cut for Week 3

Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears – 70.5% Rostered

Williams is safe to cut in typical redraft leagues, consisting of 10 or 12-team leagues and just one starting quarterback. Through two weeks, he sits as the QB31 with a 7.3 PPG average after Monday night's game between the Eagles and Falcons.

In two games, he has yet to record a single touchdown. He’s completing just 56% of his passes and is averaging 134 passing yards per game. He’s averaging just 4.05 yards per attempt. The Chicago offense has been dreadful. With quarterbacks such as Baker Mayfield, Jared Goff, Geno Smith, and Derek Carr with lower rostered percentages, fantasy managers should be making the switch, if possible.

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers – 63.1% Rostered

Herbert hasn’t been much better than Williams. His team’s offense has looked much better because they’ve been able to run the football. However, from a fantasy production standpoint, Herbert isn’t getting it done any better than Williams.

He has yet to throw the ball 27 times in a game. He has not recorded 150 passing yards in either game, and his high fantasy output over the past two weeks is 11.0 points. It’ll be interesting to see what this offense looks like when they’re not playing with a lead, but it’s hard to trust him right now. He’s the QB24 through two weeks and averages just 10.7 PPG, which is lower than Daniel Jones of the New York Giants.

Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams – 48.3% Rostered

I believe Stafford is going to be a quality quarterback this year. However, that is unlikely to happen in the next couple of weeks. His offensive line is decimated by injuries. Puka Nacua is on IR, and Cooper Kupp could also miss time with an ankle injury.

Making matters worse is the fact that they have the 49ers, Bears, and Packers in the next three weeks. The Bears' defense has been stout, and the 49ers are coming off a tough loss to Minnesota. There’s no way Stafford can be started in the next two games, especially with Nacua out and possibly Kupp.

Stafford might be a sneaky waiver wire addition going into Week 7, following their Week 6 bye, if Nacua is back and their offensive line is healthy. As of right now, though, he can safely be dropped.

Running Backs to Cut for Week 3

Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals – 68.1% Rostered

Going into the season, there were hopes that Brown might take on the lead-back role for Cincinnati. At the very least, we’d see a split backfield with Zack Moss and Brown working in a committee that would give both players some standalone fantasy value.

#Bengals Week 2 RB Usage

- Zack Moss: 82% snaps, 12 carries, 20 routes, 1 target (47 yards)
- Chase Brown: 18% snaps, 4 carries, no targets (31 yards)

It is clearly Moss' backfield

— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) September 15, 2024

That has not been true. Brown played just 33% of the snaps in Week 1, which decreased to 18% in Week 2. Moss ran 20 routes this past weekend, compared to just five for Brown. According to PFF, Brown has yet to take a single pass protection snap. This isn’t a committee. This is Moss’ backfield. Brown isn’t a change of pace back. He’s a backup. He’s nothing more than a handcuff at this point.

Gus Edwards, Los Angeles Chargers – 67.9% Rostered

Edwards was a cut last week and continues to be one this week. Many pointed out J.K. Dobbins’ injury history, and that’s fair, but Edwards has his torn ACL on his resume, too. There are two big issues with Edwards.

First, his utilization. Dobbins is the team’s preferred goal line and third-down back. Edwards ran just six routes and had zero targets. Dobbins also handled both goal-line plays. Edwards is a middling plodder between the 20-yard lines. That’s problem No. 1.

Problem No. 2 is he hasn’t been good. The Chargers won both of their first two games. They won both of them handily, outscoring their opponents 48-13. In theory, based on Edwards’ strengths, he should perform these games well for fantasy managers!

JK Dobbins forcing 0.32 missed tackles per rush, via PFF. Already has seven runs of 10+ yards on 27 carries.

Gus Edwards has forced stone 0 missed tackles this season. Has one run of 10+ yards on 29 carries. pic.twitter.com/a671tjXLvC

— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) September 16, 2024

These are mediocre to bad defenses. Awful in Carolina’s case. The Chargers were playing with a lead that allowed Edwards 29 carries. He’s mustered 85 yards, good for a 2.9-yard per-carry average. He has no touchdowns, and he’s averaging just 4.6 half-PPR PPG. When will you ever play him if he’s not playable in games where the Chargers win easily? If you want to hold him as a handcuff to Dobbins, that's okay. But if Dobbins were to get hurt, based on how Edwards has played, who is to say we won’t see Kimani Vidal get more looks?

