2020 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 3
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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 2 of the NFL season.
Injuries
DL1 stud Nick Bosa tore his ACL and will miss the remainder of the season.
DeMarcus Lawrence missed pretty much all of the second half with a knee injury. So this is a situation to monitor throughout the week.
Anthony Barr has a torn pectoral and has been placed on season-ending injured reserve.
In another tough blow for the Seahawks, Marquise Blair also tore his ACL and is out for the year.
Free safety Malik Hooker is out for the year with an Achilles injury.
Josh Allen threw up a goose egg, giving fantasy managers another dud performance for him. But as we know, pass rushers can be very up and down and there’s nothing on his tape to suggest last year was a fluke. He almost got to Ryan Tannehill last week, so I’d continue to have faith in him as a DL3 at least especially with the Dolphins on the schedule next.
Taylor Rapp has only seen 21% and 24% of the defensive snaps across Weeks 1 and 2, respectively. So it seems as though he truly has lost his starting safety job to Jordan Fuller. At this point, it’s hard to justify holding on to him in anything but the deepest of IDP leagues.
For some odd reason, the Lions have relegated Tracy Walker to the third safety role on the team. His playing time and stats were fine in Week 1; however, he played just 53% of the snaps in Week 2, leading to a two tackle performance. I’m a big Walker fan but he’s just too risky to start right now and I’d be viewing him as a boom/bust DB3/DB4 until further notice.
Darian Thompson continues to see his role diminish as the Cowboys test out other options at the safety position (Daryl Worley and Brandon Carr). He’s someone I would be looking to move away from starting to this week if you haven’t already.
For more detailed playing time notes for linebackers, check out my Every Down Linebackers article.
Now onto The Guru’s IDP waiver wire selections for Week 3!
Defensive Linemen
DE Mario Addison (BUF) – Addison has had sacks in each of the first two weeks of the season and has a slightly above average matchup against the Rams who have given up the 12th most fantasy points to opposing DEs through two weeks. With sack totals of 9.5, 11, 9, and 9.5 across the last four seasons, Addison has established himself has one of the league’s lesser known pass-rushing threats.
DE Stephon Tuitt (PIT) – Tuitt hasn’t done a whole lot yet this season although he did have a sack in Week 1. But he’s a solid player who sees a ton of snap volume (80%+) for a defensive end and faces off against a Houston team that has continued to struggle mightily in pass protection. If you are looking for a spot start this week in deeper leagues, I like Tuitt’s chances of getting a sack.
Linebackers
(Previously recommended LBs: Germaine Pratt, Nate Gerry, Jon Bostic, B.J. Goodson)
LB Micah Kiser (LAR) – Kiser has established himself as the Rams’ only every down linebacker and built upon strong week 1 production (6-1, 2 PDs) with a monster 16 tackle (11 solo), 1 forced fumble, and 1 PD performance in Week 2. With no other strong tackle threat on the team in the front seven, expect Kiser to continue be one of the team’s leading tacklers week in and week out. Consider him a strong LB3-LB3+.
LB Foyesade Oluokun (ATL) – With three forced fumbles in the first quarter alone, Oluokun was having a standout game against the Cowboys prior to leaving early with cramps/a hamstring injury. He did not return but Head Coach Dan Quinn said the injury is not serious and I would expect Oluokun to have a good shot at returning to the starting lineup this week. Deion Jones still doesn’t quite look like his pre-injury self so there’s room for the sixth round selection out of Yale to continue to rise up the IDP ranks and perhaps even be the preferred fantasy option on the team over Jones come season’s end.
LB Eric Wilson (MIN) – With Anthony Barr out for the season, expect weak side linebacker Eric Wilson to step into an every down role next to Eric Kendricks. When Barr missed Week 3 last year, Wilson went off with a 7-4-2 stat line. So there’s room for upside here with him especially if the Vikings’ defense continues to struggle as they have through the first two weeks of the year.
LB Joe Thomas (DAL) – Thomas is filling in for the injured Leighton Vander Esch and playing in an every down fashion while doing so. He was arguably the Cowboys best defensive player last week and that came through in the box scores with a 12 total tackle performance. With Jaylon Smith underperforming, there’s room for Thomas to have some value as a LB4+/LB3- in deeper leagues over the next few weeks.
(Previously recommended DBs: Marcus Maye, Jeremy Chinn, Adrian Phillips, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Josh Jones, Brandon Jones)
S Logan Ryan (NYG) – Ryan was the top overall fantasy DB in a lot of big play formats last season, so he became an immediate “player to watch” after signing with the Giants shortly before the start of the season. He only played 59% of the snaps in Week 1 so it was hard to get a great read on him, but we saw that snap percentage increase to 85% this past week and his production rise with it (6-1, 1 FF). He’s essentially assumed the role originally slotted for Xavier McKinney as a player who sees fairly equal time in the box, deep as a free safety, and slot cornerback. This said, I expect him to rack up fantasy points in a multitude of different ways similar to last year. He’s a sneaky add this week if you are looking to take a shot on someone as your DB3/DB4.
S Kenny Vaccaro (TEN) – Vaccaro is one of the top fantasy safeties in points scored through two weeks, so I would be remiss if I didn’t mention him in this article. Although he filled the box scores last week, I’m still skeptical he will continue this streak in a long-term fashion. Throughout his eight-year career, he’s really only had one season where he was an every-week fantasy starter. Given the difficulty of filling the position though, he’s worth a pickup and a start next week. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he duds out and I’d be quick to drop/bench him if we see a bad fantasy performance.
CB Troy Hill (LAR) – Hill is seeing a lot of targets thrown his way playing opposite Jalen Ramsey and that’s definitely benefited him in terms of fantasy production. He had an average Week 1 with 5 solo tackles, but turned things on last week with 7 solos, 1 assist, 1 pass deflection, and an interception. Hill is shaping up to be a solid CB1-.
CB Holton Hill (MIN) – Sticking with the “Hill” theme – Holton Hill continues to get attacked successfully by opposing quarterbacks and compile tackles in the process. He’s gone 7-0 and 7-0 INT in his first two weeks and that could very well continue against the Titans in Week 3. The wheels on this fantasy train are likely to fall off sooner rather than later as Hill will lose playing time if he continues to struggle, but until that happens, he’s worth a look in deeper CB-required leagues.
Last Updated: September 22, 2020