Spooky season is here and not only are offense, but IDPs scoring very unpredictably. Studs are duds, duds are studs, and injuries overflow those fantasy pillowcases full of tricks, not treats. Let’s try to eat some W’s this week as I fill in for the incomparable Joe Harlow!
Disclaimers! In this series, we will not name the stars like Myles Garrett and Roquan Smith (unless something causes one to be a sit). I will also do my best to avoid an absurdly deep-cut former prospect that I love (if you follow the RoD PoD, you know I tend to do this!) In this series I will be basing picks off of a balanced scoring system (like the IDP+ Invitational, which also boosts DTs and CBs to even their production out), to cover as many bases as possible! Please also note that mentions of previous finishes/points allowed come from the IDP+ data suite. If you have a more complex league scoring system, these suggestions may serve as a baseline. For a more degenerate breakdown, jump into Discord and chat with our stellar team! Now that the intro is done, let’s introduce the Week # start-sit options!
Start: DT Maliek Collins, San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks
Maliek Collins is playing the most snaps on the interior of the 49ers’ defensive line, by a large margin. With the loss of Javon Hargrave, he and Kevin Givens have stepped up as of late. If you are just chasing points, you’ll see Givens with a huge spike in Week 4 against the Patriots (Collins was no slouch in that game either). However, that was accomplished on just 55% of the snaps to Collins’s 75%. I will bet on the snap share in this game against the Seahawks, who give up the most points to DTs this season.
Last week: Calais Campbell, Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots. Finished with 7.5 points (IDPI scoring). 2 QB hits, DT55 overall.
Honorable Mention Start: Houston Texans DTs