Week 9 Fantasy Football Droppables: Time to Admit Royce Freeman is a 2018 Bust

Phillip Lindsay has taken total control of Denver's backfield, making Royce Freeman droppable in all leagues.

Early in the week, the fantasy football community is focused on the waiver wire. Of course, to pick up one player, you must drop another. This column covers the other side of that transaction. Get acquainted with our Week 9 Droppables.

As always, remember that these are not players you must drop. Specific league parameters, such as starting lineup requirements, roster size, and number of teams, will go a long way toward determining who should be dropped, and who should be kept. Droppables, then, can still be roster-worthy, but no longer deserve a guaranteed spot on a roster in most leagues.

Royce Freeman, RB, Broncos

Freeman missed Denver’s 30-23 loss to Kansas City in Week 8 with an ankle injury. Phillip Lindsay took full advantage, running for 95 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, and catching three passes for 17 yards. Lindsay has been the better, more dynamic back all season, and he showed on Sunday what he can do when he has the backfield mostly to himself. Freeman could return as soon as Week 9, but he’s unlikely to be a player you ever trust in your fantasy starting lineup. Freeman climbed into the top four rounds of most drafts this summer, making him one of this season’s biggest busts.

Corey Clement, RB, Eagles

In Philadelphia’s last two games, Clement has 12 yards on 12 carries, and three receptions for 15 yards. Believed by many, myself included, to be the team’s primary back after Jay Ajayi tore his ACL, Clement has been a non-factor in fantasy leagues. In the meantime, Josh Adams has carved out a role in the backfield, and Wendell Smallwood has remained effective, if not a fantasy powerhouse. The Eagles have a bye in Week 9, after which there will be just three weeks remaining in the typical fantasy regular season. There’s no reason to hold onto Clement after what we’ve seen the last two weeks.

Nelson Agholor, WR, Eagles

This one may come as more of a surprise. Still, with the Eagles one of six teams on bye this week, it’s entirely possible Agholor owners will need to make a move on the waiver wire simply to fill starting lineups. If that’s the case, Agholor can be on the chopping block. He had three catches for 49 yards in the 24-18 win over the Jaguars, his fifth game with fewer than 50 yards in the last six weeks. Agholor is averaging 5.1 catches on 7.6 targets for 46.5 yards and 0.1 touchdowns per game this season.

Randall Cobb, WR, Packers

Cobb made his return from a hamstring injury in Week 8, catching four of five targets for 40 yards in the Packers’ 29-27 loss to the Rams. The numbers weren’t terrible, especially for someone playing his first game in a month, but Cobb ran fourth on the team in routes and snap rate, trailing Davante Adams, Geronimo Allison and, crucially, Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The latter emerged in Cobb’s and Allison’s absences, and has appeared to gain a foothold in the offense. If that’s the case, it will likely come at Cobb’s expense.

Duke Johnson, RB, Browns

Johnson was again invisible in the Browns’ gameplan in Week 8, running the ball twice for zero yards and catching two of three targets for 16 yards. Nick Chubb equaled him in targets, a terrible sign, and racked up 18 carries. Johnson has never done much damage on the ground, but the fact that he has made only token contributions to the passing game—20 receptions on 29 targets for 203 yards in eight games—has been a major disappointment. The team finally fired Hue Jackson on Monday, but that likely won’t change Johnson’s fantasy value much, if at all. There’s no reason to hold onto him, even in deep leagues.