With fantasy football playoffs underway, maximizing the potential of your roster becomes paramount. Depth becomes less important as the season shifts into an all-out scramble toward the finish.
Roster makeup should be adjusted accordingly. Injured players — even those who will return this year — have a shorter leash as fantasy managers must decide whether this player will still be productive when they return. A player experiencing a few bad weeks could also be dropped as managers must decide who they can trust in their starting lineups.
With so many layers of decision-making in place, find out which players are no longer worth rostering in our Fantasy Football Week 16 Drop List.
Week 15 Fantasy Football Drop List
Quarterbacks
Sam Howell (Washington Commanders)
Sam Howell is one of those players who is a far better fantasy quarterback than he is a real-life quarterback. He came into Week 15 having surpassed 17 fantasy points in nine of his last ten games, though on the field he had a 4-9 record as a starter while leading the NFL in interceptions and sacks.
Many fantasy managers inserted Howell into their lineups in Week 15 expecting the second-year QB to produce the same sort of disparate performances that he had all season; playing an objectively bad game that still managed to be productive through the lens of fantasy football scoring. But for one of the first times this season, Howell managed to do neither. He was 11-26 for 102 yards with a touchdown and an interception before head coach Ron Rivera removed him in the fourth quarter, a move that Rivera noted was to protect his QB rather than bench him.
Howell remains the Washington starter for Week 16, but it feels difficult to trust him at all moving forward.
Running Backs
Najee Harris (Pittsburgh Steelers)
For a few weeks in the middle of the season, it appeared that Najee Harris had salvaged some sort of fantasy value. He had 10-plus fantasy points five times in a six-game stretch while also providing a receiving threat out of the backfield. But once Kenny Pickett was sidelined, the entire offense — including Harris — has struggled.
He is barely averaging three yards per carry across his last three games and has not found the end zone during this span. That is not the type of fantasy production you can trust during the playoffs.
Keaton Mitchell (Baltimore Ravens)
No player made more from limited touches than Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell. The rookie was averaging 8.4 yards per carry and 10.3 yards per reception this year, but his season is over. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Mitchell suffered a torn ACL in Baltimore's win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, cutting short a promising rookie campaign.
Wide Receivers
George Pickens (Pittsburgh Steelers)
After a breakout year seemed likely early in the season, George Pickens has experienced a significant falloff since then. Pickens has failed to surpass 10 fantasy points in seven of the last eight weeks, and while he is consistently in the seven to eight-point range, there is no fantasy value there outside of the deepest leagues.
Gabe Davis (Buffalo Bills)
One bad week is acceptable, but Gabe Davis has now gone consecutive games without a catch. He now has four catch-less games in his last six contests. Davis is the fourth option in the Buffalo Bills passing attack, behind Stefon Diggs, Dalton Kincaid, and now James Cook. The return of Dawson Knox also does not bode well for Davis' fantasy prospects.
Tight Ends
Logan Thomas (Washington Commanders)
For a solid stretch of the season, Logan Thomas was a consistent fantasy tight end who was always good for eight or nine points. But over the last three games, the Commanders tight end has just three catches for 22 yards. That type of fantasy production does not warrant a roster spot during the playoffs.
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