ClutchPoints
Nothing brings more stress to the average NFL fan than the fantasy football playoffs, which are officially beginning in Week 15. Trade season is over, but the waiver wire never ends.
Finding league-winning players on the waiver wire at this point in the season is about as rare as a strike of lightning. However, there are always a few diamonds in the rough to be used at the disposal of desperate managers.
Playoff time requires risk-taking, but the window for patience has officially closed. It is time to begin cutting dead weight and dropping any player not worthy of starting consideration from fantasy football rosters.
Before the fantasy football playoffs begin in NFL Week 15, drop these five players from all rosters without hesitation.
What was supposed to be a breakout season for Trey Benson has turned into a disappointment. Everything aligned for Benson to reach his initial draft expectations in 2025, particularly with James Conner suffering a season-ending injury.
The Arizona Cardinals instead confirmed that Benson will also remain on injured reserve and will not return in 2025. His season ends with 29 carries for 160 rushing yards and 13 catches for 64 receiving yards.
Conner and Benson will both return to the Cardinals in 2025, but the much younger Benson will be the preferred fantasy option. For now, Bam Knight will continue commanding Arizona’s backfield for the remainder of the season.
Late-season injuries are never a good sign, especially when they take out veterans like Zach Ertz. The 35-year-old had turned back the clock for most of the season to maintain reliable fantasy football output, but will now spend the rest of the year on the sidelines.
Ertz took a nasty hit late in the Washington Commanders’ Week 14 loss to the Minnesota Vikings and was carted off the field in tears. The team has since confirmed he suffered a torn ACL, ending his 13th season on a low note.
Ertz would have been one of the few players who could have benefited from Marcus Mariota returning to the starting lineup for a reinjured Jayden Daniels after catching 10 passes for a season-high 106 receiving yards in the Hawaiian’s last start. His season instead ends with 50 catches, 504 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Expect the Commanders to rotate John Bates and Ben Sinnott in at tight end for the remainder of the year. Neither is a usable fantasy option, even with Mariota’s tendency to favor tight ends.
With 541 receiving yards through 13 games, Troy Franklin has already doubled his rookie season production. His improvement is a positive sign for his long-term development, but Franklin has not been a helpful fantasy football contributor in recent weeks.
Franklin briefly looked like he was headed on a tear down the stretch after a two-touchdown performance against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8. That 26.9-point outburst was part of his best run...
