2019 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 13
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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 12 of the NFL season.
Injuries
Last week was luckily a fairly light week in terms of IDP injuries, but I’ve outlined the more prominent ones below…
Jadeveon Clowney was a game-time decision last week but ending up being inactive. The team is optimistic he can suit up this week, but we will need to watch the practice reports to get a better understanding if that’s truly the case.
Cameron Wake and Dontari Poe were both put on injured reserve due to injury and will be shut down for the remainder of the season.
Leighton Vander Esch was a late week scratch with a neck injury. This injury has affected him previously in his career and could cause him to miss a substantial amount of time. The team is considering him “week-to-week” for now.
Ryan Kerrigan suffered a concussion in last week’s contest against the Lions. He will have to pass through the proper protocols to play this week.
DB2+ Jabrill Peppers was diagnosed with a transverse fracture in his back and his status is up in the air for the remainder of the season. He has a chance to play still, but with the season effectively over for the Giants and this being a very painful injury, I don’t see why they would put him back out there in 2019.
Despite returning from injury in Week 11, Reshad Jones was placed on injured reserve with chest and ankle injuries and his season is over. He’s likely played his last snap as a Dolphin.
Devin Bush has played 45%, 77%, and 62% of the defensive snaps over the last three weeks, respectively. He still has upside, but that decrease in snap counts has led to a decrease in production and makes him a very risky start right now.
Jayon Brown returned to the starting lineup in Week 12. Rashaan Evans ceded snaps to Wesley Woodyard. I expect that to happen to both Evans and Brown at some points during the remainder of the season but it’s nearly impossible to predict which player will lose time on a week-to-week basis.
Nate Gerry had been fairly productive and a starting fantasy option in a lot of leagues while filling in for the injured Nigel Bradham. With Bradham back last week however, Gerry saw his snaps counts dramatically reduced (54%), making him a non-startable option moving forward.
Jaguars linebacker Quincy Williams was back in the starting lineup and played 100% of the defensive snaps. So it appears he’s out of the doghouse.
Former Pro Bowl corner Josh Norman was active last week but only really played on special teams. He’s played very poorly in 2019 and seems to be on the outs with the team. He can be dropped in all formats.
Now onto The Guru’s IDP waiver wire selections for Week 13!
Defensive Linemen
(Previously recommended DLs: Sam Hubbard, Nick Bosa, Quinton Jefferson, Denico Autry, Chase Winovich, Robert Quinn, Brian Burns, Stephon Tuitt, Josh Allen, Robert Quinn, Ezekiel Ansah, Vic Beasley, Takkarist McKinley, Nick Bosa, Robert Quinn, Matt Ioannidis, Mario Addison, Jarran Reed, Jerry Hughes, Jarran Reed, Taco Charlton, Jabaal Sheard, Jeffery Simmons, Jason Pierre-Paul, DeMarcus Walker, Jason Pierre-Paul, Bruce Irvin, Yannick Ngakoue, Frank Clark, Jabaal Sheard, Leonard Williams, Clelin Ferrell, Derek Wolfe, Jordan Phillips, Maxx Crosby, Jarran Reed, Chad Thomas)
DE Carlos Dunlap (CIN) – Although his tackle numbers have been fairly strong, Dunlap’s on pace for one of the lowest sack totals of his 10-year career. A lot of that is a result of playing on a winless team where opposing offenses jump out to big leads and don’t throw much thereby limiting his pass-rushing opportunities. The good news is Dunlap has had back-to-back games with at least 0.5 sack and squares off against the Jets who allow the second most points to defensive ends and third most sacks in the leagues. I like him as a middle tier DL2 in Week 13.
DE Jabaal Sheard (IND) – For a guy with only 2.5 sacks over 8 games, Sheard is a frequent mention in this column. He’s been hit or miss even in good matchups, but I’m recommending him again here as he goes against a Tennessee team that has given up the most points to opposing defensive ends (and by a fairly wide margin). He’s not a world beater-type talent, but he’s good enough to have a 75% chance at notching a sack and should contribute 2-4 solo tackles.
DT Lawrence Guy (NE) – After an extremely slow start to the season, Guy has had four straight above average weeks and seems to be benefiting from the historic defensive run the Patriots have been on this year. He goes against the Texans who have struggled to protect Deshaun Watson in 2019, so Guy has a decent chance to notch a sack and has a relatively high floor due to his steady tackle production. Consider him a DT2+ option in those leagues that require you to start a defensive tackle.
