Much of fantasy football in-season owner strategy centers around which players to pick up from the waiver wire or to target in the trade market. However, roster spots are a premium resource. Cutting a player - or adding them to a trade - opens a roster spot for a key waiver wire addition or flexibility to keep a currently injured player through a missed game or two. Here are the key players to cut or trade after Week 9:
*Roster Rate referencing the percentage of myfantasyleague.com fantasy leagues where the player is rostered*
SHALLOW FORMATS
*15-18 roster spots*
Why: Cousins is getting by on strong efficiency this season as his volume is painfully low considering typical 2020 NFL offense dynamics. Cousins has thrown more than 27 passes in just two games and has tossed in 10 interceptions on barely 200 attempts. The DNA for the Vikings offense is Dalvin Cook and the run game. Add in Cousins' lack of rushing (55 yards over eight games) and his shoot-the-needle ceiling is tough on a weekly basis. The schedule also features the Bears twice over the fantasy stretch run, the (typically) tough Tampa Bay defense, New Orleans in the fantasy title game, and the potentially sneaky-decent Dallas pass defense.
Why: Singletary offers one of the bigger NFL vs. fantasy divides among the running back position. Singletary is a quality NFL running back. However, he is rarely used in the red zone, rarely sees strong volume, and is on a Josh Allen-centric offense with improved passing weapons (see: Stefon Diggs) compared to 2019. Singletary only two games with more than 15 touches and both of those were in the opening month of the season. A healthy Zack Moss makes Singletary a flex option at best for lineup decisions and Singletary needs a handful of receptions to post a decent game as touchdowns are fleeting. Singletary is far from an auto-roster player in shallow redraft formats as plenty of injury-away backs offer more upside with backfield clarity.
Darius Slayton
Why: With an 88% Roster Rate, Slayton is inside the top-40 of the receiver position. However, Slayton has produced only two games of 12+ PPR points this season. Golden Tate was a healthy scratch in Week 9 and Slayton saw just one target. Sterling Shepard has been a high-volume option (6+ receptions in each of the three games since returning to the lineup) and Evan Engram has 16 receptions over the same stretch. Slayton is still viewed as the top Giants option by some, which is a mistake since Shepard returned and Engram being the de facto WR1 for the passing game some weeks as well. Slayton is a rotational flex option at best more than a weekly play, which has little utility in shallower redraft formats.
Henry Ruggs
Why: Ruggs has yet to see more than three receptions in a game and this is despite playing more than 60% of the snaps every active game this season and no pronounced lead receiver on the Raiders' depth chart. Bryant Edwards returned in Week 9 after a month-long absence but only played one snap. Expect more of an impact from Edwards down the stretch. Ruggs is a best ball special but has only produced one game of 10+ PPR points all season. Ruggs is a dynasty stash for 2021 more than a rest-of-season speculation on fantasy result-changing impact.
MEDIUM DEPTH
*18-22 roster spots*
Why: Dallas was a trendy pickup in advance of Week 8 and after his 23-touch outing which produced 22.8 PPR points against the 49ers. However, Dallas' strong volume withered in Week 9 even without Chris Carson or Carlos Hyde back. Both should return soon and likely Carson in Week 10. However, Travis Homer and Alex Collins were both more involved than in Week 8. Dallas survived fantasy-wise with a short-range touchdown but his nine touches and added incumbent competition are likely to render Dallas value-less within the next week or two. In dynasty, shop for a Round 3 pick, and in redraft, seek better injury-away running back pastures with the roster spot.
Benny Snell
Why: A healthy James Conner puts Snell already in the "possible injury-away" subset of running backs. However, Anthony McFarland adds a different dynamic to the backfield and is being mixed in with more touches than Snell over the past three games. There is no assurance Snell would be the featured back if Conner were out in a future week and Snell has shown no signs to have the receiving game involvement of Conner to offer strong two-way upside either. Snell is a roster spot trap on a middling talent who does not have the assumed fantasy upside even if the injury fantasy teams would wait for were to occur.
Why: Freeman is a tough hold specifically in 25 and fewer roster spots for dynasty leagues. Freeman is firmly blocked by multiple backs ahead of him in Denver and even the ultimate upside of the starter is a question mark there for the rest of 2020. Freeman was not moved before the NFL trade deadline, which was the final hope for GMs holding Freeman for this season. Non-contenders can validate holding Freeman into the offseason, especially after the dynasty trade deadline hits (typically in Week 11), but contenders can optimize the spot through other avenues like running backs actually an injury away, backup quarterbacks or tight ends in premium formats, or even aligning defensive matchups for the stretch run with an additional team unit.
Why: Gesicki had a monster game in Week 2 (8-130-1) on a robust 11 targets, but has been forgettable with 34 total PPR points in the six games since, including three games with fewer than three points. Usage has been a key issue with only one game over the span with more than four targets plus Miami's secondary tight ends (Durham Smythe, Adam Shaheen) played regularly each week. Three times over the six-week mentioned sample has one of Smythe or Shaheen out-snapped Gesicki. All this and Gesicki is TE14 in Roster Rate. Gesicki is a streaming consideration in redraft and shallow dynasty at best with numerous true NFL starting tight ends on fewer rosters heading into Week 10.
DEEP FORMATS
*25+ roster spots, more dynasty-focused*
Why: Williams was a common addition in dynasty leagues over the past 7-10 days. However, Aaron Jones returned to the lineup last Thursday for a starting workload and Williams sprained his MCL and is likely to miss a few weeks. Also, Jamaal Williams and AJ Dillon will be back shortly. Dexter Williams' short window of roster viability, even in deep dynasty circles, has promptly shut.
Why: Laird was a pickup for Week 9 with Myles Gaskin on IR and Matt Breida also out for the game. Laird was the RB3-4 in snap share for Miami, however, with just 20% and only two touches. Salvon Ahmed was the big riser for the week at 46% and even Jordan Howard more than doubled his previous season-high snap rate to a respectable 34% in the game. Laird will fade behind Breida as well once back and Laird's one-week interest level for opportunity, similar to Trent Taylor (see below in this section), is gone.
Why: Unless in the 35+ man roster subset of leagues, Callaway is a "return to the waiver wire" player with Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders back for a loaded and 'spread it around' Saints offense and passing game. Day 2 tight end Adam Trautman flashed in Week 9 and Callaway is WR4 at best on his own depth chart. Week 7 was a perfect storm game in the sun for Callaway's usage outside of 2-3 more targets being absent in future weeks.
Why: The sub-sized Taylor was a trending spot start in Week 9 with the 49ers gutted by injuries and COVID-19 restrictions in their passing game. However, Taylor was dwarfed in involvement by Richie James. Taylor logged a forgettable 1-9-0 stat line on four targets despite the optimal (if there was one for Taylor) opportunity setting. Brandon Aiyuk will be back in Week 10, among others, and Taylor's possible week as a predictable WR3-4-Flex play has melted like morning frost on the lawn. Taylor's Roster Rate in the 10-15% range on MFL should at least be cut in half after this week's waivers.
