Players to Drop in Fantasy Football Ahead of Week 4: Brian Thomas and More

The injuries affecting fantasy football are unfortunately not slowing down, which means Week 4 will feature more waiver wire adds to consider. Of course, knowing which players to target is important, but so is knowing which players to drop.

Players to Drop in Fantasy Football Ahead of Week 4

Brian Thomas Jr. | WR | Jacksonville Jaguars

Roster percentage: ESPN (76.4%), Yahoo (82%)

Brian Thomas

How the hell did we get to this point?

Following a stellar rookie season in 2024, Brian Thomas was quickly becoming one of the highest-rising players in all of fantasy football. But the last year and change have been the complete opposite, and now the question isn’t whether BTJ is the WR2 in Jacksonville.

He is now competing for the role of WR3.

Thomas saw 9 targets in Week 2, though converting them against Pat Surtain in Denver is a tough task. The production was underwhelming, but the volume was encouraging. However, that volume disappeared this weekend, as Thomas saw just 1 target against the Patriots. But the more alarming number? Forty-six, as in the percentage of the routes Thomas ran on Sunday. He played just 37% of the snaps, as he rotated, not with Parker Washington or Jakobi Meyers, but with rookie wide receiver Josh Cameron. Thomas played less than usual when Jacksonville was in 11 personnel, which is a serious concern.

We were worried about Thomas’ involvement with Washington, Meyers and whatever Travis Hunter might have done at wide receiver. But the fact that a sixth-round rookie is now cutting into BTJ’s playing time is probably the last straw. Thomas will be cut by a lot of fantasy rosters this week.

MarShawn Lloyd | RB | Green Bay Packers

Roster percentage: ESPN (67.8%), Yahoo (72%)

Marshawn Lloyd

If you moved off MarShawn Lloyd ahead of Week 1 when his value was at its peak, congratulations. Without Josh Jacobs, Green Bay has arguably the worst rushing attack in all of football, especially behind arguably the league’s worst offensive line. As a result, Lloyd is struggling with efficiency (2.9 YPC), but he can’t even make up for it with volume since the Packers are now using three running backs on a weekly basis. You know, when they actually do run the ball.

Lloyd is suddenly playing just 33% of the snaps, while handling 49% of the team’s rushing attempts through three weeks. There’s also very limited upside in the receiving game since Green Bay’s struggling offensive line requires their running backs to stay in and block so often. With Jacobs’ future still uncertain, it is entirely possible that Green Bay’s true RB1 isn’t even on their roster at the moment. Feel free to move on from Lloyd.

Baker Mayfield | QB | Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Baker Mayfield

It’s obviously much easier to drop Baker Mayfield now that he’s expected to miss at least the next three weeks with a dislocated thumb. But even if he was 100% healthy, Mayfield would still be a drop candidate.

He just hasn't played well at all this season, too often looking for the home run rather than just taking the singles and doubles the defense is giving him. Through three weeks, Mayfield's rankings among qualified signal callers leave plenty to be desired:

21st in completion percentage (63.5%)
24th in yards per completion (10.1)
29th in TD rate (2.1%)
37th in EPA/Play (-0.28)
30th in fantasy PPG (11.7)

Of course, facing the chaotic and blitz-heavy Minnesota defense is difficult, but Mayfield also just isn’t taking care of the football. We’ve already seen a good amount of poor play and injuries at the quarterback position, but Mayfield can be cut, especially now that he is set to miss some time.

Khalil Shakir | WR | Buffalo Bills

Roster percentage: ESPN (67.3%), Yahoo (49%)

Khalil Shakir

As a Bills fan who loves Khalil Shakir, this one pains me. But the fact of the matter is that Buffalo’s “everybody eats” philosophy on offense makes Shakir difficult to rely on in fantasy lineups. Buffalo rotates their wide receivers as much as any team in football, while also deploying 11 personnel just 42% of the time, the fourth-lowest rate in the NFL. That’s led to Shakir running just 61% of the routes and averaging 4.7 targets per game. And because he’s mostly used close to the line of scrimmage, limited volume is especially troubling for him.

We know Shakir can be a solid floor PPR FLEX option if other Buffalo pass-catchers miss any time. We’ve seen it time and time again in this offense. But if he’s the only player you can drop to add help elsewhere, feel free to do so.

Still love you, Khalil.