CFF Keep Or Cut? – Week 5
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
Kyron Drones (VaTec)
Fantrax Ownership 94%
Season Stats: 107 Att, 64 Comp, 765 Y-Yds, 4 P-TD, 3 INT, 52 Ru-Att, 209 Ru-Yds, 2 Ru-TD
Drones has had a mixed bag of a 2024 season so far. He’s had two good games against Vanderbilt and Old Dominion, while having two underwhelming games against Marshal and Rutgers. There are competitive games and blowouts mixed into both the good and the bad fantasy performances. The match-up with Rutgers wasn’t going to be a good one so you shouldn’t put too much stock in last week’s performance. The good news is that he is averaging 13 rushing attempts/game and 4 yards/rush attempt. His touchdowns are what’s lacking right now, and a Week 6 match-up with Stanford will be a good game to evaluate how he could fair over his best portion of his schedule (Weeks 9-11).
QUARTERBACKS: Cut
Jackson Arnold (Okla)
Fantrax Ownership 95%
Season Stats: 102 Att, 61 Comp, 538 P-Yds, 7 P-TD, 3 INT, 41 Ru-Att, 138 Ru-Yds, 2 Ru-TD
Going into last week’s game Arnold had not throw for 175+ yards in a game. Against Tennessee the offense was anemic which led the coaches to put Arnold on the bench for freshman Michael Hawkins. Arnold’s fantasy value from the start of the season stemmed from making big plays against inferior opponents. The cupcakes are now gone from the schedule, and it showed last week. With Michael Hawkins stepping into the starting role, dropping Arnold is a no-brainer.
Jalon Daniels (Kan)
Fantrax Ownership 68%
Season Stats: 96 Att, 54 Comp, 626 P-Yds, 4 P-TD, 7 INT, 28 Ru-Att, 111 Ru-Yds, 2 Ru-TD
Summary of previous week’s Cut write-ups: Daniels isn’t getting the rushing production we expected, he is throwing too many INTs, and doesn’t have the passing volume to make up for those factors.
RUNNING BACKS: Keep
Jaydn Ott (Cal)
Fantrax Ownership 100%
Season Stats: 40 Att, 133 Ru-Yds, 2 Ru-TD, 8 Tgt, 8 Rec, 40 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD
Ott was able to take advantage of an FCS foe in Week 1 but it’s been tough sledding since that match-up. Against Auburn and Florida State he averaged 13 carries for 42 yards and 0 TDs per game. Miami (FL) and Pittsburgh which are both ranked in the top 30 for rushing fantasy points allowed are the next games on the schedule. Wait until after the Week 8 game with NC State before making any decisions to remove Ott from your roster.
RUNNING BACKS: Cut
Jamal Haynes (GaTec)
Fantrax Ownership 98%
Season Stats: 58 Att, 238 Ru-Yds, 5 Ru-TD, 11 Tgt, 11 Rec, 64 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD
Haynes put up good fantasy numbers in Week 0 against Florida State, but things haven’t shaped up well since. Haynes has scored a TD in 3 of the last 4 games which is good. He hasn’t cracked 100 rushing yards in a game (best performance is 84 yards) and he’s only had 1 game with more than 12 carries. The schedule is about to get much harder, with only 2 opponents (Virginia Tech & NC State) ranking worse than #60 in rushing fantasy points allowed.
Abu Sama (IaSt)
Fantrax Ownership 98%
Season Stats: 29 Att, 124 Ru-Yds, 0 Ru-TD, 4 Tgt, 4 Rec, 8 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD
The summer hopes of Sama becoming a work horse rusher have been flushed down the drain. The coaches are rotating multiple backs, and Sama has only cracked more than 10 carries in a game once. Last week’s Arkansas State game was a great opportunity for Sama to shine, but instead he had just 30 yards on 7 carries and no TDs. There isn’t another favorable match-up on the schedule until Week 10’s game with Texas Tech. That’s too long to hang onto Sama hoping that the coaches will change their committee backfield approach.
Jarquez Hunter (Aub)
Fantrax Ownership 68%
Season Stats: 48 Att, 340 Tru-Yds, 2 Ru-TD, 6 Tgt, 4 Rec, 25 Rc-Yds, 1 Rc-TD
Hunter has had one good performance this season against New Mexico, rushing the ball 20 times for 152 yards and 1 TD. When you remove that game from his season stats, he’s left with 28 carries for 188 yards and 1 TD in three games (two of those games being competitive). In these three other games he hasn’t had more than 12 carries and 68 yards. While his yards/carry numbers are good, the coaches just aren’t giving Hunter a large enough workload to be fantasy worthy.
Gavin Sawchuk (Okla)
Fantrax Ownership 99%
Season Stats: 18 Att, 33 Ru-Yds, 0 Ru-TD, 3 Tgt, 2 Rec, 10 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD
Summary of previous week’s Cut write-ups: The QB position is syphoning too many rushing opportunities, Sawchuk is running second string and averaging a paltry 4.5 carries/game.
Jahiem White (WVU)
Fantrax Ownership 98%
Season Stats: 37 Att, 194 Ru-Yds, 3 Ru-TD, 8 Tgt, 5 Rec, 26 R-Yds, 0 Rc-TD
Summary of previous week’s Cut write-ups: White is currently working as the RB1-B in the offense, averaging only 9.25 carries/game, but has scored a TD in his last three games.
Marcus Carroll (MIZ)
Fantrax Ownership 86%
Season Stats: 35 Att, 164 Ru-Yds, 2 Ru-TD, 7 Tgt, 6 Rec, 50 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD
Summary of previous week’s Cut write-ups: Carroll ended up as the #2 RB for Missouri and only averaging 8.75 carries/game.