Wide Receivers to Cut for Week 3

DeAndre Hopkins, Tennessee Titans – 77.1% Rostered

Will Levis is bad, borderline awful. Hopkins is playing with a torn MCL. Calvin Ridley is the No. 1 option. It’s highly unlikely Levis can support two fantasy-relevant pass-catchers. Due to his injury, Hopkins still isn’t playing a full allotment of snaps.

This past weekend, he was still fourth in snaps played among Tennessee receivers and third in routes run behind Ridley and Tyler Boyd. Given his age, the fact that he’s not 100%, his limited playing time, and his dreadful quarterback, fantasy managers can safely look elsewhere.

Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders – 68.9% Rostered

Gardner Minshew II is barely good enough to support two fantasy-relevant pass-catchers, but he’s not good enough to support three. Very few quarterbacks, if any, can. It simply becomes a math equation. Having three players with 100 or more targets on the same team is incredibly rare.

The problem for Meyers is he is now clearly the third wheel in Las Vegas’ passing attack. Davante Adams is still the alpha, earning 18 targets over the first two weeks. We all knew Adams would be ahead of Meyers on the target hierarchy. The question was if Meyers could hold off rookie tight end Brock Bowers.

Through two weeks, that is a big no. Bowers has 17 targets, 15 receptions, and 156 yards. Meyers has just eight targets, seven receptions, and 90 yards. He’s now the clear and distant No. 3 option. He’s a good player, so he’ll pop now and then, but this passing attack will go through Adams and Bowers, leaving Meyers with whatever scraps are left.

Tight Ends to Cut for Week 3

Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans – 70.9% Rostered

Finding a tight end to cut is a more difficult task. We go from Schultz at 70.9% to Pat Freiermuth at 63.2%, and then we have tight ends rostered in less than 50% of leagues. Schultz has six targets, five receptions, and 37 yards through two weeks. He’s averaging 3.1 half-PPR PPG.

He’s the fourth, sometimes fifth, option in the passing game behind Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs, and Tank Dell. Being that low on the target hierarchy, he’s a touchdown-dependent player, like most tight ends are.

With injuries to Jake Ferguson, David Njoku, and T.J. Hockenson, there’s unlikely any better options on the waiver wire. However, you should make that switch if you’re in a league where Freiermuth is available. Colby Parkinson, with the injuries to Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, is another tight end who might be available and offers more weekly volume.

Uh-Oh...

RB D'Andre Swift, Chicago Bears – 92.0% Rostered

Swift’s fantasy value is falling fast. He has 48 rushing yards on 24 attempts. That’s a 2.0-yard-per-carry average. That’s dreadful. Some of that is Swift’s fault, but Chicago’s interior offensive line is playing horrifically now. Until they get better, it will be tough sledding for Swift.

D'Andre Swift has faced 8+ defenders in the box on just 8.33% of his runs

the 5th lowest rate in the league

He has 48 rushing yards on 24 carries

— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) September 16, 2024

On top of the offensive line playing poorly, Williams has looked lost under center. Chicago has just one touchdown through two games and 353 yards of offense. Until Williams and the offensive line start playing better, Swift needs to be on fantasy benches. He’s averaging just 5.6 half-PPR PPG and has yet to score more than 6.0 half-PPR points in a game this season. He’s nowhere near being the top-25 running back he was drafted as.

RB Zamir White, Las Vegas Raiders – 87.3% Rostered

Like Swift, White was drafted with the mindset that he would provide RB2 numbers. He’s been even worse than Swift! He’s averaging just 4.45 half-PPR PPG and hasn’t scored 5.5 half-PPR points in a game this season.

In last year's final four games of the season, White was used as a true bell-cow running back. To start the year, Las Vegas has utilized backup running back Alexander Mattison far more than anyone expected.

White has 27 touches through two games, which is a decent amount, but he’s been woefully inefficient with them. He’s averaging just 3.11 yards per touch. While that’s bad, the worst part is that Mattison got the goal-line carry this past weekend, punching in a one-yard touchdown.

#Raiders Week 2 RB Usage

- Zamir White: 65% snaps, 9 carries, 22 routes, 4 targets (38 yds)
- Alexander Mattison: 22% snaps, 4 carries, no targets

Sitting White this week was the right call - but next week he gets the Panthers

— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) September 15, 2024

To start the year, no one even considered the possibility that Mattison might get goal-line work. This is a full-fledged committee that fantasy managers should avoid in their starting lineup.

RB Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns – 83.2% Rostered

In Week 1, Ford handled 85.7% of Cleveland’s rushing attempts. He also posted a 15.6% target share. That strong utilization led to 12 carries, 44 rushing yards, one touchdown, seven targets, six receptions, 25 receiving yards, and 15.9 half-PPR points. That’s good, right?

It is. Week 2, however, was not. His share of the team’s rushing attempts fell from 85.7% to 31.8%. His target share went from 15.6% to 5.9%. After D'Onta Foreman played just one snap in Week 1, he almost drew even with Ford, playing 27 snaps to Ford’s 32.

D'Onta Foreman played just one snap in Week 1. Yesterday:

Snaps: Jerome Ford 32, D'Onta Foreman 27
Routes: Ford 11, Foreman 7
Opportunities: Foreman 15, Ford 9

— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) September 16, 2024

However, Foreman had 15 opportunities (carries and targets combined) to Ford’s nine. Ford finished with seven carries for 64 yards and had two targets and one catch for zero yards. Ford was still efficient on the ground, which may help increase his workload next week, but there’s a way around it: that was a bad week.

After Week 1, he looked like a quality RB2. Heading into Week 3, fantasy managers wonder if they can trust him in their starting lineup. After his utilization in Week 2, most won’t be able to.

WR Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders – 88.9% Rostered

We’re not cutting McLaurin, we’re not. We are acknowledging how bad the first two weeks have been. He has 12 targets, eight receptions, and just 39 yards. McLaurin has been pretty stationary on the left side of the formation for over 90% of his routes. This is a Kliff Kingsbury staple.

There’s no pre-snap motion for McLaurin. No snaps from the slot. He lines up in the same place pretty much every time. Jayden Daniels is just a rookie, so it’s reasonable to expect some growing pains.

The problem here is that the scheme does no favors for either player. How McLaurin is being utilized makes everything more difficult. It’s unwise to expect that to change since this is the same manner in which he used DeAndre Hopkins in Arizona. McLaurin will have some spike weeks, but after the first two weeks, he’s gone from someone valued as a WR3 with WR2 upside to someone fantasy managers don’t want in their starting lineups.

WR Christian Kirk, Jacksonville Jaguars – 85.6% Rostered

The whole Jaguars’ offense has looked lost in the first two weeks. To make matters worse, even when they weren’t efficient last year, they had volume, finishing with more than 600 pass attempts. This season, the Jaguars have one of the lowest pass rates in the NFL.

Kirk has just seven targets through two weeks. That looks better than his two receptions, 29 yards from them. This past weekend, he finished with negative yards (-1). Gabriel Davis and Brian Thomas Jr. have more targets, receptions, and yards than Kirk.

With the limited passing volume through two weeks and Kirk being outplayed by Jacksonville’s two newcomers at receiver, Kirk’s fantasy value is in free fall. He shouldn’t be cut because he’s shown he can be a quality player, but he can’t be started right now, either.

Hold On

RB Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers - 63.4% Rostered

After the 2023 season, most fantasy managers expected Hubbard to be the clear No. 1 running back for the Panthers until rookie Jonathon Brooks returns from his IR stint. However, after Week 1, it looked like Hubbard and Miles Sanders were in more of a committee than expected. Hubbard played 32 snaps to Sanders' 22 in Week 1. Hubbard ran 18 routes to Sanders' 11. Sanders received one more carry than Hubbard. That even workload, along with Carolina's dreadfulness on offense, almost made Hubbard a cut.

After Week 2, fantasy managers should be holding on to Hubbard. He played on 20 of the team's first 28 snaps. The playing time ended up being much closer due to Sanders playing more after the score got out of hand, but Hubbard seemed to operate in the role most fantasy managers expected to start the season. It didn't hurt that he was also more efficient with his touches. He finished with 64 yards on 10 carries and got involved in the passing game after being shut out in that department in Week 1. He finished with four receptions, 12 yards, and 9.6 half-PPR points.

Yesterday, the news broke that Carolina would be benching Bryce Young and moving to veteran Andy Dalton. Based on what we've seen of Young through two games and his rookie season, this is a massive upgrade for the entire offense. Young has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the league by a large margin. Dalton isn't great, but he'll at least be able to operate the offense. He showed last year in his spot start that he can manage, at the very least, a competent offense. The improved play at quarterback will only help Hubbard and the entire offense.

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