Taking a look at the NFL week 3 from a IDP perspective; notes on what our writer @Orangeman3142 saw this weekend.
This is a continuation of my weekly article series that breaks down what we say this week in IDP fantasy football. What happened and why, what we got right and what we got wrong and more importantly how to move forward and get better this week. We look at possible waivers and trends, snap counts and issues that effect production for your IDP team. Let’s break down part four.
Chicago Bears @ Arizona Cardinals
Bears: Linebackers Khalil Mack (DELB) and Roquan Smith (LB) continue to be very productive this season with Mack playing 100% of snaps for the first time this week while Smith played 82%. Mack recorded 5 solo tackles, 2 sacks and 1 TFL while Smith had 4 solo tackles and 1 TFL.
Akiem Hicks (DE) is taking advantage of all the attention offensive lines are paying to Mack and has been feasting this year. He played 90% of snaps and recorded 4 combined tackles, 1 sack and 1 TFL. He remains a great bye week or injury fill in guy in shallower leagues and can be confidently added to the roster in deeper leagues.
Adrian Amos (S) and Danny Trevethan (LB) had pretty good games with both putting up 5 combined tackles. Both also played 100% of snaps. Trevethan is the one I would add here he has been solid so far this year.
Arizona: Budda Baker (S) and Josh Bynes (LB) are the two guys to own on the Cardinals this year. Bynes played 100% of snaps while Baker was in for 99% this week. Baker put up 10 combined tackles, 0.5 sacks and 2.5 TFL while Bynes had 10 combined tackles as well. With the Arizona offense being as bad as it is this year these two should be automatic starts every week.
The Cardinals play a lot of three safety look and Tre Boston (S) and Antoine Bethea (S) have both benefited with nice seasons so far. Boston played 99% of snaps while Bethea was in for 100%. Boston had 7 combined tackles and 2 PD while Bethea put up 5 combined tackles and 1 PD. Any of the three safeties here are good options for IDP safety with Baker and Bethea being the two I would want.
Chandler Jones (DE) finally had the type of game we all drafted him for this year. On 95% of snaps Jones recorded 4 combined tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL and 1 PD. He led the league in sacks last year and I’ll keep starting him hoping he can find that kind of production again.
Dallas Cowboys @ Seattle Seahawks
Cowboys: We almost made it a whole three games without Sean Lee (LB) getting injured. Alas, we flew too high and the sun melted our wings. Sean Lee (hamstring) will be out “a few weeks”. Jaylon Smith (LB) and Leighton Vander Esch (LB) are the immediate winners of this latest adventure with Mr. Lee.
Smith played 87% of snaps while Leighton played 48%, both of those numbers are sure to increase while Lee is absent. Smith put up 8 combined tackles and 1 sack while Vander Esch recorded 11 combined tackles and 1 TFL. Both are adds for me while Lee is hurt.
Chidobe Awuzie (CB) and Byron Jones (CBS) have both been very productive and consistent this season and were the only two Cowboys IDP to play 100% of snaps. Awuzie recorded 7 combined tackles and Jones had 5 solo tackles and 2 PD. Those are great numbers for cornerback and I would not hesitate to add either in waivers. DeMarcus Lawrence (DE) had a down week while playing 80% of snaps and only put up 3 combined tackles, 0.5 sacks and 0.5 TFL. He’ll be fine.
Seattle: Earl Thomas (S) and Bobby Wagner (LB) both played 100% of snaps and both had nice days with Thomas having 7 combined tackles, 2 PD and 2 int while Wagner put up 7 combined tackles, 1 TFL and 2 PD. It was nice to see Wagner back to his old production, far too many of the stud IDP linebackers have gotten hurt this year so it was nice to see him come back this week and put in work.
Mychal Kendricks (LB) has been a nice fill in for KJ Wright (LB) while he’s been injured. He played 63% of snaps and had 6 solo tackles, 1 sack and 1 TFL. I would feel comfortable playing him until Wright comes back.
Bradley McDougald (S) had another nice week and has been one of my favorite under the radar IDP players this year. He played 100% of snaps and had 5 solo tackles, 1 TFL and 1 PD. He has been consistent and solid, pick him up if you need safety help. Frank Clark (DE) played 78% of snaps and put up 2 solo tackles and 1 sack. He remains a solid bye week or injury fill in guy in shallower leagues and a must have in deeper leagues.
