After three weeks, it’s starting to become a little easier to tell who is going to be a star and will struggle to succeed in 2020. While there is still a long way to go and injuries could change the calculus, at this point, it’s hard to excuse player underperformance by saying it is just a bad game — at this point, it’s three bad games. Once a player fails to produce in that many games, you have to wonder how long you should wait for that player to snap out of a funk.

Some players that started poorly are going to have trade value, although it’s hard to move a bad player in a trade because your other league owners watch football too, and he or she will not want to give up much for an underperforming player. Sometimes a player is too good to cut, but you need to bench him until he snaps out of the funk. Otherwise, if you are thinking about cutting players, here are some names that I would consider just cutting and moving on with other options on the waiver wire.

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Philip Rivers (QB – IND) 

My big problem with Rivers is his underwhelming numbers in favorable matchups. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, and New York Jets have not been great defenses to start the season. The Jaguars are 24th against fantasy quarterbacks, the Vikings 13th, and the Jets 15th. Yet Rivers is the QB26! Considering how bad his competition has been, he should be averaging more than 13.79 fantasy points per game. Ryan Tannehill had 26.76 fantasy points against the Jaguars in Week 2 and Ryan Fitzpatrick had 24.20 fantasy points against them in Week 3. Rivers had only 16.82 fantasy points against them in Week 1. Aaron Rodgers had 30.76 fantasy points against the Vikings in Week 1, but Rivers had only 11.86 fantasy points against the Vikings in Week 2. The Jets gave up 28.18 fantasy points to Josh Allen in Week 1, and Rivers had 12.68 fantasy points against them in Week 3.

Rivers should be off to a fast start given that level of competition, instead, he is barely a QB3. Other quarterbacks are dominating the teams that Rivers has been below average against. It doesn’t make much sense to hold onto him when his matchups have been this favorable and his numbers have been this below average. This is also the time of the season when he should be the freshest, and if he can’t dominate easier opponents early in the season, it seems unlikely that he picks it up against tougher teams as his body breaks down from the grind of the NFL season. At 39 years old, Rivers looks like a good game manager who is unable to put up big fantasy numbers at this stage of his career.

Philip Rivers’ Decline Last 3 Seasons

Daniel Jones (QB – NYG)

I had Jones in my article last week, yet he is still owned in 43 percent of Yahoo leagues and 35.8 percent of ESPN leagues. Here is the easiest reason that I can think of to cut him for the people that were not swayed last week: he’s almost getting outscored by Dwayne Haskins. Haskins is currently owned in only five percent of Yahoo leagues and three percent of ESPN leagues, yet he’s scored 36.70 fantasy points to Jones’ 37.16. The production is not there for Jones, and it’s unlikely to improve with Saquon Barkley out for the season. Jones will have a good game here or there, but he won’t be consistent or predictable. If nobody is going to touch Haskins with a 10-foot pole in fantasy football, there is no reason to own a quarterback that is statistically identical to him in fantasy this year.

Dion Lewis (RB – NYG)

The thought was that Devonta Freeman would emerge as the touch leader once he learned the offense after signing last week. That meant that Lewis should have seen the lead share of the touches against a San Francisco defense that was down two defensive linemen and a starting quarterback. Instead, the Giants lost 36-9, and Lewis saw one carry for no yards and had one reception on three targets for 10 yards. You can’t play a running back that has only three targets and one rushing attempt, even if they’re on the best running team in the NFL. The Giants are far from that, as they have one of the worst offenses in the league. I would move on from Lewis after that performance. If his touches are going to go down once Freeman learns the offense, he is not on the fantasy radar.

Kerryon Johnson (RB – DET)

He had an acceptable game in Week 2 with eight rushing attempts for 32 yards and one touchdown. In Weeks 1 and 3, he combined for 10 rushing attempts, 30 yards, and no touchdowns. He does not seem to have a significant role in this offense right now. Peterson has out-rushed him 43-18 on the season, and D’Andre Swift is probably going to emerge with a larger role later in the season. In deeper leagues, you may want to hold onto Johnson and see if Peterson can stay healthy at 35 years old. Johnson does not have a dependable role right now with Peterson healthy, and if you are 0-3, Johnson is a player you can afford to cut bait on early in the year.

