2018 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 8
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 7 of the NFL season.
Injuries
Mario Addison suffered a back injury early in last week’s game and did not return. He’s questionable for Sunday’s game against the Ravens and his playing status will be determined by how well he responds to medical treatment throughout the week.
Last week’s waiver wire recommendation, Trent Murphy, injured his knee in Week 7 and is considered “week-to-week.” I would prepare to be without him for the immediate future.
There were several injuries to impact fantasy linebackers this week. The biggest one being Kwon Alexander who tore his ACL and is out for the remainder of the season. This is a striking blow to fantasy players who had shares of Alexander. Additionally, Reuben Foster injured his shoulder towards the end of the 49ers vs. Rams game as he was trying to stop Todd Gurley from entering the end zone. Foster’s had previous issues with that shoulder, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see him miss time. Vontaze Burfict suffered a hip injury against the Chiefs and did not return. He was limping quite badly as he came off the field so he will be highly questionable for this week’s game.
CB1-/CB2+ Quinton Dunbar is dealing with a shin injury that is further complicated as it’s a nerve issue. He visited the doctor today but he didn’t get much resolution coming out of that meeting and is considered “week-to-week.”
General Player Notes
Zach Brown had his most productive game of the season with a 8-1 tackle line. However, he still only played 53% of the snaps and can’t be trusted in starting lineups moving forward.
Anthony Hitchens had one of his worst game of the season with just three solo tackles against the Bengals. More concerning, he only played 64% of the snaps as he was pulled in nickel packages in favor of Dorian O’Daniel who played well in that role. There’s a chance Hitchens could revert back to an every-down role and this change in situation was just temporary, but it would be hard to trust Hitchens next week unless we know definitively that he’s going to stick in subpackages.
Despite playing 84% of the snaps last week, Kahlil Mack still looked hobbled with an ankle injury. The Bears deployed him in coverage a lot versus rushing the passer which was another contributor to his 1-solo tackle performance. Keep an eye on his ankle status as it could still linger and affect him over the next couple games.
For more updates on playing time splits across the linebacker position, check out the latest update of my every-down linebackers column.
(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 thinner and matchup information becomes more reliable, the focus of this article will shift more towards recommendations based on the weekly matchup.)
Defensive Linemen
(Previously recommended DLs: Markus Golden, Sheldon Richardson, Isaac Rochell, Larry Ogunjobi, Taco Charlton, Matt Ioannidis, Benson Mayowa, Margus Hunt, Kenny Clark, Stephen Weatherly, David Irving, Takkarist McKinley, Jerry Hughes, Jarran Reed, Trent Murphy, Corey Luiget, Romeo Okwara)
DE Joey Bosa (LAC) – Bosa has not yet played a snap this season as he’s battled a deep bone bruise in his foot. Recent reports indicate that he’s expected to return in Week 9, however. This said, if he’s available in your league, now is probably the time to scoop him up and stash him on the bench. Even upon return, it will likely take Bosa a few weeks to get up to speed, but if you can leave him on your bench over the next couple weeks, he should be an invaluable player down the playoff stretch run.
DE Cameron Wake (MIA) – Wake returned to game action last Sunday for the first time since Week 4. Although he ultimately laid a goose egg in the stat columns, it was encouraging to see his snap count at 58% in his first week back from a multi-week absence. He gets the Texans this week who give up the most points to opposing defensive ends, are third in the league in sacks allowed, and lead the league in QB hits with a whopping 70. I like him as a boom/bust DL3 for those in need of big points from the position this week.
DT Jarran Reed (SEA) – I’m re-surfacing Reed as a waiver wire pickup (was on the list a couple weeks ago) as he had a bye last week and was consequently dropped in some leagues. The former second round pick seems like he’s developing into a legitimate threat on the interior as he had four sacks over his last four games before the bye and was producing above average tackle numbers. Consider him a DT1-/DL3+.