Linebackers
(Previously recommended LBs: Jordan Hicks, Shaq Thompson, Josey Jewell, Kyzir White, Blake Cashman, Zach Cunningham, Quincy Williams, Mark Barron, Kevin Minter, Anthony Walker, Bobby Okereke, Shaq Barrett, Mack Wilson, Ryan Connelly, Todd Davis, Devondre Campbell, Nicholas Morrow, Nick Kwiatkoski, Vince Williams, A.J. Johnson, Ben Niemann, Troy Reeder, Rashaan Evans, Wesley Woodyard, A.J. Johnson, David Mayo, Nate Gerry, Najee Goode, Bernardrick McKinney, Lorenzo Alexander, Blake Cashman, Rashaan Evans, Blake Cashman, Austin Calitro, Sean Lee, Wesley Woodyard, Brandon Copeland, Nick Kwiatkoski, Jerome Baker, Drue Tranquill, Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Neville Hewitt, Clay Matthews)
LB Bernardrick McKinney (HOU) – When thinking of Houston’s linebackers, most people automatically jump to Zach Cunningham (as they rightly should); however, McKinney has had a decent year as well and only really “dudded out” in a couple of games. Similar to Cunningham, he’s seen a spike in tackle production in recent weeks and has a great matchup against the Patriots on Sunday. If Cunningham is available, he obviously should be your priority pickup this week. But if not, McKinney makes for a nice consolation prize.
LB Drue Tranquill (LAC) – Tranquill has likely fallen off many people’s radars after sitting out Week 11 with an injury and going on bye the following week. However, he was a full-time player for the first time in Week 10 and came through with 14 total tackles. He should hopefully be back healthy this week and ready to pick up where he left off against the Broncos this week. The Chargers are one of the most unpredictable teams in the league in terms of how they distribute playing time amongst their linebackers, so there’s some risk Tranquill will revert back to a part-time role. But if he doesn’t, he has LB2 potential. For owners willing/needing to take a risk, Tranquill is a good option.
OLBs Za’Darius Smith/Preston Smith (GB) – After the Packers embarrassing loss to the 49ers on Sunday Night Football, I expect them to come out fired up and blow out the Giants in a big way. The “G-Men” have allowed the third most points to edge-rushing OLBs this year and the Smiths both have 10+ sacks on this season. For those in big play scoring formats, either Smith is a great play this week and could put up monster numbers in a redemption game for the Packers.
Defensive Backs
(Previously recommended DBs: Juan Thornhill, Jordan Whitehead, Xavier Woods, Ronnie Harrison, Terrell Edmunds, Tracy Walker, Darnell Savage, Kemal Ishmael, Roderick Teamer, Tre Flowers, Reshad Jones, Khari Willis, Dre Kirkpatrick, Eric Weddle, Isaiah Oliver, Eric Reid, Byron Murphy, Maurice Canady, Jermaine Whitehead, Taylor Rapp, Marquise Blair, Ken Crawley, Morgan Burnett, Darnell Savage, DeAndre Baker, Taylor Rapp, Tavon Wilson, Patrick Peterson, Erik Harris, Morgan Burnett, Khari Willis, Reshad Jones, Kenny Moore, Adrian Amos)
S Derwin James/Adrian Phillips (LAC) – Both James and Phillips have a chance at returning to the starting lineup this week for the Chargers after extended absences due to injury. Obviously, if he’s available, James should be your priority pickup as he was fantasy’s #1 DB in a lot of leagues as a rookie last year. Phillips also makes for a nice DB3 option as the team has historically used him as a linebacker in passing situations.
CB Adoree’ Jackson (TEN) – With the injury to typical starter Malcolm Butler, Jackson has seen a significant bump in playing time over the last three weeks. In that increased role, Adoree has put up stat lines of 6-2, 2 PD and 10-2, 1 PD. The Colts haven’t been a great matchup for corners, but I would still expect them to avoid Logan Ryan and throw a lot at Jackson which should translate to 5-6 solo tackles. This makes him a CB2+ in leagues that require you to start a player at that position.
S Julian Love (NYG) – It was recently revealed that Giants starting strong safety Jabrill Peppers has a transverse fracture in his back. Although the team didn’t specify how long he will be out, this is a very painful injury and I’d be surprised if he suits up this week. As we’ve seen this year (and in past years), the strong safety position in this scheme is a very productive one from a fantasy perspective so it behooves us to follow this situation closely. Julian Love was the primary fill-in after Peppers left the game last week and is the frontrunner to start if Peppers is inactive. However, Michael Thomas could also play. For those looking for a sneaky streaming option in deep IDP leagues, you will want to watch the team reports throughout the week to get an understanding of who is going to start and be roundy to pounce.
If you found this article (or past articles) helpful, please consider DONATING. I put a lot of hours every week into my in-season content and make that content available free of charge to my readers, so any support you can throw my way would be greatly appreciated (even if it’s just enough for a cup of coffee).
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Last Updated: November 26, 2019