2017 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 12
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 11 of the NFL season.
Injuries
Emmanuel Ogbahbroke his foot and will undergo season-ending surgery. This is a bummer for a player who was just beginning to emerge as a pass-rush threat opposite Myles Garrett.
Alex Okafor was having a breakout season for the Saints, so it’s unfortunate that he will miss the remainder of the season with a torn Achilles.
Olivier Vernon made it through most of Sunday’s game before succumbing to a shoulder injury. His status should get updated in the coming days, but given that the Giants are cellar dwellers and he struggled with an injury earlier in the year, I wouldn’t be surprised if he misses this coming week.
Anthony Hitchens took on a larger role last week with Sean Lee out of the lineup but he ended up suffering an injury of his own which forced him from the game. The Cowboys have a short week but reports indicate Hitchens has a chance to play Thursday. If he does, he will be a decent LB3- option.
Clayton Geathers was activated off the PUP list during the Colts’ bye week and is expected to return to the field this Sunday. He’s battled back from a fairly serious neck injury, so I expect the team to limit his snaps out of the gate. However, he’s someone that could help owners down the stretch if he quickly works his way back to a full-time role. He’s worth a speculative add in deeper leagues and is someone to definitely keep an eye on in all other leagues.
General Player Notes
Derrick Johnson has been losing snaps over the last handful of games and last week he was on the field for just about half the defensive plays. His age and injuries have forced the Chiefs to start limiting his snaps. Reggie Ragland and Kevin Pierre-Louis have seen an uptick in playing time as a result. This is a situation to avoid for fantasy purposes right now but Ragland could eventually emerge as a viable option there if he can gain the trust of the coaching staff to stay on the field in passing situations.
Denzel Perryman led all Chargers linebackers in snaps played with 44 (68%). He would have been closer to 90% if the game didn’t end in blowout fashion with Los Angeles benching a lot of their starters in the fourth quarter. Things could change when Hayes Pullard returns to the starting lineup, but I expect Perryman to be a near every-down player (80-90%) next week.
Jarrad Davis came into the year with high expectations from a fantasy standpoint as he was immediately locked in as the team’s every-down middle linebacker. He was putting up solid LB2 numbers through his first four games, but the production has dropped off rapidly over his last two games. In watching the film, it seems he is just getting beat to the ball by his teammates (e.g. Tahir Whitehead). I think we need to temper our expectations for the 22-year old for this season, but he remains an LB1 candidate in dynasty IDP leagues.
Rookie Adoree Jackson had his best fantasy game of the season in which he generated 11 solo tackles, a forced fumble, and 2 pass deflections. This high output was due to the Titans leaving him one-on-one with Antonio Brown which caused the Steelers to throw at him relentlessly. Jackson has the makings of a CB1- moving forward – he’s a sound tackler who plays in a scheme that has been known to produce viable fantasy cornerbacks. Plus, he serves as the Titans return man so he provides owners with an added benefit in leagues that reward for return yardage and touchdowns.
Now onto The Guru’s IDP waiver wire selections for Week 12!
(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, Emmanuel Ogbah, Anthony Zettel, Yannick Ngakoue, Myles Garrett, Frank Clark, David Irving, Solomon Thomas, Alex Okafor, Mario Edwards, Carlos Dunlap, Cameron Heyward, Jarran Reed, Henry Anderson, Vinny Curry, Leger Douzable, Dwight Freeney, Robert Ayers, Stephon Tuitt, Olivier Vernon, Emmanuel Ogbah, Frostee Rucker)
DE Jurrell Casey (TEN)– I wouldn’t consider Casey an elite player at his position, but he’s good enough to consistently fall within the DL3-DL3+ range by year’s end. He’s currently around DL35 in most scoring systems, so there’s a decent chance he may be available on the wire currently. If he is, this is probably the best week to start him as he faces off against the Colts who have given up a league-leading 39 sacks and 82 quarterback hits.
DT Gerald McCoy (TB) – McCoy got off to a slow start this season (as many of the Bucs’ defensive linemen did), not notching a sack until Week 5; however, he had a sack in four of his last seven games. His matchup this week isn’t great but he has two very good matchups after that in the Packers and Lions. He makes for a nice late-season add for those in deeper standard leagues or DT-required leagues, if available.
