Players to Drop in Fantasy Football After Week 10

Week 10 is nearly in the books, and fantasy managers continue to navigate low-scoring offenses, major injuries and bye weeks as they work toward a championship. We will once again have four teams missing in Week 11, including offensive players from the Jaguars, Dolphins, Seahawks and Buccaneers.

This article will be published bi-weekly throughout the 2022 season. As always, recommendations in this article should be looked at through the lens of the fantasy manager’s starting lineup requirements, scoring settings and roster size.

Leagues with deeper benches may want to hold onto some players listed in this article since those leagues won’t have the waiver wire depth of others.

Quarterback

Sam Ehlinger, Indianapolis Colts

The Colts shocked the football world last week, firing Frank Reich to hire Jeff Saturday off the street to run the team. Saturday’s first order of business was reinstating former starter, Matt Ryan, at quarterback.

Ryan responded by completing 21-of-28 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders’ hapless defense. The Colts squeaked out a win in Saturday’s first game, and Ryan showed little reason to find his way back to the bench barring an injury.

The Ehlinger era is done, and he can be dropped for the next bye-week filler on your waiver wire.

Andy Dalton, New Orleans Saints

Andy Dalton has struggled in recent weeks and could easily be replaced by Jameis Winston as the Saints look for a spark on offense.

Since Week 6, Dalton has thrown for 974 yards but has just eight touchdowns with seven interceptions. The veteran quarterback held onto the starting job because of his ability to protect the ball, which now hasn’t happened over the last four weeks.

Dalton already has a short leash and may not make it through next week’s game against the Los Angeles Rams’ secondary. Dalton doesn’t have the fantasy ceiling to warrant rolling the dice on his long-term fantasy relevance any longer.

Running Back

Caleb Huntley, Atlanta Falcons

Don’t let Caleb Huntley’s solid performance (6.4 yards per carry) on Thursday against the Panthers fool you, the young running back is getting phased out of the Falcons offense.

The Falcons were cautious utilizing Cordarrelle Patterson in a short week and in terrible weather conditions, playing the veteran weapon on just 38% of the team’s offensive snaps and getting him four touches for 40 yards. Patterson’s role will continue to solidify and increase as he works his way back from a knee injury.

Huntley has seen his snap share decline in each of the last two weeks and has just 12 carries in his last two games combined. Patterson and Tyler Allgeier will continue to see the bulk of the backfield touches, making Huntley’s role minor unless another injury happens.

Eno Benjamin, Arizona Cardinals

James Conner returned to his full-time role in Week 10, which moved Eno Benjamin back into his normal role of bench running back. Benjamin didn’t register a single touch against the Los Angeles Rams, as Conner took the primary role in the backfield. The veteran running back finished with 21 carries for 69 yards and two touchdowns while adding three receptions for 17 yards. Even Keaontay Ingram had a bigger impact on the game with his one carry.

I won’t blame anyone for holding onto Benjamin given his role when Conner is injured (and Conner’s extensive injury history). But if you’re in a bind with injuries and bye weeks, Benjamin is expendable going forward.

Wide Receiver

Robbie Anderson, Arizona Cardinals

Robbie Anderson hasn’t broken out since being traded to the Cardinals as a situational deep threat. Anderson has just one reception for -4 yards in his last four games as the team has returned to the highly targeted duo of DeAndre Hopkins and Rondale Moore.

Combine the production from those two, and then factor in that Marquise Brown is close to returning, and you have a fantasy wide receiver who won’t have a big enough role to justify rostering in any format.

Hunter Renfrow, Las Vegas Raiders

Hunter Renfrow was surprisingly put on the injured reserve ahead of the team’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. Even when healthy, the wide receiver has struggled to have the same impact he did last season for the Raiders.

Fantasy managers expected Renfrow to lose out on targets once Davante Adams came into town, but his failure to launch as the team’s WR2 despite the absence of Darren Waller was surprising. Renfrow is averaging just 4.8 targets per game this season. He’s only had two games with over 50 receiving yards and has failed to find the end zone.

Renfrow is droppable (even when he’s healthy) thanks to a minor role in a struggling offense.

Tight End

Noah Fant, Seattle Seahawks

It probably isn’t a coincidence that two of Noah Fant’s three most productive games came against the Cardinals – the worst team in fantasy against the tight end position. The veteran tight end has just three games this season with a greater than 60% snap share and has scored just once.

The Seahawks continue to ride a run-heavy offense and Geno Smith’s efficiency throwing downfield to DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. The offense rotates tight ends throughout their scheme and doesn’t have the passing volume to support three fantasy-relevant receivers.