2016 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 11
Hello and welcome back to the IDPGuru.com’s most popular in-season article, IDP Waiver Wire Pickups, which will be releasing every Tuesday of the regular season.
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Let’s start things off by going through some IDP news, notes, and commentary from Week 10 of the NFL season.
Injuries
After missing a week due to injury, Derek Wolfe is expected to be back in Week 12 after the team’s bye this coming week.
Jaye Howard suffered a hip injury in Week 9 and ended up being inactive in Week 10 after not practicing at all last week.
Mario Williams left the Dolphins’ game against the Chargers on Sunday with an ankle injury. He is considered “day-to-day.” Given his severe lack of production the last couple of years, Williams can be dropped in virtually all leagues.
MLB Eric Kendricks suffered a hip injury during Sunday’s game and did not return. Chad Greenway took his place in subpackages. We should know more on Kendricks’ status later in the week – but as we’ve seen with players like DeAndre Levy, these type of injuries can linger.
Second year player Jake Ryan hurt his ankle on the opening kickoff this past week and was not able to return to action. Joe Thomas played every snap as a result and Blake Martinez saw a slight bump up into the ~75% range.
All-Pro Justin Houston was activated from IR last week but was inactive on Sunday as expected. He seems primed for a return this week, but will almost surely be on a snap count.
Emerging IDP A.J. Bouye had to sit out Sunday’s tilt against the Jaguars with an ankle sprain. He’s looking more likely to play this week and has a decent matchup against Derek Carr and the Raiders.
Last week’s IDP waiver wire suggestion Phillip Gaines hurt his neck early on in the Chiefs’ game against thee Panthers. Although he missed a good chunk of playing time, it’s been reported that the injury wasn’t severe and he’s expected to suit up this coming week.
Robert Quinn’s string of lackluster performances continued last week as he registered one measly assist despite playing 50 snaps. He did check himself into the hospital on Monday with a “non-football illness.” The specific nature of this illness is unknown at this point and it’s unclear if this has contributed to his poor fantasy performance this season. The Rams are likely to provide us with an update within the next 24 hours or so.
Jabaal Sheard was a hot value play heading into the season; however, his stock has fallen quickly as he’s seen his playing time decrease dramatically in recent games. Last week, he was on the field for just 16 snaps. With rookie Trey Flowers playing well in front of him, it’s not likely Sheard sees a reversal of fortunes anytime soon.
Vincent Rey has been one of the league’s top tackle-producing linebackers on a per snap basis the last couple of seasons. With Rey Maualuga out with injury, Rey once again showcased his abilities with 16 tackles on 44 snaps (59% of the plays). If Maualuga remains out, there will be temptation to play Rey. Just realize his production could vary widely as a part-time player.
Despite being active, Derrick Johnson was not in his usual every down role as he was still not 100% healed from injury. Instead it was Ramik Wilson in that spot. I don’t think this is a permanent situation but it’s something to keep on our radars.
Kenny Vaccaro is coming off a monster game for the Saints. However, recent reports have suggested he could face a four game suspension for violating the NFL’s drug policy. It’s unclear when that suspension would take affect, but it could be as early as this coming week. Obviously, Vaccaro owners need to track this situation diligently.
(Please note that a majority of these pickups early on are long-term, rest of season pickups as opposed to matchup-type recommendations. As the season progresses and the waiver wire becomes more thin and matchup information becomes more reliable, the focus of this article will shift more towards recommendations based on weekly matchup.)
Defensive Linemen
(Previously recommended DLs: Chris Long, Danielle Hunter, Devin Taylor, Dante Fowler, Frank Clark, Timmy Jernigan, Kerry Hyder, Yannick Ngakoue, Damon Harrison, Nick Fairley, Clinton McDonald, Derek Wolfe, Calais Campbell, Joey Bosa, Trent Murphy, Deforest Buckner, Danny Shelton, Willie Young, Joey Bosa, Gerald McCoy, Cameron Wake, Frank Clark, Marcell Dareus, Mike Daniels, Cameron Wake, Adrian Clayborn, Timmy Jernigan)
DE Trey Flowers (NE) – Flowers has unseated veteran Jabaal Sheard for the starting defensive end position. The rookie 4th round selection out of Arkansas saw a whopping 87% of the snaps Sunday night and came through with two big sacks on Russell Wilson. That’s now his second game in a row with multiple sacks. And with the 49ers on the schedule next, he should have a very favorable game script that allows him plenty of opportunities to “pin his ears back” and get after Colin Kaepernick. He’s one of the few high upside DLs that are left on the waiver wire this time of year, so you should give him serious thought as a DL3 in most leagues.
DE Jurrell Casey (TEN) – Casey hasn’t registered a sack since Week 6 – a fact that has likely resulted in him being dropped in a lot of leagues. That cold streak has a good shot of ending this week as the Titans face off against the Colts who lead the league is sacks allowed with 33 (over 4 a game). Casey had been a very dependable DE2/DE3 option over the last three years, so I have faith he can produce in this matchup.
