Now more than ever, your roster decisions are as important as they will ever be. Determining who to cut versus who to save can be tough and each decision should be thoughtfully carried out.
Before dropping anyone, make sure to put your team into perspective. Just because your player is listed in this cut column, it does not automatically mean you should drop him, especially if you are in a dynasty league.
You also need to weigh your waiver-wire options. If someone tells you to drop a player, it does not necessarily 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. With this being one of the last weeks of the regular season, you certainly can become more liberal with your cuts, but still, make sure to think through them.
Here are some names you should consider dropping going into Week 16.
Tom Brady (QB, NE)
Future first-ballet Hall of Famer Tom Brady has reached the tipping point in fantasy.
Halfway through the NFL season, Brady looked like a late-round gem found for fantasy managers, especially since he was averaging 19.4 fantasy points through Week 8. But fantasy football is very much a “what have you done for me lately” game and that is where Brady begins to deviate from his stellar fantasy play.
Since Week 9, Brady has averaged 14 fantasy points per game — a 27-percent drop from his previous 19.4 fantasy points per game. Further analysis shows that Brady has only finished with 15-plus fantasy points once since Week 9 and that was mainly done in garbage-time against the Texans in Week 13. If you remove his big game against the Texans, Brady is left averaging 11.8 fantasy points per game. Even against Cincinnati in Week 15, Brady was only able to put up 13 fantasy points against a defense who has surrendered tons of points to fantasy quarterbacks all season long.
Cut Brady heading into Week 16 with a tough matchup against Buffalo. If you play in a fantasy league that continues into Week 17, he does have a favorable matchup against the Dolphins. At this point though, he just seems too risky to count on.
Matt Breida (RB, SF)
Breida enters Week 16 with little to show for since his Week 5 outburst against Cleveland. It seems to be a tale of two seasons for Breida who averaged 13.5 fantasy in the first four weeks but has regressed to an average of 5.6 fantasy points per game since Week 6.
Earlier in the season, we figured this backfield would be primarily Tevin Coleman and Breida getting the work. Now fantasy managers have to deal with Raheem Mostert’s breakout, which further complicates the running back by committee approach in San Fransisco, especially for Breida and Coleman.
Since returning from injury in Week 14, it seems to be more of the same from Breida who finished with 6 fantasy points and 1 fantasy point respectively. Heading into Week 16, you cannot depend on Breida’s floor enough to play him. Breida can be cut in all leagues, assuming there will be no sudden changes to how the 49ers utilize their running backs.
Mohamed Sanu (WR, NE)
Another player who has not gotten it done of-late is Mohamed Sanu.
Sanu started this season with the Atlanta Falcons before being traded to the New England Patriots, seemingly to his demise. Once he swapped teams, Sanu gave fantasy managers a four-point PPR showing which was predictable since he was the new kid in town. He then followed that up with a dominant performance in Week 9 against the Ravens, which fooled everyone into thinking Sanu must be started.
After his dominant performance in Week 9, the Patriots went on BYE, a time where Sanu could better understand his new surroundings and also where his coaches could further game-plan Sanu into their system. The weeks that followed after their BYE, in which Sanu was healthy enough to play, the wideout scored 3, 4, 2 and 3 PPR points respectively.
Part of this struggle can be traced all the way up to the offense as a whole. You could also look at the aforementioned cut-candidate, Tom Brady, as part of the reason for Sanu’s in-season regression. Either way you look at it, Sanu cannot be trusted like he could during Weeks 1 – 5. Cut Sanu in all formats as we approach Week 16.
Sammy Watkins (WR, KC)
After a dominant start to his season, Sammy Watkins has proven to be fools-gold for fantasy managers.
Watkins’ struggles are a head-scratcher to say the least. He started with 42 fantasy points in Week 1, the same week that the Chiefs would lose Tyreek Hill for multiple weeks as well. Because of this injury to Hill, Watkins quickly became the receiver to roster in Kansas City, especially since Kansas City was unsure of Hill’s timetable for return.
From Watkins’ own injuries to his starting quarterback getting injured, he has failed to produce since Week 1. To put it into perspective, he has scored double-digit fantasy points once since Week 1. Even in weeks where we saw Watkins with double-digit targets, he somehow only finishes with a single-digit fantasy total.
Watkins is a guy that has failed his fantasy managers, even when being the WR2 for one of the league’s best offenses, as well as quarterback. Cut Watkins in all formats where you roster him.
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