Jacquez Stuart (Toledo)
Fantrax Ownership 71%
Season Stats: 30 Att, 95 Ru-Yds, 2 Ru-TD, 7 Tgt, 6 Rec, 127 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD
Summary of previous week’s Cut write-ups: Toledo is using too many rushers and Stuart is only averaging 7.5 carries/game.
Jordan Waters (NCSt)
Fantrax Ownership 65%
Season Stats: 44 Att, 191 Ru-Yds, 2 Ru-TD, 5 Tgt, 4 Rec, 38 Rc-Yds, 1 Rc-TD
Summary of previous week’s Cut write-ups: Since week 2 Waters is only averaging 8 carries/game with 0 TDs, and the offensive line has struggled to open holes.
Kaleb Jackson (LSU)
Fantrax Ownership 64%
Season Stats: 26 Att, 95 Ru-Yds, 0 Ru-TD, 6 Tgt, 5 Rec, 36 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD
Summary of previous week’s Cut write-ups: LSU is using a three RB rotation, Jackson is not the top option for carries averaging just 6.5 carries/game.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Keep
Jalen Moss (Fres)
Fantrax Ownership 59%
Season Stats: 23 Tgt, 15 Rec, 243 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD, 1 Att, 6 Ru-Yds, 0 Ru-TD
Moss had a total of 17 targets over the first two games of the season, and during the next two-game stint has only totaled 6 targets. This has a lot to do with the ground game being completely dominant against New Mexico and New Mexico State. The play calling has featured fewer passes over those games, and due to the lower level of competition the ball has been spread around to more receivers. The upcoming schedule will feature more competitive games which will force more pass plays to be called and the featured receivers getting back to normal target levels.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Cut
Marquarius White (Tenn)
Fantrax Ownership 98%
Season Stats: 11 Tgt, 8 Rec, 121 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD, 1 Att, -7 Ru-Yds, 0 Ru-TD
White had fantasy value in 2023 due to a large target share. That share has evaporated this year as he is only averaging 2.75 targets/game. The offense has been spreading the receiving production around to the whole WR core and has made it difficult to find fantasy value in any WRs. The best bet for fantasy relevancy is a deep threat who can bust a long TD at any time, and that is not White’s role in this offense.
Nyckoles Haror (SCar)
Fantrax Ownership 89%
Season Stats: 8 Tgt, 4 Rec, 35 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD, 1 Att, 1 Ru-Yd, 0 Ru-TD
I’m surprised Harbor still has such a high ownership rate. The offseason hype train was filled with dreams of Harbor running deep bombs for touchdowns but through 4 games this season he has a total of 35 receiving yards. He has not had more than 2 receptions or 18 yards in a single game. He may be a highly rated freshman, but 2024 doesn’t look like his time to shine.
Johntay Cook (Tex)
Fantrax Ownership 60%
Season Stats: 8 Tgt, 7 Rec, 106 Rc-Yds, 2 Rc-TD
Cook’s only saving grace this season is his 2 TD performance against UTSA, but besides that it has been pretty bleak. He’s averaging a microscopic 2 targets/game and the Texas offense has been featuring multiple WRs over him. I don’t think waiting until the Oklahoma game in Week 7 is a wise move as there are WR options on the waiver market that could improve your team now.
DeMeer Blankumsee (Mem)
Fantrax Ownership 56%
Season Stats: 23 Tgt, 13 Rec, 160 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD
In the summer I thought that Blankumsee’s stats would be very close to WR Roc Taylor’s but that has not come to fruition. He has only total 50 receiving yards once this season, and has yet to have a game with five receptions. The fact that he has not scored a touchdown when Memphis has scored 142 points is also concerning. Memphis has played teams of similar caliber to their conference schedule so the lack of stats is not due to playing overpowered opponents.
Noah Smith (SamHu)
Fantrax Ownership 95%
Season Stats: 18 Tgt, 4 Rec, 57 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD, 4 Att, 27 Ru-Yds, 0 Ru-TD
Summary of previous week’s Cut write-ups: Smith is lacking the heavy workload that produced his 2023 fantasy value, is averaging 4.5 targets/game, and has yet to score a TD this season.
TIGHT ENDS: Keep
Luke Lachey (Iowa)
Fantrax Ownership 93%
Season Stats: 18 Tgt, 12 Rec, 97 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD
I have my doubts about holding onto Lachey but I am placing him in the Keep category for now. The Iowa passing game is not good (again), but there’s a chance the offense may lean on him in tougher contests. Week 6 brings a match-up with Ohio State that will let us know if the coaches will look to lean on Lachey or not. If his production doesn’t improve in that game then he becomes a must-cut player.
TIGHT ENDS: Cut
RJ Maryland (SMU)
Fantrax Ownership 87%
Season Stats: 18 Tgt, 13 Rec, 191 Rc-Yds, 1 Rc-TD
Maryland looked like a God in his Week 0 game against Nevada. Since then, the QB situation for SMU has fallen apart and so have Maryland’s statistics. He had 10 targets in Week 0, and a total of 8 targets in the three games since then. If you have room on your roster to keep him on the bench then you could wait out the QB situation to see if it improves. If you don’t have that luxury then I would cut Maryland now and find yourself a replacement on the waiver wire.
Mitchell Evans (ND)
Fantrax Ownership 50%
Season Stats: 10 Tgt, 7 Rec, 68 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD
Despite the fact that Notre Dame hired LSU’s offensive coordinator from a year ago hasn’t helped the Irish passing game. In fact, you can say the passing game has diminished this year with Riley Leonard under center. Evans has averaged 3.33 targets per game, has not had more than 27 yards receiving in a game, and has not found the end zone this season. All Notre Dame pass catchers should be dropped at this point and Evans is no exception.