Tag: IDP waivers

Welcome to Week 11, where it’s officially the stretch run. Your league’s trade deadline may have already passed, which makes nailing these IDP waiver moves imperative. Four more teams are on a bye this week, which leaves eight teams left to navigate.

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 Jerry Hughes, Houston Texans

The 34-year-old has drank from the fountain of youth with eight sacks thus far, which is his third-highest total of his career and best since 2014. Hughes has at least four tackles in two straight games and sacks in three straight. He’s a rock-solid option to grab as depth and use in good matchups.

DE DeMarcus Walker, Tennessee Titans

Largely thanks to injuries, Walker has thrust himself into a deeper-league spotlight with a sack in three straight games. He has just 14 tackles on the season and 3.5 sacks on the year, so he won’t be a pickup to suit every league’s tastes. Walker hasn’t played more than 55 percent of the snaps in any game this year, which came last weekend. However, with sacks in three straight games and the Packers and Bengals upcoming – two teams that allow sacks, the near future continues to look bright.

Linebackers

LB Jack Sanborn, Chicago Bears

Two weeks ago, he had two tackles on the year. The last two weeks, he delivered seven tackles and 12 tackles and two sacks, respectively. Sanborn has a bigger role, and the rookie is here to stay. Pick him up universally.

LB Kaden Elliss, New Orleans Saints

Another guy that has emerged over the last two weeks is the 27-year-old Elliss. He has sacks in two straight weeks, and he had seven tackles and a forced fumble to go with it last week. Injuries all over the Saints’ roster has given Elliss plenty of job security, and he’s a flex candidate in mid-sized leagues.

Defensive Backs

S Rodney McLeod, Indianapolis Colts

The 32-year-old has been a consistent contributor in recent weeks for tackles and nothing else. Over the last three weeks, he has nine, six and seven tackles, respectively. So if you’re looking for depth and want a safe option with a low ceiling and solid baseline, he’s your guy.

CB Sauce Gardner, New York Jets

The No. 4 overall pick in 2022 has emerged and leads the league with 13 pass defenses. He also has 21 tackles over the last three weeks. He’s fresh off of a bye week and has the Patriots and Bears over the next couple of weeks. Gardner probably won’t be a stalwart in your lineup, but he’s definitely a worthwhile depth add and matchup play.

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We’ve reached double digits in the 2022 NFL season, and four AFC teams will be on a bye this week. After this week, about half of the league will be clear of its bye, which makes it tougher each week to grab IDPs that should not be dropped. The diamonds in the rough emerging will be even more important.

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

DT Vita Vea, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The 347-pound tackle has never been much of a fantasy commodity, but he has made a statement over the last three weeks. Vea has 12 tackles and four sacks over the stretch, which has put him among the top scorers at the position. This could just be an aberration, but he’s a Pro Bowl-caliber player worth the add.

DT Javon Hargrave, Philadelphia Eagles

Hargrave is another tackle performing at a high level, though fantasy players looking to add him must take heed. He has 15 tackles and five sacks over the last two games. The 29-year-old had just 11 tackles and one sack the previous six games. Pick him up as depth, but he’ll probably be one of the first ones dropped should you need the spot.

Linebackers

LB Krys Barnes, Green Bay Packers

Barnes missed the first seven games of the season due to an ankle injury, and he delivered eight tackles in his first game in Week 9. The Packers defense is a mess with injuries, and Barnes will be a cog in the second layer. The third-year pro had 80 tackles in each of his first two seasons and should be a steady piece.

LB Justin Houston, Baltimore Ravens

He’s on a bye this week, but what he has done the last three weeks can’t be ignored. Houston has a sack in all five games he has played, and he has at least two sacks in three games in a row. Houston records only about three tackles a game, though, so he’s very one-dimensional. That one dimension has been on full display of late, though.

Defensive Backs

S Damar Hamlin, Buffalo Bills

The former sixth-rounder is still a bit of an unknown and available in far too many leagues after amassing 22 tackles over the last two weeks. Hamlin has at least seven tackles over the last four weeks, and he notched his first full sack of the season last week.

S Kerby Joseph, Detroit Lions

He suffered a concussion in Week 9, so take that into consideration when scouring the wire. The third-round rookie had a breakout performance with 10 tackles, two INTs and three pass defenses. He has at least five tackles in three straight games. Monitor his status throughout the week, and consider picking him up if he’s fit to play.

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The first week of byes is down, and four more contending teams are off in Week 7. Through six games, rosters have had a chance to settle. You know who you can count on and who’s on the bubble. As always, keep an eye out for worthwhile players who may have been released during last week’s byes.

