Fantasy Players to Drop in Week 3 2019

Fantasy Players to Drop: It’s still early in the NFL and fantasy seasons, but here are some names you could consider dropping going into Week 3.

Plenty of fantasy stars shined in Week 2, some of whom may be available for pickup.

While you may be eager to run out and grab some of the hottest names on the waiver wire, you likely have to cut a player in order to facilitate this move.

Before cutting anyone, make sure to put your team in perspective; just because your player is listed on this column, it does not automatically mean you should cut him.

You also need to weigh your waiver-wire options. If someone tells you to cut a player, it does not mean the move is right for your team. For your team to improve, you have to be able to add a player that will make your team better, immediately or down the road, compared to the player to be cut. It is paramount to evaluate the players, and the transaction, prior to completing it.

One final note, it is still early into the NFL football season. It is going to be difficult to gauge, analyze and determine fantasy roles based off of a couple of weeks. Do your research and understand that snap counts and targets are two metrics you should review before cutting or adding a player.

Here are some names you should consider dropping going into Week 3.

Fantasy Players to Drop in Week 3

Injured Reserve (IR) Drops – Ben Roethlisberger (QB, PIT)

Drew Brees (QB, NO)

No, your season is not over since you lost Drew Brees for 4-to-6-weeks. In fact, I would argue that you could be in a better position rest-of-season.

Do not drop Brees if you have an IR-Spot or if you play in a league where quarterbacks are scarce, like in deeper leagues or two-quarterback leagues. But for the majority of fantasy teams, you play in a single quarterback league and you can stream quarterbacks easily, which means Brees can be dropped.

If there is someone like Josh Allen available, I would make that swap, especially since Allen is a top-three fantasy quarterback from Week 12 of 2018 up until now. It is possible that every quarterback option on the waiver-wire leaves you unsettled but think of these options with a shorter outlook. If done right, streaming quarterbacks week-to-week can lead to more QB1 performances than rostering and playing Brees every week.

If you don’t believe me, just in Week 1 you could have streamed Matthew Stafford (25-percent owned), Marcus Mariota (10-percent owned) or Case Keenum (5-percent owned) and you would have outscored Brees in Week 1 and finished with a top-12 fantasy quarterback on the week.

In Week 2 you easily could have picked up Jimmy Garoppolo (25-percent owned), Josh Allen (28-percent owned), or Andy Dalton (9-percent owned) and finished with a top-12 fantasy quarterback for Week 2.

This trend will continue throughout 2019, just as it has every year. Quarterbacks are one of the most replaceable positions on your fantasy roster, turn your weakness into a strength and get to streaming quarterbacks.

Ronald Jones III (RB, TB)

Frankly, the entire backfield in Tampa Bay could be dropped. You cannot count on any of these backs to provide a consistent fantasy floor for your team, which is part of the reason it would be better to move on from Ronald Jones and company.

On Sunday, Jones even had NFL insiders leak that he was going to get more opportunities in Week 2. Fantasy owners were left with four rushes for nine yards while his counterpart, Peyton Barber, scampered to 82 rushing yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. This is a picture-perfect reason why Barber is the only back possibly worth owning in this backfield. And if I have 4-to-5 quality backs on my roster that I can count on, I am probably avoiding Barber too.

The bottom line is that this backfield can turn at a moment’s notice and fantasy championships are not won with volatile players such as Jones and the rest of the Tampa Bay backfield. I understand holding onto Barber, especially in formats over 10-teams, but Jones and Dare Ogunbowale are drops.

Donte Moncrief (WR, PIT)

It’s been a rough start with the Steelers for Donte Moncrief. The receiver seems to be having trouble catching the ball, dropping five balls in the first two games. Not to mention, some of these drops are leading to interceptions or turnover on downs. Factor in that the Steelers even went so far as to bench Moncrief, plus he lost his starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for the year, and you are left with dropping Moncrief from your fantasy team, immediately.