Fantasy Football: From Russell Wilson to Golden Tate, Players You Should Move On From For Your Own Good

Let’s have a talk. A fantasy football talk, not about protests or politicians but about your roster that is sitting there. Like that project that you don’t want to touch that has been sitting on the corner of your desk, there are some things here that are long overdue.

Maybe you drafted the guy early to be your starter. Maybe you have his jersey. Still, I’m here to tell you that these guys are unhealthy for you, and it’s probably best if we make a tough decision.

Using the ownership data at CBS Sports, I went through the top 16 most owned QBs, top 32 most owned at RB and WR, and top 12 most owned TEs, to make this list and give you permission to say goodbye.

QUARTERBACKS

Russell Wilson (94%, 11th most owned). Do you know how many times that Russell Wilson has finished in the top 8 in weekly QB scoring in standard fantasy leagues this year? Take a guess?

ZERO.

You need big games out of your starting quarterback to win in fantasy, or at least games not too far behind the leaders. Wilson’s had exactly one game with 2 touchdowns. He gets rushing yards but hasn’t scored a rushing touchdown. And just as importantly, he has only had one game with more than 30 pass attempts. The only week he was top 10 in scoring (9th) was in week 2. He has been outside the top 12 every other week. Let’s face it, this guy doesn’t score enough, even when he stays in a vacation home owned by the Girls Gone Wild founder.

How much confidence do you have in him? Well, judging on the starting calls being made, most of you, not much. Despite being owned far more often than most quarterbacks, he’s only being started in 40% of leagues this week, and so he is showing up 54% of the time on the bench. That is the highest difference between ownership and start rates this week, other than the guys on bye or who are out injured.

And then you look at the schedules. Realistically, only the week 14 game against Baltimore is a starting option. Are you going to want to pull the trigger in a playoff matchup if you’ve been benching him for months?

Matthew Stafford (83%, 16th most owned). The line sucks. He’s struggled. Even despite playing from behind most of the time, he’s way down the list of scoring. He had the most points in the week 6 OT win over the Bears, but how many of you had benched him by then? He’s been in the bottom 10 starters in half of the weeks this year.

Worth Mentioning: Peyton Manning. The only reason I don’t is that the Broncos have some good passing matchups for awhile, compared to the Seahawks schedule. But if you’ve had enough, I wouldn’t blame you. He hasn’t finished higher than 12th in any week so far. He’s been in the bottom 10 half the time.

RUNNING BACKS

C.J. Anderson (96%, 17th most owned). I walked away from Anderson in the league I owned him after the Cleveland game. If he’s not a clear start based on matchup, then any big game he has will be frustrating. And it simply isn’t happening this year. The Broncos are 7-1, which usually favors running back production. Trust me, it feels better. In a given week, there are roughly 20 better options AND others that will pop up on the waiver wire due to injury as we move along each week.

Rashad Jennings (86%, 28th most owned). The most notable thing Jennings has done this year is not score a touchdown. The Giants’ backfield is a muddled mess. Orleans Darkwa and Andre Williams both get carries, and Shane Vereen is the receiving back. At least with Vereen he is useful in PPR leagues. Jennings hasn’t had more than 13 carries or 63 rushing yards in a game this year. What are you doing? Take a chance on a reserve on another team who is one injury away from being a top 12 option.

Worth Mentioning: Jeremy Hill (99%, 8th most owned). I have ridden the Hill roller coaster personally. The only reason I am holding him is that he will be a beast if Bernard would miss a game to injury. But right now, he splits carries, and he is only valuable with touchdowns. Those are unpredictable. He had 3 in the KC game, 2 against Oakland, and hasn’t had a rushing touchdown in 6 other games.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Golden Tate (81%, 32nd most owned). Observation–we seem to be more able to move on and shuffle things at receiver as a collective group. There aren’t as many clear issues by this point in the season where people are holding on. Long gone are guys like Andre Johnson or Marques Colston or Charles Johnson who were drafted with expectations, but have been replaced by others.

So there’s Tate. His team has been playing behind most of the year and he is still basically not startable. His best game, 8 catches for 74 yards and 0 TDs, required 18 targets in a big blowout to Arizona. He’s not a red zone threat, and he’s averaged under 10 yards per catch in 6 of 8 games. Time to throw a hail mary to the corner of the end zone and take a chance on someone else.

Pierre Garcon (79%, 36th most owned). He’s got 41 catches at the halfway point, which doesn’t look bad, but is averaging only 10 yards a catch. He has not been much of a factor already, and now, DeSean Jackson is finally coming back and TE Jordan Reed is playing. Being the 3rd or 4th option in the Washington passing game isn’t going to be the key to fantasy glory.

TIGHT ENDS

Julius Thomas (82%, 11th most owned). Maybe you waited on him after the preseason injury. Over the last two weeks, Thomas has 4 catches for 18 yards. Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson have been lighting it up. Thomas is a distant 3rd in this passing offense, if not 4th behind Bryan Walters.