Fantasy football Week 11 drops: 5 players you need to consider cutting

Admin November 18, 2024

The fantasy football playoffs are nearly here, but fantasy managers still have a few weeks to try to qualify for the postseason. To do that, they will need to make some savvy roster moves to mitigate the effects of “Byemageddon” and strengthen their depth.

Achieving that goal will require making some difficult add/drop decisions and potentially parting with big-name players who are under-producing.

As hard as it is to part with players like Travis Etienne and Jaylen Waddle, there is also a case to be made that both can be released. They simply haven’t lived up to expectations and it doesn’t seem like either will be on the right side of start ’em, sit ’em decisions during the fantasy playoffs.

As always, fantasy managers should avoid making rash decisions based on a single performance. But if there’s enough data to suggest that a player looks like a fantasy non-factor, it’s OK to part with them.

Here’s a look at five players to cut after Week 11 of the fantasy football season, including some touted draft picks who haven’t lived up to the hype.

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Waiver wire players to drop: Week 11

Is the honeymoon over with Wilson? The Steelers quarterback figures to remain in place as the team’s starter, but it’s hard to recommend trusting him after he failed to log a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens.

The Ravens have one of the NFL’s worst secondaries, but Wilson threw for just 205 yards and an interception in the contest. That won’t inspire much confidence, especially as the Steelers enter the most difficult portion of their schedule. They will have five divisional games over the final seven weeks of the season.

And the only non-divisional foes Wilson and the Steelers will face over those seven weeks? That would be the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, who have two of the NFL’s best defenses.

That will give Wilson a lower ceiling than usual in those matchups, and the Steelers may have to settle for field goals often, much like they did against the Ravens. Add in that Wilson is playing on “Thursday Night Football” in Week 12 and releasing him to create roster flexibility seems like a smart move for fantasy owners.

With Tank Bigsby out, Etienne got a chance to operate as Jacksonville’s lead back again. The result? He got 15 touches and turned them into 33 yards.

The Jaguars are presently a disaster offensively and are on bye in Week 12. They might fire Doug Pederson during that time, but it isn’t clear whether that will spark the team enough to make Etienne a solid flex play. It might be better just to cut your losses and get out of the frustrating situation, especially with no guarantee that Trevor Lawrence (shoulder) will return to action to improve Jacksonville’s offensive outlook.

Below is a breakdown of the Dolphins running back touches in their Week 11 win over the Las Vegas Raiders:

That continues a disturbing trend for Mostert owners, who saw the back fail to log a carry in Week 10 against the Los Angeles Rams. It appears that the Dolphins are phasing him out of their running back rotation in favor of Wright while making Achane the team’s true lead back.

Mostert might still have value as a handcuff, but starting him doesn’t seem like an option after he posted negative yardage against the Raiders.

Any hope that a move to Baltimore would improve Johnson’s fantasy outlook has been quashed three games into his Ravens tenure. Johnson has just four total targets across those contests and has caught just one pass for six yards.

Johnson hasn’t showed good chemistry with Lamar Jackson and had a drop against the Steelers. Baltimore may be content to continuing using Rashod Bateman as its No. 2 receiver while giving Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely plenty of work in two-tight-end sets instead of Johnson.

So, while Johnson’s ceiling remains solid, his floor as an unplayable asset makes him worth releasing, especially if you need to improve your receiver depth.

Dropping Waddle might be too risky for some to palate, but his production simply hasn’t been there in 2024. He has exceeded 50 receiving yards just twice in 10 games and has just one touchdown on the season.

Waddle’s outlook should hypothetically be improving with Tua Tagovailoa back in action, but he has been targeted just 11 times across those three contests. Comparatively, Jonnu Smith has seen 18 targets in that span, including eight in the Dolphins’ Week 11 win over the Raiders.

Waddle still has big-play ability, so he can be rostered and utilized as a high-ceiling flex. But if you’re among the fantasy owners who have been burned by his lack of productivity to date, moving on from him is a reasonable decision.