It’s that part of the year where you need to start looking at camps to find upgrades for your dynasty rosters. My idea here is to give you a few ideas and reasons to chop that guy from the bottom of your roster so you can free up space for ‘the next James Robinson’ stash. I think most people find this task of dropping players quite tricky so, hopefully, this will give a few ideas that confirm feelings you already had on a few names

Feel free to skip ahead to the names, one thing to note is that it’s tricky to judge the depth of leagues as bench spaces can range from 10 players to over 20. So all that context you must consider but I’ll try to give you reasons to cut these guys below. A must-try caveat, if you can get a 3rd/4th round future pick or bundle them into a trade always do that first, but often you need to make a decision quickly so you can take a player in a new situation or grab a rookie with some hype or a player with some positive camp signs, so more than likely it’s not going to be simple

I’ve included sleeper rostered % as context which should help you adjust based on depth of squad in your leagues! Sleeper have informed us this is representative of all dynasty leagues on their platform

So here’s my top 10 cut candidates!

Justin Jackson – 52% rostered

I had Jackson marked as the perfect guy to work in tandem with Austin Ekeler in the last two seasons, but he never really got the workload to do so. Yet somehow again in this offseason people had him pegged as the backup to Ekeler with the idea that he would get a decent snap share. The week 16 performance was really something and I guess that’s most of the reason for the high rostered percentage. However he is still unsigned and I think the Chargers drafting Isaiah Spiller indicates you can let him go.

Tutu Atwell – 56% rostered

He is likely a kick returner at best. For those that have him he is still sitting there on your taxi squad, it’s time to cut him loose. Zero targets from a handful of snaps in year 1 speaks volumes, despite positive news comments from Stafford and Kupp.

Cam Newton – 37% rostered

Despite seeming improbable Cam was again a starting-ish QB for four weeks last year, and scored a rushing TD in all of them! However it’s extremely unlikely this happens again, it’s time to cut him loose.

Jeff Wilson Jr – 68% rostered

Last season we hoped Wilson would take over a decent share of RB snaps and due to injury and a crowded Niners backfield this never really came to fruition. The two big games in week 15 and 16 with Elijah Mitchell might have even won you a ship if you dared to roll the dice on him. But yet again the Niners have drafted a running back in the top 100 with Tyrion Davis-Price and thus Wilson will find himself in a crowded situation with little certainty of his role in 2022.

Quintez Cephus – 57% rostered

This is a tricky one as we saw something in the early part of last season until his week 5 injury, but I can’t help but feel with Jameson Williams and DJ Chark added, plus the ascension of Amon Ra St Brown in 2021 and then with Kalif Raymond getting a new deal, Cephus is looking like the 5th option in a Jared Goff led offence. It’s improbable he has a big impact.

D’Wayne Eskridge – 65% rostered

Nine catches in 2021, just nine. He is still probably the third option on the team but with Drew Lock under centre if you need someone you can cut loose I think you should be able to look to Eskridge and not regret it later, despite the ‘Dee’ sleeper name change.

Mo Alie-Cox – 55% rostered

Everyone has had MAC on a roster somewhere at some point. Despite his contract extension I think it’s time to cut the cord. The Colts have a seemingly ascending Tight End in Kylen Granson and have now drafted Jelani Woods who Chris Ballard seems extremely keen on. I feel like if you are in a pinch for space this might be one to consider.

Darius Slayton – 66% rostered

This one is somewhat dependent on the Kadarius Toney situation, but I’d say Slayton is set to be the WR4 on the Giants behind Toney, Kenny Golladay and Wan’Dale Robinson. Last season he only had one game with more than four grabs and despite ample playing time was outside the top 100 WR’s in PPR points in 2021.

James White – 69% rostered

I went into the offseason scooping a few James White shares after seeing the news that the Pats re-signed him to a two year deal, however since then they have added two more RB’s in Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris. Whilst I can see some route to him being somewhat viable in the early part of the season it feels unlikely it’s ever going to be for more than a few catches. The upside is low but there is a floor. I think James White is the sort of guy you can pick up to fill a gap in season as an emergency flex play but for now if you need the space on your roster to take a higher upside player he is one to consider.

Denzel Mims – 52% rostered

The Jets have added another big receiver into their group in Garrett Wilson. Elijah Moore looked great in his rookie season then even if you believe WR3 is possible then it’s more likely Corey Davis, Braxton Barrios and maybe even Jeff Smith are ahead in the pecking order going into the season. There is a chance, but I don’t believe it’s one that is worth investing in for now. If you there at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in Week 5 where he “exploded” for a 2-33 stat line which gave you the small hope that this could be the start of something, the five total catches since put that notion to bed.

You can follow Paul on Twitter @ffgoatball to keep up with his work. Keep your eyes peeled for more articles from our great Dynasty team, coming soon. Remember to tune into the 5 Yard Dynasty livestream every Tuesday at 8pm (GMT).