Fantasy Football: 3 Players You Can Drop After Week 8

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 8

Tyler Lockett, WR, Seahawks

Let's start with the positives -- Tyler Lockett has played at least 70% of the snaps in four of the Seattle Seahawks' last five games, and he's made at least four catches in all but two outings this season. He hasn't been horrible.

But there's been no upside.

His single-game high in PPR is 16.5 points. Lockett has found paydirt just once this season and hasn't recorded more than five catches in a game since Week 1. Across the last four games, he's made just 13 total grabs.

Week 8 was the breaking point for me. In a game where D.K. Metcalf was out and Seattle was behind big, Lockett garnered only three targets and finished with one grab for nine yards.

If you're in a deeper league, it might be worth holding Lockett, but in normal formats, I'm setting him free.

Sean Tucker, RB, Buccaneers

Sean Tucker jumped onto the fantasy radar in Week 6. He's barely done anything since.

In Week 6, Tucker took advantage of Rachaad White's absence and racked up 136 rushing yards and 56 receiving yards while scoring twice. In the two weeks since, Tucker has amassed nine total touches on 23 combined snaps -- running as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' RB3, a distant third behind White and Bucky Irving.

If you added Tucker after his breakout game, you can drop him now. He's worth a look only if one of White or Irving miss time.

Isaiah Likely, TE, Ravens

Isaiah Likely burst onto the scene in Week 1 with 9 catches for 111 yards and a tuddie. He's topped 8.7 PPR points in a game only once since then, so if you're holding on, you can stop now.

Tight end stinks, so it's tough to cut any TE who has shown upside. While Likely would be a locked-in TE1 if Mark Andrews hits the shelf, he's tough to trust when Andrews is playing. Andrews out-snapped Likely in Week 8 -- the first time that's happened since Week 2 -- and seems to have surpassed Likely in the pecking order, with Andrews scoring four TDs over the last three games.

Likely is still rostered in 43% of Yahoo! leagues. Our fantasy football projections rank him as the week's TE21. It's time to let him go.

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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.