Week 11 Fantasy Football Drop Candidates: Jordan Mason, David Njoku and More

We are 10 weeks into the fantasy football season. In most leagues, the playoffs are just a month away. Now more than ever, it's important to make sure every player on your roster is there for a reason.

Every player should either A: have a chance at making your lineup right now or B: have a clear, simple path to making your lineup in the future. Keep that in mind when you're deciding who to cut to add this week's hot waiver candidates. And, if you happen to have any of the following names, feel free to drop them. 

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.

Deep League Drop Candidates

QB Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (59.6% Rostered)

Murray was officially placed on IR heading into Week 9, meaning he will be out until at least Week 14. Adding insult to injury (literally), Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said the team would have started Jacoby Brissett over Murray even if the latter were healthy.

Brissett inevitably rewarded this unnecessary vote of confidence with by far his worst game of the season, so there is a chance that Murray does get another shot if and when he is able to play. 

If Murray had been playing well prior to suffering his foot injury, that possibility would have kept him as just an average-league drop option. But he wasn't his usual elite fantasy self, with just 16.2 points per game and zero top-15 finishes. So we are left with a mediocre fantasy QB who is currently injured and also benched — Murray is droppable in essentially all redraft formats.

RB Kaleb Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers (17.1% Rostered)

It's long past time to wave the white flag on the third-round rookie out of Iowa. He has scored 5.7 half-PPR points total this season. In Pittsburgh's most recent two games, he saw three carries and one target on a whopping nine snaps. 

And there's not even any contingent upside here, as we saw that Johnson was still an afterthought behind Kenneth Gainwell when Jaylen Warren missed time. He's a safe drop even in the deepest of formats. 

WR DeMario Douglas, New England Patriots (16.8% Rostered)

In my eyes, Douglas is less of a “drop candidate” and more of a “guy you never should have added in the first place.” The slot receiver hasn't posted even a 50% route participation rate since back in Week 1. 

Even in his big game in Week 9, he ranked seventh on the Patriots' offense with a measly 13 routes, tied with fullback Jack Westover, which I promise is a name I'm not making up. Douglas' role simply isn't big enough for him to be fantasy relevant.

Average League Drop Candidates

QB Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (77.1% Rostered)

In nine games this season, Love has finished as a top-12 fantasy quarterback just twice. Admittedly, those were both excellent QB2 overall finishes. But you want your fantasy QB to be a solid, stabilizing force in average-sized leagues. 

Love, who ranks as the QB18 in points per game and has scored 10 and 7.8 points in his last two outings, isn't that. There are almost certainly better options on your waiver wire, and he doesn't carry enough value to hold as a backup.

WR Darnell Mooney, Atlanta Falcons (45.5% Rostered)

Honestly, this might be the pick I'm most unsure about in this entire article … which is strange, because Mooney's 3.6 point-per-game average is probably the ugliest of any player on this list. 

The reason I'm hesitating (and why he isn't a deep-league drop) is that Mooney's usage has actually been solid: in his six healthy games, he's averaged a 16% target share and a 29% air yards share in Atlanta's offense. But that usage isn't quite appealing enough to make up for the utter lack of production.

TE David Njoku, Cleveland Browns (71.9% Rostered)

Since missing Week 7 with an injury, Njoku has actually had back-to-back decent fantasy days, with 11.7 points in Week 8 and 9.1 in Week 10. However, his underlying usage has been dreadful: 10% target share, 6.5% air yards share, and 51% route participation rate. 

He also ran fewer routes than rookie TE Harold Fannin Jr. in both weeks. The Browns do rank third in the league in TE target share, but this offense isn't good enough to support two fantasy-relevant TEs, especially when one is at just a 50% route rate. 

Shallow League Drop Candidates

RB Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings (78.0% Rostered)

In Week 10, Mason played just 23% of the Vikings' offensive snaps. He handled four carries to Aaron Jones Sr.'s nine and saw one target on eight routes. Along with Week 8 and the first half of Week 9 before Jones exited with a shoulder injury, this was the third straight week that Mason was the clear backup in Minnesota's offense. 

Especially given that the Vikings' offense quietly ranks fifth-worst in EPA per play, this role simply isn't large enough for Mason to be worth holding in shallow formats.

He does still have contingent upside, but there are plenty of better contingent options widely available (even Tyler Allgeier is still just 33% rostered). Barring another injury to Jones, Mason is more likely to work his way up this list than he is to provide standalone value anytime soon.

WR Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers (88.3% Rostered)

Here are Allen's usage metrics over the last three weeks: 16% target share, 23% air yards share, 55% route participation rate. He may have become the franchise's all-time reception leader on Sunday, but the 33-year-old is finding himself squeezed out of LA's crowded offense. 

In deeper leagues, Allen's ability to earn targets when he's on the field keeps him relevant. But in shallow leagues, you should be spoiled for choice at wide receiver. Someone below a 60% route participation rate simply isn't going to cut it.

TE Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears (50.4% Rostered)

Loveland had a massive breakout game in Week 9 against the Bengals, resulting in victory laps across the fantasy community. Then, Cole Kmet returned in Week 10, and the rookie immediately reverted to a part-time role. Loveland did run more routes than Kmet in Week 10 … by one. 

The first-round rookie still had just a 49% route participation rate. Unsurprisingly, this converted into mediocre usage (11% target and 12% air yards share) and production (7.5 half-PPR points). In shallow leagues, it's simply not worth rostering Loveland until he is used as a full-time player when Kmet is healthy.