Dead Weight Report: Week 5 Droppables

This season is unlike any other in NFL history, and crazier than any fantasy football season I’ve experienced in my 24 years at this fake football thing. Rosters are changing daily and major moves need to be made in order to accommodate the shifts in real NFL action. We all have players who have underperformed this season, but it’s tough to know when to let them go. I’m here to help you rip off that proverbial band-aid.

In this weekly article, I comb through the weak and underwhelming performances to see who’s droppable in favor of some waiver wire magic. There are many variables in determining a player’s remaining worth, including their own production, offense and health, to name a few. All will be taken into consideration when determining each week’s dead weight.

Jordan Howard, RB – Dolphins

I put Matt Breida on this list last week and his neighbor in the running-back room joins him in Week 5. Myles Gaskin is the clear starter in that backfield and Jordan Howard seems to be losing his role as the goal-line guy with each passing week. He’s gone from eight to five to three to two carries over the course of four weeks and is averaging just 4.9 half-PPR points per game, posting just .4 last week.

Howard is still on 43% of Yahoo! rosters, so nearly half of you out there are holding out hope for the 25-year-old back in this Miami offense. I totally understand hanging on for the touchdown vulturing, but maybe it’s time to let go and grab a running back with a higher floor.

Jack Doyle, TE – Colts

I know the tight end landscape is a scary place after the top few tiers, but Jack Doyle is not the guy in 2020. I also had high hopes for him with Philip Rivers and his love for the position now tossing the rock, but he’s being outplayed by Mo Alie-Cox. Even Trey Burton out-produced him this past week.

Doyle is still on 11% of rosters as we head into Week 5. There are plenty of other tight ends with greater opportunities in their respective offenses like Dalton Schultz, Robert Tonyan and Logan Thomas.

Chris Thompson, RB – Jaguars

The blueprint for Chris Thompson to succeed this season as the passing-down back in Jacksonville was there, but through four weeks they don’t seem to want to use him enough to be fantasy relevant. The eight-year veteran saw zero touches in Week 4, and only has 14 total so far in 2020.

If you’re in a PPR league and desire some pass-catching back goodness, you may want to let Thompson go and grab someone like Chase Edmonds or Nyheim Hines moving forward.

Giovani Bernard, RB – Bengals

If you’re like me and grabbed Giovani Bernard off the waiver wire when rumors of a Joe Mixon chest injury surfaced last Saturday, or you just have him on your roster as a safety valve, it may be wise to send him back to free agency.

Mixon appears to be healthy and Bernard’s stand-alone value isn’t worthy of a spot on a 10- or 12-team squad. As I say often in this column, unless you are cruising at 4-0 and have a super-deep bench, the time for points is now, and you should think about scooping up a running back with a higher weekly floor and ceiling.

K.J. Hamler, WR – Broncos

Despite being in a great position, opportunity-wise, on an injured Denver offense, K.J. Hamler has had a rough start to his rookie campaign. He’s been hindered by a training camp hamstring injury that sidelined him for Week 1 and that took him out of Week 4’s matchup before even seeing a target.

When healthy, Hamler could have some value especially if Noah Fant misses significant time, but Tim Patrick has stepped up opposite Jerry Jeudy. It also seems like Hamler’s hamstring doesn’t want to allow him to play much football in 2020.

J.K. Dobbins, RB – Ravens

I know this one may make some of you angry, twitchy, sad, or a combination of all three, but it is what it is. J.K. Dobbins is averaging a meager 3.75 rushes and 1.75 targets per game. He sits eighth in the Ravens offense in PPR points per touch.

Mark Ingram is the only fantasy-relevant back in Baltimore right now and it appears Gus Edwards would potentially lead the backfield if something were to happen to Ingram. Dobbins is fine as a bench stash if you’re too attached to let go, but you may want to at least give it some thought.