Fantasy football roster cloggers are a problem each and every week of the season. It is never easy to cut bait on a player that you drafted. But as we move further away from the draft it gets a little bit easier. On top of that, we also have another week of data to help identify our roster cloggers more easily.
If you are afraid to cut any of the roster cloggers suggested below, you should consider trading them. A lot of these players still have value in the eyes of many fantasy football players, so you should be able to find a trade partner.
For those of you that missed last week’s article, a roster clogger is a player who’s rostered in the majority of leagues that is being started in very few. Roster cloggers are players that typically do not have the opportunity to have drastic improvements in fantasy value as the season moves on. The roster clogger is just taking up a bench spot, preventng you from rostering players that have the potential for big fantasy value jumps.
All ADP referenced in this article comes from FantasyPros ADP Data for Half-PPR leagues. The roster and start percentages come from ESPN leagues.
Quarterbacks
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (68.9% Rostered, 9.6% Start)
Following a pretty solid fantasy performance in Week 1, I was surprised to see such a low start percentage for Lawrence. The matchup against Denver was not easy by any means, but after passing for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns in Week 1 I was expecting it him to be better. Lawrence did throw 3 interceptions in Week 1, so that may have been stuck in fantasy managers’ heads.
It turns out that sitting Lawrence was a good decision. Lawrence threw for only 118 yards and 1 touchdown with another 2 interceptions. Through 2 weeks Lawrence has only completed 50% of his passes. In week 3 the Jaguars play the Cardinals who just gave up 33 points to the Vikings. In that game, Cousins through for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns. This is a decent chance for a bounce back week, but he is likely on your bench. If you are starting Lawrence, you are likely going to find better results by streaming the QB position.
Jameis Winston, New Orleans Saints (62.5% Rostered, 12.6% Start)
Through two games in 2021, Jameis Winston has totaled only 257 yards. He’s also thrown for five touchdowns (all in Week 1) and two interceptions (both in Week 2). It is pretty clear through two weeks that the Saints are not going to be throwing the ball as much as we’re used to. Winston has not thrown more than 22 attempts in either game. You likely either drafted Winston with one of your last picks or added him through free agency. If you are holding Winston as a potential streamer, you are wasting a valuable bench spot.
Running Backs
James Conner, Arizona Cardinals (85.1% Rostered, 10.1% Start)
This draft season, fantasy football managers were investing their 8th or 9th pick to draft James Conner. This was with the understanding that Chase Edmonds was most likely the top RB on the team. But there was hope that Conner would have enough of a role to be fantasy-relevant himself. Coming into the season it seemed like Conner would get the majority of the goal line and red zone work. In Week 1, Conner did get several carries within the red zone. But in Week 2 the touches were just not there. The majority of the red zone work in Week 2 were pass attempts or rushes from Kyler Murray.
In Week 1, Conner and Edmonds essentially split snaps and touches evenly. But in Week 2 Edmonds outsnapped Conner by 15. In addition, Edmonds had five more total touches. Conner is likely to have some fantasy-relevant weeks, but it will be hard to predict. Until it gets more predictable I am not sure that Conner is worth rostering. He is started in less than 10% of leagues as it is, and if you started him you likely regret it. I am not dropping Conner for just anybody, but if there is a star player dropped Conner is someone that I would feel comfortable dropping to add them.
A.J. Dillon, Green Bay Packers (79.7% Rostered, 5.3% Start)
Many fantasy football managers were drafting AJ Dillon in the 8th round of the draft. In general, fantasy managers understood that Dillon was primarily a handcuff for Jones. But when drafting a player that high, there is always the hope that they will have some standalone value. At this point it is pretty clear that Dillon does not have that. After only playing 16 snaps (28%) in Week 1, Dillon played 19 snaps (29%) in Week 2.
Through two games, Dillon only has 12 touches for a total of 52 total yards. That is not enough to maintain any level of fantasy relevance.
Wide Receivers
Marquez Callaway, New Orleans Saints (72.1% Rostered, 5.3% Start)
After an electric preseason, Marquez Callaway is not off to a very good start of the regular season. In the first two games of the season, he has caught three of six targets for just 22 yards. After playing nearly 84% of the snaps in Week 1, Callaway only played in 70% of the snaps in Week 2. Even with his heavy involvement, the Saints are not running on all cylinders. Callaway was being drafted in the 10th round of fantasy drafts this year, so it may be difficult to cut him loose so soon. But If you are rostering Callaway now, he is likely just sitting on your bench until he has a decent game.
Mecole Hardman, Kansas City Chiefs (59.1% Rostered, 3.8% Start)
In Week 1, Mecole Hardman was behind Tyreek Hill and Demarcus Robinson in snap count. In Week 2, Hardman passed Robinson by a significant amount. Hardman made good use of his extra snaps and caught five of his eight targets for 55 yards. Not a big fantasy day by any means, but decent involvement. This happened in a week where Tyreek Hill only had four targets. Hill will be more involved moving forward, but Hardman is still the 2nd or 3rd best WR on the team.
With Hill and Kelce projected to get the majority of the work, it is going to be hard to put Hardman into your lineup on a weekly basis. Hardman is someone I would try and trade for a player with more guaranteed work each week. This will allow you to use your bench spots more efficiently with players that you actually feel good having in your starting lineup.
Tight Ends
There are currently no tight ends that are rostered in more than 50% of leagues that are clogging up your fantasy football rosters. Eric Ebron is currently rostered in roughly 25% of leagues, and was started in less than 2%. Pat Freiermuth has been on the field for more snaps than Ebron in both games. If you are rostering Ebron you are wasting that roster spot and should consider moving on.
Roster Clogger Watch
Trey Sermon, San Francisco 49ers (74.1% Rostered, 1.0% Start)
Trey Sermon was active in Week 2, but he only played on one snap. On that one snap he had a nice carry for 8 yards, but also suffered a concussion and is likely out for this week. If you can stash Sermon on your IR, you should do that. With all of the injuries to the 49ers RB’s it is probably worth holding Sermon.
Will Fuller, Miami Dolphins (87.4% Rostered, 2.5% Start)
After Week 2 for personal reasons, it was unclear whether Will Fuller would be back at all. Fuller would return to the team on Sept. 20. If Fuller is going to be active this week, he is definitely not going to be on this next week. But it is definitely worth monitoring.
