As we head into Week 3, fantasy football managers face tough roster decisions. Several highly rostered players are underperforming or dealing with situations that make them droppable candidates.
From injury concerns to diminished roles, these players may be taking up valuable bench space that could be better used elsewhere. It’s time to evaluate whether holding onto these struggling assets is worth the opportunity cost in your fantasy football lineup.
Cut: Austin Ekeler, Washington Commanders
Rostered: 45%
Much like Joe Burrow, this one has nothing to do with performance. Austin Ekeler wasn’t lighting the world on fire, but still had a fantasy-relevant role.
One of the true good guys in the sport, it would be really sad to see this be the end for the once elite RB1. Ekeler tore his Achilles tendon in last week’s loss to the Green Bay Packers. Given his age, this may end his career.
Ollie Gordon II, Miami Dolphins
Rostered: 26%
We are inching closer and closer to the end of the Mike McDaniel era in Miami. The Miami Dolphins lost again, falling 33-27 to the New England Patriots. They are almost sure to fail at Buffalo in Week 3. If they fall at home to the lowly New York Jets in Week 4, that will likely be it for their head coach.
The point in bringing this up is that the team is in disarray. Ollie Gordon II is the presumptive handcuff to De’Von Achane. But he has no standalone value. The only scenario in which Gordon could be helpful is if Achane gets hurt. Even if that happens, are we really confident in Gordon as a fantasy starter?
You can certainly hang onto Gordon if you have the spot. His name is on the cut list more to let fantasy managers know this pure handcuff — this speculative handcuff — does not absolutely need to be on fantasy rosters.
Braelon Allen, New York Jets
Rostered: 65%
Would you look at that? It turns out talent does matter.
One week after Breece Hall suffered through a 50% snap share, the Jets realized he’s their most talented running back, and it isn’t close. Hall’s snap share shot up to 63% against the Bills.
More importantly, Hall dominated touches. He only saw 10 carries because the Jets weren’t even remotely competitive. But Braelon Allen was limited to just two.
If Hall were to go down, Allen would be the starter. But he wouldn’t step into Hall’s role. This would be a committee between him and Isaiah Davis.
Allen is worth holding because he has Flex potential in the event of a Hall injury, but fantasy managers should not feel wrong about dropping him if necessary.
Kaleb Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers
Rostered: 74%
It is so incredibly over for Kaleb Johnson…and it hasn’t even begun. Typically, I would caution against dropping rookies early in the season, especially ones we knew we’d have to wait on. I am willing to make an exception for Johnson.
The third-round pick was always going to need time to earn a role. The problem is that, over the past two weeks, he has not made progress and has actually gone in the opposite direction.
In Week 1, Johnson was given a single carry. It went for negative yardage. In Week 2, Johnson’s lone carry went for one yard, but that’s unimportant. What is important is how he proves himself to his coaches.
A great way to avoid this is by muffing a kickoff and then not knowing the rules. This leads to him ignoring the live ball behind him and allowing the Seattle Seahawks to recover the ball in the end zone, gifting his opponents six points. You have to imagine the rookie got an earful from Mike Tomlin on the sidelines after that one.
The Seahawks just recovered a kickoff in the end zone for a touchdown!
SEAvsPIT on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/0J1gEbqx4r
— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025
Johnson is still a young player with plenty of time to earn a role. He’s just so far away right now. If you can’t afford to sit on him for what could be two months, if it ever happens at all, you can drop him.
Tank Bigsby, Philadelphia Eagles
Rostered: 57%
When the Philadelphia Eagles traded for Tank Bigsby, they first said they viewed him as a quality kick returner and special teamer. Yet, some people immediately concluded that he would be the RB2 and the handcuff to Saquon Barkley.
It made perfect sense for fantasy managers who drafted Bigsby to wait and see what would happen. Now that we know, Bigsby is an easy drop.
The Eagles’ real RB2, Will Shipley, missed last week’s contest with an oblique injury. If Bigsby were ever able to establish himself as the handcuff, it would be when all he has to do is beat out AJ Dillon. He could not. He didn’t play a single offensive snap. Nothing more needs to be said.
Jaydon Blue, Dallas Cowboys
Rostered: 22%
Javonte Williams dominated the Dallas Cowboys’ backfield in Week 1. But he didn’t exactly tear it up on the ground. That left the door open for another underwhelming outing in Week 2 to convince coaches that Jaydon Blue should be active soon.
Instead, Williams stepped it up. He carried the ball 18 times for 97 yards and a touchdown, while adding a stellar six receptions for 33 yards. The former Bronco saw 25 opportunities.
READ MORE: Fantasy Football Cut List Week 3: Joe Burrow, Kaleb Johnson, Jayden Reed, and Others
Miles Sanders remains a very poor RB2. But if the best-case scenario for Blue is that he is active to be Williams’ backup, that is not someone fantasy managers need to hold.
At this point, Blue feels very far away from relevance. This is Williams’ backfield. If he gets hurt, it will be Sanders’ backfield. The more “and thens” you need to come up with to explain how a guy becomes fantasy relevant, the less you need to roster him.
Brian Robinson Jr., San Francisco 49ers
Rostered: 63%
The following two players on the cut list are not guys fantasy managers absolutely must drop. Unsurprisingly, there is no room for anything else behind Christian McCaffrey. Fantasy managers knew this coming into the season. There has never been a running back with standalone value behind CMC.
We know what Brian Robinson Jr. is. He is the McCaffrey handcuff. For now, McCaffrey looks fully healthy and his usual dominant self. He is the best player in fantasy. How long will that last? Hopefully, the entire season.
If McCaffrey were to go down, Robinson would immediately be a weekly RB2. For that reason, you should hang onto him if you can. But if you need a roster spot for players that can go in your lineup now, Robinson is not one of them and can be let go.
Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs
Rostered: 93%
There is no sugarcoating it. This is bad. Really bad. Isiah Pacheco isn’t mired in a committee where he’s not as valuable as fantasy managers had hoped, but still a viable starter. He 100% needs to be planted on fantasy benches until further notice. Nothing remotely resembling fantasy relevance here…but you can’t drop him. Not yet.
The Kansas City Chiefs have had a rough start to the season. Travis Kelce took out Xavier Worthy three plays into a challenging Week 1 road game against a divisional opponent. Then, the Chiefs faced the Philadelphia Eagles’ elite run defense in Week 2. Things should be much easier against a New York Giants’ defense that allowed the Dallas Cowboys to score 40 points against them, and Williams to amass 130 yards from scrimmage.
Pacheco’s role was a bit better in Week 2. He played 58% of the snaps. However, he only saw 12 opportunities. Pacheco has now turned 18 touches into 57 scoreless yards through two weeks.
Isiah Pacheco has to be more patient or only run him between the tackles. He doesn’t have the burst to outrun angles against most defenses, and here, he has to follow Creed pic.twitter.com/lr36QCTHKD
— Daniel Harms (@InHarmsWay19) September 15, 2025
If the right type of touches are used, 10-12 touches per game are enough for RB3/Flex value. Unfortunately for Pacheco, he exclusively gets the ball on early downs and between the 20s.
Kareem Hunt is the passing-down back and the goal line/short-yardage back. How exactly is Pacheco supposed to score fantasy points? The answer is he doesn’t.
Nevertheless, it is too early to cut bait on a player who was a legitimate fantasy RB1 when he had a feature role to open the 2024 season. We need to see what this offense looks like against a weaker opponent and when it isn’t missing its two best offensive weapons (outside of Patrick Mahomes).
There may come a time when Pacheco needs to be cut, and it may come soon. We are not quite there just yet.