DE Robert Ayers (TB) – I’ve long been a fan of Ayers as he’s been one of the better fantasy DEs in terms of points per snap throughout his career. However, erratic playing time and injuries have prevented him from stringing together the numbers he’s capable of producing. After missing a handful of games earlier in the year, Ayers took a few games to get back into proper playing form. The light seemed to switch on last week as he had 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble to go along with 5 solo tackles. He was still only playing around half the snaps, but he’s shown he can be productive with that amount of playing time in the past. This said, he’s worth a look as a DL3- in a slightly above average matchup against the Chiefs in Week 11.
Linebackers
(Previously recommended LBs: Sio Moore, Todd Davis, Tahir Whitehead, Will Compton, Mason Foster, Craig Robertson, Justin March, Jonathan Casillas, Craig Robertson, Zach Brown, Deion Jones, Sean Weatherspoon, Tahir Whitehead, Zach Orr, Denzel Perryman, Bernardrick McKinney, Cory James, Darron Lee, Christian Kirksey, Jatavis Brown, Vince Williams, Cory James, Michael Wilhoite, Christian Kirksey, Nick Bellore, Perry Riley, Lorenzo Alexander, Markus Golden, Nick Bellore, Albert McClellan, Dont’a Hightower, Tyler Matakevich, Jordan Hicks, De’Vondre Campbell, Christian Kirksey, Demario Davis, Nate Stupar, Kiko Alonso, Dont’a Hightower, Elandon Roberts, Nigel Bradham, Korey Toomer, Ryan Shazier, De’Vondre Campbell, Korey Toomer, Gerald Hodges, Chad Greenway)
LB Dannell Ellerbe (NO) – Ellerbe is one of the more frustrating IDPs to track as he has flashes of big potential which are typically followed by extended/prolonged absences due to injury. He’s missed every game except for two this season but was back in the lineup against Denver last week and produced a respectable 2-5-1 stat line. He still wasn’t full-time but could see his snap count increase against a Carolina team in Week 11.
LB Blake Martinez (GB) – Teammate Jake Ryan exited last week’s game very early with an ankle injury and did not return. Although his absence could spell disaster for a struggling Green Bay defense, it would likely benefit Martinez’ fantasy production as he should see a slight bump in playing time. He was averaging 8 total tackles a game over the last three weeks anyway, so Martinez makes for a sneaky pickup if Ryan were to miss any time.
LB Gerald Hodges (SF) – Hodges continues to rotate with Michael Wilhoite at inside linebacker but has still managed to post stat lines of 9-2-1 and 6-0 INT over the last two weeks. The Patriots are one of the best matchups for linebackers, especially in the tackle department. I expect New England to annihilate San Francisco coming out of a hard Sunday Night loss to the Seahawks. This said, even at 60% of the snaps played, Hodges should still see enough playing time to qualify as a LB3- in deeper leagues.
LB Leonard Floyd (CHI) – Floyd has had at least one sack in three straight games and 4.5 sacks in total over that time. The Giants don’t give up many sacks, but he’s on a hot streak that may override a difficult matchup this week. If you are an underdog in big play leagues coming into the week, Floyd presents nice risk/reward upside.
Defensive Backs
(Previously recommended DBs: Tony Jefferson, Da’Norris Searcy, Shareece Wright, Tyvon Branch, Andrew Sendejo, Kemal Ishmael, Karl Joseph, Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Jacoby Glenn, Vonn Bell, Logan Ryan, Kendell Fuller, Clayton Geathers, Duke Ihenacho, D.J. Swearinger, Bashaud Breeland, Rodney McLeod, Isa Abdul-Quddus, Donte Whitner, DeShawn Shead, Michael Thomas, Troy Hill, Bradley McDougald, Robert Blanton, Daniel Sorensen, Bradley Roby, Phillip Gaines, Andrew Adams)
S Kevin Byard (TEN) – The Titans have been rotating their safeties all season long which has drastically limited the fantasy potential of their secondary. However, rookie Kevin Byard has been seeing his playing time increase as of late (led all safeties with 79% of the snaps played last week) and has strung together three solid performances in a row (4-2, 5-5, 8-0-1). There’s some risk here given the rotation, but he’s worth a look as a DB3 given the lack of quality options at the position right now.
CB Bashaud Breeland (WAS) – Breeland got off to the hot start I expected him to early in the season. Unfortunately, an injury really thwarted his progress for several weeks. He had 7 tackles (6 solo) last week which makes for his best performance since getting injured back in Week 3. Green Bay has been a top 5 matchup for cornerbacks this season due to their lack of a running game, so I expect Breeland to produce a similar stat line again this week.
S Byron Jones (DAL) – As some of you may know, I’m a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan. Watching the game last Sunday, Jones was all over the field and it’s evident that he keeps getting better as a player with each passing week. With the Cowboys leading the league in time of possession and Sean Lee in front of him, Jones will be inconsistent from week-to-week, but is worth consideration as a DB4 in most leagues.
CB Jimmie Ward – The 49ers defense has seen more tackle opportunity than any other team in the NFL through the season’s first ten weeks. And that doesn’t look likely to change anytime soon. Ward has only played in a few games this year as he’s battled injury, but came through with a strong stat line of 7 solos and 4 pass deflections in a game in which he was targeted early and often in the slot. He has a couple of teams coming up that utilize the slot receiver heavily (NE and MIA), so he could make for a sneaky DB3-/CB2 option over that time.
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Last Updated: November 15, 2016