CFF Keep Or Cut? – Week 2
The first order of business each week of the College Fantasy Football season is to evaluate the players on your roster and decide if there are players that could be cut to make room for new talent. Purple Reign has reviewed last week’s action and identified several players that fantasy owners may be considering the “Keep Or Cut?” question for.
QUARTERBACKS: Keep
KJ Jefferson (UCF)
Fantrax Ownership 97%
Jefferson struggles to connect with his receivers early and by the end of the game went 7/14 for 164 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. This was not a good showing in the air. While Jefferson did rush the ball 11 times for 39 yards and 1 TD, I don’t think we can read too much into that just yet. UCF was rolling everyone through the running game and doing it with ease against New Hampshire. Wait to see how Jefferson fairs against Sam Houston State and TCU in the next two weeks before making a decision to cut him.
Preston Stone (SMU)
Fantrax Ownership 77%
In two games Stone has thrown a total of 39 pass attempts and 3 TDs as the coaches try to protect him from last season’s leg injury. He played very little in Week 1 but that could be expected as SMU was easily in control of their game. Week 2’s match-up with BYU will serve as a good benchmark moving forward. If Stone doesn’t put up quality fantasy numbers it might be time to start considering him for the Cut list.
Jalon Daniels (Kans)
Fantrax Ownership 69%
Daniels passed the eye test in his 2024 return while his stats left something to be desired. Most notably, Daniels did not log one rushing attempt and his fantasy value lies in his legs. This is most likely due to the coaches keeping him protected for games that really matter. He looked crisp in the air with his limited 9 completions, gaining 148 yards and 1 TD. Stay the course because the next five weeks are very good match-ups to start Daniels as your QB2.
Jacob Zeno (UAB)
Fantrax Ownership 42%
Comparing UAB’s 41 point performance to Zeno’s stat line felt unsatisfying. Zeno is not a rushing QB so his fantasy value is tied to his passing stats. He only amassed 215 yards on 32 attempts for 2 TDs and 1 INT. This match-up with Alcorn State was a game where you’d expect the UAB passing game to make big plays in the air, but instead Zeno was “dink & dunking” the ball around. Next week’s game against UL-Monroe will provide another good match-up to see if Zeno can let this passing attack off it’s chain.
Nicholas Vattiato (MidTN)
Fantrax Ownership 33%
Vattiato had a good workload in his season opener throwing the ball 35 times. His completion rate of 57% and only racking up 210 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT is alarming though. A long weather delay could play into this. You won’t get a good look at what Vattiato can really do until Week 3 against Western Kentucky, so you’ll need to stay patient here.
QUARTERBACKS: Cut
Donovan Smith (Hou)
Fantrax Ownership 49%
This is not that way you want to open your season at home. Smith went 15/30 for 135 yards, 0 TDs, and 2 INTs against UNLV. He also didn’t rack up any rushing yards, instead logging -12 yards on 11 attempts. UNLV was one of the best match-ups for Houston on their schedule so it will just get tougher moving forward.
Aidan Chiles (MSU)
Fantrax Ownership 30%
Chiles did not look good in his Spartan debut. Not good at all. Against a hapless Florida Atlantic defense Chiles only completed 41.7% of his passes with no TDs and 2 INTs. While Chiles does possess rushing ability, his season opener showed us that he is not a fantasy asset you can count on this season.
RUNNING BACKS: Keep
Makhi Hughes (Tul)
Fantrax Ownership 99%
I really expected to see Hughes rush for 100 yards and 1-2 TDs against SE Louisiana but that never materialized. In a game where Hughes was featured as the bell cow back, he could only muster 59 yards on 14 carries with 1 TD. The lack of yardage raises some red flags but Hughes is too good to give up on after this performance. Hughes won’t have another good fantasy match-up until Week 4 against Louisiana Lafayette, so stay patient for a while.
Quinshon Judkins & TreVeyon Henderson (OSU)
Fantrax Ownership 100%
The Buckeye ground game was expected to shred their way through Akron’s defense but instead Akron showed tough-nosed defensive play against the run. Judkins had 13 carries for 55 yards and 1 TD, while Henderson ran the ball 8 times for 65 yards and no TDs. This duo should rev things up moving forward so don’t get discouraged at their lack luster performance in Week 1.
