Players To Drop In Week 4 Fantasy Football: Cut Stefon Diggs, Isiah Pacheco, and More
Geoff Ulrich breaks down how to prioritize who you should be dropping in fantasy football ahead of Week 4.
Cutting bait on those investments you’re already underwater on sucks, but just like Warren Buffett always says, “throwing good money after bad is for non-ball knowers … avoid it like the Cardinals avoid Marvin Harrison Jr. in the passing game”.
That’s why I’m here to give you some of the best players to drop NOW, before they drag your team down under the burden of another wasted roster spot, or worse, another week with a big, fat, single-digit fantasy score.
As always, you can pair the advice here with the fantasy football rankings, projections, and other cool tools from a FantasyLife+ subscription (Use code “GRIND” for 20% off).
There were some pretty big injuries once again in Week 3. You don’t need me to tell you to drop James Conner (ankle - out for year) or Najee Harris (Achilles - out for year). Other injuries to the likes of Tyrone Tracy, CeeDee Lamb, and Mike Evans will require patience, but won’t open up roster space, so you’ll also have tougher decisions to make on the current players that are hogging your bench spots.
Lucky for you, with the quarter-mile mark of the season approaching, there are some players you can get ahead of by dropping bait on now that will help open up some space on your roster.
Week 4’s most pertinent Drop candidates are below. Let’s drop it like it’s hot.
RELATED: Pair these drops with the best Week 4 waiver wire adds!
Week 4 Fantasy Football Players To Drop
Isiah Pacheco | RB
You were likely right to wait it out this long on Pacheco, but at this point, I don’t see much hope for a turnaround anytime soon. He was the more efficient back on paper last week, but 4.5 YPC isn’t much to write home about vs a Giants defense that is 31st in success rate and EPA per play vs the rush (via RBSDM.com). He also had a ridiculous unforced error when he turned the wrong way on a route, which led to a fumble and a near Giants TD.
Pacheco did play more snaps than Kareem Hunt (59% to 44% via the Utilization Report on Fantasy Life), but once again, it was Hunt who got the crucial inside the five-yard carries and scored a TD. Add in the fact that Brashard Smith got some work again (11% snap rate, 2 car. 13 yards), who the Chiefs view as a dynamic receiver out of the backfield, and any hope for a rebound to his 2023 glory seems all but gone at this point for Pacheco.
Potential replacements: Kareem Hunt, Trey Benson, Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Rodriguez, Ollie Gordon
Stefon Diggs | WR
Diggs leads all Patriots WRs with a 15% target share on the season, but Week 3 saw his usage dip to a season low 9% TS, and his aDOT on the season sits at just 6.9 yards. The low aDOT wouldn’t be as big a concern for Diggs if he were being utilized as a primary read/target for Drake Maye, but that’s not the case. Week 3 saw Maye attempt 37 passes, but 20 of those attempts went to RBs and TEs. This is after Week 2, where Maye only threw 9 passes to his WRs, while his TEs and RBs saw 14 targets.
At this point, if you’re chasing a Patriots, it might as well be deep ball threat Kayshon Boutte (16.3 ADOT, 28% team target share), or Kyle Williams, who has the most talent of this group and may eventually force his way into a bigger role soon.
Potential replacements: Tyquan Thornton, Elic Ayomanor, Darnell Mooney, Christian Kirk
Josh Downs | WR
Downs had a couple of nice downfield catches vs the Titans, but ranked fifth on the team in targets in a game that saw WR Alec Pierce leave early with a concussion. If Pierce has to miss time, it may give Downs a small boost, but the more likely scenario is that it elevates Adonai Mitchell, Pierce’s direct backup, into a larger role.
The real story here isn’t Pierce or Mitchell, though. It’s the fact that Downs is operating as a part-time player (57% route rate) behind two players in Tyler Warren (24% target share) and Michael Pittman (22% target share), who don’t figure to release their grip as primary targets for Daniel Jones anytime soon.
You would be justified to hold onto Downs for a week to see how the Pierce situation works out, but I’ve given you my take above. He’s the loser in a crowded Colts receiving core. If there is a bigger, better name to go after this week, Downs is fine to release.
