The Week 17 IDP Dynasty buy/hold/sell list is set for Championship Weekend. Do not snooze now and cost yourself a winning move. Let’s tackle some buy/hold/sell players that can help get you a Championship. Or maybe you want to continue building your squad up for the 2025 season. Either way, don’t stand pat and let Week 17 IDP Dynasty Players pass you by on the waiver wire or trade block. No moves usually mean no championships… Ever!
Week 17 IDP Dynasty Buys –
DE/Edge – Chauncey Golston – Dallas Cowboys
Golston got his opportunity when DeMarcus Lawrence went down with a Lisfranc injury in Week 4. The third-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft has played 80% or more of the defensive snaps in 8 of the last 11 games since Lawrence went down. His minimum defensive snap count in the last nine games has been 76%. Golston is getting a lot of opportunity and is delivering on that opportunity to the tune of 41 tackles (22 solo), 3 tackles for a loss, 6 QB hits, 3 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 4 passes defended, and 1 interception. He has scored 20+ points with a sack in each of the past two games. His place in a rotation with a majority of the defensive snaps has been earned and will be rewarded this off-season as he is courted by multiple teams as he becomes a free agent soon.
Safety – Jordan Battle – Cincinnati Bengals
Battle was a third-round pick in last year’s 2023 NFL draft out of Alabama. He played in all 17 games and started the last seven games of the season. A majority of his stats came in the games of Week 11 and on. Battle is following the same pattern this year as he only posted 46 total defensive snaps in the first eight weeks of the season. The Bengal’s defense was so bad that they had to make some changes. Vonn Bell was the player that Battle would start taking defensive snaps from starting in Week 9. Since Week 9, Battle has 42 tackles (24 solo), 1 tackle for a loss, 1 QB hit, 1 fumble recovery, 2 passes defended, and 1 interception. He has increased his defensive snap percentages to 97% last week. Battle is the #5 scoring Safety in the last two weeks combined.
CB – Keisean Nixon – Green Bay Packers
Nixon is a 27-year-old sixth-year player that is the #10 scoring CB in IDP leagues. He has double-digit scoring in every game from Week 4 to now. Whether you are in a CB required league or not, this is the type of consistency in scoring that your squad needs. He is also a player who delivers on kickoff and punt returns for those of you that get points for that. Nixon has a 12-yard average on four punt returns this year and a 30.3 yard average on his 15 kickoff returns. Those are nice little bonus points that can be added to his total production that he posts off of his 93% of defensive snaps this year. He is setting new career highs in tackles (73), tackles for a loss (6), QB hits (5), Sacks (3), forced fumbles (3), and passes defended (6).
LB – Drew Sanders – Denver Broncos
There was a Sanders sighting last week as he played one defensive snap and produced one sack on that snap against the Los Angeles Chargers. Sanders tore his Achilles tendon in May this year and has already gotten action after being activated from the physically unable to perform list on November 26th. After being drafted in the third round of last year’s 2023 NFL draft out of Arkansas, he proceeded to play in all 17 games while starting four of them. He is a very versatile player as he can play inside linebacker or on the outside rushing the QB. It is no secret that the Broncos need someone to step up in the LB position with Alex Singleton tearing his ACL earlier this year. Sanders is free and could be that major riser for 2025.
Week 17 IDP Dynasty Holds –
LB – Fred Warner – San Francisco 49ers
Warner revealed at the end of November that he has been playing with a fractured bone in his ankle according to ESPN. That explains his reduction in tackles this year. Warner has only missed a handful of defensive snaps because of the injury. He posted single-digit tackles in seven straight games this year prior to the Week 15 game against the Los Angeles Rams. His ankle looks to be feeling better over these past two games as he has posted a combined 26 tackles. Warner is not having a regression in tackles due to his seven-year career work pattern of nearly every snap during his career. Even with those seven straight weeks of reduced production, he is still the #7 scoring LB on the year.
