If you did not have any bye week trouble in Week 6, you are likely going to have some trouble this week. In week 7 the Bills, Cowboys, Jaguars, Vikings, Steelers, and Chargers are all on bye. With these teams on bye we are losing a couple top QBs, several high end running backs, numerous starting wide receivers, and a couple viable TE for fantasy football.
With so many fantasy football starters on bye there will be the need to use the waiver wire to find new starters. In addition to that, you will need to free up some space on your bench to stash these bye week players. There are always going to be some easy drops. But sometimes there are not any players on your roster that are clear drops.
That is where you need to look for your roster cloggers. If there is a player on your bench that you can not get into your starting lineup even during the bye weeks are they really adding much value to your team. Those last bench spots should be reserved for players that have the ability to turn into starters for your fantasy team.
Quarterback
Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns (49.5% Rostered, 11% Started)
Baker Mayfield has not been a terrible fantasy football QB so far this season. But he has not been great either. Baker is averaging just 256 passing yards and 1 passing touchdown per game. With his limited running ability we need to see more touchdowns from Mayfield before we can count on him as a fantasy QB.
With such low fantasy production so far, you likely would have been better off streaming the position on a weekly basis. I do think Baker is better than we have seen. Once the team is back to full strength there could be better days. But for now, fantasy football managers will be better off if they move on from Mayfield.
Taylor Heinicke, Washington Football Team (43.1% Rostered, 32.2% Started)
Taylor Heinicke is technically below my threshold to be considered a clogger, but I wanted to bring him up. Heinicke had several solid fantasy weeks after being thrust into the starting QB role in Week 2. He had three straight games with at least two touchdown passes and over 200 passing yards. But the last two weeks have been pretty bad. Over that span he has thrown just 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is still at least a couple weeks away from being ready to play again. He chose to rehab instead of surgery, meaning he will be available at some point. Unless Heinicke steps it up, Fitzpatrick could take over as the starter when he is healthy.
Running Backs
Devontae Booker, New York Giants (82.6% Rostered, 62% Started)
Without Saquon Barkley in the lineup, Devontae Booker got his first start of the season. Unfortunately, he did not make the most of it. He had 12 rush attempts for just 41 yards, with an additional 28 receiving yards. Unlike in Week 5, Booker did not get a touchdown – meaning he had a very down fantasy day.
With Barkley not landing on the IR there is a chance that he will be ready to go for Week 7. Even if Barkley misses Week 7, the Giants are playing the Panthers. This is not a matchup that I would feel great about starting Booker in. I would expect Barkley to be back in the lineup by Week 8 barring any major setbacks. I would drop Booker this week to make room for any needed starters.
Damien Williams, Chicago Bears (65.3% Rostered, 3.8% Started)
After David Montgomery landed on the IR after the Bear’s Week 4 game, Damien Williams was the hot waiver wire add. I personally put claims in for him, but made sure to put claims for Khalil Herbert, who I personally liked more. As the starter in Week 5, Williams had 16 attempts for 64 yards and a touchdown with another 20 yards in the passing game. Herbert actually played more snaps and was slightly more efficient. But Williams scored the touchdown, so Herbert’s play went unnoticed.
Unfortunately, Williams found himself on the COVID list for Week 6, opening the door for Khalil Herbert to step up. Herbert stepped up big time in the Bear’s Week 6 loss to the Packers.
Even if Williams is active for Week 7, the Bears are playing the Buccaneers so it is not a great matchup. In addition, the Bears will likely use a bit more of a timeshare led by Herbert, now that they know he can run efficiently and with success. Montgomery is also going to come off the IR at some point. When that happens, Williams will be nearly irrelevant again.
Wide Receivers
Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals (84.1% Rostered, 21.7% Started)
I was hesitant to put Tyler Boyd on this list, but I think that it is warranted. With the emergence of Ja’Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd is clearly the WR3 on the team. He may currently be 2nd on the team in targets, but that is only because Tee Higgins has missed two games this season. Boyd’s best games came while Higgins was not in the lineup. When Higgins is active, Boyd has averaged just 34 receiving yards per game. Compare that to 77 yards per game while Higgins is out.
