Should You Add Demarcus Robinson, Derek Carr, Isaiah Likely, Other Dropped Fantasy Football Players?

Oftentimes, the best pickup of a fantasy football season isn’t a player that went undrafted. Instead, it’s someone who was initially selected but is dropped by an impatient manager after a bad week or two. It’s important to keep an eye on players being dropped in your leagues, but sometimes valuable players can slip through the cracks.

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 with the Assistant, you can see which players have become available in your particular league. Here are this week’s leaders in EDI:

This is a relatively quiet week for dropped players. Two of the top three and four of the top 10 players in EDI are last week’s most popular streaming defenses. But there are still some players here who are being given up on too soon. Let’s break down which of these players are worth snagging from your impatient leaguemates:

Demarcus Robinson, Los Angeles Rams

It’s not too surprising that managers are giving up on Robinson. Even with both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua sidelined, he caught just one pass for 32 yards against the 49ers. Five other Rams had more receptions than he did. However, I’m not ready to give up on Robinson just yet. He still led LA in routes run and posted an elite 42.1% air yards share. He’s not exactly a must-add, but he’s probably the best waiver receiver available if he was dropped in deep leagues. 

Cam Akers, Houston Texans

Akers, a popular add last week with Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce sidelined, is likely being dropped because managers expect one of his fellow RBs to return from injury this week. However, neither Pierce nor Mixon has returned to practice yet as of Wednesday. That means Akers is likely in line for his second straight start after posting a 44% snap share and 64% rush share in Week 3. With the Texans likely to bounce back against an 0-3 Jaguars team, Akers will be a great flex play — check your waivers to see if he is available. 

Update: Pierce is expected to return. Akers is no longer worth rostering, but check your waivers for Pierce.

Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens

How the mighty have fallen. Just two weeks ago, Likely was the hottest player in fantasy football, commanding first waiver priorities and huge chunks of FAAB. Since his breakout Week 1 performance, Likely has totaled just three catches for 30 yards, and many managers are already sending him back where he came from. Unlike the first two names on this list, Likely is not someone I would necessarily rush to add if he was dropped in your league. His Week 1 performance was always unsustainable. Through three weeks, his route participation rate is below 50%, a role too small to trust him as a weekly starter. On the other hand, something is clearly up with Mark Andrews, who ran just four routes in Week 3. Given the state of the tight end position, it’s not a terrible idea to hold Likely for at least one more week and monitor his usage — after all, his one massive game still has him ranked as the TE4 overall despite his two straight duds. But I also don’t blame anyone who wants to use that bench slot on someone else.  

Zamir White, Las Vegas Raiders

White has had a miserable start to the season, averaging just 4.1 Half-PPR points per game. With a 58% rush share, he isn’t seeing the workload many were expecting, and he hasn’t been efficient with the carries he does get, averaging just 3.2 yards per attempt. Especially with the Raiders being surprisingly pass-heavy and ranking fourth in the league in pass rate over expected, White’s combination of usage and efficiency is not going to cut it. Even worse, White is also losing out on goal-line attempts, having played only two of the Raiders’ 12 snaps within the 10-yard line. Combine that with him, as expected, not playing much of a receiving role, and we have an essentially useless fantasy asset. With all that said, White is still (barely) the Raiders’ lead RB. In deep leagues, starting running backs should not be on the wavier wire. In shallow leagues, though, feel free to let him go. 

Colby Parkinson, Los Angeles Rams

Like Robinson, Parkinson has failed to take advantage of the target vacuum in the Rams’ offense. However, Parkinson has a few key advantages over Robinson. For one, he plays the tight end position, where fantasy standards have never been lower. For another, he tied for the team lead in targets on Sunday, catching three of five for 21 yards. He’s by no means a must-add if he’s been dropped, but I’d certainly consider targeting him if you are desperate for TE help.

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots

However, I’d check your waiver wire for Henry first. Although it has only translated to the one big game, Henry still leads the Patriots in targets. The only other tight end in the league who can claim to lead their team in targets is Trey McBride, and even he is tied with Marvin Harrison Jr. at 21. Henry may have another down week against the 49ers, but he still should be a fringe TE1 the rest of the way. 

Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints

After scoring over 40 real-life points and 20 fantasy points in each of his first two games, Carr came back to Earth on Sunday, finishing with 7.98 fantasy points as the Saints lost to the Eagles. However, I’m not willing to dismiss this Klint Kubiak offense as a two-week wonder just yet. Carr should be scooped up if he is dropped in deeper leagues where quality QB play is scarce.  

Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints

Shaheed joined his quarterback in letting managers down, finishing with a big fat zero fantasy points in Week 3. Although he’s still the WR21 on the season, I can see why some fantasy players may be willing to give up on him. There’s a very easy narrative to spin that Shaheed is still an unreliable big-play merchant, just one who happened to hit on a big play in each of the first two weeks. However, I believe that is overlooking some other positive indicators in Shaheed’s start to the season. The speedster has a 21.5% target share and an elite 47.2% air yards share. In 2023, those numbers were just 13.6% and 23.5%, respectively. His usage has changed, and he should be able to provide more consistent fantasy production going forward. Add him immediately if he becomes available in your league.

Other Priority Adds With Positive EDI

• RB Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers

• WR Christian Kirk, Jacksonville Jaguars

• WR Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions

• RB Tank Bigsby, Jacksonville Jaguars

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