We have officially reached crunch time of the fantasy football season. Fantasy managers are looking to guide their teams on playoff runs and will have to navigate a plethora of obstacles to take home a championship.
Among those obstacles are several multi-team bye weeks and difficult start ’em, sit ’em decisions. The most underrated part of building a championship roster is the difficult add/drop decisions fantasy owners face each week during the stretch run.
It’s not always easy to cut under-producing players, especially ones that have been on your roster long-term. But often, there are quality depth pieces and handcuffs on the waiver wire in the final weeks of the fantasy season. Those players can sometimes emerge as league winners, so parting with a struggling big name for an unproven but opportunistic young gun can sometimes pay off in spades.
That’s not to say you should blindly release players after one bad game, but finding a way to turn struggling players into productive assets is the best way to win a championship.
Here’s a look at five players to cut after Week 10 of the fantasy football season, including a few players who are a part of struggling offenses.
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Any hope that Williams might emerge as a quality fantasy asset in the right matchups is dwindling as the regular season continues. The rookie has gone three consecutive games without a passing touchdown, the latest coming in Chicago’s 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots.
Williams’ scoring upside seems likely to remain low until the Bears’ offensive line gets healthier. Chicago was without three of its top offensive tackles against the Patriots, and the young quarterback didn’t look comfortable playing behind the makeshift, backup-led blocking unit.
Until Williams inspires some confidence in his ability to lead scoring drives consistently, his ownership should be limited to those in SuperFlex and two-QB leagues. At this point, that may not come until his second season.
Any hope of Williams regaining his pre-injury form in 2024 appears lost. The Broncos gave him just one carry in the team’s 16-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9. Comparatively, rookie Audric Estime got 14 carries and generated 53 yards, so it appears that Sean Payton is ready to trust a new backfield leader in Denver.
Williams entered Sunday’s game averaging just 3.8 yards per carry, so it would hardly be a surprise to see Payton continue to roll with Estime going forward. Perhaps Williams can eventually re-emerge as a part of Denver’s running back rotation. Still, even if he does, he would need to improve dramatically to be anything more than a matchup-based flex play.
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Moore is a big-name wide receiver but hasn’t been productive in 2024. He had a 105-yard, two-touchdown game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London but is averaging just 4.4 catches and 36.6 yards per game with one total touchdown across his eight other games.
Moore has logged 33 or fewer receiving yards in four of his last five games and hasn’t been able to connect with Williams early during their time together. Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze seem to be having more success in that area, so barring a change of fortune, Moore seems unlikely to be Chicago’s No. 1 receiver, as his fantasy owners were expecting.
That’s not to say that Moore should be blindly dropped by his owners. But with Williams struggling and the Bears not scoring, teams that are deep at receiver can feel free to part with him to add depth at other positions.
Olave was placed on IR before Week 10 after suffering a concussion in the Saints’ Week 9 loss to the Carolina Panthers. The 3-7 Saints aren’t likely to make a playoff run, so they will almost certainly play it safe with their top wide receiver.
As such, any fantasy managers scrapping for playoff spots and needing roster space can feel free to drop Olave. He won’t be healthy until the fantasy playoffs at the earliest, and it isn’t clear whether he will return during the 2024 NFL season. Dropping him will be too risky for some to tolerate, but it could be worth grabbing some of this week’s quality waiver wire pickups, like Estime and Ricky Pearsall.
Kincaid was expected to emerge as a top target in Buffalo’s offense during his second season. That hasn’t materialized, even when the Bills have been without their top targets, Amari Cooper and Keon Coleman.
Kincaid caught just two passes for 24 yards in the Bills’ 30-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 10. He was targeted five times, but he and Josh Allen couldn’t connect even when the talented tight end was wide open. Kincaid ranks No. 1 among NFL tight ends with 11 uncatchable targets.
Add in that Kincaid banged up his knee against the Colts, and it might be time to cut bait with him if you can land a quality replacement.
