Week 16 Fantasy Football Drop Candidates: Patrick Mahomes, D'Andre Swift, Marvin Harrison Jr., Zach Ertz and More

Adding players off the fantasy football waiver wire is a massive part of the season, but it can be just as important to drop the correct players.

Let’s go over some drop candidates at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end as week 16 of the season gets rolling.

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Quarterbacks

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

We’ll start with the biggest name here. Mahomes suffered a mild ankle sprain in week 15 and is considered week to week. I wrote about Mahomes in length earlier today, but didn’t go into how to approach Mahomes as a fantasy player.

I would not drop Mahomes instantly, but if he does end up getting ruled out for week 15, then I’d be in favor of that move. He isn’t going to help your fantasy team at all this week, and then even if he ends up playing in week 17, a tough matchup against the Steelers makes him a borderline starting option anyways.

Fantasy owners might drop Mahomes even if he does play in week 16 because he’s been a borderline top-10 fantasy QB this season. If you drop Mahomes, target a quarterback with a little more favorable schedule ahead.

Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks

Smith also got injured in week 15, tweaking his knee. The team is hopeful he can play in week 16, but with tough matchups against the Vikings (week 16) and the Bears (week 17), it probably makes most sense to drop Smith for a better option.

He’s been a better deep-league starting option most of the season, and his knee injury solidifies that for the last couple weeks of the fantasy season. There should be some sparsely-owned fantasy QBs out there with much more favorable matchups the next couple weeks to try instead.

Running Backs

D'Andre Swift, Chicago Bears

Outside the injured David Montgomery (who is out for the season), the only big drop candidate I see among any heavily-owned running backs is Swift. He hasn’t scored over 10 PPR fantasy points in four straight games, and his schedule ahead isn’t looking very favorable.

I get that it can be hard to move on from a starting running back, but I don’t think he’ll be a very good starting option in either of the next two weeks, so I’d rather move on and use that roster spot on someone else. His week 16 test against the Lions is a very tough one, while his week 17 clash with the Seahawks is slightly below average.

Swift has been playing through injuries, and the Bears’ offense just hasn’t been very good overall. It’s capped Swift’s fantasy ceiling and made him a below-average weekly fantasy option. If I were in a standard league, I’d prefer to move on from Swift before this week’s games kicked off.

Wide Receivers

Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts

This one hurts to write, as Downs helped a lot of fantasy owners earlier in the season. He came back from an injury and played in week 15, but only went for 6.2 PPR fantasy points.

The Colts’ fantasy players are hard to trust because of the inconsistent play of quarterback Anthony Richardson. Most of Downs’ biggest fantasy duds have come with Richardson starting, and that again would be a reason to move on from Downs.

The Colts’ wideout also has some tougher matchups coming, so there’s another reason to move on. A week 16 clash with the Titans is one of the toughest in the league, and a week 17 date with the Giants isn’t much better.

I think fantasy owners would be better served dropping Downs and filling that roster spot with a player with a more favorable schedule ahead. I know it’ll be hard to do seeing some of Downs’ fantasy performances, but I’d rather have a starting option for the next two weeks than hold a player who just got back from an injury and has tough matchups.

Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals

It’s wild to even type Harrison’s name here after how high of a draft pick he was at the start of the season. If your fantasy team is still alive in the playoffs, then props to you for surviving without Harrison doing much all season.

Harrison scored 5.2 PPR fantasy points last week, marking his seventh time this season in single digits as a fantasy performer. It’s not all his fault, but the production simply isn’t there, and it’s extremely hard to put him in a starting lineup right now.

He has pretty average matchups against the Panthers (week 16) and Rams (week 17) coming up, but at this point, I don’t know how many fantasy owners are going to be able to trust him in a standard league. Even if he has a decent showing in week 16 (after probably riding the fantasy bench in most leagues), will you be able to trust him for a week 17 start?

I’d rather drop Harrison and try my chances with a player with a more favorable schedule ahead, or simply more consistent fantasy results over the past several games. 

Darnell Mooney, Atlanta Falcons

This is also a pretty wild name to throw in here considering some of the fantasy performances he’s had, but considering how the Falcons’ offense looks right now, it’s honestly hard to trust any fantasy pass catchers on the roster. I’d throw Ray-Ray McCloud and Kyle Pitts in with Mooney, and really only trust Drake London down the stretch.

Mooney didn’t have a catch on Monday night. He’s been dealing with injuries too, but has single-digit fantasy performances in three of his past four contests played. He did have a 20.2-point showing in week 13, but one good showing in a month span is not exactly encouraging for fantasy owners.

The Falcons’ receivers have tougher matchups in week 16 (Giants) and week 17 (Commanders), and based on how things have looked over the past month, it’s going to be tough to trust any of them in either matchup.

That means it might be time to drop Mooney, McCloud and Pitts, and look for some players who have turned in more consistent, positive results of late.

Tight Ends

Zach Ertz, Washington Commanders

Ertz is dealing with a concussion as week 16 opens up, and that puts his status for this weekend in serious jeopardy. 

Even if he does play this week, a tough matchup against the Eagles means Ertz isn’t the best starting option. Week 17 against the Falcons is a similarly tough matchup, so instead of hoping Ertz not only overcomes the concussion but also defies the numbers and produces big numbers, I’d drop him now and target a tight end with more favorable games over the next couple weeks.

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots

If you are all about playing matchups, dropping Henry is maybe a good idea. He has tough matchups in week 16 (Bills) and week 17 (Chargers).

Henry has been a borderline top-10 fantasy PPR tight end this season, so I understand that this would be a hard drop to make, but Henry’s numbers also don’t really pop off the page either. He’s scored in single digits as a fantasy performer in four of the past seven games and is coming off a 6.5-point performance in week 15.

There’s likely some waiver wire tight ends with more favorable matchups the next couple weeks, and with Henry not producing a ton anyways, I like the idea of moving off Henry and instead turning to some players with higher upsides moving forward.