During the early part of every NFL week, there is a big focus on the fantasy football waiver wire pickups you should make. We already have you covered there. However, for every added player, there is one that you will need to drop. Here, we will give you a better idea of who you should drop for fantasy football Week 5.
Of course, there are a variety of reasons why you would drop a player this week. For starters, some highly-owned players are stinking up the joint. For others, injuries or a lack of start-worthy upside will make them fantasy football drop candidates. On top of all of that, we also begin bye weeks, which means you may have some issues fielding a starting lineup.
I will do my best to give a reason why all of the players below are droppable for fantasy football Week 5. However, it is important to note that these are not must-drop players. Depending on league size and situation, you may need that player. And, OF COURSE, you should trade that player either on his own or in a package deal if you can get some value out of them. But if you can’t, then I don’t think dropping them will give you nightmares.
To be eligible for my list of who to drop in fantasy football, the player must be owned in over half of ESPN fantasy leagues.
Who Should I Drop For Fantasy Football Week 5?
Mark Andrews Fantasy Ownership (93.2%)
You don’t need me to tell you why Mark Andrews fantasy football owners can drop him in Week 5. However, I’ll be nice and tell you anyway: he stinks. I’ll reiterate a point from above; Mark Andrews is not a must-drop player. Some TE-needy owner in your league will value him at least a tiny bit, so try to trade Andrews.
But, if you cannot trade Andrews, you have better options available for you. The Baltimore Ravens tight end is fifth on the team in targets, seeing an 8.7% target share. He has seen two targets more than Derrick Henry (who isn’t a receiving RB) and one more than Nelson Agholor (who doesn’t know where he is). Along with all of this, Mark Andrews’ snaps have been declining. He has played less than half of the snaps in back-to-back weeks, and these happen to be the two games Baltimore won.
Zamir White Fantasy Ownership (79.6%)
Zamir White fantasy owners know how terrible he has been. To quantify it, White has averaged 0.41 fantasy points per touch. This is the second-lowest in the league for players who have played at least a quarter of the snaps.
The Raiders have only nine carries in the red zone this season. White has three of them. However, he has no carries inside the five-yard line, compared to Alexander Mattison’s two. Mattison has also run for two touchdowns while White hasn’t scored.
Ezekiel Elliott Fantasy Ownership (69.8%)
Ezekiel Elliott has been terrible to start the season, and he has been out-played by Rico Dowdle as well. You can drop him for fantasy football Week 5 regardless, and if Dalvin Cook does get elevated from the practice squad, this will hurt Elliott even more.
Zeke has not surpassed 100 rushing yards yet… for the season. He does have half of the team’s red zone carries. The issue, however, is that Dallas has just four red zone carries this season. Feel free to ditch him, but see if you can trade him to an RB-needy owner.
Christian Watson Fantasy Ownership (67%)
Prior to his injury, Christian Watson was the third-best wide receiver on the Green Bay Packers. Romeo Doubs plays the WR1 role, Jayden Reed is the best overall talent, and Watson is a nice-looking decoy. Now, Watson is injured after Jordan Love got him hurt (least surprising event after watching Packers Family Night). With Watson about to miss some time, there really isn’t a reason to own him. He is inconsistent, at best, when he returns.
Carson Steele Fantasy Ownership (61.7%)
The rookie has lost his job to Kareem Hunt, and now Clyde Edwards-Helaire is about to return as well. There is no need to roster Carson Steele, and that goes for both you and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Dalton Schultz Fantasy Ownership (60.2%)
Yes, Dalton Schultz is fourth on the team in targets. However, when Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs are both running routes, there aren’t enough passes to make a tight end relevant on a consistent basis. Schultz has played a healthy number of snaps, but he has one game above 21 yards this season, maxing out at 34. He doesn’t have any touchdowns to bail him out either.
No, you don’t NEED to drop Dalton Schultz, but the only way he will become a consistent start-worthy option is if two of the three wide receivers ahead of him get hurt. Look for any tight end getting a consistent four targets per game to replace him.
