2017 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 5
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 4 of the NFL season.
Injuries
DL2/DL3 Cliff Avril suffered a neck injury (stinger) against the Colts on Sunday Night Football and missed the remainder of the game. Recent reports say that he could be “out a while” (I’ve seen some doctors speculate three to four weeks). Frank Clark would see an increased role during that time and become a fairly hot IDP pickup.
Top 15 fantasy DL Olivier Vernon re-aggravated his ankle injury and was ruled out after halftime. You would expect that he’s likely going to be miss some games after failing to get through this one healthy.
Pass-rushing OLB Markus Golden tore his ACL in the Cardinals’ Week 4 win over the 49ers. He will miss the remainder of the season.
Although he was expected to suit up, Jarrad Davis missed another week with a concussion. He should be ready to go this week, however.
Saints rookie linebacker Alex Anzalone left the game early in the first quarter with a right shoulder injury and did not return. If he were to miss any time, veteran Craig Robertson would fill-in and play every down, making him a sneaky add in deeper IDP leagues as an LB4 with upside.
Ramon Humber broke his hand in last week’s upset against the Falcons. Although players can often play through this type of injury, it sounds like he’s going to “miss some time.” Some speculative reports have indicated he could miss upwards of a month. Owners should have a backup plan in place.
Both Reuben Foster and Eric Reid are nearing the end of their injury rehab. Although they are still likely another week away from returning, they make for smart pickups this week in deeper leagues if you have the bench space.
Kurt Coleman injured his knee last week and was not able to return to the game. It was later revealed he sprained his MCL and will be out at least a month.
Josh Norman is going to miss a couple of weeks after injuring his ribs on Monday Night Football.
General Player Notes
Danny Trevathan was suspended a game for his illegal hit on Packers wide receiver Davante Adams on Monday Night Football.
Myles Garrett was inactive for the fourth straight game last week but should suit up in Week 5 against the Jets. He’ll likely be on a snap count for the first couple games but is someone that is worth a pickup/stash as a player who can help your team during the second half of the season.
IDP owners who stuck with Danielle Hunter and Luke Kuechly this week have to be pleased as both players had monster performances. This is a prime example of why it’s important to be patient with your studs (especially defensive linemen). Speaking of stud DLs, J.J. Watt’s sackless streak continued last week. The good news is that Watt is still playing at an elite level. I have faith the sacks/big production are on the horizon.
Deone Bucannon finally returned from injury and split snaps fairly equally with rookie Haason Reddick. With Markus Golden out for the year, the Cardinals could decide to move Reddick outside and have Bucannon assume the same every down role inside that he had last year. I will be monitoring the practice reports this week to try and gather more information.
B.J. Goodson returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous two games with an injury. He got off to a hot start but eventually ceded 30% of his snaps to Keenan Robinson. It’s unclear if the Giants were just easing him back into an every-down role coming off his multi-week injury or if they envision this being a timeshare moving forward. My gut tells me it’s more likely the former, but it’s something to keep a close eye on as Goodson’s value would be largely destroyed if he has indeed lost his three-down role.
Mason Foster was active for Monday Night’s game against the Chiefs; however, he split snaps with Martrell Spaight. Similar to Goodson, I think this was a situation where the team was just taking it easy on a player returning from injury and that Foster should see near every-down playing time moving forward.
Mathias Farley emerged out of nowhere this season to become one of the top tackle-producing DBs through the first quarter of the regular season. My only hesitation with him was his inconsistent week-to-week playing time. However, he played 90% of the snaps last week and came through with 10 total tackles. There’s still a chance his playing time remains volatile but his upside is worth the risk at this point.
Now onto The Guru’s IDP waiver wire selections for Week 5!
(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: Aaron Donald, Geno Atkins, Yannick Ngaokoue, Noah Spence, Mario Edwards, Julius Peppers, William Gholston, Alex Okafor, Jurrell Casey)
DE Emmanuel Ogbah (CLE) – I singled out Ogbah as a player to target in this year’s fantasy drafts as he sneakily finished as a top 30 DL last year and was barely owned in most IDP leagues. He got off to a slow start this season which caused him to go even more unnoticed. However, he’s turned it on over the last two games putting up stat lines of 2-4-1 and 4-2-1 with 2 FF and 1 FR. Myles Garrett is likely returning this week which should further help Ogbah’s production for the rest of the season. Plus, he has two very attractive matchups coming up next with the Jets and Texans.
