2015 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.
OK. Let’s start things off by going through some IDP news, notes, and commentary from Week 10 of the NFL season.
Injuries
Jelani Jenkins was able to register 5 solo tackles in the game’s first 17 snaps which is an encouraging sign in light of his recent production struggles. However, he had to leave the game in the 1st quarter due to injury and did not return. Speculation right now is that he may have suffered a high ankle sprain. If this is the case, he will miss multiple weeks. Kelvin Sheppard would fill in as an every down linebacker in his absence.
Sen’Derrick Marks tore his triceps and is done for the year.
Jamie Collins missed another game due to an unspecified illness. He’s apparently had a hard time eating, so it may take him a few weeks to get back into game shape even after he returns. Owners should be watching this situation closely and coming up with a plan B.
Sean Lee has passed through the concussion protocol and is shaping up to play this Sunday. He’s one of the top fantasy linebackers when playing but he’s as injury-prone as they come so owners will need to factor in that risk when making lineup decisions.
General Player Notes
Despite being productive in the box scores last week while filling in for a benched Nate Palmer, the Packers decided to go back to Palmer as their starter which sent Jake Ryan back to the bench. He’s not any value to us at the moment, but has promise in dynasty leagues.
The return of Shea McClellin to the lineup caused a re-shuffling of the Bears linebacking crew. McClellin played near every down while rookie Jonathan Anderson rotated in for Christian Jones in passing situations. Right now, McClellin is the only Chicago linebacker that possesses value.
Mario Williams laid another goose egg this past week and continued his severely disappointing 2015 campaign. Granted, he only managed 8 snaps before succumbing to a sickness that sent him to the locker room for treatment. The scheme in Buffalo however seems to be drastically limiting his production, so I don’t have much faith he will right the ship unless we see a change in the defensive approach.
The Lions made a few significant changes to their starting defensive lineup over the bye week. Josh Bynes was replaced in subpackages by Tahir Whitehead who saw every down action against the Packers last week. James Ihedigbo only played three snaps and was replaced in the lineup by Isa Abdul-Quddus. It’s not yet known if these changes are permanent but it’s worth keeping an eye on throughout the week as those two players could serve as viable waiver wire options.
The Oakland corners have been bad this year which has translated to strong fantasy production. That run of production looks to be over for David Amerson, however. The return of T.J. Carrie pushed Amerson to a limited role last week. He’s safe to drop in all formats at this point. Owners should look at Carrie and D.J. Hayden as startable options in deeper, CB-required leagues.
Now onto The Guru’s IDP waiver wire selections for Week 11!
(Please note that a majority of these pickups 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: Henry Anderson, Allen Bailey, Mario Addison, Jacquies Smith, Jabaal Sheard, Sen’Derrick Marks, Jared Allen, Stephon Tuitt, Greg Hardy, Sheldon Richardson, Stephon Tuitt, Jarvis Jenkins, Kerry Wynn, Ryan Delaire, Jay Ratliff, Kony Ealy, Lawrence Guy, Cameron Wake, Adrian Clayborn, Sheldon Richardson, Jared Allen, William Hayes, DeMarcus Lawrence, Kawaan Short, Jason Pierre-Paul, Derrick Shelby, Mario Edwards, Frostee Rucker, Kony Ealy, Desmond Bryant)
DT Linval Joseph (MIN) – Joseph is really starting to excel within Mike Zimmer’s defensive scheme (a scheme that made a star out of DT Geno Atkins). He’s had 28 total tackles and 1.5 sacks over the last four weeks and is shaping up to be a very nice high floor, DT1- for us. His Week 11 opponent, the Packers, have given up the 6th most points to defensive tackles this year. Start with confidence.
DE Mario Edwards (OAK) – Edwards made an appearance in this column two weeks ago but deserves mention again as his play his been quite impressive for a rookie. He led the team in tackles last week with 11 and chipped in a sack. As with any rookie DL, there is going to be variance with him. But he seems to be a star in the making, so dynasty owners should be rostering this kid if they have not already. The Lions are a bad matchup this week but he gets two great matchups in the Titans and Chiefs following that.
DE Derrick Shelby (MIA) – As with Mario Edwards, Shelby was included in my DE waiver wire pickups two weeks ago. However, he had a dud of a game in Week 9 so was likely dropped or ignored in many leagues. He rebounded well last week with 4 total tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. He’s not going to be a world beater, but the Dolphins d-line has improved in recent weeks and he should be able to grab a 3-4 more sacks the rest of the season.
