Over the past few weeks, I have noticed this list getting very repetitive. There have been a lot of Falcons recently. This week still features a Falcon, but not as many as usual. Mike Davis is surprisingly not a fantasy football roster clogger this week in my opinion. With Cordarrelle Patterson questionable on a short week, Davis should see an increase in usage. I do not think he will be a smash play, but Davis could have a better week than a lot of the other running backs you may be deciding between if Patterson can not play.
That being said, it is crunch time. You probably have a pretty good idea of whether you are in the playoffs by now. If you are locked in, you need to create a team with depth that can help you make a strong playoff run. If you are on the outside looking in, it is time to make a move. Take a riskier approach with your lineups to try and secure more victories. Either way, you need to make sure that you have the bench space to be able to make these moves. Trimming down your fantasy football roster cloggers is the way to efficiently manage your roster.
Quarterbacks
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons (54.5% Rostered, 22.1% Started)
Due to his appeal as a streaming QB, Matt Ryan has been a staple of the roster clogger article this season. His roster percentage has been hovering around 50% nearly the entire season; and he seems to have decent games every few weeks.
Ryan’s Week 10 performance was by far his worst of the season. He had under 120 passing yards and two interceptions. Ryan let fantasy football managers down in a big way, and only played in the first three quarters of the game. With what should have been a decent matchup, Ryan was used as streaming option on many fantasy rosters.
If you are using Ryan as a streaming option you should still be fine to do so occasionally. But a Week 11 matchup against the Patriots is not the week to do it. If you can not start him it is time to drop him and try and add one of these high value handcuff RBs.
Running Backs
Adrian Peterson, Tennessee Titans (58.9% Rostered, 20.6% Started)
Last week all of the Titans RB’s were on the watchlist. This week, I am moving Adrian Peterson up to the main list. Peterson did improve his efficiency slightly from his first week to his second. Not only did he have a decrease in carries, but so did D’Onta Foreman. It looks like Foreman is turning into the lead back in that three-headed committee.
Through two weeks, Peterson has 42 yards and one touchdown with an additional six receiving yards on two receptions. These just are not the kinds of stats we are expecting of the veteran running back.
Just looked this up, and I believe Titans RB Adrian Peterson is one of just four players left from the 2007 draft. The other three? Two kickers (Mason Crosby, Nick Folk) and a long-snapper (Clark Harris).
Given the miles on Peterson's legs/the position he plays, that's INSANE.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) November 8, 2021
We are likely to see improvement, but chances are it will be from on your bench and not in your starting lineup. If you want to wait another week on Peterson I do not blame you. You likely used a bit of FAAB or used your waiver priority to add him to your roster. But if next week is not significantly better he is just taking up a valuable bench spot.
Wide Receivers
Julio Jones, Tennessee Titans (82.0% Rostered, 17.1% Started)
I was hesitant to put Julio Jones on this list, but with him on such a high percentage of rosters I wanted to discuss him here. Jones was placed on the IR by the Titans due to a lingering hamstring issue. This means that he will not be active until at least Week 14. Meaning, he will not be in your lineup for the remainder of the fantasy regular season. If you have the IR spot available for Julio use it on him, but only if you are a playoff team. If you are not a playoff team there is no reason for you to be holding onto him.
Julio has already missed three games this season before being placed on the IR, so he was hardly reliable anyway. In his six active games, Julio only has two games with over 50 receiving yards. Julio also has not caught any touchdown passes this year. His lack of production paired with his health concerns makes him someone that you are likely not starting in your fantasy football playoffs.
Jakobi Meyers, New England Patriots (67.1% Rostered, 23.4% Started)
After what seemed like forever, Jakobi Meyers has caught his first NFL touchdown pass. Unfortunately, he was only started in about 1/3 of fantasy leagues that he is rostered in. Meyers did lead the Patriots in snaps, routes run, and targets, but he was not the best fantasy option on the team. Kendrick Bourne led the team in receiving yards and also caught a touchdown pass.
Jakobi Meyers, still very pumped about his touchdown. pic.twitter.com/AbWKQyLMRT
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) November 16, 2021
If you roster Meyers, he was most likely on your bench for his best fantasy game of the season. There are other managers in your league that probably need him in their starting lineups on a weekly basis. Now that he has that touchdown, he has gained a bit of fantasy trade value.
Unlike most roster cloggers, I do not think that you should drop Meyers. I think that you need to try and trade him ASAP. You can likely trade a bench player on your team (Meyers) for an asset that you could feel comfortable starting, or an asset that will help make a playoff push.
Tight Ends
Jared Cook, Los Angeles Chargers (62.3% Rostered, 26.9% Started)
Jared Cook had a pretty decent start to the season. Cook had a touchdown or at least 50 receiving yards in three of six games. Not a guarenteed starter, but someone you could use as a tight end streamer. But since the Chargers bye week, Cook has only seven reception and no touchdowns. In those three games, he has yet to surpass the 50-yard mark.
There will be weeks that you are forced to stream Cook. That is likely the 26.9% of teams that started him. But you should not be rostering two TE in the majority of leagues. More than half the people that roster Cook did not start him in Week 10. You are wasting a roster spot by keeping Cook.
Roster Clogger Watch
D’Ernest Johnson, Cleveland Browns (87.5% Rostered, 77.6% Started)
D’Ernest Johnson has been a pretty solid fill-in for the Browns while they have been struggling with injuries and COVID. Johnson could quickly be pushed back down the depth chart with Kareem Hunt eligible to return from the IR this week . Nick Chubb also is potentially eligible to be taken off the COVID reserve list this week. There is also the chance that both Chubb and Hunt remain inactive for the Week 11 matchup against the Lions.
#Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said we’ll see if RB Kareem Hunt (calf, on IR) can return to practice this week. Stefanski said he’s progressing. Hunt has missed four games. At time if injury, Stefanski said ballpark for return had been projected at 4-6 weeks
— Nate Ulrich (@ByNateUlrich) November 15, 2021
If both are active, Johnson will be droppable. If either of them are to miss another week, Johnson could have another usable fantasy week. Pay attention to the news throughout the remainder of the week before making any decisions on D’Ernest Johnson.
Antonio Brown, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (89.9% Rostered, 3.5% Started)
A lingering ankle injury has held Antonio Brown off the field following an electric start to the season. The injury has caused him to miss the teams last three games with the bye week mixed in. With the end of the fantasy football regular season approaching, we need to continue to get more efficient with our rosters. Stashing an injured player for weeks at a time may not be the most optimal move. If we do not see a positive development related to this injury it might be getting close to time to move on.
Great find here by @JohnRossJr5
Now we know, Antonio Brown is most likely dealing with a deltoid ligament tear (explains the walking boot for ~3-4 weeks).
DOI: Wk6. I’d bet we see AB return Wk13-14 or later.Similar injury as Michael Thomas. Might not be as severe.@DLFootball https://t.co/x2m1H8x44G
— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) November 13, 2021
If Brown is not going to be active until Week 13 or 14, he is only of value to the teams that are locked into the fantasy football playoffs. If you are in desperate need of wins, now might be the time to try and trade AB. He still maintains some value, but if news confirms the speculation above then you may have that window close – and very quickly. If you are a playoff team and can sustain a few more weeks, with Brown on your bench, by all means keep holding. But we need to be watching for any developments related to the injury in the coming weeks.
Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears (75.4% Rostered, 17.3% Started)
The Bears may have been on bye in Week 10, but we need to continue to monitor his usage. If Week 11 is not a step in the right direction I promise he will be on the main list next week.
