Week 9 Fantasy Football Drop Candidates: Anthony Richardson, Zack Moss, Tutu Atwell and More
You can consider dropping these players when working your waiver wire this week.
Quarterbacks
Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
Richardson is a terrible NFL quarterback and there is no way that the Colts just continue running him out there week after week. It's getting to the point that starting him over Joe Flacco is becoming unfathomable.
This coaching staff and front office are going to lose the locker room if they stick with Richardson at the expense of the entire team. He is simply that bad.
The upside everyone expected from him will not be nearly frequent enough to warrant him being in your starting lineup. The downside is far greater. Cut him and let someone else ruin their week banking on his upside.
Update: While I was writing this article, news came across that Richardson has in fact been benched and Flacco will be the starter moving forward. There is now absolutely no reason not to drop him.
Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets
Every week, we tell you that Rodgers stinks and you should drop him, and every week people on social media continue to agonize over the idea of dropping him. There is no more upside or potential. No, Davante Adams isn't going to change things for the Jets or Rodgers.
He is an old man who is well past his prime and he's never going to be a good fantasy option again. The Jets gambled on him still being a Hall of Fame caliber player and it was a disastrous mistake that will cost everyone involved their jobs.
They then doubled down and went all in right up until the past few weeks when they brought in Adams and caved to Haason Reddick. Things will only get worse from here in New York and Rodgers will be out of the league after this season.
Running Backs
Zack Moss, Cincinnati Bengals
Moss continues to see his workload decrease week after week. In Week 8, he saw just five carries which he turned into 11 yards.
Chase Brown has surpassed him as the primary back in Cincy and it's now safe to move on from Moss. If the Bengals lose next week, Moss, along with Tee Higgins, could even become trade candidates at the deadline.
Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns
Nick Chubb hasn't looked great, nevertheless, he is getting enough volume to make it clear that he is going to be the top guy in Cleveland for the remainder of the season.
Even in the best-case scenario, Ford is the 1b to Chubb's 1a on an offense that is no longer good at running the ball and is rarely in a positive game script. Get Ford off your team now. All he's doing is clogging up a roster spot.
Audric Estime, Denver Broncos
We all hoped the rookie would get a shot at the starting job in Denver after suffering for years through the Javonte Williams' experience. After two solid weeks from Williams, he was back to giving us nightmares in Week 8.
Unfortunately, Estime saw just one of the team's 32 carries on Sunday, which makes it safe to cut him loose. We all assumed Sean Payton couldn't just continue to watch Williams struggle, especially against the Carolina Panthers who can't stop anybody on the ground ever. We all were wrong.
Wide Receivers
Tutu Atwell, Los Angeles Rams
With Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back, Atwell is essentially useless. There could be random weeks when Atwell makes a big play or Demarcus Robinson has a few catches, but all of those secondary wideouts are now droppable in almost all fantasy leagues.
This will be the Kupp and Nacua show with Kyren Williams getting plenty of work. There just aren't enough balls to go around for anyone else to be a trusted start even for a single week.
Trey Palmer, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
We came into Week 8 not knowing who would emerge as the top wideout in Tampa and we exited Week 8 feeling the same exact way. However, we did learn who is not going to be an option and that's Palmer.
He finished eighth on the team with two targets and there is no reason to keep him on your roster. Palmer was already the third option at wideout on this team when we did waivers this week. You made a low-risk move and took a chance to see if Palmer could be the guy who popped. Now that he didn't, you can cut your losses and move on.
Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos
In a game in which Bo Nix threw the ball 37 times and put up 284 yards and three TDs, Franklin caught one of two targets for six yards. It's hard enough to trust any wideout on this team, but you definitely can't trust Frankin after that.
Despite the occasional disappearing act, Courtland Sutton is still the top guy in this passing attack. Even if Franklin does have a decent game every now and then, there will be no way to predict them and you'll lose yourself weeks chasing the points following his solid weeks.