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

DT DeForest Buckner, Indianapolis Colts

The two-time Pro Bowler had a solid start to the season with at least four tackles in each of his five games. He really made a statement the last two games, though, with 13 tackles and three sacks combined. He’s a 295-pound interior lineman who will have peaks and valleys, but the tackle numbers are promising for him to hold value throughout the year.

DT Dexter Lawrence, New York Giants

The 2019 first-round draft pick has been a solid player, but he has really taken the next step through the first six weeks of the season. He has tied his career high with four sacks – all of which have come in the last three games. He had five tackles in four of the six games and just one tackle in the other two. So he’ll need the sack numbers to continue to have value outside of deeper leagues, but he’s on the rise.

Linebackers

LB Jacob Phillips, Cleveland Browns

The former third-round pick got off to a slow start the first two weeks with just five combined tackles. He has turned it on with seven, seven, 10 and 10 the following four weeks. He has mixed in two sacks as well, and Phillips looks to be a weekly flex candidate in standard leagues that start a DL, LB, DB and flex.

LB Alex Singleton, Denver Broncos

It’s OK to look at Singleton’s Week 6 stat line and blurt out a “Holy” and follow it up with your word of choice. He had 21 tackles, and 19 of them were solos, good for the second-most individual stops in NFL history! Now, LB Josey Jewell was out with a knee injury, but you can’t bench someone who just racked up 21 tackles, can you? Singleton was solid during the first two games without Jewell to open 2022, and the Broncos went right back to the latter, but 21 tackles is tough to ignore in any context. Pick up Singleton and see if you can shop him or just use him at flex until Jewell comes back.

Defensive Backs

SS Rayshawn Jenkins, Jacksonville Jaguars

The 28-year-old’s season started out quietly with just five tackles combined in the first two weeks. Since then, he has tallied five, six, 12 and eight stops. Each of the last two weeks, seven of them have been solos. He had a career-high 84 tackles in 15 games in 2020, and he’s poised to eclipse that with good health.

S Jaquan Brisker, Chicago Bears

Brisker, a second-round pick in 2022, may have the most upside of the bunch this week. He has had at least five tackles in each of the last five games, but he has sacks in two of the last three games. They’re using him to blitz, which creates opportunities for sacks, forced fumbles, and fumble recoveries to go with a solid baseline of tackles. We could be looking at a DB1 or DB2 by season’s end. Don’t miss the boat.

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We’re one-third of the way into the season, and bye weeks are upon us. By now, you should have a good idea of your roster construction’s strengths and weaknesses. IDPs are one of the first drops you make to cover byes, which means you need to keep your eyes peeled to the waiver wire for players who shouldn’t have been cut.

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 Zach Allen, Arizona Cardinals

The 2019 third-round pick has been stuffing the stat sheet the last three weeks. He had 17 total tackles, two sacks and four pass defenses to be one of the top players at the position over the stretch. He had 48 tackles and four sacks last year, which lends us to believe his tackling numbers have some staying power.

DE Montez Sweat, Washington Commanders

Sweat was a big disappointment through the first four weeks of the season, and a lot of impatient owners let him go. He came alive in Week 5 with six tackles and his first two sacks of the year. Clearly, he has struggled without DE Chase Young on the other side, but the team has been happy with Sweat’s run-stopping ability. Young could be back in a matter of weeks, which means Sweat should be owned universally because of last week’s breakout and the future upside.

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Linebackers

LB David Long, Tennessee Titans

Long is on a bye this week – so keep that in mind. He had his best game of the season in Week 5 with 11 tackles and an interception. Yet, fantasy owners have been slow to the trigger to pick him up off waivers. He has at least seven tackles in four of five games, and this bye week should only make him more available. Grab him and stash him for a week if you can.

LB Darius Harris, Kansas City Chiefs

Harris exploded with 10 tackles in Week 3, but he followed it up with a goose egg in Week 4, which caused a surge of people hitting the drop button. He had just 15 tackles in two seasons in his career leading up to this year, which made the performance seem fluky. He responded with 10 tackles and his first career sack Monday night. He has to be part of the picture even when Willie Gay Jr. returns from suspension.

Defensive Backs

CB Cameron Dantzler, Minnesota Vikings

Dantzler had the play that iced the game in Week 5 when he stripped the ball away from a Bears receiver. However it’s what he has done in the tackle category that has made fantasy owners take notice. Dantzler has eight tackles in two of the last three games, and he has five or more in four of the five games. He’s at 30 tackles on the year and well on his way to shattering his career-high of 53 last year.

CB Deommodore Lenoir, San Francisco 49ers

It was really unfortunate that CB Emmanuel Moseley had arguably the best game of his career in Week 5 and left the contest with a torn ACL. Lenoir has been ballin’ out the last three weeks, and he only figures to see more action with Moseley lost for the year. Lenoir has 21 tackles, a sack and a pass defense over the stretch and should start being picked up with more playing time in store.

