Much of fantasy football's in-season team strategy centers around which players to pick up from the waiver wire or to target in the trade market. However, roster spots are a premium (and finite) resource. Cutting a player - or adding them to a trade - opens a roster spot for a key waiver wire addition or the flexibility to keep a currently injured player through a missed game or two. Here are the key players to cut or trade after Week 12:
*Roster Rate references data collected from myfantasyleague.com leagues*
SHALLOW FORMATS
*15-18 roster spots*
RB Dameon Pierce, Houston Texans
Why: RB35 in Roster Rate. Pierce returned from a three-game injury absence to a secondary role as Devin Singletary was the clear lead back against Jacksonville. Pierce was already stuck in a committee before the injury and rarely used in the passing game, but now Pierce has devolved to needing an injury to be a possible fantasy lineup consideration. Pierce was barely used in the passing game yet again this week.
RB Jaleel McLaughlin, Denver Broncos
Why: RB54 in Roster Rate. McLaughlin faded to the distant RB3 role in Week 12 as Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine collected 80% of the routes and 93% of the running back carries. McLaughlin does not even project as lineup viable if Williams were to miss time as Perine would dominate the receiving work.
RB Leonard Fournette, Buffalo Bills
Why: RB60 in Roster Rate. Still not active, Buffalo continues to see health and production from James Cook, Latavius Murray, and now Ty Johnson. Fournette would need two of those running backs to miss time for potential fantasy interest. Fournette is running out of time to be viable for the fantasy season, and Buffalo is trending towards not needing any playoff infusion of Fournette, considering their 6-6 record.
WR Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers
Why: WR60 in Roster Rate. Johnston has continued to frustrate fantasy teams even since Mike Williams has exited with a season-ending injury. Johnston has a high-water mark of 50 yards in a game, found the end zone once this season, and is averaging 9.0 yards per catch. All this while paired with Justin Herbert and vaulting up in snaps and routes in recent weeks.
MEDIUM DEPTH
*18-22 roster spots*
RB Rashaad Penny, Philadelphia Eagles
Why: RB71 in Roster Rate. Like the Leonard Fournette argument above, it is tough to see enough dominoes falling quickly enough for Penny to be a fantasy factor in the closing weeks. Penny is a healthy scratch behind three running backs in the presumed pecking order. Multiple injuries (or even three) are required before Penny is a lineup consideration.
RB Zamir White, Las Vegas Raiders
Why: RB70 in Roster Rate. The weekly trend has been for Ameer Abdullah to have a sizeable edge over Zamir White for RB2 work in the Raiders' running back rotation. While Abdullah is unlikely to see a feature-back role on the ground, his dominance over White in the passing game would be enough to render White a touchdown-or-bust fantasy option and still with only a modest amount of upside in a best-case scenario.
WR Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens
Why: WR68 Roster Rate. Bateman is attached to Lamar Jackson, but running consistently as the WR3/4 in the rotation and even Mark Andrews out over the past two games has produced meager results. Bateman has 31 yards over the span and has yet to score more than eight fantasy points in any game this season. Bateman also enters a Week 13 bye, which is not worth holding through, considering the lack of production and sand draining out of the fantasy hourglass this season.
WR Cedrick Wilson Jr., Miami Dolphins
Why: WR136 in Roster Rate. On the streaming radar over the past few weeks, Wilson faded well behind Braxton Berrios for the WR3 role in Miami in Week 12. Also, Berrios and Wilson combined for one target as Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle block out the target sun for Miami's passing game already.
TE Daniel Bellinger, New York Giants
Why: TE35 in Roster Rate. Bellinger looked like a volume-based streaming option when Darren Waller went down. However, the Giants have been such a low-volume passing attack that Bellinger has yet to have more than three targets in a game. In addition to having a Week 14 bye, Bellinger has been on the road to nowhere for the upside.
ROSTER SPOT PIVOTS
Who to pick up instead...
- RB67 Michael Carter, Arizona Cardinals
- RB76 Cordarrelle Patterson, Atlanta Falcons
- RB91 D'Ernest Johnson, Jacksonville Jaguars
- WR117 Greg Dortch, Arizona Cardinals
- TE44 Tanner Hudson, Cincinnati Bengals
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