Making the mad dash to the waiver wire when news breaks on certain players is a thrilling, but also nerve-wracking experience for fantasy football players. Sometimes, though, the hardest part is deciding who to cut from your team to make the transaction. Picture this: It’s days until the season starts and Travis Kelce gets an injury scare, and you need to scoop up his backup Noah Gray or the next best tight end on the wire. However, you really like your team, top to bottom, and you’re not sure who to drop. I’m here to tell you what players you can cut from your team to snag you a waiver wire winner.

Oftentimes, fantasy managers clutter the ends of their rosters with players in murky situations or those that simply lack high upside. For this piece, I’m going to be referring to players rostered by at least 25 percent of teams in ESPN leagues, and I’ll list them in descending order of ownership percentages. Here are some of those players that you can dump from your squad to get the next big thing off the wire.

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster – New England Patriots (83.3% rostered)

Maybe I’m jumping the gun a bit on JuJu Smith-Schuster, but I honestly don’t see the appeal for his fantasy case in 2023. Smith-Schuster was the WR29 in Half PPR last year in a fairly similar WR room situation. This year, though, he’ll be catching passes from Mac Jones instead of Patrick freaking Mahomes. Top that situation off with the murmurs that his knee ‘could explode at any point’, per Albert Breer. Smith-Schuster is better served as a landmine for your opponents to trigger on the waiver wire than on your bench, or heaven forbid in your lineups.

Related Article: Week 1 WR Rankings

WR Adam Thielen – Carolina Panthers (69.2% rostered)

Adam Thielen’s upside scenario is that he starts the season as the top receiving option in a predominantly rush-heavy offense led by a rookie QB in Bryce Young. That doesn’t sound too appealing, especially when you consider the younger talent around him that will likely develop and potentially surpass him in the pecking order as the season wears on. I like the upside of rookie WR Jonathon Mingo for the rest of the season rather than Thielen’s downward trajectory, but there’s probably a better stash option on the wire waiting for you.

Want to get access to the rest of the weekly roster cuts? You’ll need to have a FANTASYPASS membership. Click here to learn more and sign up!

Premium Access Required