2015 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 9
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 8 of the NFL season.
Injuries
After finally breaking through and producing at an elite level, Cameron Wake tore his Achilles and is now done for the year – such a shame.
DL2 Corey Liuget had to leave Sunday’s game with a foot injury after just two snaps. The severity of the injury is not yet known but with the Chargers bye week looming in Week 10, the Chargers may play it conservative and sit him out this week. We should have more details later in the week.
Jacquies Smith injured his ankle in the 2nd half of the Bucs contest against the Falcons and did not return. He’s questionable to play in Week 9. Follow me on Twitter to receive IDP injury updates throughout the week.
Donte Whitner left the game last week with a head injury. He’s currently in the league’s concussion protocol and since the Browns game is this Thursday, he’s likely to miss this week.
Sam Shields exited Sunday night’s game with an AC joint injury. This is the same injury that teammate Randall Cobb suffered and is typically a multiple week injury, so I would expect him to miss some time.
CB Joe Haden suffered his 2nd concussion of the year and is extremely unlikely to play on Thursday. This could develop into a longer than expected absence if he runs into issues during the concussion protocol.
General Player Notes
After being out for multiple weeks, Morgan Burnett finally returned to action in Week 8. He saw 100% of the team’s snaps but only managed 2 solo tackles. To be fair, the Broncos are one of the league’s worst matchups for safeties, so I’m considering that to be a contributor to his poor performance. Plus, he looked like he was still shaking some rust off. We should see his numbers improve over the coming weeks. He may not be the top 5 option he was coming into the year, but I still like him as a long-term DB1-.
Anthony Barr continues to struggle after a hot start to the season. The arrival of Eric Kendricks as a full-time player has really cut into Barr’s opportunity. I’m fading him the rest of the season if I can.
Craig Robertson is back healthy which means him and Chris Kirksey have reverted back to a time share at ILB next to Karlos Dansby. Both players have no value in their current situation.
Although he hasn’t been horrible, Lavonte David hasn’t been producing at the elite rate we thought he would. He’s currently hovering around LB30 in most leagues, making him more of an LB3. There seems to be a few things going on here – first, Kwon Alexander is biting into his opportunity more than Mason Foster did last year. Secondly, teams are scheming away from him. He’s a hard player to cut as he’s still producing at a starter level in most leagues and chances are he’s got a few big games in him down the stretch. That said, I wouldn’t drop him unless you can fill the spot with a LB2+ and above.
Now onto The Guru’s IDP waiver wire selections for Week 9!
(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)
DE Jason Pierre-Paul (NYG) – After a nasty 4th of July fireworks accident, JPP’s fantasy prospects were placed in serious doubt for this year. After months of secrecy and not having much contact with the team, Pierre-Paul finally returned to the Giants’ facility and both parties worked out a 1 year incentive-laden contract. He’s likely a long shot to play this week, but odds are good he will suit up for Week 10. Nobody knows for sure how JPP will perform with a mangled hand. But given the lack of depth at this fantasy position, it’s absolutely a prudent move to pick up JPP now and hope he can be a significant contributor down the stretch. In my view, JPP at 60-70% is still a better fantasy option than a lot of NFL guys.
DE Derrick Shelby (MIA) – The season-ending injury to Cameron Wake opens the door for Shelby to become a full-time defensive end. I’ll be up front and say this is a limited upside selection. However, Shelby has shown flashes of fantasy potential with 4 sacks in limited action last year. And with six teams on bye this week, pickings will be slim on the waiver wire. Additionally, he has a pretty good matchup against the Bills. He’s a decent DL3 flier in Week 9.
DE Mario Edwards (OAK) – Edwards has seen his snaps increase in each of the last three weeks and his box score production has increased as a result. Although he hasn’t been outstanding by any means, he’s been a DL3 the past four weeks with 14 tackles and 1 sack. Young defensive ends take a while to develop and he’s just starting to ramp up. He plays Big Ben and the Steelers this week which could bode well for his sack opportunities as Roethlisberger likes to prolong plays and often takes a lot of sacks. He’s a decent high floor, shot in the dark for those looking to plug a DL3 hole in deeper leagues.
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)
WLB Vontaze Burfict (CIN) – After missing all of the preseason and the first seven games of the regular season, Burfict finally returned to action in Week 8. His 5 solos may not seem like a lot, but considering it was his first game back after an extended absence and he only played half the defensive snaps, it’s an encouraging sign. I think he should be picked up in nearly all leagues. You may want to wait to start him in shallower leagues until we get some indication he’s back to playing every down. I have him as a LB2/LB2+ moving forward once he starts receiving a full complement of snaps.
ILB Wesley Woodyard (TEN) – Woodyard has been Tennessee’s most productive tackler over the last handful of weeks despite only playing 50-60% of snaps. Over his last 4 games, he’s put up stat lines of 6-3, 8-2-1, 6-3, and 7-1. Although the lower snap counts make him a risk, four strong weeks of production gives me confidence that he can continue putting up these type of numbers. Nobody else is really making much of an impact tackle-wise for the Titans, so the opportunity is there for Woodyard even on a limited playing basis.
OLB O’Brien Schofield (ATL) – This is a DEEP league waiver wire pickup for those in big play scoring. Schofield is splitting time with Brooks Reed at OLB but has registered a sack in two straight games. The Falcons go up against a 49ers team that has allowed the 2nd most sacks in the league with 28 and will have the ultimate sack-tacker in Blaine Gabbert under center. I like the Falcons for 4+ sacks in this one and Schofield has a decent shot at getting one.
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)
SS Jacquiski Tartt (SF) – Tartt was mentioned as a pickup in last week’s article, but I want to call him out here again as he’s still available in a lot of leagues. He played 100% of the snaps and was the 49ers 2nd leading tackler (5-1 with a FF) behind Navorro Bowman. The San Francisco defense is on the field A LOT which should make the rookie Tartt a relatively stable DB2 option moving forward.
SS Ibraheim Campbell (CLE) – As mentioned earlier, Donte Whitner left the Browns’ Week 8 game early with a concussion and is quite likely to miss Thursday’s game against the Bengals. Campbell, a rookie out of Northwestern, filled in for the injured veteran and compiled an impressive 5 solo tackles in just 36 snaps. I like the opportunity for him here in a plus matchup against Cincinnati in Week 9. A sneaky DB3 pickup for this week.
CB Logan Ryan (NE) – Ryan is on pace for 57 solo tackles, 16 assists, 6-7 interceptions, and 9 pass deflections which would place him in the CB1 category. He has a top 5 matchup this week against the Redskins, so I like him as a starter in CB-required leagues and even as a DB3 in standard leagues.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at theidpguru@idpguru.com or follow me on Twitter. Also, feel free to post any questions or comments for me in the comments section of this post.
Last Updated: November 2, 2015