Need some IDP Rookie Investments to help bolster your fantasy football portfolios for this season? I have you covered!
Four weeks of the 2021 football season are in the books. Do you still have questions about your rosters? Are you unsure what to do? I’m here to help you diversify your fantasy portfolios and get the maximum return on your investments.
IDP Rookie Investments
1. Darrell Taylor, DE, Seattle Seahawks
Unfortunately, Taylor was injured and missed his entire rookie season. Now, here in his second season, you can see the potential he has. Hopefully, you were patient and listened to me when I told everyone to hold their shares of Taylor.
Through four games played this season, Taylor has one sack in three of those. On the season he has eleven tackles — nine solos — two TFLs, 3 sacks, 3 QB hits, and one forced fumble. While he hasn’t started a game yet, Taylor is playing about 30 snaps per game (38%). He’s being used as a situational pass rusher right now, but with the high returns he’s providing, that will change moving forward.
With all the pass-rushing issues that Seattle has had the past few seasons, it looks like they have finally found an answer to that question. Taylor had 16 sacks in 24 games in his junior and senior seasons with the Tennessee Volunteers. He finished his career with 19.5 sacks, enough to rank him 10th in school history. This is exactly the type of pass-rushing production that the Seahawks drafted him for.
Fantasy managers started Taylor in 38% of MyFantasyLeague.com leagues last week and that number will continue to rise. I expect his production overall to continue to increase with an increased workload. Taylor will be a good source of sacks for your fantasy teams. He is one of the hottest stocks in IDP right now, so my advice is to invest whatever it takes to add Taylor to your IDP portfolios.
Investment Rating: 5
2. Javon Hargrave, DT, Philadelphia Eagles
In his second year with the Eagles, Hargrave is having the season the Eagles hoped for when they signed him as a free agent. If you were like me, you didn’t overreact and held onto your shares of Hargrave and now are reaping the big return. It pays to be patient when trying to maximize your IDP assets.
Hargrave is off to a blazing start and is on pace to shatter a lot of his personal best marks. Through the first four games this season, he has recorded 24 tackles — 12 being solos — six TFLs, five sacks, seven QB hits, and one forced fumble. His five sacks currently rank him first among all defensive tackles and second overall in the NFL. His current career-high in sacks was 6.5 that he set back in 2018 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Hargrave has at least one sack in three of the four games played so far and two of those games were two-sack performances. I expect the sacks to continue this season, as Philadelphia has one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. For fantasy managers who play in position-specific leagues, Hargrave’s sack numbers are a huge return for them. As an added bonus, Hargrave is averaging four tackles per game, which is on pace for 64 for the season which would be a new career-high.
Fantasy managers started Hargrave in 82% of MyFantasyLeague.com leagues last week. That high start percentage tells me he’s not only being started in position-specific leagues but in all IDP leagues. You can play this stock option two ways right now. One, you can cash out and sell now or two, you can ride the hot streak. Either way, you’re getting a high return on your investment.
Investment Rating: 4
3. Matt Judon, LB, New England Patriots
The Patriots acquired Judon through free agency after the Baltimore Ravens decided to let him walk, and for New England, he has been everything they expected and more. They have been looking for a consistent pass rusher for the past couple of seasons and Judon has been that for them.
Just like Taylor and Hargrave above, Judon has been on a tear to start the season. Through the first four games, he is playing 81% of the defensive snaps, which is on pace for his career-best. Judon has recorded 16 tackles — ten solos — six TFLs, 4.5 sacks, and eight QB hits. He is on pace to record career-best numbers across the board and seems to have taken his game to the next level with the Patriots.
Judon is among the NFL leaders in sacks but, despite his fast start, fantasy managers started him in just 47% of My Fantasy League.com leagues last week. That number will surely increase this given New England has a juicy matchup with the Houston Texans ahead this week. I looked around in my leagues and was surprised to see him available in a number of them.
Judon is a mid LB2 linebacker in most leagues. That is great value for someone who can be picked up off of the waiver wire. Judon is a low investment option that can yield a high return. This is the type of stock to look for when trying to diversify your IDP portfolios.
Investment Rating: 3
Thanks for reading my IDP Rookie Investments for Week 5! I am a member of the FSWA (Fantasy Sports Writers of America), and you can read more of my articles on my author page at IDP Guys. Follow me on Twitter at @HollywoodTitan, on Facebook on my IDPNation page, on Reddit in the fantasy football IDP sub — I’m user KingTitan1 — and tune in each week and listen to IDP Nation and Devy IDP Grind podcasts on multiple platforms. Feel free to hit me up with any questions that you have, as I’m always glad to help fellow IDPers. #IDPNation #IDP #IDPDevy.
