Week 1 Fantasy Football Droppables: Kyler Murray, DJ Chark, and More!
It's only Week 1. We're already dropping people? We sure are! We're always looking to make moves in fantasy football, and this is going to be a weekly spot where we look at some of the most widely-dropped players across fantasy leagues and decide whether you should (or shouldn’t) cut bait with them – due to either underperformance, injury, or otherwise.
We covered waiver adds already, but in order to pick up someone, you have to drop someone. And that isn’t a decision you should take lightly. We’ve all made drops we’ve come to regret.
So let’s take a look at some of the most dropped players this week and dig in to see if they’re actually drop-worthy.
As always, check out the fantasy assistant for personalized waiver wire recommendations and team analysis. Make moves based on projections, strengths and weaknesses, waiver alerts, and lots more.
Week 1 Fantasy Football Droppables
Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
I keep seeing Murray get drafted toward the late-middle of fantasy drafts, and I'm honestly not sure why. I get the upside, but we're also talking about a guy coming off a late-season ACL tear so it's unlikely we're going to see him at full strength this season. And that's if he comes back at all.
The Cardinals seem to be in full-on tank mode before the season even begins, so there's a chance we don't see Murray at all this year. If the goal is to tank, why would you bring back your franchise quarterback too early to A. risk him getting hurt again and B. risk winning some games?
Even if we operate under the assumption that Murray comes back fully healthy, he's not a lock to be a QB1. There are plenty of good QB2 options out there (Derek Carr, Bryce Young, Kenny Pickett, etc), you don't have have to carry them on your bench for at least four weeks.
Give yourself some flexibility and use the roster spot you might currently have Murray in on a higher upside player who can help you win over the first four weeks of the season.
Verdict: Drop
DJ Chark, WR, Carolina Panthers
I was on Chark earlier in the offseason, but I've moved off him a bit. As have most fantasy owners out there.
He's still rostered in more than half of ESPN leagues, but Chark is stuck battling Adam Thielen, Jonathan Mingo, Terrace Marshall, and Laviska Shenault for Bryce Young's targets. And that's not even getting into the fact that Young hasn't thrown one NFL pass yet.
Furthermore, Chark has been dealing with injuries as of late and is questionable heading into Week 1.
While Chark may end up having fantasy relevance this season, I think it's safe to throw him back onto waivers in most leagues if you're looking to add one of the players in our Week 1 waiver articles.
Verdict: Drop
Allen Lazard, WR, New York Jets
Lazard is in a similar boat to Chark in that he's battling for targets.
He's at least second in the Jets' pecking order behind Garrett Wilson, but you could also argue he'll end up as low as fourth or fifth behind players like Randall Cobb, Tyler Conklin, and Mecole Hardman.
All that said, his rapport with Aaron Rodgers combined with the loss of Corey Davis make Lazard an interesting fantasy asset to monitor through the first few weeks of the season.
If he ends up seeing a handful of targets each week, he can safely be dropped. But I think it's worth waiting to see what happens before you blindly cut bait.
Verdict: Hold
Zach Ertz, TE, Arizona Cardinals
Ertz has been a great fantasy asset over the years. And he was surprisingly good last year before tearing his ACL.
But it's a new year, and the Cardinals are shaping up to be a fantasy wasteland. And also, that ACL thing I just mentioned.
At 32 years old, it would be surprising to see Ertz thrown back into action quickly (he's already questionable for Week 1). And we also don't know who will be throwing him the ball yet.
While I think Ertz is worth holding onto in deeper leagues, you only have to start one tight end each week. The position is so deep that I don't think you're going to miss out on much if you need to use Ertz's roster spot on another position.
Verdict: Drop
Greg Dulcic, TE, Denver Broncos
The good news: Dulcic was very good as a rookie and finished as TE17 on the year.
The bad news: there's a new sheriff in town.
While Dulcic put up 33 catches for 411 yards and two touchdowns after finally seeing game action in Week 7 last year, new head coach Sean Payton seems to prefer Adam Trautman at the tight end position.
Dulcic will figure into the Broncos' plans as more of a receiving tight end, but Trautman's blocking ability will likely keep Dulcic off the field more than fantasy owners will like.
There's upside here, but there are enough options at the tight end position that you don't need to use a roster spot on Dulcic unless you're in a 12-plus team league with a lot of bench spots.
Verdict: Drop
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