We enter Week 4, and this will be the last one for a while where we won’t have any bye weeks. Byes in IDP leagues are huge because of roster restraints, so keep an eye out for owners feeling the roster crunch who may drop a player they normally wouldn’t drop in order to cover an IDP bye.
Each week, we’ll highlight diamonds in the rough or some players that just need to be rostered in more leagues on the defensive side of the ball. Keep in mind your scoring system and roster restraints when heading to the waiver wire to grab these IDPs.
Defensive linemen
DE Denico Autry, Tennessee Titans
The 33-year-old veteran is always someone hovering on waivers who you keep in the back of your mind. It’s for good reason, too, he has had at least 7.5 sacks in the three seasons before 2023. Autry has had three good games in a row, and you simply just can’t ignore it any longer. He has at least one sack in each game and has 10 total tackles and a forced fumble. He’ll serve as quality depth.
DE Leonard Floyd, Buffalo Bills
The former No. 9 overall pick is a boom-or-bust option that is booming like a firecracker right now. He was quiet in Week 2, but in the other two games, Floyd has six tackles and 3.5 sacks. He won’t produce a whole lot other than sacks, though, so keep that in mind.
Linebackers
LB Terrel Bernard, Buffalo Bills
Bernard has a chance to be a breakout performer at season’s end and should be picked up everywhere. While not a household name, he went undrafted in most leagues. He had 11 total tackles in Week 1; 6 tackles and an INT in Week 2 and seven tackles, a forced fumble, an INT and two sacks in Week 3. Put Bernard high on the waiver priority list as he’ll be a popular pickup.
LB Krys Barnes, Arizona Cardinals
Barnes is a useful player in fantasy, but his biggest problem is staying healthy. He left the Week 3 game with a hand injury, but it’s not expected to be a long-term issue. After a quiet Week 1, he has had seven tackles in each game and three total pass defenses.
[lawrence-related id=482053]
LB David Long, Miami Dolphins
Long had just one tackle in Week 1, but he had eight stops in each of the following two games and pitched in a sack in Week 2. Long had a career-high 86 tackles in 12 games last year, and he could push that with good health. The problem is, he doesn’t do much beyond tackles.
Defensive backs
SS Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore Ravens
This one is for shallower formats: The No. 14 overall pick in 2022 had a monstrous game in Week 3. He had nine tackles, a forced fumble, three sacks and a pass defense. Awesome line, but he had just seven tackles combined and nothing else in the first two games. This could be a catalyst to a breakout, though, as he was a highly touted defender out of Notre Dame. Just take Week 3 with a grain of salt and see how he develops.
SS Julian Blackmon, Indianapolis Colts
After a so-so, five-tackle performance in Week 1, Blackmon has been all over the field. He had 10 tackles in Week 2 and 12 tackles in Week 3. He hasn’t delivered stats anywhere else, but you’ll take those tackles to the bank even if he falls back to seven or eight a week.