Jauan Jennings, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jalen Tolbert, and Jacoby Meyers. Which one would you bench, hold, cut, or trade?
Welcome to Week 6 of the 2024 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.
This week's roundtable features these four topics:
- Start, Hold, Cut, or Trade: The RB Edition
- Bench, Hold, Cut, or Trade: The WR Edition (see below)
- For Real, Fool's Gold: The WR Edition
- October Rebound Candidates
Let's roll.
Bench-Hold-Cut-Trade WR Edition
Matt Waldman: Assign each action to a receiver listed below.
Go.
Jason Wood: Jalen Tolbert tops my list. The Cowboys can't run the ball, and their defense is much weaker than in previous seasons. This means Dak Prescott will be throwing a lot, and with Brandin Cooks on injured reserve, Tolbert's role is set to expand. He caught the game-winning touchdown this week and should continue to be a key part of the passing attack alongside CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson. He's on my bench and will use him as needed.
JuJu Smith-Schuster just had a huge game on Monday Night Football and has quickly found himself back in Patrick Mahomes II's good graces. While there's speculation the Chiefs may add a veteran receiver, until that happens, Smith-Schuster remains a solid option, especially in PPR formats. Despite concerns about the offense, the Chiefs are 5-0, and with Travis Kelce, Smith-Schuster, and Kareem Hunt performing like it's 2020 again, we can expect a familiar game script. However, if the Chiefs trade for a veteran like Amari Cooper, all bets are off. I'm holding onto him as a flex option.
Jauan Jennings was a great fill-in, but his days of fantasy relevance are over unless both Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel Sr. get injured. It's difficult for a WR3 to maintain fantasy value, especially on a team that runs as much as it passes. I'm cutting him.
Jakobi Meyers stands to benefit most if Davante Adams is traded, but the Raiders' offense is in disarray. Losing Adams would only worsen things. The quarterback situation is bleak, head coach Antonio Pierce feels like a one-and-done, and the team's overall vibe is bad. I'll be offering him as a throw-in for a potential trade.
Gary Davenport: Given the sad state of some of my rosters, none of these players would be a Cut right now, but if it had to be one it's Smith-Schuster. He's off this week, and Monday's explosion feels a lot like one of those monster weeks Sammy Watkins would post in season-openers a few years back before vanishing for a month.
Trading is all about striking while the iron is hot, and none of these wideouts are hotter than Tolbert. Coming off a big game, Brandin Cooks' corpse is on IR—the hype machine is cranking out confetti and glitter. Tolbert's also the least-proven player of this quartet. His fantasy value may well never be higher than at this moment. He's my Trade.
My Hold would be Meyers. It's not a hard argument to make—from all indications, he's about to be the No. 1 wide receiver for a team that will be trailing with regularity. Even with the Raiders' issues under center, the targets should be there--and we've seen Meyers make hay in garbage time before.
That leaves Jennings as the Bench. I'm not close to giving up on him just yet—his rapport with Brock Purdy is evident, and it's not like Deebo Samuel Sr. doesn't have an injury history. Last week's target share didn't inspire the warm and fuzzies though—although it's worth noting San Fran lost that game. Jennings = Victory. Can't argue with math.
Jeff Bell: Bench Jakobi Meyers. This has more to do with his quarterback situation than Meyers. I do not expect you to get much activity in the trade market for him, even if I like the player, as no one will want to buy into this Raiders quagmire. Gardner Minshew II can get the ball to his receivers to make them fantasy-relevant. That is about it.
I am more skeptical that Adian O'Connell has that ability. I am most skeptical that Antonio Pierce knows what he is doing. Still, Meyers may have the best opportunity of the group to be the primary target earner.
Hold JuJu Smith-Schuster. I will be the mark on this. Smith-Schuster fits his role in Kansas City perfectly and posted 933 yards in it two years ago. The argument can be made that he helped the Chiefs realize what they wanted out of that position, and then they went and drafted the young version of it in Rashee Rice. I at least want to find out if this is sustainable.
Cut Jauan Jennings. He's another player I like, but it is easy to see how depleted the 49ers were in his one relevant week. With Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel Sr., and George Kittle in the lineup, Jennings never hits your fantasy lineup.
Trade Jalen Tolbert. He has the opportunity to lock down the WR2 role in the Dallas offense with Brandin Cooks on IR. There is a lot of hypothetical upside. But in trades, you need to give to get. Often, the best trades sell the hypothetical upside to get a player with a more established track record.
Sam Wagman: Jakobi Meyers might be a viable flex candidate with Davante Adams on his way out of town, but that doesn't mean he will do much with it. Meyers has been at his best as a supplemental option, getting key catches over the middle and sometimes making his way into the end zone. He doesn't carry a lot of upside, though, which sort of nukes any trade value. Bench him.
JuJu Smith-Schuster gets the nod as the hold. It's easy to imagine what could happen with both Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice out for the season and no clear wide receiver to take the lead for Kansas City. Two seasons ago, Smith-Schuster received over 100 targets in this exact role for the Chiefs, and while he has underperformed, he could be flex-worthy. Plus, the option to trade him may arise with a few more solid weeks.
Given his skill level and ceiling, Jalen Tolbert may be having an unsustainable season, and it's best to trade him now. Despite the Cowboys not being deep at receiver at all, Tolbert's upside seems limited in an offense that will struggle most weeks to run the ball and establish an offensive identity.
Jauan Jennings had his week in the spotlight, but the whole of the 49ers' passing attack has returned to health, and he simply won't see enough action to be fantasy-relevant. It's time to cut bait on Jennings.
Phil Alexander: We'll always have Week 3, Jauan Jennings. Thanks for the memories. Unfortunately, Jennings' 50-point outburst was the result of Deebo Samuel Sr. and George Kittle missing a game and a choice matchup against an atrocious LA Rams defense. If you're holding Jennings on your bench, it's purely as injury insurance at this point, which is tough to do with bye weeks in full effect. Cut him.
Keep JuJu Smith-Schuster on the bench for now. Or, more likely, you'll need to add him off your waiver this week and then take a wait-and-see approach before starting him. Smith-Schuster was the best-suited receiver on Kansas City's roster to take over some of the looks Rashee Rice was getting.
Now that we've seen it play out for one game (to the tune of an 8-7-130-0 receiving line), it's fine to be optimistic. But Smith-Schuster has been a below-average NFL receiver for four years now. Your best hope is that he can approximate his 2022 production with the Chiefs - more or less a WR3 for fantasy. Let's see him prove it for another game or two before plugging him into lineups.
Jalen Tolbert is a third-year, former third-round pick who, by all accounts, had a great training camp. We saw the buzz carry over into the regular season, where he posted useful fantasy lines in half his games as the Cowboys' WR3.
With Brandin Cooks out of his way for at least three more games, Tolbert (10-7-87-1) got off to a stellar start in the WR2 role. Dallas will remain a pass-happy offense, and Tolbert will continue to see favorable coverage opposite CeeDee Lamb. If this ends as a lost season for Cooks, Tolbert will land on a high percentage of championship rosters. Hold onto him.
We've seen two games without Davante Adams in the Raiders lineup. The good news? Meyers has 19 targets. The bad news? He hasn't finished higher than WR35. Now is the time to dangle Meyers in front of a target-chasing manager in your league who sees Meyers as a potential WR2 once Adams gets traded. Meyers is a fine receiver, but he'll be miscast as a top banana, and the Raiders offense is putrid. Trade him for what you can get.
Waldman: Thanks for reading. Check out the links below for all of this week's roundtable topics:
- Start, Hold, Cut, or Trade: The RB Edition
- Bench, Hold, Cut, or Trade: The WR Edition
- For Real, Fool's Gold: The WR Edition
- October Rebound Candidates
Good luck!