Fantasy Football Week 3: Chad Ochocinco and 5 Players You Need to Ditch Now

The NFL season is young, but that doesn't mean fantasy football owners can't part ways with their surefire fantasy duds. 

While some owners remain hopeful that their former studs can turn it around, there are plenty of trends that suggest otherwise.

Lack of playing time, sputtering offenses and injury concerns are major red flags for fantasy football productivity, and there's no shortage of those throughout this slideshow.

Knowing when to cut losses is a huge factor in winning fantasy leagues, and now is the time to do so for the following five players: 

Ryan Grant, Running Back, Green Bay Packers

It's remarkable how quickly a running back can fade into obscurity despite posting recent back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons.

That's exactly what's happening to Ryan Grant, who is seeing less of the field at the expense of James Starks' emergence.

Grant has carried the ball just 15 times for 65 yards this season, but that's not even the scary part. What's more alarming is that Grant has seen just 32 snaps all season compared to Starks' 82.

With a healthy Starks averaging almost seven yards per carry in the first two games, there's no reason to expect the snap trend to sway in Grant's favor.

There's also no reason to expect him on any smart fantasy owner's roster anymore.

Chad Ochocinco, Wide Receiver, New England Patriots

Tom Brady is the gift that keeps on giving in fantasy football, which is why it's rarely a bad thing for fantasy owners to grab one of his receivers.

However, if Brady's receivers are gifts to fantasy owners, then Chad Ochocinco is a lump of coal. Brady has over 900 passing yards in just two games, and Ochocinco accounts for just 59 of them.

If you thought Ryan Grant had trouble getting onto the field, the former Bengal has had even more of it. Ochocinco has played in just 35 of the 151 offensive snaps for Patriots this season. 

Ask yourself: Why reserve a roster spot for a guy who is off the field for over 75 percent of his offense's plays?

To be fair, Ochocinco could see an increase in playing time while Aaron Hernandez is out for one to two weeks. If he performs well in that time, then my advice is to sell high. An owner in your league who is desperate for a wide receiver may give you a good haul.

However, if you have to clear a bench spot immediately, you could do much worse than letting Ochocinco go.

Pierre Garcon , Wide Receiver, Indianapolis Colts

Pierre Garcon scored the 33rd most fantasy points last season for wide receivers. That may not sound very impressive, but in most league formats, it makes Garcon a viable fantasy option.

If you read between the lines though, much of that productivity was because of missed time by Austin Collie. Now Collie's back in the lineup, and Garcon's targets should continue to trend downward.

Also, the corpse of Kerry Collins is still under center for the Indianapolis Colts. The days of a high-scoring offense in Indianapolis will not return until Peyton Manning does, and neither will Garcon's relevance in fantasy football.   

Ryan Torain, Running Back, Washington Redskins

This is a no-brainer, right? We've had a nice ongoing theme about low snap counts during this slideshow, and Ryan Torain is the king of that at the moment. He has yet to be on the field in 2011!

Despite that, he is owned in over 72 percent of ESPN leagues as of Thursday, and I just can't understand why.

Torain is buried on the depth chart, and coach Mike Shanahan appears set on spelling Tim Hightower with rookie Roy Helu. And why not? Helu's looked explosive so far, and could even challenge Hightower for the starting job by season's end.

Add all of that to a list of concerns which already includes a rich injury history, and you've got a running back you can afford to part ways with.

Mike Williams, Wide Receiver, Seattle Seahawks

It was nice to see Mike Williams become relevant again in 2010, but 2011 appears to be a different story.

Newly acquired Sidney Rice sat out the first two weeks of the season, leaving Williams as the top wide receiver on the Seahawks' depth chart. How did he fare in his big opportunity?

Five catches for 43 yards.

I'm not necessarily faulting Williams here. Seattle's offense is garbage, and the quarterback situation is indescribably bad. But Rice's return could be as early as Week 3, and Williams may see even less balls thrown his way.

But when you have a quarterback with a career completion percentage below 60 percent, it may not even matter how many targets Williams gets. Drop him like the hook in a Snoop Dogg song.