DE Anthony Zettel (DET) – With much of the pass-rushing attention focused on Ezekial Ansah, Zettel has flown under the radar during the first quarter of the season. However, we should start paying attention as he’s registered a sack in three of his first four games and has four total QB takedowns to go along with decent tackle production. He’s getting a fair amount of playing time as well, so his production floor should be relatively stable. Consider him a DL3 at this juncture.
DE Yannick Ngakoue (JAX) – Entering into his second professional season, Ngakoue has already established himself as one of the bigger boom/bust IDPs. He’s not going to provide much in terms of tackles as a situation pass rusher, but in the right matchup, he’s fully capable of generating a multi-sack performance (he’s already done it twice this year). He’s best utilized in leagues where you can flex him in and out of your lineups depending on the matchup.
Linebackers
(Previously recommended LBs: B.J. Goodson, Demario Davis, Mason Foster, A.J. Klein, Ramon Humber, Joe Schobert, Jon Bostic, Vincent Rey, Ramon Humbar, Mike Hull, Zach Cunningham, Danny Trevathan, Kendell Beckwith, Cory James, Derrick Morgan)
MLB Kendell Beckwith (TB) – Beckwith continues to impress while getting a chance to play every down at MLB with both Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David out due to injury. Both David and Alexander are expected to miss at least another week, so owners should continue to roll Beckwith out as an LB1.
SLB Shaq Thompson (CAR) – For the second week in a row, Thompson played every down over veteran Thomas Davis, posting 17 total tackles during that time. It’s not 100% clear if this is a permanent situation, but Thompson makes for a smart speculative add as he’s available in most leagues currently and could provide owners with a big boost the rest of the year if this situation sticks.
WLB Ray-Ray Armstrong (SF) – It’s fairly evident at this point in the season that injuries have taken their toll on Navarro Bowman and he’s just not the same dynamic player he used to be. With Reuben Foster missing essentially the first four games due to a high ankle sprain, Armstrong has gotten a chance to see a near full complement of snaps on the weak side. He’s generated 30 total tackles across four games and is coming off his strongest performance of the year in which he compiled 10 tackles, a sack, and an interception. He makes for a decent LB3 option for as long as Foster is out (which is likely at least another week).
LB Kyle Van Noy (NE) – I usually avoid having Patriots’ linebackers on my fantasy teams as New England typically changes the roles and rotates their players at this position more than any team in the league. However, Van Noy has been the one consistent player within this group, playing every down in each game so far this season. He’s compiled 29 total tackles during this time and I would expect that production to continue for the rest of the season making him a decent LB3- option.
Defensive Backs
(Previously recommended DBs: Tyvon Branch, Kevin Byard, Daniel Sorenson, Ron Parker, Jalen Mills, Matthias Farley, Jordan Poyer, Vonn Bell, Derrick Kindred, Josh Jones, Terrance Mitchell, Brian Poole, TreDavious White)
S Chris Conte (TB) – Tampa Bay has been decimated by injuries in their front seven, and with Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David out, Conte is receiving a surplus of tackle opportunity in the secondary. He’s averaging nearly 7 total tackles per game and should continue to be a consistent, high floor DB3+/DB2- option for owners until the team gets healthy up front.
S Adrian Amos (CHI) –The Bears have been wrecked by injury and suspension at the linebacker position and they could be without their three top inside linebackers for this week’s game. This should leave Adrian Amos with ample tackle opportunity in the secondary. He had 7 solo tackles last week while filling in for Quintin Demps who was recently placed on injured reserve. If you are looking for a DB3- fill-in, Amos is a fairly good option.
CB Trevor Williams (SD) – This pickup suggestion is for those in deep, CB-required leagues. Williams was thrown into the starting lineup last week after the Chargers had to place Jason Verrett on IR. Predictably, teams opted to throw away from Casey Heyward and target the undrafted Penn State alumni instead. This resulted in ample production opportunity and Williams came through with 7 solo tackles and a pass deflection. He has the Giants up next on the schedule who are currently giving up the most fantasy points to opposing cornerbacks. Williams makes for a solid starting option at cornerback in Week 5 if you are struggling to fill the position.
S Andrew Sendejo (MIN) – Sendejo has 32 total tackles through his first four games and is shaping up to be a solid tackling option at the safety position. He’s not much of a big play producer and the Vikings defense has the habit of limiting their own opportunity, so he doesn’t have a high ceiling. But if you are looking for 5-7 tackles a week, Sendejo fits the bill.
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Last Updated: October 3, 2017