Fantasy Football Cut? or Keep?: Terrelle Pryor

In his first full season as a wide receiver in 2016, Terrelle Pryor had 77 receptions for 1,007 yards and four touchdowns for the Cleveland Browns. So imagine the possibilities if he actually had a capable quarterback to throw him the ball, and fantasy owners got their wish when Pryor signed with the Washington Redskins.

Pryor started the season well enough, with six catches (on 11 targets) for 66 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1. But since then he has a total of 12 receptions for 157 yards, with less than 25 yards in three of the last four games. In Monday night’s rematch with the Eagles, Pryor played just 30 of 64 snaps with two catches (on four targets) for 14 yards .

Washington final WR snap count:
Jamison Crwoder 58
Josh Doctson 54
Terrelle Pryor 30
Ryan Grant 26
Brian Quick 0
Out of 64

— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) October 24, 2017

Pryor’s reduced role Monday night came with an increase in Josh Doctson’s snap count, as the 2016 first-round pick played 54 of 64 snaps (84.4%) and delivered three receptions for 39 yards. Jay Gruden’s promise to expand Doctson’s role came to fruition, and Pryor was the receiver who paid the price.

Pryor is clearly not anywhere close to being a fantasy starter right now, but is it time for his owners to drop him?

Of the Redskins next eight opponents (through Week 15), six are in the bottom half of the league in fantasy points allowed to wide receivers (ESPN PPR scoring) going into Week 8 and one is firmly in the middle of the pack. That includes two games against the Dallas Cowboys (Week 8 and Week 13), but I imagine it’s hard to find many more favorable upcoming schedules for a group of wide receivers. If only Pryor was not in line for a continued reduction in snaps, and could take full advantage.

Pryor is owned in 91 percent of Yahoo! leagues, and essentially that percentage of ESPN leagues (90.9 percent) too. But if you take out Week 1 and a fluky touchdown on a busted coverage in Week 4, which helped him deliver a 16-point week in full PPR scoring, Pryor has delivered 17.7 fantasy points (full PPR) in his other four games combined. Take away Pryor’s name, and perhaps where he was drafted by optimistic fantasy owners, and that player would barely be roster-worthy in most fantasy leagues. But here Pryor is, 90-plus percent owned on at least two major fantasy league hosts.

There’s a chance he turns things around, but right now Pryor is barely stash-worthy in 12 and 14-team leagues. I’d rather have someone like Kenny Stills, Ted Ginn or Doctson, and with six teams on a bye in three of the next four weeks having useful players on a fantasy roster is vital. Pryor is not in that class of usefulness, so I say CUT HIM and maybe circle back and add him if he shows signs of a breakthrough.

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