Should You Add Blake Corum, Dalton Schultz, Ja'Lynn Polk, Other Dropped Fantasy Football Players?
Keep an eye out on your fantasy football waivers for these players who may have been dropped.
Oftentimes, the best pickup of a fantasy football season isn’t a player that went undrafted. Instead, it’s someone who was originally selected but is dropped by an impatient manager after a bad week or two. Especially with how unusually week this year’s Week 2 waiver options are, it’s more important than ever to be alert to who your leaguemates are giving up on.
Luckily, the Fantasy Assistant is here to help. The Fantasy Assistant uses Predictive Analytics to calculate Expected Drop Interest (EDI) for every player each week. EDI is an estimation of the percentage of leagues in which a player will be or has been dropped each week. If you sync your fantasy league, you will be able to see which of those players have become available in your particular league.
This week, there are some very interesting names with high EDIs, along with a few players best left to the wavier wire. Let’s break down which potentially dropped players are worth targeting.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
Far and away the leader in EWI this week, Corum has likely been dropped in many leagues, and it’s easy to see why. Some fantasy analysts were predicting that the third-round rookie would compete with Kyren Williams for the Rams’ lead back role, but that couldn’t have been further from the case on Sunday night. Not only did Corum not cut into Williams’ workload, he was behind Ronnie Rivers on the pecking order, not playing a single offensive snap.
However, I do think Corum is not someone to give up on just yet. Rookies sometimes take a few weeks to get involved — De’Von Achane was a healthy scratch in Week 1 of last year. At the very least, Corum should eventually pass up Rivers for the RB2 job. When that happens, he will be one of the league’s most valuable handcuffs. Any additional upside from cutting into Kyren’s workload is a bonus. Corum is absolutely worth adding if he has been dropped in your league.
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Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Schultz is second among position players in EWI after a three-target, 16-yard performance in Week 1. This isn’t one I’m going to argue with. For a tight end to be fantasy-relevant, they usually have to be one of the top two targets on their team. With three elite wide receivers on his team, Schultz will be lucky to be the Texans’ fourth target. Unless you’re truly desperate for tight end help (he does have a good matchup this week), Schultz can be ignored if someone in your league has dropped him.
Curtis Samuel, Buffalo Bills
Samuel’s Week 1 was very discouraging. Not only did he catch just two passes for 15 yards, he played on just 27% of snaps. We also saw none of the creative usage Samuel has seen in the pass that came with fantasy upside: Zero carries and zero snaps outside of traditional WR alignments.
In most leagues, that’s enough to give up on Samuel. However, in deeper PPR leagues, he’s worth holding for one or two more weeks. Samuel missed a large chunk of the preseason with a turf toe injury — there’s a chance his role would have been larger if he was fully healthy. If his snap share doesn’t trend up soon, he’s easily droppable. But I’d hold him another week just in case it does.
Ja'Lynn Polk, New England Patriots
Like Samuel, Polk’s Week 1 was underwhelming on all levels. His production, one catch on one target for six yards, was awful. And his underlying data wasn’t any better, as he was just fifth on the team in routes run. However, there is real reason for optimism here. For one, Polk is a rookie; there’s a good chance his role will grow as the season continues. For another, he graded as one of the best receivers in the league in FantasyPointsData’s separation score in Week 1. I wouldn’t put too much weight into that metric, especially in just a one-week sample, but it’s a reason for optimism. On a Patriots team that could really use someone emerging as a WR1, the second-rounder is absolutely worth holding if you have the room.
Jaleel McLaughlin, Denver Broncos
I honestly don’t understand why anyone would be dropping McLaughlin. Sure, he was very inefficient, posting 27 yards on 10 carries and just one yard on five receptions. The Broncos’ offense in general looked awful in Week 1. But McLaughlin seeing 15 touches, six more than Javonte Williams, is an incredible sign for his value going forward.
McLaughlin was expected to serve as a change-of-pace back behind Williams; instead, he was the Broncos’ main running back on Sunday. Williams still saw the majority of the most valuable snaps, including in the two-minute drill and short-yardage situations. But McLauhglin, who was very efficient as a rookie, is absolutely someone who should be rostered in all formats as the potential lead back on this offense.
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
The second tight end on this list, Kmet is unfortunately in the same situation as Schultz … but worse. Not only does his team have three talented receivers, but Caleb Williams certainly didn’t look ready to support an elite offense in his rookie debut. Even worse, Kmet ran just 11 routes in Week 1, 10 fewer than fellow tight end Gerald Everett. With multiple roadblocks between him and a fantasy-relevant role, Kmet is a waiver player in the vast majority of formats.
Other Priority Adds With Positive EDI
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Diontae Johnson, Carolina Panthers
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Rico Dowdle, Dallas Cowboys
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Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
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Trey Benson, Arizona Cardinals
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Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos
