Roster management is the single most crucial in-season task for fantasy football players. Just as important as adding the right players is knowing when players need to go. Which players find themselves on our Week 1 fantasy football cut list?
All roster percentages are from Yahoo.
Who should you cut in fantasy football in Week 1?
Let’s go position by position and pinpoint players that no longer need to be on your fantasy roster.
Quarterbacks
Heading into Week 1, there are no quarterbacks that find themselves on the cut list. There will undoubtedly be quarterbacks here in the future, but before any games are played, I can’t argue with any of the quarterbacks rostered in more than even 25% of Yahoo leagues being on teams.
Running Backs
Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens (16% rostered)
It is admittedly difficult to recommend cutting anyone ahead of Week 1. After Week 1, the biggest challenge will probably be making sure this column isn’t too long. But right now, just about every drafted player has plausible upside.
One that doesn’t is Gus Edwards (Edwards currently sits as the RB60 in our 2022 fantasy PPR rankings). If you have available IR spots, of course, just throw Edwards into one of those and use the open spot to pick someone else up. This is for those of you who do not.
We know Edwards is out for at least the first four weeks of the season. Based upon the information we have from beat reporters, the veteran back is almost certainly going to be out longer than that. He reportedly will miss “a chunk” of the season. To me, that’s at least half.
Even when Edwards returns, at best, he will have a 40% snap share behind what should be, by then, a healthy J.K. Dobbins. There’s just not enough upside to justify burning a roster spot for over a month.
Marlon Mack, Houston Texans (11% rostered)
11% is far from a large number, but it’s also far too high. Marlon Mack is currently on the Texans’ practice squad. He landed there after the team cut him and no one claimed him off waivers. Clearly, the Texans do not view Mack as an important piece of their backfield.
There is a chance he could end up on the active roster on game days, but he would need at least two injuries in front of him to have any fantasy relevance. He may even need three. If you’re still rostering Mack, drop him and use the spot on someone with a chance to pop in Week 1.
Wide Receivers
Kenny Golladay, New York Giants (26% rostered)
Last season, Kenny Golladay played 14 games and scored zero touchdowns. He averaged just 6.4 PPR fantasy points per game.
Entering the 2022 season, his situation hasn’t gotten better. Daniel Jones is still his quarterback. Kadarius Toney enters the season as a clear starter. Sterling Shepard is already back and practicing as his recovery from a torn Achilles progresses. And rookie Wan’Dale Robinson has been the star of training camp. Also, Saquon Barkley is fully healthy.
To sum it up: Golladay has the same subpar starting quarterback and more target competition. Yes, he has a better coaching staff behind him, but Golladay looked completely cooked last season and has looked even worse in the preseason.
I understand the allure. He’s still under 29 years old and was a top-12 receiver just three years ago. But three years is a long time in the NFL. I think it’s over for Golladay and don’t see any upside in rostering him.
Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions (20% rostered)
The theory behind this is similar to Gus Edwards above. While I do think Jameson Williams possesses more upside than Edwards, we’re still talking about a rookie coming off a torn ACL here.
Williams hasn’t been able to practice with his teammates. Meanwhile, Jared Goff already has an incredible rapport with Amon-Ra St. Brown and is building one with D.J. Chark, and both D’Andre Swift and T.J. Hockenson will be heavily involved as well.
If and when Williams returns, he’s likely not going to suddenly be a high-impact player. It’s going to take time. Fantasy managers can’t be sitting on Williams for half the season, hoping he will matter at some point down the line.
If you have an IR spot to burn, just like with Edwards, there’s no harm in using it on Williams. If you don’t, you have to let him go.
Tight Ends
Mike Gesicki, Miami Dolphins (57% rostered)
Mike Gesicki was a consensus top-15 fantasy tight end entering the season. Even if he’s your starting tight end, I really think you can do better.
Of course, don’t just drop Gesicki for no reason — make sure you have a viable replacement tight end out there. But if you do, Gesicki’s roster spot is likely better served elsewhere.
Gesicki averaged 9.7 ppg last season, finishing as the TE14. The Dolphins added Tyreek Hill, Cedrick Wilson, and Chase Edmonds. Reports out of training camp are that Gesicki will be on the field less and blocking more when he is out there this season. This may seem like a bit of a rash decision now, but after Week 1, I don’t think it will be.