DT – Jeffery Simmons – Tennessee Titans
Anyone who thought Simmons might have hit his career years in his Pro Bowl years of 2021 and 2022 has been served notice by his performance in the last four games. Simmons had produced just 15 tackles in the first four games this season. Rumors started flowing that maybe he is now on the downturn of his career. He averaged just 13.2 points per game in his first five games this season. Fast forward to Week 8 and the numbers skyrocket. He is averaging 22.83 points per game over these weeks. Simmons is on a four-game stretch of 22 points or more scored in each game. He has 8 tackles for a loss, 7 QB hits, and 4 sacks in these past 9 games. Simmons then adds 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 3 passes defended in these same games. His demise was greatly exaggerated.
DE/Edge – Brian Burns – New York Giants
Burns has had only one noteworthy game played since the Giants’ bye in Week 11. That one game in Week 14 against the New Orleans Saints netted him 4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 QB hits, 1 sack, and a forced fumble. His other 4 games combined gave him 10 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 QB hit, 1 sack, and a pass defended. Burns is still just 26 years of age and these past few games with the Giants have been a dumpster fire. In the 5 game stretch prior to the bye, Burns put together an incredible stat line of 31 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 8 QB hits, 4 sacks, and 2 passes defended. His defensive snap count has fallen to the mid 60% over these past two games. On the season, Burns has 82% of the defensive snaps. Burns is a hold as he will set a career-high this year in tackles, even with the recent down weeks.
Safety – Derwin James – Los Angeles Chargers
James has been a top-five Safety for the last three years running. This year James is #19 on the year in scoring season to date. However, he had a very nice stretch between Weeks 6-13 where he was the #6 scoring Safety for that period. The 28-year-old player is still very relevant and important to the Chargers’ plans on defense. He has posted six or more tackles in 10 of his games this season. James plays nearly every snap on the season with 10 games being at 100% of the defensive snaps. He will post his fourth straight triple-digit tackle season this year. Do not let him get away. You will not be able to replace the consistency of a top Safety year in and year out.
Week 17 IDP Dynasty Sells
Safety – Reed Blankenship – Philadelphia Eagles
Blankenship just posted a 22-point performance with 5 tackles, 1 pass defended, and 1 interception. He posted 24 points combined in his prior three games played. After posting 113 tackles last year, he will be lucky to hit 85 tackles this year. Blankenship will have played one more game this year also. His splash plays of tackles for a loss, sacks, and forced fumbles are all at zero quantity for the season. He had enough good games this season to where you should be able to get good value in return. Use these stats to your advantage when you start shopping him for your league. Blankenship had five games of 22 points or more scored this season. He also had four games of eight tackles or more this year.
LB – Lavonte David – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
David will turn 35 next month and is playing on a one-year, $8.5 million contract. His days are numbered with the Buccaneers, but maybe not the NFL. He is the current LB11 on the season. Somebody will want him at the right price. What is the right price? The answer is whatever you can get for him. 2024 will be his lowest tackle production in the past three years, but his highest sack production since 2013. Use these stats as you try to increase the value in return. Do not get too greedy though and end up with nothing and then you have to drop him next season.
CB – Devon Witherspoon – Seattle Seahawks
Witherspoon is a player with a hot name and has a very nice appeal to a lot of owners. This is his second year in the league and he already has a new career high in tackles with 84. All the other categories in CB scoring are way down from his rookie season. He has zero interceptions on the season and less than half of the passes defended he posted as a rookie. Witherspoon has less than half of the tackles for a loss from his rookie year and zero sacks. He has the right age and value to get a great deal in return for him. He is a sell even in CB-required leagues.
DE/Edge – Rashan Gary – Green Bay Packers
Gary’s sixth year in the league was no better than any of his previous five seasons. He has posted right about average for his career in tackles (41), tackles for a loss (6), QB hits (14), and sacks (6.5). These numbers get him a #34 ranking in DE/Edge scoring for 2024. The former #12 overall pick in 2019 is just another guy. It is time to move on from the 27-year-old player and get what you can for him.
Thank you for checking out my Week 17 IDP Dynasty Friday – Buy/Hold/Sell 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!
