The Pre-Season portion of our 2024 NFL Season is complete. In two weeks, the real bullets start flying. There were some surprises in play over the past three weeks as players started competing for depth chart superiority. Here are five players moving up and down your draft board – IDP Edition!
IDP Winners
DE – Dorance Armstrong – Washington Commanders
Armstrong played his first six years in the league with the Dallas Cowboys. He had a career year in 2023 with 38 tackles (20 solo), 7 tackles for a loss, 12 QB hits, 7.5 sacks, and 1 pass defended. Armstrong has only started 14 games in his six-year career, only one game in 2023. He didn’t play more than half the snaps in 13 of the games last season. That is about to change with his new home in Washington D.C. Montez Sweat and Chase Young are gone. A new coaching staff and philosophy are in place. The 27-year-old Armstrong will thrive in this system under former Defensive Coordinator and new Head Coach Dan Quinn.
S – Jeremy Chinn – Washington Commanders
Chinn has received a new lease on life after being signed by the Commanders. The second-round pick came out of the gates strong as a rookie. He then proceeded to throw up worse numbers in each of his next three years. 117 tackles as a rookie and just 30 tackles last year. You should see at least six tackles a game out of him, as he averaged at least six tackles per game in each of his first three years with the Carolina Panthers. That would put him at a 100-tackle season for 2024.
LB – K.J. Britt – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Britt is a former fifth-round pick in 2021 out of Auburn. He has patiently waited for his shot to show his worth. Britt got a chance to start two games last year and played 120 total snaps for 90% of the defensive snaps. He produced 14 tackles, 1 tackles for a loss, and 1 pass defended. Devin White has departed and Britt is a much better LB than White. With Lavonte David next to him, Britt will easily surpass the 83 tackles that White put up last year.
S – Julian Love – Seattle Seahawks
Love signed a one-year contract last year to play Safety for the Seahawks. He delivered 123 tackles, 4 interceptions, and 1 fumble recovery. The Seahawks then signed Love to a new three-year extension and brought in Rayshawn Jenkins to pair him up with. Jenkins also delivered over 100 tackles last year. Both of these guys can do everything asked of them on the backside of this defense. Love will be better because of Jenkins’s presence. They will be as fun to watch as the Arizona Cardinals safety tandem of Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson.
DE-Jermaine Johnson – New York Jets
Johnson being a winner is based on Haason Reddick showing up at the Jets complex soon. He would take a lot of attention off the opposing offense along with Quinnen Williams. Johnson played and started all 17 games last year for the Jets. He nearly doubled his tackle production from his rookie year. Johnson had 16 QB hits and 7.5 sacks to go with 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 TD. He had no one near the talent of Reddick playing with him last year. The Jets defensive line will be a force and Johnson will lead the charge.
IDP Losers-
LB – Nathan Landman – Atlanta Falcons
Landman, who was undrafted out of Colorado, finally got his chance in 2023 when Troy Andersen went down with an injury in the second game of the season and missed the rest of the 2023 season. The linebacker stepped in and did an admirable job with the 14 games he ended up starting. He was a steady starter for many IDP fantasy teams as the year went on last year. He averaged almost eight tackles a game during his 14-game stretch. Andersen is back healthy and will start again with Kaden Ellis at the beginning of 2024. It looks like Landman will need another injury to one of those two players to get the playtime.
S – Cole Bishop – Buffalo Bills
Bishop had it all laid out for him for playtime early in his rookie year. Buffalo let Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde go during free agency this year. They signed Taylor Rapp, Mike Edwards, and most recently, Kareem Jackson. The Bills still have Damar Hamlin on the roster. The second-round pick hurt his shoulder in practice last month and has missed most of training camp and all three preseason games. He will eventually get play time, but it shouldn’t be early as he has not had time or practice to step into the Bill’s scheme with confidence.
DE – Myles Murphy – Cincinnati Bengals
Murphy had a pretty quiet rookie year after being selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft. His snaps did increase as the season went along, but 32 defensive snaps was his season high in weeks 15 and 17. He was set to take his next step and be the first to spell Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard. Then a knee sprain happened last week in a joint practice against the Indianapolis Colts. He will be out for 4-6 weeks and lose valuable time, practice, and game reps. 2025 will be his opportunity to nail the third-year breakout chance, as 2024 does not look to be a very productive year.
LB – Daiyan Henley – Los Angeles Chargers
Henley was a third-round pick out of Washington State last year and was being prepped to become a starting member of the Chargers linebacker unit. Then the coaching staff was relieved of their duties. The Chargers brought in the very high-profile Jim Harbaugh from the Michigan Wolverines. Harbaugh and company used another third-round pick on a LB this past draft. Former Michigan Wolverine LB Junior Colson joins his old coach and kicks Henley to the curb. Henley might eventually take over for the older Denzel Perryman, but that shouldn’t be 2024.
LB – Channing Tindall – Miami Dolphins
Tindall was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft out of Georgia. He was selected to be a mainstay in the middle of the Dolphin defense. After a three-tackle year in his rookie year, the Dolphins decided to bring in David Long Jr. to help solidify the middle of their defense for the 2023 season while Tindall learned and got more comfortable. Tindall increased his tackles to eight while learning behind Long and Jerome Baker. The third-year breakout was set for Tindall to deliver as Baker signed with the Seahawks in free agency. The problem is that the Dolphins then signed Jordyn Brooks to put next to Long for a very stout middle of their defense. Tindall will be learning again in 2024.
Thank you for checking out my Moving Up and Down Your Draft Board article! You can read all of my articles on my IDP Guys author page. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @OldMan_FF and @IDP_Plus (we have offense, too), and please consider becoming a subscriber!