If either Chase or Higgins misses time, Boyd is a safe play. Otherwise, he just is not making the most of his snaps. His lack of production as the WR3 on the team is not entirely surprising though. The team has only scored more than 30 points one time. The Bengals are not the most high powered offense. It will be difficult to sustain fantasy value for Chase, Higgins, and Mixon.
Cole Beasley, Buffalo Bills (63.1% Rostered, 13.5% Started)
This season, Cole Beasley has been the definition of boom or bust. Those types of players have a spot on some fantasy football rosters. They are not players I typically like to roster.
Beasley had 11 receptions for 98 yards in Week 3. He followed this up with back-to-back bad performances. Beasley had only two targets in Weeks 4 and 5 respectively. He had a total of 21 receiving yards in those games. In Week 6, Beasley had a good outing, but he was only played in 13.5% of lineups. So, the majority of his fantasy football managers missed out on the points.
If you play in a league that has deeper starter requirements or deeper benches, I can see a scenario that you would want to hold onto Beasley. In general, I think your bench spots are better used on players you feel comfortable putting into your lineup if need be. In addition, Beasley is on bye next week. You should feel comfortable dropping him to find a replacement player.
Tight Ends
Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packer (57.3% Rostered, 24.7% Started)
After a breakout season last year, Robert Tonyan has been one of the bigger busts at the TE position in 2021. So far, Tonyan only has one game with more than 10 receiving yards, and he only has 1 touchdown. Touchdowns were a big part of Tonyan’s fantasy success in 2020, but they just are not coming this season. Tonyan only has one game with more than two receptions this year.
If you are starting Tonyan, you likely can find a better option on the waiver wire. If you are just holding him on your bench, you are wasting that roster spot. Let your opponents waste a spot on him, and maybe they will drop a player that will be more helpful to your team.
Jonnu Smith, New England Patriors (53.8% Rostered, 23.9% Started)
Jonnu Smith has been on this list for a few weeks in a row now. I will not dig too deeply into him because in general not much has changed since last week. He did see an uptick in snap percentage in Week 6, but was still clearly the 2nd option at TE. Jonnu Smith only had two targets for the 2nd week in a row.
The Patriots offense is not high powered enough right now to support two TEs. As Mac Jones continues to develop, we may see that time come. For now, Jonnu not only shouldn’t be started, but he should not be rostered. I was shocked to see how many people are still starting Jonnu Smith. If you are starting Jonnu, there are better options that you can stream on a weekly basis.
Roster Clogger Watch
Mike Davis, Atlanta Falcons (84.5% Rostered, 6% Started)
After the Falcons did not invest high draft capital into a running back, it seemed that Mike Davis was going to be the undisputed starter. All offseason there were discussions of which of the backups was going to eventually steal the work. It turns out we were all wrong about who it was, but it seems that it did happen eventually.
In Week 5, Davis led the backfield in snaps, but had less opportunities than Cordarrelle Patterson. Davis leads the team in rushing yards, but it is Patterson’s involvement in the passing game that is really hurting Davis. Patterson has more than triple Davis’s receiving yards this season. The split in snaps between Davis and Patterson has been getting closer each week and it will eventually flip to Patterson’s favor.
Nyheim Hines, Indianapolis Colts (57.6% Rostered, 10.9% Started)
I am not ready to cut bait with Nyheim Hines, but things are not looking great. Over the past few weeks he has seen a drop in snap percentage. In Week 3 Hines was on the field for 56% of the snaps, but this past week he was on the field for just 23% of the snaps. This has coincided with an increase in snaps for Marlon Mack as he gets back to full health.
If Hines does not start to be more productive with his decreasing snaps he will be just another fantasy football roster clogger. But for now, I am holding onto some hope for him.
