Fantasy football: Who to drop in Week 9? Anthony Richardson, for one

It’s so hard to say goodbye — to yesterday.

It works better if you sing it in your head, Boyz II Men-style.

Fantasy managers are often reluctant to cut bait on under-performing players. Maybe they spent a relatively early pick on the guy. Maybe they were just certain over the summer that this was the year that player broke out. Or are equally convinced that a turnaround is just around the corner.

But we’re eight weeks into the season. We have a pretty good idea of which players are producing and which aren’t. The latter group isn’t going to magically start banging fat stat lines just because fantasy managers want them to.

And when those managers hang on to the dud player, they aren’t just clogging a roster spot with him; they are passing on the chance to add a player who can actually help them win matchups. Did anyone think Cleveland Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman was going to be something in 2024? Hell no.

And yet, here we are.

One of the players I’m about to advise you to drop may get it together somewhere down the road. It’s also possible you will win Mega Millions.

And yet, we all still wind up going to work anyway.

(Rostered percentages courtesy of Yahoo!)

Droppable in shallow leagues

Dump them for a priority-free agent.

WR Jordan Addison, Minnesota (76 percent rostered)

After catching 70 passes, topping 900 receiving yards and scoring 10 touchdowns as a rookie, many pegged Addison as a breakout candidate this year. Instead, the only thing that Addison is catching is flak from the media after some interpreted his “Free 3” social media post as a trade request.

“I think I came up with that in 2020 fall camp at Pitt,” Addison told reporters. “So that’s where that started. People got to do their homework before they start saying stuff. Obviously, I wish I could be doing a little bit better, but I’m doing everything I can. I’m learning every week, watching the film and just trying to get better every day. I’m just looking forward to having a good game this week. Just keep getting open. That’s my job as a receiver, and that’s what I’m going to keep doing.”

So far this season, Addison has been targeted five times in a game exactly once. The aforementioned Cedric Tillman has nearly as many receiving yards and two more scores over the past two weeks than Addison has all season long. And with Sam Darnold vapor-locked on Justin Jefferson (who had almost as many targets and yards last week as every other Vikings pass-catcher combined), that’s not especially likely to change soon.

Oh, and tight end T.J. Hockenson should be back this week, too. That will help Addison’s target share.

QB Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis (72 percent rostered)

That’s right, the athletic second-year quarterback some thought could lead the position in fantasy points this year is on the chopping block.

Last week, according to CBS, Richardson completed two of 15 first-half pass attempts — the lowest completion percentage (minimum 15 attempts) by a quarterback in 30 years. But the real kicker is that Richardson told reporters after the Colts lost to the Houston Texans that he’s actually a great passer.

“I feel like I’m a great passer,” Richardson said. “I’ve been playing quarterback pretty much my whole life. I’m just a different quarterback from everybody else, so people are going to try to point out that I’m not as efficient as everybody else.”

Apparently, stats and our eyes are both dirty liars because they both say he’s dreadful throwing the ball. He also isn’t having the success running the ball that many expected. After eight weeks, Richardson is 30th in fantasy points per game among quarterbacks. He’s topped 12 fantasy points in a game all of once — in Week 1.

Is Richardson a bust forever and ever? No. He’s 22. Is he a bust right now? A colossal one. And he may not even start in Week 9.

Other drops

Dump them for someone who’s breathing.

RB Rico Dowdle, Dallas (70 percent rostered)

Well, let’s see. The Cowboys have the worst ground game in the NFL, averaging a measly 74.1 yards per game. Dowdle has averaged a so-so 4.2 yards per carry and hasn’t had 90 rushing yards in a game yet this year. He was a late scratch in Week 8 (illness), which led to Dalvin Cook being called up and arguably looking better than any Dallas back this season. And Dowdle is RB32 in PPR points per game this season. Other than that, everything’s fine.

RB Zamir White, Las Vegas (32 percent rostered)

White is essentially Dowdle — if you take away everything even marginally good said about him. There was more than a little buzz around White over the summer, but he’s been hurt and averaging 3.0 yards per carry. He has clearly fallen behind Alexander “Three Yards and a Cloud of ‘Meh’” Mattison in the AFC’s worst ground attack. And White had all of two carries last week against the Kansas City Chiefs.

WR Dontayvion Wicks, Green Bay (34 percent rostered)

The Green Bay wide receiver corps is a great problem for the Packers and a nightmare for fantasy managers, given their approximately 36 talented, young wideouts. The problem is that only one can catch the ball at a time, and Wicks is too far down the pecking order to get targeted consistently. Yes, Wicks posted a 5/78/2 line on 13 targets against the Vikings about a month ago. Yes, he has four touchdowns on the season. But he’s been targeted more than four times just three times in eight games, and now Jordan Love is hurt again. There are more reliable wideouts on the waiver wire in many leagues. Go get one.

Gary Davenport is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Yell at him on X at @IDPSharks.