Chez Mellusi (Wisc)
Fantrax Ownership 74%
Mellusi put up a respectable stat line of 79 yards and a TD against Western Michigan in the season opener. The worrisome part of that game is that he split carries with Tawae Walker who looked good. Its not time to panic yet, but this carry split is a big red flag moving forward. While Mellusi won’t be a playable option in Week 3 against Alabama, the coaches should end up leaning on the RB they trust most for that game. If there’s still a split carry scenario there, it will be time to dump Mellusi.
RUNNING BACKS: Cut
Donovan Edwards (Mich)
Fantrax Ownership 100%
I’m coming in hot with this one! Edwards’ poor running vision was on display against Fresno State as he ran the ball 11 times for just 27 yards and no TDs. Fellow RB Kalel Mullings logged 15 carries for 92 yards and looked far superior. I think its inevitable that Mullings takes over the starting RB role, but not for a while. Instead we will have to deal with this type of a workload split as the coaches will remain loyal to Edwards until they can no longer avoid the change. I see a future where Edwards has good games and duds, making it too difficult to predictably rely on him in your fantasy line-up.
Marcus Carroll (MIZ)
Fantrax Ownership 87%
Many of us hoped Carroll would step into the primary Tigers RB role and continue to be a good fantasy asset. News broke in fall camp that Nate Noel was taking first team reps and we saw that play out in the season opener. Noel was getting the majority of snaps before Carroll started to get his carries going. Noel ended with almost twice as many carries as Carroll had. I’m not contemplating this one, cut Carroll loose now.
Tomarion Harden (UCLA)
Fantrax Ownership 91%
UCLA looked just plain awful in their road trip to Hawaii. What was most concerning is that Harden only received 9 carries which he gained just 9 yards on. I could probably average 1 yard per carry in UCLA’s offense against Hawaii. This offense looks really bad and its best to just cut and run from Harden now.
Jacquez Stuart (Toled)
Fantrax Ownership 71%
Stuart did not have a bad fantasy day against Duquesne but when you dive into the numbers things don’t look good. Stuart split carries in the game with Willie Shaw and Sevaughn Clark as Stuart never was the main dog in the backfield. This looks like one of those years where fantasy owners are hoping for a bell cow back at Toledo but it ends up as a messy committee. I just have a gut feeling you won’t be able to count on a fantasy valuable workload out of Stuart from week to week this season.
Parker Jenkins (Hou)
Fantrax Ownership 35%
The Houston running game was a mess against UNLV. Nine different players logged carries with Jenkins only having 2 carries for 17 yards. This is not the type of carry distribution you want to see in a fantasy worthy RB.
Ayo Adeyi (JMU)
Fantrax Ownership 35%
Adeyi faced off against a Charlotte defense that should have been a prime match-up for success. Instead, he averaged just 2.4 yards per carry on 17 carries. The workload is good here, but that production shows its going to be hard to count on Adeyi in your starting line-up.
Braylon McReynolds (SoAl)
Fantrax Ownership 27%
There were hopes that McReynolds would be a work horse RB, but the season opener showed us that won’t be the case. He ran the ball just 8 times for 27 yards, and fellow RB Kentrel Bullock had 5 carries for 28 yards. The issue here was QB Gio Lopez hoarding the rushing attempts as he logged 13 on the day (the same amount the top two RBs had).
WIDE RECEIVERS: Keep
Ricky White (UNLV)
Fantrax Ownership 100%
UNLV had a good day offensively but it wasn’t accompanied by the type of numbers you’d expect from White. Two other WRs finished with better stats. White did lead the way in targets with 5, but he could only muster 2 receptions for 11 yards. Since this was QB Matt Sluka’s first game I’ll give some slack toward White here.
