Let’s take a look at players our analysts consider on the fringe as you weigh your fantasy football waiver wire additions for the week. And also be sure to check out all of our full fantasy football waiver wire advice for the week.
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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Advice: Drop or Hold?
DROP RECOMMENDATIONS
Droppable:
Trevor Lawrence is going to miss multiple weeks with an AC joint sprain that could potentially be season-ending. Lawrence was barely rosterable in 1QB leagues anyway and can now be dropped without hesitation.
The ascension of rookie Audric Estime in the Denver backfield robs Jaleel McLaughlin of what little fantasy appeal he may have had. At best, McLaughlin is now a third wheel behind Estime and Javonte Williams.
Dak Prescott will miss the rest of the season with a severe hamstring injury.
Devin Singletary is now backing up Giants rookie sensation Tyrone Tracy, who had another 100-yard rushing game Sunday against the Panthers. With the Giants heading into a bye week, Exchange Singletary for a more useful contributor.
Over his last three games, Bears QB Caleb Williams has completed 48-of-95 passes for 468 yards, with no touchdowns. He’s completed 50.2% of his throws over that stretch and has averaged 4.9 yards per pass attempt. Chicago’s bad, injury-plagued offensive line is part of the problem, but Williams hasn’t been able to get on the same page with veteran WRs Keenan Allen and D.J. Moore. The Bears’ season is in a death spiral. Caleb should be jettisoned in 1QB leagues.
Droppable with a chance of regret:
You hereby have our blessing to drop any and all Chicago Bears pass catchers. Yup, all of them. Bears WRs D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze have all disappointed this season, and TE Cole Kmet has only produced sporadically. Allen will probably be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday. Moore has been a terrific NFL receiver for years. Odunze is a top-10 draft pick with a bright future. Kmet has been a useful fantasy asset in recent years. But the Bears’ passing game simply isn’t working with rookie Caleb Williams at quarterback and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron calling the plays. The problems are too deep and too numerous to be quickly fixed. Spare yourself additional suffering and bail out now.
Look, we realize you’ve been sitting on Jonathan Brooks for a long time. You’re a bit like Horton, the dutiful elephant from the Dr. Seuss book “Horton Hatches the Egg.” You’ve sat on that egg a long time in anticipation of the hatching. We regret to inform you that the true hatching of Jonathan Brooks probably won’t happen until 2025. Brooks is coming off a torn ACL, and the Panthers have slow-rolled his return. Even when the Panthers finally activate him for a game, it seems unlikely the team will give him a significant workload. Chuba Hubbard has been terrific as Carolina’s lead back and just got a contract extension. The Panthers have no reason to risk Brooks’ health when they’re not playoff-bound. Expect Brooks to get just a small taste of action in 2024 before a more exciting rollout in 2025. There’s really no reason to keep sitting on that egg, Horton.
Remember how excited we were about Xavier Worthy after he scored two touchdowns in the Chiefs win over the Ravens in the Thursday-night season-opener? What a red herring THAT turned out to be. In eight games since that exciting debut, Worthy has had 18-200-2 on 40 targets. He has exceeded 50 receiving yards only once all season and hasn’t added much value as a runner after wowing us with that 21-yard TD run in Week 1. And the wild thing is that injuries have seemingly given Worthy every opportunity to become an important contributor for the Chiefs. Marquise “Hollywood” Brown was lost for the year before the season even started. Rashee Rice sustained a season-ending injury early on. JuJu Smith-Schuster got hurt. It doesn’t appear that Worthy is ready to take on a significant role for the Chiefs.
Don’t drop yet:
Audric Estime seems to have taken over as the Broncos’ primary early-down back. He out-snapped Javonte Williams 26-16 on Sunday and out-carried Javonte 14-1. But Javonte still led Denver’s RBs in routes run (10) and targets (2), so it’s possible he’ll be the Broncos’ primary pass-catching back going forward. That role has value, since Sean Payton’s offenses generally funnel a lot of targets to running backs. It’s also possible Estime won’t continue to dominate carries to the extent he did in Week 10. It’s at least worth holding Javonte until the dust settles.
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