Should You Add Jeremy McNichols, Braelon Allen, Gus Edwards, Other Dropped Fantasy Football Players?

We are at the end of the fantasy football regular season. With six crucial teams on bye in what is likely a must-win week for plenty of fantasy managers, there will likely be valuable players popping up on waiver wires this week. These players can make or break your season, so it's important to make sure you prioritize the right options.

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. Here are this week’s leaders in EDI:

    

A moment of silence for the top two names on this list, who are both done for the season with injuries. After them, however, we have some interesting names worth keeping an eye out for. Let’s get into it!

TE Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints

Taysom is done for the year with an ACL injury. At 34 years old, his unique career might also be coming to a close. He's obviously droppable in all formats. 

RB Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

I’m not ready to be quite as pessimistic about CMC’s prospects for 2025 and beyond as I am shout Hill, but the consensus first-overall pick is also done for at least the rest of the regular season. Unless you just want to stash him on your IR and get him a ring, leave McCaffrey on waivers. 

RB Jeremy McNichols, Washington Commanders

Now we get into the real meat of this article, and McNichols is someone worth considering on the waiver wire. As I discussed in my Week 14 RB Waiver Wire breakdown, the Commanders’ box score, in which Chris Rodriguez racked up 13 carries, is misleading. Prior to garbage time, McNichols was the clear RB2 behind Brian Robinson with Austin Ekeler on IR.

Whether that RB2 role will turn into fantasy relevance for McNichols is yet to be seen. We know this backfield can theoretically support two RBs, as both Ekeler and Robinson were able to put up numbers, but McNichols doesn’t have Ekeler’s pass-catching ability or nose for the end zone. In shallower leagues, he’s droppable, but I’d snag him if he is available in deeper formats. At the very least, he’s a valuable handcuff on one of the league’s better offenses. 

RB Braelon Allen, New York Jets

If Allen was dropped in your league, add him immediately. He was already one of the league’s most valuable handcuffs, and Breece Hall’s knee issue doesn’t seem entirely trivial. If the Jets shut down their young star with nothing left to play for, Allen would be a league-winner. 

RB Gus Edwards, Los Angeles Chargers

On the one hand, I understand why managers might be dropping Gus Edwards. His usage in the Chargers’ first week without J.K. Dobbins was disappointing, as he totaled just six carries and one target. Kimani Vidal and Hassan Haskins were also both involved enough that it is clear they will be cutting into Edwards’ workload going forward.

However, Edwards is definitely still worth rostering. This was a bad game for the Chargers’ offense as a whole, and he should be more involved in better game scripts. More importantly, he is the RB1 on an NFL offense. That alone makes him worth rostering in all formats, which is even more true given that the Chargers’ offense is solid, at the very least. 

RB Jordan Mason, San Francisco 49ers

Like his teammate CMC, Mason is also headed to the IR, with a high-ankle sprain. Unlike McCaffrey, Mason isn’t necessarily done for the year, but he isn’t eligible to return until Week 18. For the vast majority of leagues, that means he is out for the entire fantasy playoffs. Even if your league does play in Week 18, would you really want to start him in his first week back given how shady Kyle Shanahan has been about injury situations this year? 

RB Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs

With Isiah Pacheco back, Kareem Hunt’s time as a must-start RB is over. However, the veteran was still solidly involved in Week 14, even with Pacheco active. Hunt led the Kansas City backfield with a 42% snap share, tied Pacheco with seven carries, and saw three targets on a 37% route participation rate.

Now, I don’t expect that usage to last as Pacheco gets eased back in. But Hunt may remain just involved enough to provide deep-league flex value. And stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but he’s at the very least a valuable handcuff in case Pacheco were to miss more time. Add Hunt if he was dropped in your league following Pacheco’s return.

WR Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens

Rashod Bateman was already a fringe fantasy-viable receiver, and then he injured his knee in the Ravens’ loss to the Eagles. Luckily, his injury is reportedly “not a long-term thing,” and he may be ready to return as soon as Week 15 when the Ravens are back off their bye. Still, in most formats, Bateman is a very replaceable WR. Once you consider that he is injured, on bye, and heading into a couple of non-ideal matchups, I wouldn’t rush to add him if he is available.

WR Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns

Now, here is someone I would rush to add. Tillman missed the Browns’ Week 13 contest with a concussion, but he should likely return in Week 14. Prior to his concussion, Tillman was competing with Jerry Jeudy for the WR1 role in this Cleveland offense. And, in case you missed it, Jeudy showed the world on Monday Night Football how valuable that role is with Jameis Winston under center.

In his four healthy games with Amari Cooper not on the Browns, Tillman averaged 15.6 Half-PPR points per game on a 21% target share. He also saw an excellent 31% air yards share and a 26% first-read target share. Every single one of those numbers was the best among Cleveland’s receivers. Jeudy may have taken advantage of his absence to move up the pecking order, but Tillman can still be fantasy-viable as Cleveland’s WR2 as long as Winston is slinging it. Add him immediately if he is available in your league.

Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasySP. Find him on Twitter @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.