Frank Gore (RB – NYJ)

The Jets are currently on pace to score 197.3 points and gain 4,218 yards on the season. Both are the worst marks in the league, and when a team is putting up these types of numbers, they are approaching season totals by some of the worst offenses in the last 20 years. I think it’s amazing that Gore has 42 rushing attempts for 144 yards on this team at 37-years old, but that does you nothing in fantasy football. This roster is a disaster right now, and unless something changes, they are going to be the worst offense in the entire league. The floor is so low for Gore that he isn’t worth rostering even if Le’Veon Bell continues to miss time with an injury.

Mike Williams (WR – LAC)

I just do not see much upside holding on to Williams at the moment. Last year, he was the WR38, and now he is the WR83 with just 13.5 fantasy points in three games. Justin Herbert doesn’t seem to like throwing to him, as he has targeted Williams just five times in two games, including just once last Sunday. It’s hard to stream a player that can see one target in a game. I’m sure he’ll have a game this year where he puts up monster numbers, but good luck predicting it, and my condolences for the five bad games he will have while you chase it. I don’t see the value of holding onto a player with that low of a floor. In deeper leagues, you may need to bench him instead of cutting him, but in 10 team leagues, I think it is safe to look for more dependable options.

Larry Fitzgerald (WR – ARI)

This should have been the game where he made a little more noise. Detroit is not a stellar defense, and Christian Kirk couldn’t. Nobody thought that Fitzgerald was going to be on the same plane as DeAndre Hopkins, but this was a chance for Fitzgerald to shine. Hopkins had 12 targets, 10 receptions, 137 yards, and no touchdowns. Fitzgerald had three targets, one reception, and no yards. Fitzgerald is a first-ballot Hall of Fame player and one of the best receivers to ever play the game, but that means nothing in fantasy football. He has 12 receptions for 84 yards and no touchdowns in three games. I would cut bait and stream some higher upside options. Fitzgerald looks like a player that needs to head to retirement sooner rather than later. If he had something left in the tank, he should be putting up bigger numbers early in the season.

Curtis Samuel (WR – CAR)

Samuel is a repeat player, as I had him in my article last week. There was some speculation with Christian McCaffrey out for the foreseeable future that Samuel would have some fantasy value as a runner, and I think that’s why some fantasy managers decided to keep him around for another week. Samuel saw only four rushing attempts for seven yards, and he added four targets, four receptions, and 45 yards receiving. He just isn’t seeing the ball enough. Four extra rushing attempts sprinkled in with a nonexistent role in the passing game is still a disaster for fantasy owners. He is the fourth option in a passing offense that has generated only 871 yards passing and two passing touchdowns in three games. I am even more confident this week that fantasy managers need to look elsewhere for wide receiver help, as there are plenty of higher-upside options on the waiver wire.

Austin Hooper (TE – CLE)

I have had Hooper in every article this year, and I will continue to keep him here if his ownership rate stays at 53 percent in Yahoo leagues and 45.9 percent in ESPN leagues. We’re talking about a player with 10 targets, seven receptions, and 62 yards on the season. The problems are numerous. The Browns have just 85 pass attempts in three games, which would put them on pace for only 453 pass attempts this season. They have two great running backs that can both score touchdowns in the red zone, which limits Hooper’s touchdown opportunities. Two other tight ends on the roster have scored touchdowns instead of Hooper, and those scores account for 40 percent of the Browns’ passing touchdowns. Hooper is the fourth option in the passing game. You could score about as many fantasy points streaming me against the Dallas Cowboys this week. I at least won’t fumble the ball and cost you points, which Hooper probably won’t do either, because he also will never touch the ball. He needs to be banned from fantasy leagues at this point.

Chris Herndon (TE – NYJ)

The same problem that Gore has is the same problem that Herndon has when it comes to fantasy production. When an offense is this anemic, bad fantasy results are the norm. The Jets tried to shake things up and move Herndon to the slot 12 times. The problem is he still had only five targets, three receptions, and 21 yards. He might be worth streaming later in the year if Adam Gase is shown the door, but that would require rostering two tight ends. That just does not make sense, Herndon is not worth a dead roster spot until the Jets move in another direction. Gase is supposed to be an innovative offensive mind, but instead, the Jets have the worst offense in the league.

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Derek Lofland is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Derek, check out his archive and follow him @DerekLofland.