Much of fantasy football in-season owner strategy centers around which players to pick up from the waiver wire or to target in the trade market. However, roster spots are a premium resource. Cutting a player - or adding them to a trade - opens a roster spot for a key waiver wire addition or flexibility to keep a currently injured player through a missed game or two. Here are the key players to cut or trade after Week 3:
SHALLOW FORMATS
*15-18 roster spots*
Why: Specifically in a shallow redraft, Wentz has a tough situation with even more injuries around him. Wentz is operating with Zach Ertz, Miles Sanders, and what else? The wide receivers are lacking and Dallas Goedert is now out for a stretch. Wentz will need to survive production-wise on his rushing and high volume. This is to be a streaming type in formats of 18 or fewer roster spots. The 49ers, Steelers, and Ravens are the next three games for Wentz as well.
Why: Gurley can still return something in the trade market to help your team. However, Gurley is a touchdown-dependent player within Atlanta's offense. Gurley has a mere three catches in three games and Atlanta's defense is poor enough they will be in a shootout or negative game script plenty this year. Even without Julio Jones and having a positive game script, Gurley had 15 touches and a middling fantasy performance - while scoring a touchdown. Gurley is unlikely to make a positive impact on fantasy teams this season from an aWORP (Adjusted Wins Over Replacement Player) perspective.
Marvin Jones
Why: Jones was a middling producer with Kenny Golladay out of the lineup for Detroit. Now, Golladay is back and Jones saw a mere three targets in Week 3. With a trio of running backs, plus T.J. Hockenson and Danny Amendola as ancillary targets, Jones is more of a deeper league-lineup option and a streamer pickup, if needed, on the shallow end of the format spectrum.
Why: Doyle saw no targets in Week 3, his return to action. The game script was positive in the comfortable win over the Jets, but Mo Alie-Cox has been a revelation the past two weeks with a gaudy 8-161-1 stat line on nine targets. Alie-Cox is not going away for the run-centric Colts offense, which will limit the robust targets needed for Doyle to aggregate his way to a fantasy-relevant season considering his athletic limitations.
MEDIUM DEPTH
*18-22 roster spots*
Mitchell Trubisky
Why: Trubisky was benched, which was likely a matter of time in 2020, and Nick Foles came in an promptly led a Bears comeback win. Foles' addition to the offense immediately boosted the timing and rhythm of the passing game. Trubisky offers mobility and high-variance upside as an NFL backup, but his volatility makes him a wildcard weekly as a starter. Without a Foles injury, Trubisky is unlikely to be back under center this season.
Why: Howard is the clear RB3 in Miami and has posted a fullback-like stat line of 16-12-3 rushing as the goal line and short-yardage option in the backfield. Howard has minimal roster utility, even in best-ball leagues, and might struggle to be relevant even if Myles Gaskin or Matt Breida were out. Seek higher upside injury-away options in this depth of format.
Why: Brian Hill has cemented his status as the primary backup to Todd Gurley in Atlanta. Hill has more snaps than Smith in all three games, including a massive edge in Week 3. Considering Todd Gurley is also on this list in shallow formats, Smith has no business being on a roster of fewer than 30 roster spots as the RB3 on a questionable upside running back offense.
Why: Even with the Jets' laundry list of wide receiver injuries, Herndon has been a fantasy no-show through three weeks. Herndon is averaging a mere 6.3 yards-per-reception on the season, Investing in the Jets beyond possibly Jamison Crowder when he returns is a dicey bet, especially at a tight end position where new streaming (or better) options have popped up with regularity through the season's opening three weeks.
DEEP FORMATS
*25+ roster spots, more dynasty-focused*
Why: Lewis goes from waiver wire priority and flip candidate to essentially worthless in a matter of an hour or two in Week 3. Wayne Gallman was the starter with early snaps and Devonta Freeman played more than expected considering he had signed with the team a mere few days earlier. Lewis was relegated to essentially hurry-up drill drives. Expect Lewis to be the RB3 in the rotation and on a low-upside offense for more cold water on his stock. Lewis would be a tough sell for even a 4th- to 3rd-round rookie pick upgrade this week.
Why: LeVeon Bell will be back shortly (projected) and Gore has been the quintessential forgettable upside starting NFL running back in Bell's absence. Gore has one reception on the season and touchdown opportunities for the Jets ground game is like an oasis in the desert - a mirage more than likely. Gore is a forgettable flex at bet and Kalen Ballage and Lamical Perine started to get notable snaps and touches in Week 3. Even if Bell were out another few weeks, expect to see Gore's snaps and touches squeezed by the younger backs.
Why: Clearly the RB3 behind Ronald Jones II and Leonard Fournette in the Tampa Bay running back hierarchy, McCoy has been relegated to sporadic passing down work. Ke'Shawn Vaughn is also a threat to touches for McCoy as the season progresses, a Day 2 rookie. Even an injury to Jones or Fournette likely clarifies the fantasy lineup confidence for the other, more than vaults McCoy into an RB2-level lineup decision.
Why: After back-to-back 101-target seasons in 2018 and 2019, Westbrook has turned into a pumpkin in 2020 with only one target in Week 3, his first action of the season a mere 24% snap share, good for WR5 on the Jaguars. The youth movement is a killer for Westbrook with Laviska Shenault showing promise out of the gate and Collin Johnson rising in snaps Week 3 with D.J. Chark inactive. Westbrook is a low-upside roster spot at an unoptimized position in nearly all formats.