It’s the final week before we have to start covering some bye weeks. So it’s the last chance for some players you drafted that might be lagging behind to show something before roster space becomes a crunch.

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 Samson Ebukam, San Francisco 49ers

The sixth-year pro has had 4.5 sacks each of the last three years and is close to eclipsing that career high one quarter into the season. He had two sacks in Week 4, and he’s really taking advantage of the extra attention paid opposite of him on a healthy Nick Bosa. Ebukam only has 11 tackles on the year, and he’s a little one-dimensional. Keep that in mind and pursue him in deeper formats.

DT Quinnen Williams, New York Jets  

The former No. 3 overall pick is starting to wreck havoc. He has at least four tackles and a half-sack in three straight games. He has been at 50 tackles and 6-7 sacks each of the last two years, and he projects to soar past those numbers in his fourth season. He should be owned in most leagues.

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Linebackers

LB Tae Crowder, New York Giants

The former seventh-round pick broke out with 130 tackles last year. He went undrafted in a lot of leagues as owners must not have bought into it. Crowder is proving them wrong with 25 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble in four games. He should be owned everywhere.

LB Zaven Collins, Arizona Cardinals

The 16th overall pick played sparingly last season, but he’s getting his time to shine in 2022. He has 27 tackles and a forced fumble through four games. He has clearly moved past 2020 No. 8 overall pick Isaiah Simmons and looks to be a fixture in the middle.

Defensive Backs

FS DeShon Elliott, Detroit Lions

The fourth-year man is in his first season with Detroit, and he has been dependable in the secondary. He has 28 tackles (23 solo) and a fumble recovery thus far. There’s a lot of youth back there, and Elliott figures to be one of the leaders. He’s a solid pickup as depth for his tackling prowess, which should remain steady after Detroit lost Tracy Walker (Achilles) a week ago.

S Malik Hooker, Dallas Cowboys

Hooker has played a ton of snaps the last couple of weeks with Jayron Kearse missing time. Hooker stood out in Week 4 with eight tackles, and he has at least four in three straight games. He has had trouble staying healthy in what could have been a path to stardom in Indy, but he’s carving a role in Dallas that may continue beyond Kearse’s return since Dallas loves to employ the “big nickel” defense that fields three safeties.

We roll into Week 4 with a good idea of what our teams are and what it will take to stay above the fray or change that pretender to contender. We lost some key guys on defense last week, and there may be holes to fill.

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

DT Christian Wilkins, Miami Dolphins

In a rare case we make for a tackle, Wilkins has been doing plenty of that. He has at least five total stops in all three games and 18 on the season. He doesn’t have a sack yet, but history shows those are coming. Wilkins had 89 tackles, 4.5 sacks and four pass defenses last season. He’ll provide good depth, and you always love an IDP that piles up tackles in fantasy.

DE Dorance Armstrong Jr., Dallas Cowboys

DE DeMarcus Lawrence stole the headlines with three sacks in Week 3, but Armstrong is creeping up with three sacks in the last two weeks. The more attention Lawrence gets, the more of an opening the 25-year-old from Kansas will receive. The Cowboys face a putrid Washington team in Week 4 that has allowed the second-most fantasy points to DLs. He could have a big game in store.

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Linebackers

LB Devin Lloyd, Jacksonville Jaguars

The first-round rookie opened eyes with 11 tackles in Week 1, but it’s what he has done in coverage that has been impressive. He has an interception and three pass defenses in each of the last two weeks. He tallied 13 total tackles in the two games as well, which you’d like to see more of, but he is floating around too many waiver wires. Even if his tackle numbers don’t pick up, you can fall back on productivity in coverage numbers.

LB Jacob Phillips, Cleveland Browns

The Browns are absolutely decimated by injuries on the defensive side of the ball with LB Anthony Walker Jr. on IR, and DEs Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney, LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and DT Taven Bryan all iffy for Week 4. Phillips stepped up when Walker went down in Week 3 and led the team with 7 tackles, a pass defense and had the only sack. The 23-year-old was a 2020 third-round pick and looks to have a lengthy chance for a breakout.

Defensive Backs

FS Mike Edwards, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The fourth-year man started the season slowly, but he delivered a pick-six in Week 2 before opening up a 13-tackle game in Week 3. SS Antoine Winfield Jr. is a stud beside him, and teams will try to stay away from him. That means Edwards is going to have more INT and tackle opportunities. He figures to be extremely busy against Kansas City in Week 4, and you should get busy scooping him up!

