diff --git a/crates/node/primitives/src/delta_buffer.rs b/crates/node/primitives/src/delta_buffer.rs
index 171c583a9..68987ad91 100644
--- a/crates/node/primitives/src/delta_buffer.rs
+++ b/crates/node/primitives/src/delta_buffer.rs
@@ -92,8 +92,10 @@ impl DeltaBuffer {
     pub fn push(&mut self, delta: BufferedDelta) -> bool {
         if self.deltas.len() >= self.capacity {
             // Evict oldest delta (front of queue)
-            let _evicted = self.deltas.pop_front();
-            self.drops += 1;
+            // Only increment drops if we actually evicted something
+            if self.deltas.pop_front().is_some() {
+                self.drops += 1;
+            }
             self.deltas.push_back(delta);
             false
         } else {
diff --git a/crates/node/tests/sync_sim/sim_runtime.rs b/crates/node/tests/sync_sim/sim_runtime.rs
index e9bb9136d..76b108e05 100644
--- a/crates/node/tests/sync_sim/sim_runtime.rs
+++ b/crates/node/tests/sync_sim/sim_runtime.rs
@@ -622,6 +622,7 @@ impl SimRuntime {
                         for (_delta_id, operations) in buffered_ops {
                             for op in operations {
                                 n.apply_storage_op(op);
+                                self.metrics.work.record_write();
                             }
                         }