Week 3 Fantasy Football Drop Candidates: Brian Robinson, Marvin Mims and More

Early in the fantasy football season is the toughest time to navigate the end of your roster.

On the one hand, you don't want to miss out on emerging waiver stars just because you don't want to drop some guy you drafted in round 14. On the other hand, we still only have a sample of two weeks to base decisions on. We don't want to overreact and drop highly drafted players who have just started slowly.

To help avoid any rash decisions, this week's article will focus on players who not only have failed to produce, but also have seen uninspiring usage. Usage also varies with game scripts and changing trends throughout the season, but it is still more predictive than straight-up production. With that in mind, here are some more players to let go of heading into Week 3. 

Check out the top waiver wire options at each position every week. Explore the best in-season fantasy football tool to manage your team and get league rankings with the Fantasy Assistant. Use our trade analyzer and trade value charts to break down trade scenarios with Fair Trade ratings.

QB J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings (66.9% Rostered)

I don't want to make this article just a weekly list of players who suffered injuries, but McCarthy is only expected to miss a few weeks with an ankle injury, so managers may be tempted to hold onto him. I'm here to say that's a mistake. 

McCarthy finished with a solid fantasy outing in Week 1, but he still only completed 13 passes. In Week 2, things went off the rails completely. He finished with 4.8 fantasy points, threw two picks, took six sacks, and completed an embarrassingly low 11 passes. 

Coming off that miserable outing, McCarthy has now already been ruled out for Week 3 with an ankle injury and is expected to miss at least one more week. People are genuinely speculating that he might not get his job back when he returns if Carson Wentz plays well in his absence. I wouldn't go that far (yet), but it's certainly not worth stashing an injured player who might be benched for 2025 Carson Wentz. 

Honorable Mention: C.J. Stroud, HOU (previously featured)

On Thin Ice: Trevor Lawrence, JAC; Justin Fields, NYJ

RB Brian Robinson Jr., San Francisco 49ers (66.2% Rostered)

If you're holding Robinson as a handcuff, go ahead and ignore this advice. But even premium handcuffs are often widely available (Tyler Allgeier, for example, is only 35.9% rostered). Rostered in nearly two-thirds of leagues, it appears some managers are holding onto the former Commander in hopes that he will have standalone value.

Through two weeks of the season, there's no reason to think that will happen. Robinson has not been a complete non-factor, with six carries in Week 1 and nine in Week 2. But he hardly sees work in the passing game (three total targets) and has played zero of the 49ers' 26 snaps in the red zone. 

A handful of carries between the 20s is literally the least valuable possible role while still seeing multiple touches per game. This is especially true for a back like Robinson, who isn't exactly a threat for a huge explosive play. As long as Christian McCaffrey is healthy, he won't be a viable fantasy starter. You can hold him if you like, but know that this is the reality. 

Honorable Mentions: Jerome Ford, CLE; Ollie Gordon II, MIA; Tank Bigsby, PHI (previously featured)

On Thin Ice: Braelon Allen, NYJ; Jaydon Blue, DAL

WR Marvin Mims Jr., Denver Broncos (43.7% Rostered)

It may seem strange to feature Mims after a week in which he had a reasonable fantasy outing (9.4 half-PPR points). But those points were mostly thanks to a TD — he only had 24 yards on two targets. 

In general, Mims' usage has been disappointing. After playing as a full-time WR during the preseason, he only has a 43% route participation rate through two weeks — he ran only 10 routes in Week 2. His 8.6% target share is also brutal.

Of course, with Sean Payton, this usage could change at any time. The issue is that, even if things did change in Mims' favor, they could change back just as fast. That makes it very difficult for him to ever work his way into starting lineups from his current unusable position. And when you can't see a clear path for a player to make your starting lineup, that's usually a sign to move on.

Honorable Mention: Luther Burden III, CHI

On Thin Ice: Jayden Higgins, HOU

TE Jonnu Smith, Pittsburgh Steelers (43.3% Rostered)

Here are some tight ends who have run more routes than Jonnu Smith so far this season (per Fantasy Points Data): Tanner Conner, Jake Tonges, AJ Barner, Mason Taylor, and Cole Kmet. His own teammate Pat Freiermuth is just one rate behind, as Jonnu has a 52% route participation rate in Pittsburgh's offense.  

Jonnu is tied for 12th at the position with 10 targets (which may say more about the state of TEs in general than him in particular). But he somehow has a negative ADOT on those targets, with -12 total air yards for the season. He's being used on designed plays to get the ball in his hands, which is good. But it's nearly the only way he's being used, which is bad.

The TE position looks brutal as always this season, so Smith isn't a must-drop in deeper leagues. But if you're in a league where guys like Zach Ertz, Harold Fannin Jr., or Juwan Johnson are still available (all three are at least 50% available, and the latter two are less rostered than Smith himself), swapping them in for Jonnu is a no-brainer. 

Honorable Mentions: Evan Engram, DEN (previously featured)

On Thin Ice: Mark Andrews, BAL; Colston Loveland, CHI; T.J. Hockenson, MIN