Fantasy Football: 3 Players You Can Drop After Week 1

Every week, basically every fantasy website in the industry puts out a waiver wire column -- here's ours for this week. But in some instances, the real problem isn't deciding who to pick up; it's figuring out which players to part ways with.

Knowing when to drop an under-performing player is a tough call, but I'm here to help you out. Dead weight on your fantasy roster can be particularly harmful during bye weeks. These are the players you don't feel comfortable cutting but who prevent you from picking up someone else. Maybe you even get roped into starting them in a pinch.

Of course, it doesn't hurt to explore any trade possibilities before cutting a player. But the issue with many of these guys is that their value is already low, so they may be difficult to move. If you can't move them, fine -- that's when you can consider dropping them to address other needs on your roster. But don't just drop them without doing any market research in your league.

These are tough decisions to make -- if they weren't, I wouldn't need to write this article. But it doesn't have to be so hard. After this past week, here are some players you can drop and why you can do so.

All NFL projections via our numbers at FanDuel Research, and NFL odds references are to FanDuel Sportsbook. Statistics via NFL Next Gen Stats and Pro Football Focus unless otherwise stated.

Fantasy Football Players to Drop After Week 1

Kirk Cousins, QB, Atlanta Falcons

Safe to say that wasn't the Kirk Cousins debut the Atlanta Falcons (and fantasy managers) were looking for.

In his first game back from a torn Achilles, Cousins completed just 16 of 26 pass attempts for 155 yards. He did throw a touchdown but also tossed a pair of interceptions, finishing with 8.2 fantasy points.

Granted, Kirk was facing a healthy Pittsburgh Steelers defense in his first game on a new team after a serious injury. I don't think anyone expected a vintage Cousins showing.

But for how ugly the box score numbers were, the more concerning part was how rough Cousins looked. The Falcons put him under center just one time, and they didn't attempt a single play-action pass -- something that figured to be a major part of offensive coordinator Zac Robinson's offense considering he hails from the Sean McVay coaching tree.

Head coach Raheem Morris doubled down on Cousins' health not being a factor after the game, but it's hard to walk away from Week 1 feeling great about the 36-year-old's mobility.

There will be better days ahead for Cousins, but fantasy football is a short season. We don't have time to be patient with pocket passers -- not when guys like Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith, and Justin Fields are readily available on the waiver wire in one-QB formats.

Cousins is a hold in two-QB or Superflex leagues, but in one-QB formats, he can be safely dropped in favor of healthier pocket passers.

Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers

Expectations weren't that high for Chuba Hubbard, who was drafted as the RB42 in half-PPR, per FantasyPros' ADP data.

Though we knew the offensive environment wasn't going to be great with the Carolina Panthers, we assumed Hubbard would maintain the volume which propelled him to 13.3 fantasy points per game over the final seven weeks of 2023. Hubbard saw a 71.3% snap share, averaged 24 adjusted opportunities, and was the overall RB9 during that stretch.

Well, in Week 1, we were right about the poor offensive environment. Carolina scored just 10 points against the New Orleans Saints while posting the third-lowest offensive success rate and averaging the second fewest offensive Net Expected Points (NEP; numberFire's Expected Points Added metric) per play.

But we were wrong about Hubbard's role.

Hubbard saw a 54.5% snap rate and rushed the ball six times for 14 yards. He did not receive a target in the passing game.

Backup Miles Sanders played 36.4% of snaps while seeing five carries and a pair of targets.

In the first half (before the game was completely out of reach), the snap share was 54.2% for Sanders and 45.8% for Hubbard.

That's just not going to fly for fantasy purposes. Hubbard's primary allure was early-season volume while second-round rookie Jonathon Brooks was on the PUP list, but Week 1's usage indicates he's in a split backfield.

With Carolina being one of the worst offenses in the NFL, there just isn't much of a floor or ceiling if Hubbard's not going to flirt with 20 opportunities per game. Brooks is eligible to play as early as Week 5, so Hubbard is running out of time to provide fantasy value.

Over the next three weeks, Carolina faces the Los Angeles Chargers (17th in schedule-adjusted run defense), Las Vegas Raiders (16th), and Cincinnati Bengals (13th). Even if Brooks isn't immediately ready to play when first eligible, the Panthers face the Chicago Bears (3rd) and Atlanta Falcons (6th) in Weeks 5 and 6.

With a tough schedule coming up and lacking the necessary volume to provide startable fantasy numbers, Hubbard is someone you can let go entering Week 2.

Luke Musgrave, TE, Green Bay Packers

Luke Musgrave likely wasn't drafted to be your fantasy team's starting tight end, but at an ADP of TE17 and a roster rate still north of 50% on most platforms, he was most certainly drafted in a fair share of leagues.

The hype was warranted after the 2023 second-round pick caught 34 passes for 352 yards in 11 games as a rookie. Musgrave entered 2024 as the presumed starting tight end on a Jordan Love-led offense.

But Musgrave's role evaporated in Week 1 -- and that was before Love went down with an MCL injury.

In Week 1, Musgrave played just 25.9% of the Green Bay Packers' snaps and ran a route on only 21.6% of Love's dropbacks. He earned a measly 6.3% target share.

Compare that to the Packers' other tight end, Tucker Kraft -- their 2023 third-round pick. Kraft finished with a 94.8% snap rate, 75.7% route rate, and 9.4% target rate.

Kraft is the Green Bay tight end to roster if Love were healthy, but neither is especially appealing as long as Malik Willis is under center.

But given his Week 1 utilization, Musgrave doesn't look like he will play a fantasy-relevant role even when Love returns. He's an easy drop in all but the deepest of fantasy football leagues.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.