Remember in "Mean Girls," when Lacey Chabert’s Gretchen Wieners was committed to making "fetch" part of the high school lexicon, only to be shut down by Rachel McAdams’ Regina George?
Same lesson applies to fantasy football — and a billion other things, but let’s focus here. Some players just aren’t "going to happen," to borrow Regina’s words.
Through five weeks, it’s starting to become clear that a few preseason stars aren’t going to put it together this year; some sleepers will keep on sleeping. Excluding players lost to season-ending injuries — and holdout Le’Veon Bell (Steelers)— read on for a few who can be shopped or dropped, because they definitely are not "so fetch."
Russell Wilson
The Seahawks quarterback hasn’t been all bad, but he’s fallen short when factoring in his average draft position (ADP). In ESPN leagues as of one week before the season began, his ADP of 54.9 made him the No. 5 QB off the board, on average. He currently ranks 19th in points by QBs, well behind demoted Ryan Fitzpatrick (Buccaneers) and "The Good Place" punchline Blake Bortles (Jaguars). QB is deep, so move on if you wish.
Derrick Henry
Bell’s situation was worse than many — myself included — expected, and injuries have hampered first-round options Leonard Fournette (Jaguars) and Dalvin Cook (Vikings). But Henry, with an ADP of 45 and drafted as an RB2, has underwhelmed with no obvious excuse. He’s clearly less valuable than TItans teammate Dion Lewis, posting between 4 and 6 PPR points every week. Drop with impunity.
Larry Fitzgerald
The legendary Cardinals WR has defied age for years, but Father Time wins every time. He’s been hampered by a hamstring injury for weeks after a strong Week 1, failing to surpass 6 PPR points ever since. That’s unacceptable for a player drafted as a WR2. With a rookie quarterback leading a dismal — other than RB David Johnson — offense, it’s OK to move on from the surefire Hall of Famer if a high-upside option is available.
Delanie Walker
OK, so this guy did suffer a season-ending injury, but there haven’t been a lot of truly disappointing top TEs this season. Injuries have affected the likes of preseason positional top 10s Greg Olsen (Panthers) and Evan Engram (Giants), but Walker couldn’t make it through a solid Week 1 effort before breaking his ankle and suffering ligament damage. Almost no return on investment for the No. 6 TE, based on ADP.
