Players to Drop in Fantasy Football Ahead of Week 6: Move On From Mark Andrews

With bye weeks becoming more and more of a factor, waiver moves are going to be extremely crucial for fantasy rosters. You are going to have to pick up and start players to replace your players on bye, but it’s important to know which players you can safely drop when making those moves.

Players to Drop in Fantasy Football Ahead of Week 6

Justin Herbert | QB | Los Angeles Chargers

Roster percentage: ESPN (60.3%), Yahoo (69%)

Justin Herbert

You know, Justin Herbert should have probably headlined this list weeks ago, but I wanted to hold onto the faith. After all, this is still an immensely talented quarterback, and the Chargers would surely get it together, right?

Wrong.

This team and this offense remain broken, and while the situation is far from ideal, Herbert also just isn’t playing well. Head-scratching turnovers continue to plague him, as Herbert has now been under 15 fantasy points in all five games this season. Already without any sort of ceiling, Herbert continues to play behind a beat-up offensive line, while his top two wideouts are both dealing with injuries, too. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, especially with Kansas City, Los Angeles (Rams), Houston and Baltimore ahead on the schedule.

At this point, the Chargers should just embrace the tank and try to get Jeremiah Smith for Herbert next season.

Players to drop Herbert for:

C.J. Stroud, HOU

Shane Falco, Washington Sentinels

Willie Beamen, Miami Sharks

Kenny Gainwell | RB | Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Kenneth Gainwell

The Bucs gave Kenneth Gainwell a healthy contract this offseason, so it’s possible his role grows over the course of the season. But a handful of his carries on Thursday came when Bucky Irving was banged up on the sideline, and if he were to ever miss time, Gainwell would likely split the backfield with Sean Tucker, who would undoubtedly handle the short-yardage work.

Irving’s weekly usage can be tough to predict, but everything we saw this week suggests a workhorse. That limits Gainwell to long down and distance snaps, as well as two-minute situations. The Bucs still look like a below-average team, so we could see Gainwell in catch-up mode quite a bit, but you won’t ever feel good about putting him into your lineup, while I don’t see him as the clear and obvious handcuff to Irving. Not a must-drop, but someone you can absolutely move on from ahead of Week 6.

Players to drop Gainwell for:

Woody Marks, HOU

MarShawn Lloyd, GB

Dameon Pierce, PHI

Makai Lemon | WR | Philadelphia Eagles

Roster percentage: ESPN (49.7%), Yahoo (42%)

Sure, Makai Lemon set career highs in both receptions (5) and receiving yards (43) in London, but he hasn’t been able to showcase any upside with the Eagles so banged up on offense. It was good to see him operate as a full-time player, but Dallas Goedert returned and immediately led the team in targets with nine, while Dontayvion Wicks saw eight looks. And Darius Cooper just keeps scoring touchdowns.

DeVonta Smith (hamstring) is going to return eventually, making Lemon, who already isn’t worth starting, a complete afterthought in fantasy football.

Players to drop Lemon for:

Germie Bernard, PIT

Mark Andrews | TE | Baltimore Ravens

Mark Andrews

Mark Andrews had a brutal game on primetime this week, catching 4 of 6 targets for 28 yards. But it’s even worse than the final stat line suggests. Andrews dropped an easy touchdown on Baltimore’s opening drive of the game, followed by a lost fumble not too long after. It’s pretty clear Andrews isn’t the same player he once was, and even when Lamar Jackson returns to the lineup, he’ll remain a touchdown-dependent tight end in fantasy. The frustrating thing is his underlying usage metrics are solid, sporting a 23% target share (4th) and 26% TPRR (5th). Tight end can be rough, and we do have teams on bye again, so Andrews isn’t the easiest drop. But despite seeing strong usage, the production has resembled a waiver wire tight end.

Players to drop Andrews for:

Pat Freiermuth, PIT

Brenton Strange, JAC