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 3 fantasy football cut list?
Who should you cut in fantasy football in Week 3?
The Week 3 fantasy football cut list consists of a number of running backs and wide receivers. There are five rookies in total on this week’s cut list, including three RBs who once carried much preseason hype. Note that all roster percentages are from Yahoo.
Trey Lance, QB, San Francisco 49ers (82% rostered)
I’m sure by the time you read this, Trey Lance’s roster percentage will be much lower. Unfortunately, Lance broke his ankle early in the 49ers’ game against the Seahawks. He will undergo surgery and is done for the season. Sadly, he can be safely released.
Rex Burkhead, RB, Houston Texans (37% rostered)
Just one week after being a priority waiver wire pickup, Rex Burkhead finds himself on the cut list. Lovie Smith said the team would utilize Dameon Pierce more in Week 2.
He was telling the truth. Pierce carried the ball 15 times, which was 15 times more than Burkhead. Although Burkhead is still the passing down back (he saw three targets), having no rushing role renders him a difficult player to keep in fantasy.
By no means is Burkhead a must-drop, but if you need someone to cut to pick up this week’s top waiver adds, don’t fret about releasing Burkhead.
Kenyan Drake, RB, Baltimore Ravens (16% rostered)
It’s abundantly clear the Ravens can’t run the ball with their current backs.
In Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins, Kenyan Drake carried the ball six times for eight yards. He saw no targets.
J.K. Dobbins practiced fully all week leading up to the game. He probably could have played, but the Ravens are being extra cautious with their main back. After Drake’s performance against the Dolphins, I expect Dobbins to be active in Week 3.
Isiah Pacheco, RB, Kansas City Chiefs (29% rostered)
There’s still some value in Isiah Pacheco as a handcuff. If Clyde Edwards-Helaire were to get hurt, Pacheco would have a pretty sizable role on early downs. However, Pacheco has no standalone value.
He carried the ball just two times for six yards and played a total of five snaps. Pacheco is a solid player, and I have confidence he could produce if asked to. He’s just not going to be asked to unless CEH gets hurt. You can safely drop him.
Rachaad White, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (34% rostered)
Similar to Pacheco, Rachaad White still has value as a handcuff. If Leonard Fournette missed any time, White would likely be the primary back and be startable in fantasy. But, much like Pacheco, he has no value while Fournette is healthy.
Fournette entered the Bucs’ Week 2 contest a little banged up. He was limited all week with a hamstring issue. I thought the Bucs might be a little careful with Fournette, and we would see some more White. Instead, Fournette played 86% of the snaps. White played a total of nine.
While you don’t need to drop him because he’s a very valuable handcuff, know that if you need a roster spot, White is not providing any value unless Fournette gets hurt.
Romeo Doubs, WR, Green Bay Packers (28% rostered)
I probably could put every wide receiver on the Packers here. Green Bay said they were going wide receiver by committee, and, well, they were telling the truth.
Romeo Doubs was a nice preseason story, but he’s still a day three rookie. He saw five targets in Week 1 and three targets in Week 2. I don’t foresee him ever being consistently fantasy relevant.
Kenny Golladay, WR, New York Giants (14% rostered)
Normally, when someone is only rostered in 14% of leagues, I’d say that’s good enough. There are pretty deep leagues out there. But I’m on a quest to get Golladay’s roster percentage down to 0%, which is where it should’ve been all along.
After catching just two passes in Week 1, Golladay played just two snaps in Week 2. If you ask me, that’s two too many.
Giants head coach Brian Daboll said, “We are just going to keep rolling guys and play the guys we think are going to give us the best chance — and the other guys have to be ready to go as backups.”
Reading between the lines, Daboll knows Golladay has no business being on an NFL field in the year 2022 and is coaching accordingly. He also has no business on fantasy rosters in any league format of any size. Drop him yesterday.
Skyy Moore, WR, Kansas City Chiefs (23% rostered)
I’m such a huge fan of Skyy Moore as a player. He’s going to be good and a very productive fantasy receiver…eventually. Right now, he’s the Chiefs’ WR5. He’s behind JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mecole Hardman, and Justin Watson.
Moore played just two snaps on Thursday night and, unsurprisingly, didn’t touch the ball. He’s simply not part of this offense, and he’s not particularly close to mattering when it comes to fantasy football relevance.
He may emerge completely unprompted at any given moment, but until that happens, it’s hard to justify keeping him on your bench.
George Pickens, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (49% rostered)
There’s no denying George Pickens’ talent. One day, the man is going to be a dominant wide receiver. But that day is not today, and it’s probably not anytime soon.
Pickens has commanded exactly three targets in his first two games. He’s caught just one pass in each.
Mitch Trubisky isn’t really capable of supporting multiple fantasy-relevant pass-catchers. Diontae Johnson is the dominant force in this passing attack, and no one really comes close.
Pat Freiermuth appears to be second, with Chase Claypool third. You are not going to have any luck with Trubisky’s fourth receiving option…and that’s if we don’t count Najee Harris as being fourth.
Pickens’ time will come, but right now, he’s just burning a roster spot on your bench. Feel free to let him go.
Hunter Henry, TE, New England Patriots (53% rostered)
It’s difficult to recommend cutting tight ends because anyone with a pulse is generally worth starting. Hunter Henry caught two of three targets for 53 yards in Week 1. He followed that up with no catches on one target in Week 2. Mac Jones just doesn’t look his way.
Henry was out-snapped by Jonnu Smith and ran just 22 routes. This passing attack only has room for really one fantasy-relevant pass catcher. That role belongs to Jakobi Meyers. You can drop Henry.
Cole Kmet, TE, Chicago Bears (70% rostered)
After Week 1, it was important not to overreact. Well, we’re now through two weeks, and Cole Kmet has zero receptions on two total targets.
Kmet played 35 snaps but ran just 15 routes. Despite a negative game script throughout, Justin Fields attempted a mere 11 passes. No one can be fantasy-relevant in that environment.
I liked Kmet coming into this year, but fantasy managers who endured back-to-back goose eggs need to find someone else.