Emeka Egbuka (OSU)
Fantrax Ownership 100%
Yes the Ohio State offense was a bit underwhelming against Akron but my concerns go beyond that. Egbuka did receive 7 targets on the day but those targets were just “okay” targets. He could make some plays in space and he gained 51 yards. Egbuka had the lowest yards per reception rate of the starting WRs in this game. When the passing game needed something important, they were pushing the targets to Jeremiah Smith instead. Egbuka still has fantasy value, but I’m just not sure how much at this point. We’ll have to see if this trend continues before he can be placed as a Cut candidate.
Evan Stewart (Oreg)
Fantrax Ownership 100%
Stewart was not the major deep threat that many hoped he would be in the season opener. Instead of burning Idaho DBs on deep bombs he was targeted 5 times for just 15 yards. The Oregon offense as a whole wasn’t very sharp and I’ll give Stewart some slack based on that. But Stweart is on my Cut watch list moving forward. The next two weeks will let us know what his future holds as Oregon takes on Boise State and Oregon State.
Noah Smith (SamHu)
Fantrax Ownership 96%
Smith’s Week 1 performance is very worrisome. The offense was clicking on the day but the target pig Smith only had three balls thrown his way. Unlike last year the passing targets were spread around. The key to Smith’s fantasy value last season was his massive workload. If that workload doesn’t increase dramatically over the next week or two it might be time to cut your losses with Smith.
LaJontay Wester (Colo)
Fantrax Ownership 88%
Wester is “this close” to making the Cut list but I’m going to wait and see if my Week 1 observations change. Travis Hunter is the main target of this passing game, but after him the ball gets funneled to the slot WRs next. Jimmy Horn was getting the deeper second read routes while Wester looked like the underneath third read WR. Wester did get 6 targets in a game where South Dakota State did eat a bunch of clock and limited how many drives Colorado had. What scares me most about Wester is that he will be the under route slot guy to Horn’s deep route slot guy.
Kobe Hudson (UCF)
antrax Ownership 85%
Hudson is a reliable WR you can plug into your line-up and count on a decent fantasy output. That wasn’t the case in the season opener as KJ Jefferson struggled throwing the ball, and the game was in hand before there was any need to lean on Hudson’s abilities. I’m chalking up Hudson’s 3 targets for 61 yards and no TDs to the forementioned items and sit tight until seeing how he performs in the Week 3 match-up against TCU.
Chris Bell (Lou)
Fantrax Ownership 52%
All the positive talk during the spring didn’t result in targets as Bell had just two passes thrown his way for 1 reception of 24 yards. Other WRs did receive large target shares so this wasn’t just a case of spreading the ball around against an inferior opponent. I think there is a case to cut him now but if you want to have some patience you can wait until after next week’s game. This will be another blowout game, but Louisville has a bye in Week 3 before facing a real match-up with Georgia Tech in Week 4. I just don’t have the patience to wait until Week 5 to cut Bell so you’ll be best to make a fast decision now or after next week’s game.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Cut
Will Sheppard (Colo)
Fantrax Ownership 51%
As I watched the way the ball was being spread around in this new Colorado offense I couldn’t help but notice the bad situation that Sheppard is in. The offense tends to go through the progression of Travis Hunter first, the two slot receivers second and third, then Sheppard as the fourth read outlet route. Most balls he caught were around ten yards deep as he sat and waited to see if Sheduer Sanders worked through all his other reads. This situation looks to be poor for Sheppard’s fantasy outlook.
TIGHT ENDS: Keep
Bryson Nesbit (UNC)
Fantrax Ownership 51%
It was hard seeing Nesbit only get targeted three times for 2 receptions for 15 yards. The Tarheel passing game was a mess all night long and losing Max Johnson makes this situation look worse. Despite all these things, Nesbit is still one of the most reliable pass catchers and QB Conner Harrell is going to need a reliable asset to help him with easy completions.
Jack Velling (MSU)
Fantrax Ownership 44%
Velling only saw 3 targets for 1 reception and 15 yards against Florida Atlantic. This had more to do with how poorly Aidan Chiles played. A good TE can help a poor QB, so there’s a scenario for Velling to have fantasy value moving forward.
TIGHT ENDS: Cut
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