FS John Johnson III, Cleveland Browns

It seems like forever ago, but Johnson was once a top-five DB in fantasy with the Los Angeles Rams. Now 26 and trying to find his way back to fantasy prominence, he has been on my watch list all year. He has at least five tackles in all three games and 18 in total. He also has a half sack, a forced fumble and two PDs. So he’s starting to compile across the board, and now might be the time to secure his services as depth.

Two weeks down, and now is the time when you worry less about where you drafted someone and start to plug holes on waivers if that player underperforms.

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 Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions

The No. 2 overall pick started slowly with just one assisted tackle in his first pro game, but he made a statement in Week 2. He had six total tackles and three sacks against the Washington Commanders. That is sure to get Minnesota’s attention as they scheme to block him this week, but he should be picked up in all leagues that require two defensive linemen. He’s owned in many leagues, though someone may have dropped him after the lackluster Week 1 showing.

DE Trevis Gipson, Chicago Bears

This one is strictly for deep leagues or to put on the watch list elsewhere. Gipson broke through for two sacks against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2. He had three tackles in Week 1, and he’s doing all of this in limited time. He has played in just 36 percent of the snaps thus far, but that’s about to change. He really utilized the attention placed on DE Robert Quinn opposite of him to his advantage.

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Linebackers

LB Zaire Franklin, Indianapolis Colts

Franklin has been gobbling up the tackles in MLB Shaquille Leonard’s (back) absence through two weeks. He had eight tackles in Week 1 and 10 in Week 2. Leonard should be week-to-week at this point, which will nerf Franklin’s stock a little bit, but he is still good depth to have.

LB Frankie Luvu, Carolina Panthers

Showing shades of Luke Kuechly, Luvu followed up a strong Week 1 with 10 solo tackles in Week 2. Luvu, 26, had a career-high 43 tackles last season, and he could eclipse that mark in the first month as he has 16 total tackles in the early going.

Defensive Backs

SS Kamren Curl, Washington Commanders

Curl missed the first two weeks with a thumb injury, which allowed second-year man Darrick Forrest to amass 15 tackles. Curl has been cleared to return this week, and he needs to be owned in all formats. Since he was banged up, he was dropped or undrafted in a lot of shallow leagues. He averaged 93.5 tackles in his first two seasons and should come close to that again with the extra game in the schedule.

CB Nate Hobbs, Las Vegas Raiders

Hobbs has filled the stat sheet in the first two weeks. In the opener, he had nine tackles, a forced fumble and a pass defense. In Week 2, he racked up 11 total tackles. Can he continue to tackle at this rate as a corner? Probably not. However, he makes for great depth or potential trade bait.

After one of the more entertaining Week 1’s in recent memory, we flip the page to our first inseason waiver session. 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 Jerry Hughes, Houston Texans

The 34-year-old Hughes turned back the clock with a game-breaking performance in Week 1. He had three tackles, two sacks, an INT, a forced fumble and a pass defense to become one of the top point scorers at the position. Temper expectations, because he hasn’t made 40 tackles since 2017 and has just 13 sacks over the last four years combined.

DE Kwity Paye, Indianapolis Colts

The first-round pick disappointed in his rookie season with 32 tackles and four sacks. He generated a big chunk of those stats last week with seven tackles and two sacks against the Houston Texans. Can he be an under-the-radar sophomore breakout? He’ll have the opportunity to prove it against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2 and will be a flex or DL2 candidate.

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Linebackers

LB Pete Werner, New Orleans Saints

The second-year man finished tied for 98th among LBs in fantasy points last season with 62 total tackles and nothing else. He busted out with 13 tackles and a forced fumble in Week 1. He was a second-round pick in ’21, and he very well could be coming of age.

LB Jayon Brown, Las Vegas Raiders

Brown was an LB1 as recent as 2020, but injuries really took the wind from his fantasy sails. He’s still just 27 and getting his legs back under him after two 10-game campaigns in a row. In 2019, he had 105 tackles, a sack, an INT and eight pass defenses. He posted five total tackles in Week 1, and he’s still well within his physical prime. He’s worth picking up in deeper leagues and watching universally to see if he can return to LB1 status.

Defensive Backs

FS Talanoa Hufanga, San Francisco 49ers

Another second-year man from USC made a big impact in Week 1 with 11 total tackles and an INT. He totaled just 32 total tackles and two PDs in his rookie season. He plays with his hair on fire like a linebacker and has drawn comparisons to Troy Polamalu. This could have been his first of several 10-tackle games to come.

S Josh Jones, Seattle Seahawks

Seattle has likely lost star safety Jamal Adams to a torn quadriceps for the season, and Jones is the next man up. He held his own with seven tackles in Week 1 and should continue to have opportunities to chase his career-high 83 tackles set in 2020 with Jacksonville.