Fantasy Droppables: Mike Wallace tops Week 6 players to part with
The Week 6 Droppables come with an important preamble: Every fantasy league and roster is different. All recommendations on players to drop and players to add need to be considered within the context of your league. A player is not instantly devoid of fantasy value if he appears on this list. You shouldn’t instantly dismiss a player out of hand if we call him droppable. If a player is tabbed droppable, it means that you shouldn’t be afraid to cut him loose. Whether that’s for a new receiver who has emerged (like Stefon Diggs), a spot starter at quarterback (looking at you, Aaron Rodgers owners) or a running back handcuff (James Starks, anyone?), a player who is droppable can be the guy on the chopping block. It doesn’t mean you have to swing that ax, but you no longer need to give him priority status on your roster.
• NFL coverage hub: Catch up on everything you missed from Week 6
Mike Wallace, WR, Vikings
Wallace had his best game as a Viking last week, catching eight of his 10 targets for 83 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos and their elite secondary. That certainly boded well for a Week 6 game against the Chiefs, which had allowed the most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks and receivers though five games. Wallace got nine more targets against the Chiefs but caught just two of them for 23 yards.
Teammate Stefon Diggs starred again, hauling in seven passes for 129 yards. Wallace just isn’t a commanding presence in the Minnesota offense, and this passing game hasn’t taken the steps so many people believed it would in the second year of the Teddy Bridgewater era. Don’t feel that you have to hold onto him because he’s a name brand.
Karlos Williams, RB, Bills
Unbeaten Broncos outlast Browns in less than perfect OT escape act
Williams sat out his second straight game because of a concussion he suffered in Week 4, opening the door for LeSean McCoy to reassert himself in the Buffalo backfield. The veteran did just that, running for 90 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in the Bills’ loss to the Bengals.
When Williams burst on the fantasy scene over the first three weeks of the season, he was still playing the lesser role in a timeshare with McCoy. He became a waiver-wire darling when McCoy reinjured his hamstring and was staring down a three- or four-week timeline for his return to the field. Now that McCoy is back and clearly at 100%, Williams doesn’t have any hope for growing his role in the Buffalo offense. That role works for the Bills in real life, but it won’t make Williams worth starting in fantasy leagues.
Bills Defense
The Bills were a popular fantasy defense back in draft season, thanks largely to a promising pass rush that figured to be one of the best in the league. Heading into their Week 6 matchup with the Bengals, however, the Bills had just nine sacks, which had them tied for 19th. Andy Dalton stayed clean all game and threw for 243 yards, 7.4 yards per attempt and three touchdowns, leading the Bengals to their sixth straight win to start the season.
The Buffalo defense, meanwhile, lost points in standard-scoring leagues. The Bills head to London to take on the Jaguars next week, then have a bye in Week 8. At this point, there’s really no reason to hold onto them. The matchup with Jacksonville is neutral, at best, and actually could be a negative one for a unit that has struggled against the pass this year. The Bills clearly aren’t good enough to hold on your roster while they’re on a bye, either.
Matt Jones, RB, Redskins
Dan Campbell promised tougher, and Dolphins delivered vs. Titans
Jones missed Washington’s Week 6 loss to the Jets with a toe injury. His owners should use this opportunity to extricate themselves from the oppressively low ceiling of the Washington backfield. Alfred Morris had the backfield all to himself, and he used that opportunity to run for 21 yards on 11 carries. To be fair, the Jets have been one of the best run defenses in the league this season, allowing the second-fewest fantasy points per game to running backs this season, but this goes further to illustrate the exceedingly low value of this backfield as a whole.
We’ve been saying for weeks that it’s nearly impossible to predict who will lead the backfield between Morris and Jones in a given week. That pattern has held true since Jones’s one and only big game in Week 2, and we’d have to be foolish to think it will change going forward. You should feel comfortable bailing on both of these running backs. Both Jones and Morris are low-ceiling depth backs who need to be on a decimated fantasy roster to be considered starting material.
Tevin Coleman, RB, Falcons
When Devonta Freeman racked up 193 total yards and three touchdowns in his first start, Coleman owners were right to assure themselves that their guy would likely be back atop the depth chart once he got over his rib injury. When Freeman scored three more times the next week, they were still right to believe in the rookie but could be excused for starting to feel skittish. When Freeman rambled for 153 rushing yards, 44 receiving yards and another touchdown against Washington in Week 5, owners had to be nervous that Coleman had lost all his value.
Now, after Freeman totaled 156 yards and two touchdowns on 21 touches against the Saints, while Coleman had just four touches and lost a fumble in the red zone, it’s perfectly acceptable to move on from the rookie out of Indiana. Coleman will still have a role in the Atlanta offense, but he likely won’t do more than spell Freeman and provide a change of pace every now and again. Freeman has been one of the best backs in the league through six weeks, and he has really jelled with an Atlanta offensive line that could be the premier unit in the NFL. There’s no way the Falcons can turn away from him as their workhorse.