Linebackers
(Previously recommended LBs: Thomas Davis, Vincent Rey, Brian Cushing, Koa Misi, Uani Unga, Dont’a Hightower, DeMeco Ryans, Jordan Hicks, Justin Durant, Hau’oli Kikaha, Jordan Hicks, Malcolm Smith, A.J. Klein, Christian Kirksey, Anthony Hitchens, Manti Te’o, Thurston Armbrister, Christian Kirksey, Eric Kendricks, Rolando McClain, Avery Williamson, Michael Wilhoite, Dannell Ellerbe, Eric Kendricks, Michael Wilhoite, Denzel Perryman, Justin Durant, Jon Beason, Kevin Minter, Manti Te’o, Vontaze Burfict, Wesley Woodyard, O’Brien Schofield, Jake Ryan, Chad Greenway, Phillip Wheeler, Jonathan Anderson)
OLB Tahir Whitehead (DET) – In Week 9, it was Whitehead as the Lions sole three-down linebacker NOT Josh Bynes as was the case in previous weeks. It’s not clear if that will continue into next week, but if we get an indication it will, Whitehead makes for a good LB3 fill-in. He’s had blimps on the fantasy relevance radar in past years and posted a strong 7-1-1 last week.
OLB Kelvin Sheppard (MIA) – An injury to WLB Jelani Jenkins thrust Sheppard into a near every down role and he responded with 11 total tackles against the Eagles last week. Jenkins will likely miss multiple games making, Sheppard a sneaky play against a run-heavy Dallas team in Week 11.
ILB Shea McClellin (CHI) – After being out a month with a knee injury, McClellin had his best game of the year last week against the Rams (8 total tackles, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery). The Bears have been limiting their own tackle opportunity on defense so McClellin’s upside is not high, but he’s the sole every down linebacker in Chicago now and should serve as a high floor, LB4 option moving forward.
LB Jasper Brinkley (NYG) – Despite only playing on early downs, Brinkley has managed 19 total tackles, 2 forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and a sack over the past two games combined. The Giants have a Week 11 bye and Uani Unga may be healthy enough to be active in Week 12 (thereby killing Brinkley’s value). But if Unga sits again, Brinkley makes for a boom/bust LB3 option in Week 12 against the Redskins.
Defensive Backs
(Previously recommended DBs: Calvin Pryor, Trenton Robinson, Josh Norman, Adam Jones, Will Allen, Eric Berry, Adam Jones, Tony Jefferson, Corey Graham, Brandon Meriweather, T.J. Ward, Ronald Darby, Chris Conte, Jonathan Cyprien, David Amerson, Jonathan Joseph, Brandon Browner, Mark Barron, Jason McCourty, Antwon Blake, Jason McCourty, Devin McCourty, Mark Barron, Jaquiski Tartt, Kemal Ishmael, Jacquiski Tartt, Ibraheim Campbell, Logan Ryan, Prince Amukamara, Kurt Coleman, Leodis McKelvin)
S Will Allen (PIT) – Despite strong performances in the majority of his games played this season, Allen is still drastically under-owned. Despite a hot start, a week 5 injury caused him to miss the next three weeks which led him to be largely forgotten about in fantasy circles. He had a monster game last week with 11 total tackles and a forced fumble but goes on bye in Week 11 – once again pushing him out of the consciousness of most fantasy owners. Bookmark him in your mind and be ready to pounce on him come Week 12 (or even this week if you have the bench space and need to solidify your DB group).
S Isa Abdul-Quddus (DET) – Abdul-Quddus saw full-time action over James Ihedigbo last week and posted a strong 8 solo tackles. Similar to the Bynes/Whitehead situation, we don’t know if this was a one week thing for Detroit or if it will stick moving forward. Hopefully we get more clarity throughout the week. If Abdul-Quddus is announced as the starter, he’s worth a flier as a DB3.
CB Marcus Peters (KC) – Peters has cooled off a bit since his hot start to the year. However, he did have an interception last week. He gets the Chargers this week who are currently allowing the most fantasy points to cornerbacks. 11 cornerbacks have registered 5 or more solo tackles against them in 9 games, so I like his chances of putting of decent numbers.
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Last Updated: November 17, 2015