Roster management is the single most crucial in-season task for fantasy football managers. Knowing which players to let go is as important as adding the right guys. Which players find themselves on our Week 14 fantasy football cut list?
Quarterbacks: Sam Darnold, QB, Seattle Seahawks
Rostered: 58%
Remember when Sam Darnold lit up the Washington Commanders for 330 yards and four touchdowns in prime time? That was five weeks ago. Since then, Darnold has yet to match that touchdown total, throwing a combined three over his last four games.
The problem with Darnold is that if the Seahawks have a tough matchup that might require throwing, he’s not quite good enough to deliver. If they have a favorable matchup against an easy opponent, they just run the ball. You simply cannot trust a quarterback in fantasy’s most important weeks who can easily finish with single-digit fantasy points, as he has in three of his last four.
Running Backs: Tony Pollard, RB, Tennessee Titans
Rostered: 82%
The general rule of thumb is that any NFL starting running back needs to be rostered in fantasy. Well, it’s hard to make a case for Tony Pollard anymore.
The Tennessee Titans are a very bad football team. Thus, Pollard doesn’t really have much touchdown upside. He’s also not particularly involved as a receiver, taking away any PPR floor.
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With Cam Ward playing poorly and the Titans unable to sustain drives, Pollard can’t really ever get going. He’s now gone five consecutive games without reaching double-digit fantasy points.
The Titans are obviously going to be underdogs against anyone. But it wouldn’t hurt to face at least one soft run defense. No can do per the NFL schedule makers. By no means is Pollard a must-drop. Rather, he’s someone you should not feel compelled to keep if there is someone better you want to roster.
Isiah Pacheco, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Rostered: 71%
It’s pretty wild that Isiah Pacheco has maintained such a high roster rate all season. He opened the year as the starter and served in that role for eight weeks before he got hurt. During that span, he topped out at 12.8 fantasy points, cracking double digits twice, and only because of two flukey touchdowns.
While Pacheco was out with his sprained MCL, Kareem Hunt started and did exactly what he did last year: looked infinitely better than Pacheco. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that Hunt started and maintained the lead-back role. He’s the better running back.
Pacheco touched the ball five times in his first game back, totaling 33 yards. The Kansas City Chiefs face a difficult run defense in three of their last four games of the fantasy season. Even in the event of a Hunt injury, you’re still probably not starting Pacheco.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Washington Commanders
Rostered: 55%
It was another low for Jacory Croskey-Merritt. The not actually talented rookie ran the ball four times for 20 yards. His 13 snaps and 14.4% snap share represented his lowest of the season.
Quite simply, it is over. The seventh-round rookie had his chance and was unable to keep hold of the lead-back role. Chris Rodriguez is entrenched as the starter, while Jeremy McNichols serves as the passing-down back. There is no path for JCM, and it is very likely he will be out of the NFL by 2027.
Wide Receivers: Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Rostered: 79%
Fantasy managers can point to the first four weeks of the season as a reason to hold Ricky Pearsall. But those performances must be placed in the proper context.
The only reason Pearsall saw volume over the first month of the season is that there was no one else. George Kittle was on IR with a hamstring strain. Jauan Jennings was in and out of the lineup with several injuries.
Sometimes, lesser players end up producing good numbers because they have to. This is exactly how Kendrick Bourne became a WR1 for two weeks. Where is he now?
The same thing applies to Pearsall, who is not a starting-caliber NFL wide receiver. With Christian McCaffrey, Jennings, and Kittle all healthy, Pearsall is a very distant fourth option on a team that wants to run the ball. That’s why he’s only seen nine targets and caught a total of five passes for 20 yards in his three games back.
Pearsall is not still banged up. He’s practicing in full and is no longer being listed on the injury report. He’s a glorified WR handcuff. Feel free to pick him back up if Jennings or Kittle goes down. Right now, though, he doesn’t even have deep league WR6 fantasy value.
Darnell Mooney, WR, Atlanta Falcons
Rostered: 67%
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If you were making a list of the 80 most talented wide receivers in the NFL, I’m not sure Darnell Mooney would be on it. Perhaps his preseason collarbone injury is to blame for his slow start, but what’s the excuse now that we’re through 13 weeks?
Mooney caught a 49-yard touchdown from Kirk Cousins in Week 12. If that never happened, he wouldn’t have a single game of double-digit fantasy points all season.
Amazingly, Mooney is actually averaging fewer targets per game without Drake London than with him. That’s because London’s presence makes no difference for Mooney’s fantasy value. Good players earn targets. There is a reason Mooney cannot earn targets.
If Mooney cannot succeed as the de facto WR1 with London out, when will he ever be useful?
Rashid Shaheed, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Rostered: 61%
Unfortunately, the move from New Orleans to Seattle has not benefited Rashid Shaheed. Despite the obvious upgrade in caliber of offense, the speed Z receiver just doesn’t have a role.
Shaheed has more carries than receptions since joining the Seahawks. In four games, he’s caught a total of four passes for 37 yards. He’s averaging 2.75 targets per game.
There will probably a game where Sam Darnold takes a deep shot to Shaheed and it connects for a long touchdown. He will be useful that week. Good luck figuring out when that is because it is the only scenario in which Shaheed might be usable in fantasy.
Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts
Rostered: 48%
Is Josh Downs a talented player? Probably. Does it matter? Not even a little bit.
Downs has been relegated to exclusively playing in two receiver sets the entire season. He’s on an offense that runs through Jonathan Taylor. And most recently, Downs appears to be being phased out of the offense.
The slot receiver has not exceeded two receptions in any of his last three games. He now has six games with under 6.5 fantasy points.
The Colts do have mostly favorable matchups the rest of the way, but it doesn’t matter if Downs isn’t on the field. You are never starting him.
Cooper Kupp, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Rostered: 43%
If you want consistency, Cooper Kupp is your man. He’ll get you 4-5 fantasy points each week. Somehow, the veteran receiver has managed exactly 23 or 24 yards in each of his past three games.
This is simply who Kupp is now. The once elite receiver is on his last legs, while also being part of a low-volume passing attack with the No. 1 alpha WR in the NFL ahead of him.
There have been three instances this season in which fantasy managers were maybe glad they started Kupp. It is unlikely there will be more of them. It’s over.
Tight Ends: Sam LaPorta, TE, Detroit Lions
Rostered: 66%
Sam LaPorta underwent back surgery and is currently on IR. Head coach Dan Campbell said he does not expect his tight end to play again this season.
There’s an outside chance LaPorta could return in the NFL playoffs. But he is definitely out for the remainder of the regular season. Thus, he can be dropped.
Cade Otton, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rostered: 50%
Fantasy managers seem to have forgotten that Cade Otton has never been a must-roster tight end. The only reason he was ever picked up last season is that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sustained a bunch of injuries to their wide receivers. It was the same situation this season.
Now, the Bucs have most of their guys back. At the very least, they have enough that Otton is back to being “Cardio Cade.” Why Cardio Cade? Because he runs a bunch of routes and never gets targeted.
Otton has a total of 14 targets over his last three games. He’s caught a combined eight passes for 58 yards. He’s scored more than 8.0 fantasy points once in his last five games.
With Baker Mayfield not playing well and Emeka Egbuka gobbling up uncatchable targets, there’s nothing for Otton to do.