Week 12 Fantasy Football Drop Candidates: Nick Chubb, Jacory Croskey-Merritt and More

The fantasy football playoffs are just around the corner, so it's well past time to take a hard look at players at the end of your fantasy football bench. If someone doesn't have a clear path to cracking your lineup when it matters most, drop them. 

Even if they do have a clear path, consider if someone else on waivers (like a high-value handcuff) has more upside with a similar chance of cashing in. With that in mind, here are nine players you can let go of heading into Week 12. 

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Deep League Drop Candidates

QB J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings (48.2% Rostered)

The book hasn't been written on McCarthy's NFL career yet — after all, he's only played five games and is just 22 years old. But right now, the college national champion is simply not a good NFL quarterback. 

On the fantasy side, McCarthy does bring some mobility, and he's had a few decent finishes regardless of his overall struggles. But this week's eight-point outing despite a soft matchup is the final straw. He's not going to be a QB1 even in 14-team leagues, so he's droppable in essentially all 1-QB formats. 

RB Nick Chubb, Houston Texans (52.7% Rostered)

When Woody Marks dominated the Texans' backfield in Week 10, there was a chance it was mostly due to game script. But Houston's matchup with the Titans in Week 11 was competitive throughout, and the rookie remained a workhorse. He played 66% of the team's snaps and saw 19 opportunities. Chubb, meanwhile, saw just three carries and two targets on a 25% snap share.

So it's officially clear that the four-time Pro Bowler is a pure backup for the Texans. Given that Houston's offense is thoroughly uninspiring, he's not going to have standalone value in that role. And there are likely more appealing handcuffs available even in deep formats, so don't be afraid to let go of Chubb anywhere you have him.

TE Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers (14.8% Rostered)

Obviously, with this low roster rate, Freiermuth was already barely hanging onto fantasy relevance.

Well, on Sunday, he posted just a 39% route share, his second-lowest mark of the season and third among Steelers tight ends (Jonnu Smith was at 49% and Darnell Washington 55%). Even against the softest TE defense in the league, Freiermuth saw just one target — he is droppable in all formats. 

Average League Drop Candidates

QB Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks (43.5% Rostered)

Coming into Week 11, Darnold's fantasy results had been mediocre. He was averaging just 16.5 points per start, the 21st-most among QBs. But there was reason for hope, as his real-life performance had been much better. Darnold ranked near or at the top of most passing efficiency leaderboards, even getting his name in some MVP discussions. 

Unfortunately, that all changed Sunday, as he was absolutely shut down by the Rams' defense to the tune of four interceptions and 8.3 fantasy points. If he had been producing well up until now, we could dismiss this as a one-off dud in a bad matchup. But given that Darnold was a mediocre fantasy option even when he was playing well, it's safe to give up on him for now. 

RB Jacory Croskey-Meritt, Washington Commanders (72.2% Rostered)

After barely sputtering along for the last month or two, the Jacory Croskey-Merritt (aka “Bill”) hype train officially derailed on Sunday. The rookie was relegated to a backup role while Chris Rodriguez Jr. served as the Commanders' RB1. 

Rodriguez isn't some elite talent, so things could shift again going forward — this is why JCM isn't a drop in deeper formats (yet). But he wasn't productive even as Washington's lead rusher, and now he's lost that job. In most leagues, that's reason enough to let him go.

WR Matthew Golden, Green Bay Packers (47.5% Rostered)

Once again, I was closer to listing Golden as a deep-league drop than I was to not mentioning him at all. The only reason I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt in deeper formats is that he was listed as questionable with a shoulder injury. 

But Golden did suit up, which means we can judge him based on the usage he saw. And that usage was miserable, as his 38% route participation rate was a clear fourth among Green Bay receivers.

Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs played nearly full-time roles, while Dontayvion Wicks was the team's WR3. The speedy first-round rookie has averaged just five half-PPR points this season, and his usage is now trending in the wrong direction. That's why he's on this list, even if he does still have theoretical upside.

Shallow League Drop Candidates

RBs Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans (83.4% and 43.5% Rostered)

I'm listing this backfield duo together because they are in essentially identical situations. Since Spears first returned to a full-time workload in Week 6, they have been in a very even 50/50 split. Pollard has a marginal lead in snaps and a solid lead in carries, but Spears sees more work through the air.

However, with the Titans' offense as a whole floundering, neither is getting the job done for fantasy. Over this five-week sample, Spears is averaging 8.4 half-PPR points per game; Pollard is at 6.4 (although the veteran leads in expected points). In deeper leagues, you might consider starting either of these backs in a pinch. In shallow formats, I sure hope you have better options. 

Both backs do have contingent upside if the other were to go down, but even that isn't particularly high — Pollard averaged just 9.7 points in a workhorse role before Spears' return. Even if it feels wrong to drop RBs who are seeing decent usage on a rate basis, the actual point-scoring opportunity in Tennessee's backfield is too low to justify holding either Pollard or Spears in shallow formats. 

WR Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs (88.2% Rostered)

As a big believer in Worthy's upside coming into the season, this one hurts. But the question to ask yourself at this time of the season is “In what situation will X Player make my lineup?”. For Worthy, coming off a game in which he saw just an 11% target share on a 61% route participation rate, I struggle to envision that scenario in shallow leagues. 

Don't get me wrong, Worthy will probably have a big game or two this season, when he manages to connect with Patrick Mahomes on a deep ball. But if you're looking at a shallow-league lineup that is presumably loaded with high-volume WRs, are you really going to want to bank on him doing it when you actually start him? Let him take up space on someone else's bench and stash someone who could actually force their way into your lineup instead. 

TE T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings (84.1% Rostered)

As mentioned above, J.J. McCarthy is bad. He's even making Justin Jefferson a less appealing fantasy asset, so what chance does Hockenson have? Unfortunately, not much.

It doesn't help that Hockenson posted just a  69% route participation rate on Sunday, well below his usual number. But really, the only number that matters here is 5.7 — that's how many half-PPR point Hockenson has scored per game, and that's nowhere near usable in shallow formats.