Roster management is the single most crucial in-season task for fantasy football managers. Knowing which players to let go is just as important as adding the right guys. Which players find themselves on our Week 5 fantasy football cut list?
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Who Should You Cut in Fantasy Football in Week 5?
We now have three weeks of data on these players. As a result, we’re starting to get a much better gauge of who they are. This is when the cut list starts to feature names that you probably wouldn’t have imagined outright cutting when the season started.
Joshua Kelley, RB, Los Angeles Chargers (56% Rostered)
There are going to be a handful of repeat names on the Week 5 cut list from last week’s list because not enough of you have dropped these players! Joshua Kelley is one of them.
Kelley is coming off his best game so far filling in for Austin Ekeler. He totaled a whopping 6.5 fantasy points. Hooray.
Ironically, Kelley has scored fewer fantasy points in his three starts combined than he did in Week 1 playing alongside Ekeler.
With no upside to speak of and no passing-game role at all (one reception on the season), Kelley has proven there is no environment in which he can succeed. You’re never going to start him, and Ekeler should be back following the bye. Drop Kelley now.
Antonio Gibson, RB, Washington Commanders (51% Rostered)
Antonio Gibson’s rostership is declining. It’s just not low enough yet.
Through four games, Gibson has yet to score nine fantasy points in a single game. In fact, his Weeks 1, 3, and 4 performances combined do not add up to his season-high 8.9 points in Week 2.
MORE: Week 5 RB Waiver Wire Targets 2023
Gibson is still the Commanders’ primary passing-down back, but he’s averaging a mere 3.25 carries per game. Even a couple of receptions won’t save him.
The only hope for any fantasy value is if Brian Robinson Jr. were to get hurt. Even then, I’m not entirely sure it won’t be Chris Rodriguez as the primary runner and goal-line back. Gibson has zero upside. You can let him go.
Dalvin Cook, RB, New York Jets (78% Rostered)
What are we doing here? 78%! Dalvin Cook might be the most washed running back in the league right now. The once great talent is completely done and has nothing left.
In the same game in which Breece Hall carried the ball six times for 56 yards, Cook carried the ball five times for 16 yards. Cook has 74 rushing yards on the season.
Even if Cook were to be used as the goal-line back, the Jets’ offense isn’t good enough to justify continuing to roster him. At this point, Cook is a very, very poor man’s Ezekiel Elliott.
Even if Hall were to go down, it wouldn’t save Cook’s fantasy value, as he would split time with Michael Carter. At this point, I’m not entirely sure Cook should even be in the NFL, let alone on your fantasy roster.
AJ Dillon, RB, Green Bay Packers (72% Rostered)
This is another situation where too many of you still roster a player. AJ Dillon makes his second consecutive appearance on the cut list. Following Aaron Jones’ return to limited action, Dillon did, well, what Dillon does. He took a few carries and went nowhere, running the ball five times for 11 yards.
We don’t typically think of players as washed at 25, but that appears to be the case for Dillon. There was a time when he was legitimately very good at football. That time is definitely not now.
As a rookie, Dillon averaged 5.3 yards per carry. He was at a respectable 4.3 and 4.1 each of the next two seasons, respectively.
This year? 2.7.
Dillon’s passing-game role is down, and he’s been ineffective at the goal line. There is no scenario where Dillon will ever be in your lineups, even if Jones gets hurt again. Cut him.
Brandin Cooks, WR, Dallas Cowboys (55% Rostered)
It was definitely a surprise to see that Brandin Cooks led the Cowboys in snaps and routes run against the Patriots. But fantasy sports aren’t scored running wind sprints, which is mostly what Cooks was doing.
Cooks did have his best game of the season on Sunday. He caught all four of his targets for 27 yards.
MORE: WR Week 5 Trade Targets 2023
The Cowboys’ passing game is CeeDee Lamb, followed by, apparently, Jake Ferguson, and then the running backs. Cooks is just a role player. He’s basically what T.Y. Hilton was last season, except he plays more snaps. The production isn’t any different. Fantasy managers hoping for a renaissance should move on.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, New England Patriots (46% Rostered)
JuJu Smith-Schuster was never as good as his 2018 season and not cut out to be a WR1 in the NFL. But he could’ve been a good WR2. Unfortunately, injuries have sapped all of Smith-Schuster’s playmaking ability.
Smith-Schuster has caught exactly one pass in each of his last two games. Against the Cowboys, he played less than half the snaps and ran just 13 routes.
Smith-Schuster’s role continues to decline, and I don’t see it ever turning around. It would not surprise me if this ends up being his last year in the NFL.
Skyy Moore, WR, Kansas City Chiefs (50% Rostered)
I am flabbergasted that Skyy Moore is still being rostered in half of Yahoo leagues. The Chiefs do not have a WR1. They have a rotation of guys who all play around 40-60% of the snaps. Moore is the least talented of them all.
On Sunday night against the Jets, it was Justin Watson’s turn to lead the team in routes run. He didn’t catch a pass. Moore was tied with him in snaps but ran a mere 18 routes, earning just two targets, neither of which were caught.
Moore has now gone catchless in two of his four games this season. I understand why fantasy managers threw darts at just about every Chiefs receiver. Unfortunately, the answer is none of them.
Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons (95% Rostered)
To be clear, I’m not telling you to run out and drop Kyle Pitts. At the tight end position, even production as minimal as Pitts’ 2-21 isn’t terrible. That’s how bad it is this season.
Pitts’ name is on this list to let you know that if you happen to have another tight end you know you can start, then you can freely drop Pitts without any qualms.
Pitts is just another random touchdown-or-bust TE2. He’s been thoroughly outproduced by Jonnu Smith for three straight weeks. Against the Jaguars, Smith played just five fewer snaps than Pitts. They are straight up splitting the role.
Feel free to continue starting Pitts if you want because the alternatives aren’t exactly slam dunks. But don’t be afraid to drop him, either.
Pat Freiermuth, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers (86% Rostered)
In Week 3, Pat Freiermuth caught three passes for 41 yards. In his other three games combined, he totaled 12 yards. This is not a tight end that belongs anywhere near fantasy rosters, even when healthy.
Now, Freiermuth is dealing with a hamstring strain that was bad enough that the Steelers immediately ruled him out. Rather than playing the “questionable to return” game, they didn’t even bother.
Freiermuth is not going to play in Week 5. Then, the Steelers are on bye in Week 6. You were probably going to have to drop him to pick up a replacement that week anyway, so might as well do it now.