Playoffs mean time to cut bait
FOR fantasy football owners, the regular season is nearly over. With just two or three weeks left, depending on your league, those sitting atop the standings are now studying the schedule and organizing their rosters in anticipation of the upcoming playoffs.
Those who are on the playoff bubble are carefully plotting their short-term strategy with a win-and-we’re-in mentality. The time of hoping a player will come around is over. Upside and potential are now just dirty words. If they haven’t hit their stride or lived up to expectations by the end of Week 11, it is time to let go.
We spend so much time scouting the possibilities and plotting out strategies that, often times, we lose sight of what is happening right in front of us. We hear a player’s name, look at their track record and simply expect that, at some point, they’re going to deliver on the promises none of them ever made, but our expectations created. If you’re winning, we say, “If it ai n’ t broke, don’t fix it,” but if the results aren’t coming, few people tell you it’s time to cut bait. We’re telling you now.
When Aaron Rodgers went down with a broken collarbone, fantasy pundits suggested you hold onto your Packers receivers and see how things played out, to give Brett Hundley a chance. We’re now five weeks into the Hundley Era, and the only receiver worth his fantasy salt right now is Davante Adams.
If you’ve held onto Jordy Nelson, widely considered one of the elites in the game entering the season, it is time to let go. His on-field rapport with Hundley has been nonexistent — he has averaged just 3.2 catches for 30.4 yards with zero touchdowns in that span. He also hasn’t seen a red-zone target in four games. His place on your roster needs to go to someone else.
Broncos running back C.J. Anderson is another who needs to be jettisoned. He may have found the end zone in Week 11, but it was his first touchdown in eight games, and he steadily has been losing his grip on the starting job for weeks, culminating in being out-snapped by Devontae Booker this week.
Theo Riddick? He has produced for fantasy owners just once in the past nine games. Jordan Matthews? Yuck. And when was the last time Hunter Henry even made you smile?
This is it. The end is near. If you’ve been holding out hope this long, you need to drop it like it’s hot. It’s time to be the Janet Jackson of fantasy football and ask your players, “What have you done for me lately?” If the answer is nothing, it’s time to say goodbye.