For 2022, I will be coming to you with weekly IDP Sleepers to help you set your lineups. Who should you look at obtaining for your roster before the price skyrockets?
Here are your Week 3 IDP Sleepers, one from each level of the defense.
1. Jihad Ward, DL, New York Giants
Ward is a 28-year-old, 6’5″ 287 lb defensive end playing on the sixth team of his career. He was originally drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft. Ward’s best year to date was last year with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he posted 32 tackles (10 solos), 3 tackles for a loss, 7 QB hits, and 2 sacks.
G-Men Down
Ward is with the New York Giants on a one-year contract. Both of the starting players ahead of him are hurt. Kayvon Thibodeaux has a sprained MCL, and Azeez Ojulari has a calf strain. With both players out to start the year, Ward has stepped up and manned the edge very nicely.
Ward has played in 88% and 91% of the defensive snaps in the two games to start off his season with the Giants. These are significant snap numbers for a defensive lineman and shows the new coaching staff for the Giants does indeed trust him. Ward has started both games and already has 10 tackles (8 solos) and 2 tackles for a loss.
Ward is a high-risk player because we don’t know what happens when Thibodeaux and/or Ojulari return to the lineup. If Ward continues to post these tackle numbers, he will have a solid role on the Giants’ defense.
On MFL, Ward is listed as a Defensive End, which is huge this year with the lack of them available on the waiver wire. This first sleeper of mine is a risk/reward player that you need to roll the dice on. Ward is tied for DE8 in scoring in my league after the first two weeks of 2022. Not bad for the DL147 on FantasyPros rest of season rankings.
2. Oshane Ximines, LB, New York Giants
I have another New York Giant to offer you in Ximines. He is a fourth-year player who was drafted by the Giants in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft. He produced his best year as a rookie while posting 25 tackles (11 solos), 5 tackles for a loss, 9 QB hits, 4.5 sacks, and 1 pass defended.
Ximines tore his rotator cuff in Week 4 of the 2020 season. He then rebounded to play about half the defensive snaps in the first two games of the 2021 season. Ximines’ snap percentage kept decreasing until Week 9 when he was inactive. Which is when he entered head coach Joe Judge’s dog house. Ximines played one defensive snap from Week 9 on.
New Blood
The 2022 season brought new life and new energy into the Giants’ locker room, thanks to the new coaching staff. Ximines has a new lease on life and started the 2022 season opener. He plays roughly 63% of the defensive snaps and delivered eight tackles (five solos), one tackle for a loss, three QB hits, one sack, and two passes defended.
This is a great start to the season. Ximines has produced the same scoring as Eric Kendricks and Patrick Queen in my leagues. Now is the time to grab him as he is just LB169 on FantasyPros ECR for the rest of the season.
3. Donovan Wilson, S, Dallas Cowboys
Donovan Wilson is a fourth-year player with the Dallas Cowboys and has claimed a starting safety spot for 2022. The best year of his short career was 2020 when he posted 71 tackles (48 solos), 2 tackles for a loss, 3 QB hits, 3.5 sacks, 3 passes defended, 2 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries.
This was done in just 14 games in which he started just 10 of them. Wilson struggled with injuries in 2021, as he battled groin, chest, and shoulder ailments throughout the year and played in just nine games.
Wilson started both of his games in 2022 and played nearly 100% of the snaps. He has already posted 13 tackles (10 solos), 1 tackle for a loss, 1 QB hit, 1 pass defended, and an interception. These numbers are good enough to place Wilson as S15 in my league’s scoring through the first two weeks.
Big Boys land Big Hits
Donovan Wilson is a 6′ 1″ 208 lb defensive back who knows how to hit. If you are lucky enough to get him on your roster, he may end up being a start-him-and-forget-him player that we all covet every year. Wilson is a free agent in many leagues, as he is the DB88 in ECR on FantasyPros rest of season ranking. Take advantage of the community sleeping and acquire him today.
Thank you for checking out my Week 3 IDP Sleepers 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 @IDPGuys (we have offense, too), and please consider becoming a subscriber!
