I view each dynasty roster as a continuously fluid and meticulously crafted sculpture, constantly adding and removing pieces, making adjustments, and learning from my previous mistakes. There comes a time during every offseason that you have to decide which players on your team are no longer providing meaningful value to your roster, thus making them expendable or droppable assets.
Roster consolidation is an overlooked facet of managing a dynasty team. Dynasty managers will need to free up important roster space to make way for the influx of 2022 offensive rookies, especially if you are a manager like myself who enjoys acquiring a surplus of rookie draft picks.
Attachment to menial assets can often lead to difficult decisions when deciding who to keep or cut as dead weight. However, the decision to release these following players should not be as difficult. Here are ten players that managers can confidently dispose of before the 2022 NFL Draft.
*Roster Percentages based on 12 Team Superflex Tight End Premium Sleeper Leagues*
Taysom Hill TE - New Orleans Saints
Roster% - 57.4%
The logic behind dropping Taysom Hill from your rosters can be found in his position designation above. The Saints have reportedly shut down all talks of Hill playing as a quarterback for the team and will focus exclusively on Hill returning to his role as a tight end/gadget player. I can admittedly understand the appeal of holding out, hoping that Hill retains a backup role behind Saints’ starting quarterback Jameis Winston. However, if the reports are accurate and Hill is not preparing to take snaps under center, managers will be stuck holding the bag on a 31-year old tight end with minimal experience at the position.
Isaiah McKenzie WR - Buffalo Bills
Roster% - 48.3%
The minuscule value that Isaiah McKenzie holds in dynasty is propped up by the fact that he resides on a team with Josh Allen at quarterback. McKenzie has never held an influential role on the Bills' offense and has a single-season career-high target total of 39. McKenzie’s highest overall finish saw him ranked as the WR76 in 2020. McKenzie's value is likely to dissipate entirely before the 2022 season begins. With several reports linking the Bills to a top receiver in the upcoming NFL Draft, managers can feel confident releasing McKenzie from their dynasty rosters.
Jerick McKinnon RB - Kansas City Chiefs
Roster% - 46.0%
Jerrick McKinnon has played in 29 games over the last two seasons after missing all of 2018 and 2019 due to career-altering knee injuries. McKinnon scored just 29.40 fantasy points on the Chiefs offense in 2021 despite being active for 13 games. He is entering his 9th season at the age of 28 and has not had a top-24 season since 2017 as a member of the Vikings. McKinnon’s best years are long behind us. He has no trade value and cannot be trusted in your weekly lineups.
Mo Alie-Cox TE - Indianapolis Colts
Roster% - 41.8%
Mediocre boom-or-bust wide receivers and running backs are annoyingly unpredictable assets. Mediocre boom-or-bust tight ends are virtually useless to your fantasy roster. Mo Alie-Cox is a low-end TE2 that has never finished a season above TE27 in PPR scoring. He is a touchdown-dependent one-week starter when you need a fill-in. Nothing more. Holding out and hoping that Alie-Cox becomes a weekly fixture in fantasy is a broken pipedream that some managers can’t stop chasing.
Tyrod Taylor QB - New York Giants
Roster% - 39.8%
At this juncture in his career, Tyrod Taylor is merely a placeholder quarterback for managers with little to no depth at the position. Ironically, that is precisely how the NFL values Taylor as well. Even if Taylor is thrust into a starting role, his production is easily replaceable. The veteran journeyman has scored over 20.0 fantasy points in just one week in the past four seasons. I would rather free up a roster spot for a late dart throw in the 2022 rookie class than continue to hold Taylor.
Byron Pringle WR - Chicago Bears
Roster% - 41.8%
Byron Pringle has never had a top 50 season as a wide receiver in fantasy football. He has finished as a weekly WR1 only twice in his career. Pringle’s roster percentages increased following the Chiefs playoff 2021/2022 playoff run. Despite an upswing in rostership, Pringle’s overall dynasty value has remained stagnant and nominal. The Bears are in serious need of wide receiver talent and will likely look to add some key depth pieces via the 2022 NFL Draft. Unless you are in a league where rosters run deeper than Marianas Trench, I would consider Pringle droppable.
Josh Reynolds WR - Detroit Lions
Yahoo
Roster% - 36.3%
Josh Reynolds' highest-scoring fantasy season came in 2020 as a member of the Los Angeles Rams, where he finished as the WR62 overall. Reynolds is 27-years old entering his sixth year in the NFL with a peak ceiling of a low-end WR5. The Lions are likely to target one of the top rookie wide receivers in the upcoming draft, further limiting Reynolds’ shallow production ceiling.
Tarik Cohen RB - Free Agent
Roster% - 34.6%
Tarik Cohen has not stepped onto the field since tearing his ACL in Week 3 of the 2020 season. He is without an NFL team to call home after being recently released by the Bears. Cohen’s professional career is in question, with doubts arising as to whether or not he will ever play again. Even if Cohen signs a new contract, he is far removed from the impressive rookie and sophomore seasons we saw in 2017 and 2018. It is difficult to envision a team taking a risk on Cohen, considering the expendability of the running back position in today's game.
Derrius Guice RB - Free Agent
Roster% - 32.7%
What are we even doing here, folks? For Derrius Guice’s roster percentage to be anything above 0.0% is ludicrous. Drafted by the (now) Commanders in 2018, Guice has played only five games in four seasons. Guice has had multiple significant injuries throughout his playing career and has yet to return to the NFL since being suspended following a domestic violence arrest. We are unlikely to see Guice play another snap in the league. Managers can comfortably cut ties with this investment.
Blake Jarwin TE - Free Agent
Roster% - 26.5%
The Cowboys released Blake Jarwin following a failed physical exam during the offseason. There are questions surrounding Jarwin’s health and, in turn, his future as an NFL player. Jarwin has not played in an entire season since 2019, losing his lead role to breakout star Dalton Schultz. Jarwin’s best season saw him finish as the TE28 overall in PPR scoring. If Jarwin does resume his career on a new roster, the production will be mediocre at best.
Much respect, thank you for reading. If you have any continued thoughts and would like to share, I am always available for an open conversation on Twitter: @PsychWardFF or Instagram: @psychwardff.
You can find my other works as the Lead Writer and DOC at BRoto Fantasy Football.
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By Matt Ward
For a second straight season, I am betting against Mahomes.