Fantasy Football: 3 Players You Can Drop After Week 14

Every week, basically every fantasy website in the industry puts out a waiver wire column -- here's ours for this week. But in some instances, the real problem isn't deciding who to pick up; it's figuring out which players to part ways with.

Knowing when to drop an under-performing player is a tough call, but I'm here to help you out. Dead weight on your fantasy roster can be particularly harmful during bye weeks. These are the players you don't feel comfortable cutting but who prevent you from picking up someone else. Maybe you even get roped into starting them in a pinch.

Of course, it doesn't hurt to explore any trade possibilities before cutting a player. But the issue with many of these guys is that their value is already low, so they may be difficult to move. If you can't move them, fine -- that's when you can consider dropping them to address other needs on your roster. But don't just drop them without doing any market research in your league.

These are tough decisions to make -- if they weren't, I wouldn't need to write this article. But it doesn't have to be so hard. After this past week, here are some players you can drop and why you can do so.

All NFL projections via our numbers at FanDuel Research, and NFL odds references are to FanDuel Sportsbook. Statistics via NFL Next Gen Stats and Pro Football Focus unless otherwise stated.

Fantasy Football Players to Drop After Week 14

Kirk Cousins, QB, Falcons

At this point, you can't trust Kirk Cousins to start him at any point if you're still playing for something as the playoffs begin.

I'm among those counting down the seconds until the Atlanta Falcons turn to Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback. Cousins' 509-yard game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers feels like a fever dream at the point as he's posted -0.10 expected points added per drop back (EPA/db) and thrown eight interceptions in the last five weeks.

That's resulted in fewer than eight fantasy points in four of the five games in question, yet the veteran is somehow still rostered in 53% of Yahoo leagues.

If you need a quarterback in his stead, any of our Week 15 QB streamers are an upgrade. If you've got a stud in place through Week 17, use his bench spot on an extremely high-upside RB handcuff who would fully take over should an unfortunate injury occur. Trey Benson, Blake Corum, and Kenneth Gainwell are good examples.

Tyjae Spears, RB, Titans

Here's where dynasty managers should also be paying attention.

Tyjae Spears wasn't drafted by this current Tennessee Titans regime, and he's just not curried much favor with them. Now fully back after a midseason concussion issue, Spears has played just 32.1% of the snaps in the last three games, earning 3.5 carries and 1.0 targets per contest. Tony Pollard has played 77.0% of snaps.

Even worse, Spears has posted -1.03 rushing yards over expectation per carry (RYOE/c) in this time, so it's not a situation where he needs to be "freed." He's just not been very effective. Spears entered the NFL with knee concerns, so we knew he was here for a fun time opposed to a long time.

Technically, he probably fits the aforementioned handcuff label if something happened to Pollard, but this is a bad Tennessee offense (17.5 PPG) that would get worse missing its highest-scoring player in fantasy.

While Spears is still rostered in 43% of Yahoo leagues, it should be closer to the other backs I mentioned. If you have him in a dynasty league, I'd also be looking to try and get anything back in return as soon as possible.

Jalen Tolbert, WR, Cowboys

Progress is progress. The Dallas Cowboys' offense is trending up with at least 20 offensive points in each of the last three weeks, but one specific member is trending down.

It's not really a surprise that Jalen Tolbert has become a non-factor since Brandin Cooks returned on Thanksgiving, but things have gotten even more dire behind CeeDee Lamb. KaVontae Turpin actually has more targets (9) than Tolbert (7) in the past two weeks. Dallas' tight ends have also combined for 14 targets in this small sample with Cooks (10 targets) back.

Now, there's a bit of optimism that Tolbert has still run 70.0% of the routes, which is more than any Cowboys pass-catcher besides Lamb (88.6%).

However, this is an offense that's spreading thinner by the week, and Cooper Rush (-0.21 EPA/db) is not close to good enough to support this many targets -- even in an offense that's top 10 in adjusted pace and pass rate over expectation.

Tolbert's own efficiency issues (60.9% catch rate) only amplify these problems. You're fine to let him go for other emerging wideouts across the league.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.