Tre Flowers (CB) had a solid week with 6 combined tackles and 1 PD while playing 100% of snaps and has been great two out of three weeks this year so you could take a flier on him for cornerback waivers and have a good shot.
New England Patriots @ Detroit Lions
Patriots: The Patriots IDP situation is a freaking mess and I would avoid it like the plague. Unless it’s Trey Flowers (DE) or Stephon Gilmore (CB) I want no part of this team. Even IDP staple Devin McCourty (S) has been disappointing this season. Gilmore played 96% of snaps and had 4 combined tackles in an off week, he has been consistent all year and for cornerback 4 tackles isn’t terrible at all.
Devin McCourty was in the top 10 of IDP safeties last year and despite playing 100% of snaps in every game this year has been bad in 2 out of 3 games and only had 5 combined tackles this week. There are better producing safeties out there.
Trey Flowers was out with injury this week but when he’s healthy I would play him. I’m not touching anything else, these snap counts and percentages change every week with these guys and their numbers are all over the place. Nothing makes sense with them and the defense morphs into something different every week depending on the opponent. I want no part of this team.
Lions: The Lions are similar to the Pats when it comes to their IDP situation which is no surprise since former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is now the Lions head coach. Besides Jarrad Davis (LB) sometimes and Darius Slay (CB) occasionally I want nothing to do with this teams IDP production.
The lead tackler on this team this week had only 5 combined. That’s not ideal. Davis and Slay both played 100% of snaps. Davis put up 5 combined tackles and 1 PD while Slay had just one interception and that’s it. Like I said, not a lot to work with here.
Confuscius says “If IDP points you seek, Detroit and New England the places to look you must not.”
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Steelers: Jon Bostic (ILB) and Vince Williams (ILB) both had nice production in this Monday night affair with Williams taking the edge in snap percentage with 100% played with Bostic was only in for 73%. Despite the fewer opportunities Bostic had the better game with 6 solo tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL and 2 PD while Williams only had 5 solo tackles. Personally I’d still rather have Williams since he’s played 100% of snaps all three weeks now but both have been productive.
Sean Davis (S) had the best day out of the Pittsburgh secondary with 6 combined tackles and 1 PD while playing 99% of snaps. He’s still the safest Steelers safety to own in my book despite Terrel Edmunds (S) finally getting into the action with his first interception.
Both Cameron Heyward (DT,DE) and Stephon Tuitt (DE) had dud games with Heyward playing 73% of snaps and Tuitt playing 70%. These guys have been up and down but unless you have better options available I would keep playing them they’ve produced in the past and will again this year just not as consistently as we all want.
Tampa Bay: The cornerback carousel continues with MJ Stewart (CB) being the hot hand this week playing only 65% of snaps and recording 9 solo tackles and 1 PD. It’s been a different corner every week so I’m leaving that situation alone until we get some consistency here. LaVonte David (LB) and Kwon Alexander (LB) are outstanding, consistent and always productive IDP linebackers who both played 100% of snaps this week and are always starts for me.
David had 9 combined tackles and 3 TFL while Alexander put up 8 combined tackles and 0.5 TFL. Justin Evans (S) played 100% of snaps as well and has been solid this year adding 6 combined tackles, 1 PD and 1 int this week. He is a solid option at safety if you need help there.
Defensive line monsters JPP (DE) and Gerald McCoy (DT) played 94% and 85% of snaps this week and both had nice days. Jason Pierre Paul had 5 solo tackles, 2 sacks and 3 TFL while McCoy put up 2 combined tackles, 0.5 sacks and 2.5 TFL.
It looks like JPP is starting to find his stride so I would add him in waivers for defensive end help if needed and feel pretty good about it. McCoy has had a strong start to the year as well but there are plenty of great defensive tackles out there if you need help there.
Make sure you caught parts one, two and three of this article and keep an eye out for my startsit article dropping Saturday. My bad habit of going too far into detail means this article was in four parts instead of one novel. If you have any questions or need some advice feel free to hit me up on Twitter (@OrangeMan3142) or use the “Contact Us” box on our website (idpguys.org) to reach us. Keep an eye out for our other articles and info all week and my start em sit em article dropping Saturday morning. Good luck in your matchups this week!
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