Fantasy Football Week 15 Drop Candidates: Forget the names, focus on production
By Jennifer Eakins, 4for4
Special to Yahoo Sports
Our time in fantasy land is dwindling and it's all systems go for postseason play. Squads need to be trimmed of all the fat and what-ifs so they are streamlined for success over these next few weeks.
Below is a look at some players who can be dropped and sent packing as we head down the stretch of both the NFL and fantasy seasons.
[Week 15 Waiver Wire: Priority pickups at each position]
Matt Ryan, QB – Falcons (rostered in 85% of leagues)
Matt Ryan may have gotten you this far, as he did have some high-scoring weeks in the earlier part of the season. However, the Falcons quarterback has been trending downward since his team’s Week 10 bye. Ryan has put up fewer than 20 fantasy points in four consecutive contests and has thrown more balls to the other team (6) than touchdowns (4) in that same time frame.
Yes, Julio Jones has been out, which doesn’t help his signal-caller’s overall output, but even when the stud wideout was in the mix in Week 13, Ryan stumbled, completing just 19-of-39 passes, he also took three sacks and lost a fumble. The combination of a shoddy offensive line, poor play-calling and a carousel of injured receivers make Ryan eligible to be let go this week, particularly in single-QB formats.
[Visit 4for4, where 92% of subscribers made the playoffs, for more]
Joe Mixon, RB – Bengals (rostered in 85% of leagues)
Giovani Bernard was on this list in Week 13, based on the Bengals' inept offensive line and the offense as a whole’s inability to sustain drives, which posed limits on his volume. Joe Mixon is in the same boat in this Joe Burrow-less offense, except he may not even get a chance to play again in 2020.
The window to remove Mixon from the IR opened on Monday, but head coach Zac Taylor told reporters that wasn’t going to happen. He’s been trending towards not playing with only three contests remaining. At this point, hanging onto Mixon for that juicy Week 16 matchup against Houston, only to have him come in for limited snaps, doesn’t seem like it’s in the best interest of your roster.
You can save yourself the aggravation of deciding whether to start him or not if he actually does return by letting Mixon and the gut-punch of your lost first-round pick gently ride away into the fantasy sunset.
Leonard Fournette, RB – Buccaneers (rostered in 72% of leagues)
Leonard Fournette unknowingly bought a ticket for Space Mountain this season. First, he was overtly not wanted in Jacksonville, only to land in Tampa Bay, thinking he’d be heavily involved in the new Tom Brady-led offense. The 25-year-old back went from RB8 in half-PPR formats with 15.4 per game in 2019, to RB45, posting a mere 7.6 half-PPR points a clip this season.
Not only is he underperforming when given the chance, but last week Fournette was declared a late healthy scratch, allowing LeSean McCoy to swoop in and take his limited touches. At this point in the fantasy season, taking up a roster spot with a guy in the coach’s doghouse is not an ideal strategy. Fournette is still on 72% of Yahoo! rosters and should be replaced this week with a back with guaranteed usage.
Zack Moss, RB – Bills (rostered in 52% of leagues)
I thought Zack Moss was already in this column at some point this season, and I try not to have repeat droppables, but it seems he never made the final-cut list. Moss is someone I personally dropped earlier in 2020, only to have someone else scoop him up, to not get much from him, either. Moss sits at RB50 in half-PPR points per game through 14 weeks with a paltry 7.2. He does have a nice matchup this week against Denver if you are desperate for an RB3/RB4, but Moss can’t be trusted with everything on the line. Do your roster a solid and replace him with a back who’s trending up like Jeff Wilson, Carlos Hyde or Tony Pollard.
Jakobi Meyers, WR – Patriots (rostered in 35% of leagues)
There was a time a few short weeks ago that we thought Jakobi Meyers was going to bail the Patriots out in terms of fantasy relevance. It turns out his output was a mirage and both his floor and ceiling are non-existent in 2020’s version of the New England offense.
Even with a spark that Jarrett Stidham could provide if they decide to go with the second-year quarterback in any remaining games, the schedule isn’t friendly. Meyers gets Miami and Buffalo in the coming weeks, whose defensive units rank fifth and seventh, respectively, in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to the wideout position.
There are plenty of waiver wire options out there and fewer teams fighting for them, so letting go of Meyers and grabbing Tim Patrick, Keke Coutee or even Lynn Bowden Jr. could benefit your squad in the remaining weeks.
This story was originally published on 4for4.com
Follow Jennifer on Twitter @themondaymommy
Stay ahead with 4for4 Fantasy Football's accurate rankings, advanced tools and data-driven content.
A proud alumna of the UGA Grady College of Journalism, Jennifer Eakins has been working in the sports industry for well over a decade. She has had stints with CNN Sports, the Atlanta Hawks and the Colorado Rockies. Her first fantasy football draft took place in 1996 where she selected Ricky Watters with the first overall pick, and she has been a fantasy degenerate ever since.