Linebackers
(Previously recommended LBs: Fred Warner, Darius Leonard, Nick Vigil, Matt Milano, Cory Littleton, Darius Leonard, Reuben Foster, Roquan Smith, Devondre Campbell, Duke Riley, Kenny Young, Austin Calitro, Vontaze Burfict, Leighton Vander Esch, Josh Bynes, Anthony Walker, Vontaze Burfict, Jatavis Brown, Jayon Brown, Jerome Baker, Zach Cunningham, Jaime Collins, Vincent Rey, Thomas Davis, Bradley Chubb)
LB Adarius Taylor (TB) – The injury to LB1 Kwon Alexander opens the door for Adarius Taylor to become a great mid-season fantasy contributor. With Kendell Beckwith’s return timetable from ankle surgery still unclear, Taylor will be the guy that slides from the strong side to the middle and play every down for the Bucs. He had a 5-2-1 stat line last week with most of that production coming in the second half after replacing Alexander. He has LB2-LB2+ potential and should be one of the top waiver wire pickups this week.
LB Elijah Lee (SF) – With Reuben Foster’s historical injury issues with his shoulder, he could wind up missing some games. If that’s the case, Elijah Lee would be the next man up in his stead. He had a 10-2-1 FF game in Week 2 (the last time he was in an every-down role) and should serve as a solid source of LB3-LB3+ production as long as he’s starting.
LB T.J. Watt (PIT) – Watt has been one of the biggest boom/bust IDPs in the league this year. He has six sacks so far but those all came in two games. One of those three-sack games came against the Browns in Week 1. Guess who he has on the schedule this week? Yes, the Browns (who lead the league in sacks allowed at a ridiculous 31). If there was a week to use the lesser known Watt, it’s this week.
LB Todd Davis (DEN) – Davis remains largely unrostered in most IDP leagues as he’s not well known as a defense with bigger name players like Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, and Brandon Marshall. Plus, he’s not an every-down player. Despite those drawbacks however, he’s racked up 51 total tackles over seven games and has had at least five tackles in every contest. He’s not going to blow you away in the box scores, but if you are looking for a LB3/LB4 in deep leagues, Davis is a high floor/safe option for you.
Defensive Backs
(Previously recommended DBs: Kentrell Brice, Clayton Geathers, Terrell Edmunds, Jessie Bates, Justin Simmons, Ricardo Allen, Donte Jackson, Anton Exum, Damontae Kazee, Brian Poole, Tre Boston, Jessie Bates, Eric Reid, Damarious Randall, Jordan Lucas, Mike Mitchell)
S Mike Mitchell (IND)/Damarious Randall (CLE) – Both Mitchell and Randall were waiver wire suggestions last week but I’m mentioning them here again as they both are coming off monster games and still may be available in your leagues. Mitchell has quickly ramped up his playing time and saw 91% of the snaps last week on his way to a 7-0-0, 1 FF, 1 INT, 2 PD day. Randall kept his strong 2018 season going with an 11 solo tackle performance. Randall is the better long-term option but Mitchell is slightly better short-term for however long Clayton Geathers remains sidelined.
S Kenny Vaccaro (TEN) – Prior to his injury, Vaccaro was producing like a low-end DB1. He was close to playing last week but the team decided to error on the side of caution with him since the game was in London. The Titans are on bye this week so if you have the bench space, now would be a sneaky time to pick him and throw him on your roster as he will be much tougher to grab in Week 9.
S Patrick Chung (NE) – Chung has seen his tackle production rise in recent weeks (22 total tackles over his last three weeks) and the Patriots are utilizing him in more of a run support role closer to the line of scrimmage. We all know how Bill Belicheck likes to change player roles week-to-week, but with a favorable matchup in the Bills on the schedule next, Chung is worth a shot in some leagues as a DB3-.
CB Darryl Roberts (NYJ) – Roberts has been productive in the games in which he’s started this year. Injuries at the position forced the Jets to play Roberts 100% of the snaps last week and he led the team in tackles with 11 (10 solo). If Trumaine Johnson and Buster Skrine remain out next week, Roberts becomes an appealing streaming play against Mitch Trubisky and the Bears.
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Last Updated: October 23, 2018