Fantasy Football Week 9 Drop Candidates: Jackson, Cooper, and More

After checking out a bunch of fantasy football waiver wire options for Week 9 already, let's discuss some possible drop candidates.

We have several players to discuss, so let's dive right into things!

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Lamar Jackson - Baltimore Ravens

Jackson is still owned in most fantasy leagues, but another injury could make him droppable before Week 9 games kick off.

He will have surgery on his right thumb and be placed on the injured reserve list. That will keep him out four weeks, and there's a chance he misses even more time and possibly the entire season.

Jackson has appeared in just five games this season. He has completed 70.1% of his passes for 967 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. Jackson has 144 rushing yards and a score across 19 attempts.

He can be one of the top fantasy QBs in the game, but he needs to be healthy and on the field to be producing at that level. Jackson is definitely droppable in some leagues before Week 9 gets rolling, especially if you are out of IR spots on your fantasy team. The longer he is out, the lower his own percentage will be.

Jackson is one to hang on to in deeper leagues and hope he returns late in the season, but he might also become droppable in those leagues if he's eventually ruled out for the season. You could look to trade him away, but the return isn't going to be anything special.

Omar Cooper Jr. - New York Jets

Cooper was at 94.98% owned before Week 8, but is going to drop some before Week 9.

After big games in Weeks 6 and 7, Cooper struggled in Week 8, not even getting a target across 50 offensive snaps. The Jets had 439 total yards of offense, but it was Adonai Mitchell and Garrett Wilson who were the top wide receivers.

It's a good problem to have for the Jets, who haven't had three legitimate wideouts in a while. It does mean that the production between Wilson, Cooper and Mitchell could be inconsistent on a week-to-week basis.

Maybe one of those three WRs is traded away, but if not, you have to expect up-and-down showings, especially from Mitchell and Cooper. Wilson should serve as WR1 when healthy.

So while Cooper is droppable today, that only goes for standard leagues, and definitely not all those leagues. He will have better days later in the season, so he can be stashed. He's likely to be a better deep-league asset though.

Maybe consider trading Mitchell or Cooper away if you cannot afford mixed results from the wideouts. 

Kyle Pitts Sr. - Atlanta Falcons

Pitts was rostered in 94.21% of leagues for this past week, but is likely to be lower than that before Week 9 games start. 

He finished with just six receiving yards across two catches and five targets in the team's shutout loss to Tampa Bay in Week 8. He had been a much better fantasy option in the four games before that, so now we are wondering if this was just a one-week blip, or a sign of things to come.

Finding consistent fantasy TEs is a big challenge, and Pitts offers some solid upside, so it's tough to be dropping him. I'd only move on from Pitts if you really like another TE option out there. I'd think that TE would be acquired via trade, as not many waiver wire options offer better upside than Pitts.

He is a drop candidate in standard leagues only, and I'd really analyze all my options before actually dropping him.

Dallas Goedert - Philadelphia Eagles

Goedert is rostered in 97.19% of leagues at the moment, but could be lower than that before Week 9 contests get rolling.

He finished with just 30 yards across four receptions and targets in Week 8 - Goedert also rushed once for two yards.

He has been a much better fantasy asset in his other five games played this season. Philly has been battered by injuries, leaving Goedert with a good outlook most weeks now.

I understand dropping him after that kind of performance, but again, we are talking about a weak TE position already. Goedert has a pretty solid outlook most weeks, so only move on from him if you are certain you can get better TE help every week.

Again, he's just a drop option in standard leagues, and in most cases, I'd probably just hang on to Goedert.

J.K. Dobbins - Denver Broncos

Dobbins is at 86.68% owned right now, but is falling as he got passed on the depth chart.

He appeared to get passed by Jonah Coleman a week ago, and even after RJ Harvey was placed on injured reserve, Dobbins didn't do much in Week 8. Dobbins has just 13 carries over the past two weeks combined, and he's gone for just 36 total yards and a score, while adding nothing as a pass catcher.

Coleman is the Denver RB I like most right now, and that makes Dobbins, and Harvey, droppable today. Dobbins is still worth holding on to in deeper leagues, and for the standard league owners lacking RBs, but his outlook looks bleak at best the rest of the way.

Make the drop before you waste too many more weeks, and try to fill your RB spot with other players who have higher upsides.