DT Willie Henry (BAL) – Henry’s been getting more playing time along the interior of the Baltimore defensive line lately and it’s paid off for the team as he came through with two sacks last week. He has another great matchup in the Texans for Week 12 and makes for a decent upside player for those in DT-required leagues.
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, Kendell Beckwith, Shaq Thompson, Ray-Ray Armstrong, Kyle Van Noy, Reuben Foster, Danny Trevathan, Blake Martinez, Hayes Pullard, Mychal Kendricks, Craig Robertson, Thomas Davis, Shaq Thompson, Matt Judon, Navarro Bowman, Mychal Kendricks, Craig Robertson, Keenan Robinson, Joe Schobert, Cory James, Ramon Humber, Clay Matthews, Ramon Humber, Will Compton, Denzel Perryman, Brock Coyle, Denzel Perryman, Anthony Hitchens, Martrell Spaight)
OLB James Burgess (CLE) – Burgess has produced at a reasonable level while filling in for the injured Jamie Collins. He took advantage of 44 running plays by the Jaguars last week to rack up a career high 16 tackles and a sack to boot. With Collins out for the remainder of the year, Burgess should continue to provide owners with LB3/LB3- value as a near every down linebacker on a defense that sees a lot of tackle opportunity.
MLB Calvin Munson (NYG) – With Keenan Robinson now on injured reserve and B.J. Goodson still out with an injury, Munson got the call at the team’s every-down middle linebacker and compiled 13 total tackles. As long as Goodson is out, Munson should remain a full-time player and produce at a LB3 level.
ILB Christian Jones (CHI) – Since Week 5, Jones has been averaging an impressive 8.5 total tackles per game. He’s gotten a boost in playing time recently with Danny Trevathan out and is a must-start in most leagues that start three linebackers until Trevathan returns. Even after he returns, Jones is worth a look as a top 35-40 fantasy linebacker despite likely be relegated back to a part-time role.
ILB Karlos Dansby (ARZ) – Given his age (36) and underwhelming production over the first half of the season, Dansby isn’t owned in many leagues. But he’s turned things on as of late, generating 23 total tackles in his last three games. He goes against the league’s top run offense in the Jaguars this week, so I think there’s going to be enough tackles to go around to project him for 7-8 total tackles. He’s not a great high upside option, but he should be a fairly high floor player.
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, Chris Conte, Adrian Amos, Trevor Williams, Andrew Sendejo, Tavon Wilson, Justin Evans, Adrian Amos, Justin Evans, Justin Simmons, Morris Claiborne, Tramon Williams, Jamal Adams, Eric Reid, Adrian Phillips, Kurt Coleman, Trai Elston, Eric Reid, DeAngelo Hall, Josh Jones, Budda Baker, Antoine Bethea, T.J. McDonald, Eric Reid)
S Budda Baker (ARZ) – I mentioned Baker as a pickup last week and he exploded with one of the biggest IDP performances of the year – 11 solo tackles, 2 assists, a sack, 2 forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and a pass defensed. I thought veteran Antoine Bethea would step into Tyvon Branch’s role; however, it was Baker that assumed that position. He’s the guy to own and should be your top waiver priority if he’s still available in your league. He already looks like a DB1 stud.
CB Darqueze Dennard (CIN) – Dennard is second to only Keanu Neal in tackles since the Bengals came out of their bye in Week 6. He’s averaging nearly 6 solo tackles a game during that time period and is coming off an 8 solo performance against the Broncos last week. He plays the Browns this coming week who have given up the most points to opposing cornerbacks. All this makes him a sneaky good start this week.
S Vonn Bell (NO) – Bell saw a bump in playing time last week with Kenny Vaccaro out of the lineup. He was all over the field pumping out 13 total tackles (10 solo) to go along with a sack and forced fumble. He’s a great start moving forward as long as Vaccaro remains out.
S Jonathan Cyprien (TEN) – Cyprien has been one of fantasy’s top tackle-producing safeties since entering the league in 2013. His arrival in Tennessee may temper his value a bit as they tend to use their safeties interchangeably; however, he’s coming off a 10 tackle performance in his third game back from an extended absence due to injury and seems to be picking up steam. Consider him a DB3+ moving forward.
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Last Updated: November 21, 2017