Fantasy Football Week 5: Waivers
Bye Week QB:
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Jay Cutler QB (58%): Am I really going back to the well with Cutler after his 3 INT game in week 4 made me look bad? Damn right I am. Maybe it’s the Bear fan in me, but I think the Bears will be able to throw the ball on the Saints and I think Jay bounces back with a strong game in week 5.
Dropped:
Rueben Randle – His recent stats aren’t enough to keep him on this list (1 catch for 7 yards in week 4) and he is trending in the wrong direction as his catches have gone down every week (5, 3, 2, 1). The only reason for possibly holding on is the rumors of a Hakeem Nicks trade. It’s hard to hold a roster spot for someone who is healthy and unproductive, but there aren’t many better upside plays if Nicks is dealt.
Chris Snelling / Jaquizz Rodgers RB – S-Jax is due back in week 7 which only leaves one more week of consistent playing time for the Falcons backup RBs. The carry and catch distribution is too inconsistent to trust either of these guys in your starting lineup this week and they’re value will disappear by week 7 when S-Jax returns. You should be able to do better on the wavier wire.
Santonio Holmes WR – That was fun while it lasted. Holmes had a breakout game in week 4 and then went back to being an injury prone non-factor in week 5. Holmes is expected to miss 1-2 weeks and isn’t worth your time.
Isaiah Pead RB – Current Rams starting RB, Daryl Richardson, averaged 1.3 YPC in week 4 while Pead watched from the inactive list. After a decent week 3 for Pead, I thought he would start to cut into Richardson’s carries, but apparently coach Fisher has other plans. I’d stay away from all Rams RBs until somebody actually looks decent enough to lock down the job.
Graduated:
Bilal Powell RB (76%)
Safe to Cut (50% owned or more)
With 4 weeks in the books, we have a decent idea of a player’s role and it’s time to start evaluating your back-end draft picks to see if they are worthy of a roster spot. Here is a list of players owned in at least 50% of Yahoo leagues that I would feel safe cutting:
Bad QBs: Bradford (50%), Cutler (58%), Schaub(55%), Flacco (64%) & Dalton (72%) aren’t consistent enough week to week to be taking up a valuable spot on your bench.
BJGE (72%) – 42 total rushing yards over last 2 weeks. Even Marvin Lewis can tell Gio is better.
Eddie Royal (73%) – No TDs last two weeks and under 50 yards receiving. The dream is over.
Brian Hartline (76%) – Catches, yardage, and targets have decreased every week this season.
Golden Tate (79%) – Had a decent week 3 (5-88), but has been a huge disappointment this season and with Harvin on track for a possible week 7 return, Tate is waiver wire bound.
Eli Manning (82%) – There is probably a better QB2 option on your waiver wire then the guy who is leading the league in INT’s (9) and looked lost in weeks 2 & 3. Don’t let name recognition make you sentimental. Cut him.