Potential replacements: Tyquan Thornton, Elic Ayomanor, Darnell Mooney, Christian Kirk
Dylan Sampson | RB
Sampson looked like a potential usable RB2/3 after Week 1, so his inclusion on the drop list for Week 4 is a good reminder of how quickly things can change in the fantasy football world—yesterday’s hot wire add is today’s drop.
It’s not that I expect Sampson to get benched the rest of the season, but after Week 3, it’s clear that Quinshon Judkins (94 yards and a TD on 18 carries (5.22 YPC) vs Green Bay) is the man in Cleveland going forward. The bigger concern for Sampson is that with Judkins balling out as a runner, it appears like the Browns have gone back to making Jerome Ford their primary passing-down back. Ford played on 46% of the overall offensive snaps and handled 81% of the LDD snaps in Week 3, while Sampson played on just 27% of the snaps and handled just one touch.
If you were holding Sampson to wait and see how Judkins panned out, you don’t need to wait any longer. He’s very droppable going into the Week 4 waiver period.
Potential replacements: Kareem Hunt, Trey Benson, Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Rodriguez, Ollie Gordon
Jayden Higgins | WR
Higgins isn’t a highly owned player in most fantasy football leagues, but he’s also a player I’m not holding out hope for anytime soon. The Texans' passing game has been a mess to date, ranking just 28th in EPA per dropback through three weeks, and they’ve been hesitant to get either of their rookie WRs involved.
Through three weeks, Higgins is sitting with just a 6% target share and saw his route rate drop to 35% vs the Jaguars, a game in which the Texans trailed for most of the day. With Christian Kirk back and posting a 23% target share in his return, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel for Higgins. Even as a deep league stash option, there are better targets.
Potential replacements: Jalen Coker (stash), Chimere Dike (stash), Luther Burden (stash)
On Watch: (Not Dropping Yet, but the finger is on the trigger)
Hollywood Brown | WR
Brown’s path to fantasy relevance seems like it’s dwindling every week. Despite catching five passes vs the Eagles, he was mostly a dud in that game and ended that game with a 4.0 aDOT. Then last week vs the Giants—who have allowed the second most fantasy points and receptions to opposing WRs through three weeks—he managed just four receptions (six targets) for 42 yards and was overshadowed by Tyquan Thornton (27% target share vs the Giants) for the second week in a row.
Add in the impending return of Xavier Worthy (shoulder) and the looming end of Rashee Rice’s suspension, and Brown is running out of chances to carve out a figurehead role in this offense. He’s not just on watch but someone I’d feel comfortable switching for Thornton, straight-up, if the opportunity were out there.
Travis Hunter | WR
After posting an 11% target share in Week 2, Hunter regressed on offense again in Week 3, making just one catch for 21 yards (two targets), his worst output to date. There is a different dynamic in play with Hunter, who played on 43 defensive snaps and just 37 offensive snaps in Week 3, so patience is important. It’s possible we even see him play a more prominent role on offense as early as Week 4, with the injury to Dyami Brown.
However, you also need to be careful giving too much credit to Hunter (and the Jaguars) just because of his lofty draft status. If Liam Coen keeps preferring to make him a situational-only player on offense, even with the injury issues they are facing at WR, the time to drop him and look elsewhere for help won’t be far away.
I’d advocate giving him a shot if you have room for a boom/bust WR3 in your lineup for Week 4, but another poor showing would likely make him expendable going forward.
Week 4 Droplets (quick ideas for rosters that need improvement)
Drop Ray Davis (or any useless RB handcuff) for Ty Johnson, Kimani Vidal, or Ollie Gordon?
Davis has been bypassed by Ty Johnson on the depth chart in Buffalo. The third year back posted a lackluster 24 rush yards on nine carries (2.66 YPC) in the blowout vs the Jets, but managed no carries and played just 4 snaps in Week 3 vs Miami. Meanwhile, Johnson played on 15 snaps, taking three carries, while also seeing two targets in the passing game. If you’re holding Davis, my recommendation would be to either drop him straight up for Johnson, who is the more versatile back anyway and the clear favorite of the coaching staff in Buffalo, or exchange him for a better lotto handcuff like Vidal or Gordon.
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