Maybe I should change the title of this column to “Players who will go ballistic as soon as I mention them here,” because there appears to be a wide-reaching conspiracy to make me look like a complete and utter moron.
I could have saved them all some time — it’s not at all difficult to do that.
Just this past week I recommended New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who threw for a season-high 294 yards and two touchdowns. Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Gabe Davis, who scored twice and finished the week as a top-10 fantasy wideout. And Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews, who found the end zone for the first time in 2024. Oh, and with Rhamondre Stevenson hurt, Antonio Gibson is now the lead back in New England.
At least Jerry Jeudy still sucked — because Cleveland.
But it’s not like there weren’t valid reasons to advise bidding adieu to those players. Rodgers still only has one 20-point game this season — and Week 6 wasn’t it. Davis had done nothing before that outburst in London. Andrews had spent most of the season on a milk carton. And lead back for the Patriots is like being head stall-cleaner at an elephant sanctuary.
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Besides, if I only pick lame, obvious calls this column will become those things. And while I really am trying to help your fantasy teams, I’m also trying to craft an entertaining read. I also try to hit all four positions, because I prefer to be a well-rounded type of completely wrong.
So, I’m going to keep swinging. And missing — although I get a few here and there. And I would never recommend dropping a player I wasn’t legitimately willing to cut bait on.
(Rostered percentages courtesy of Yahoo!)
QB Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (40 Percent Rostered – Droppable in 1QB Leagues)
Five games into the 2024 season, the Chargers are a game above .500, and while Justin Herbert isn’t exactly piling up style points, he did have his best game of the year yardage-wise against a stout Denver defense. For head coach Jim Harbaugh (who has never been prone to hyperbole), that performance was a reminder that Herbert is one of the best in the game at slinging the rock.
“I thought he was as precise as he could be, or a quarterback could be,” Harbaugh told reporters. “I was super impressed. Hopefully this reminds everybody that Justin Herbert is really good at playing quarterback.”
No one is really arguing that Herbert isn’t a good quarterback. But Week 6 was the first time this season that he eclipsed 200 passing yards. He threw just one touchdown pass for the fourth time in five games. And after six weeks, Herbert is 31st in fantasy points per game among quarterbacks — behind Andy Dalton of the Panthers and Daniel Jones of the Giants.
RB Jerome Ford, Cleveland (74 Percent Rostered – Droppable in Shallow Leagues)
Ford was a great story last year. The third-year pro was forced into action by the Nick Chubb injury and Ford helped the Browns make the playoffs and topped 1,100 total yards for the season. With Chubb’s status uncertain for much of the summer, Ford was a popular mid-round flier pick, even more so once we learned that Chubb would open the season on the PUP list.
GO DEEPER
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However, it didn’t take long for fantasy managers to realize he wouldn’t repeat last season’s surprise success. Ford has actually averaged a rock-solid 5.3 yards per carry in 2024, but the flaming pile of hot garbage that is Cleveland’s offense has limited his involvement. He hasn’t had more than 12 carries or 65 total yards in a game this season. He found the end zone in the opener and hasn’t since.
Now, Ford is “week-to-week” with a hamstring injury. Chubb is expected to make his 2024 debut Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. And the Clowns (that’s right — the Clowns) are dead last in the league in offense and haven’t scored 20 points in a game all season long. I weep for Chubb and Amari Cooper, I curse at Deshaun Watson, whose benching is needed so desperately you can literally smell the despair. But Ford just has to go. He was fun in 2023. In ’24 he’s just a wasted roster spot.
RB Tyjae Spears, Tennessee (62 Percent Rostered — Droppable in All Leagues)
Speaking of laughably bad offenses, how about those Titans? There was a time not that long ago when Tyjae Spears was going to be a major part of the Tennessee ground game, Some even expected him to emerge as the Titans’ lead back, with Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports labeling him a breakout candidate back in August.
“Spears has supreme lateral cutting skill even by NFL standards, plenty of burst off the snap and contact balance is clearly part of what he brings to the field,” he said. “He also caught 52 passes a season ago — 11th most in football among running backs — and forced the second-most missed tackles on those receptions. Massive potential for this former Tulane superstar, who’s always looked like one of the most athletically gifted players in any game in which he’s participated.”
Instead of a breakout, we got 3.5 yards per carry, one game with double-digit touches so far this season, and a clear-cut No. 2 back whose only real value was as a handcuff to Tony Pollard on the second-worst offense in the league. Now Spears, like Ford, is week-to-week with a bad hammy. It’s okay to think Brian Callahan is misusing Spears. But we have zero reason to believe that will change any time soon.
WR Calvin Ridley, Tennessee (76 Percent Rostered – Droppable in Shallow Leagues)
What? Gotta take at least one big swing.
In the offseason, the Titans gave Ridley $23 million a year to be the team’s No. 1 receiver. Over his last three games with Tennessee, the 29-year-old has two catches for 14 yards. And after catching as many passes last week against the Colts as I did, Ridley wasn’t even a little shy about voicing his displeasure with the situation.
“I need some (targets) in the beginning of the f—ing game, too. S—‘s getting f—ing crazy for me,” Ridley told reporters. “It is what it is. I sucked today — have got to be better. But I got to get the ball a little earlier in the game so I can be in the game. So, I can play well also.”
Ridley was targeted eight times in the game — the first time a wide receiver has been thrown at that many times without a catch since Amari Cooper in 2015. There are over a dozen pass-catchers (including multiple tight ends) who have more receptions and receiving yards by themselves than Ridley and DeAndre Hopkins have put together. Tennessee’s offense is a black hole from which nothing escapes except the faint smell of spoiled mayonnaise. Get as far away from it as possible.
TE Tyler Conklin, New York Jets (31 Percent Rostered – Droppable in All Leagues)
The tight end position has been so craptastic (pardon my French) in 2024 that fantasy managers have talked themselves into all sorts of nonsense — like believing Tyler Conklin of the Jets when he told reporters he planned to be a bigger part of the New York offense as we move farther into the season.
“I’ve really been trying my best this year to just day by day, game by game, being present, not thinking about the past or the future,” he said.
Conklin baited fantasy managers with that juiciest of worms — a five-catch, 93-yard effort against the Patriots in Week 3 and then six grabs for 55 yards against the Vikings in Week 5. In those two games, the 29-year-old had 15 total targets. In the other four games combined (including Week 6) he had the same amount—and nine of those came in Week 4. He’s the fourth or fifth option in a passing “attack” averaging less than 220 yards per game.
Of course, now he’s guaranteed to score a touchdown this week. Because of the conspiracy. Or maybe I have superpowers.
(Photo of Justin Herbert: Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
Gary Davenport is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Yell at him on X at @IDPSharks
