2020 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 13
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Let’s start things off by going through some IDP news, notes, and commentary from Week 12 of the NFL season.
Injuries
The Chargers placed Melvin Ingram on injured reserve prior to their Week 12 showdown against the Bills. Given this is his second stint on IR, Ingram will be out for the season.
Both DeForest Buckner and Calais Campbell missed their team’s respective games in Week 12 due to being on the COVID list. They have a chance to play in Week 13 but will need to pass through the proper COVID protocols before doing so.
Yetur Gross-Matos was placed on the COVID list. The team has a Week 13 bye which will give him some time to come off the list prior to the team’s Week 14 matchup against the Broncos.
Kyler Fackrell suffered a calf injury during the team’s game against the Bengals. We should know more about his Week 13 status on Wednesday or Thursday.
Micah Kiser was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury last week and will miss at least the next two games, if not more.
After exiting Week 11 very early with a knee injury and ultimately being ruled out, Ronnie Harrison was active and started Week 12. However, he left again with an injury after just 1 snap and did not return. This time it was a shoulder injury. The team placed him on injured reserve on Tuesday and he is slated to miss 4-6 weeks which essentially means he’s done for the rest of the fantasy season.
Rookie Xavier McKinney made his professional debut in Week 12 after breaking his foot in the summer. He played just 5 snaps and didn’t affect the playing time of Jabrill Peppers or Logan Ryan as both defensive backs played every down. The Giants have indicated they are going to bring McKinney along slowly and that he will mainly play in three safety sets.
Defensive Linemen
DE Chase Winovich (NE) – Winovich’s playing time has varied dramatically throughout the season – starting in the 70% range for the first three games, then seeing a significant dip down to as low as 9% in Week 8. As far as I call tell, that reduction in usage was more scheme-related than performance-related. But it’s the Patriots, so no one really knows. This said, Winovich’s usage has gone up dramatically in recent weeks, averaging 84% of the defensive snaps played the last four games. In that stretch, he’s had two above average games with stat lines of 6-1 and most recently 5-0-1 against the Cardinals. He has the Chargers on the schedule next who give up the fourth most points to defensive ends, so I like his chances for another above average week when considering his high snap counts as of late.
DT Kenny Clark (GB) – I recommended Clark last week based on his very favorable matchup against the Bears. Unfortunately, he managed only 1 assist. However, as we know, DLs are finnicky and patience is usually rewarded when it comes to higher caliber players. This said, I’m sticking with Clark for another week as he goes up against the Eagles who continue to give up sacks in handfuls each week (averaging over four per game). I like Clark’s chances in Week 13 to get to Carson Wentz (or Jalen Hurts).
DE Randy Gregory (DAL) – Gregory has flown a bit under the radar since his return as most of the media attention goes to DeMarcus Lawrence and Aldon Smith. However, there’s an argument to be made that Gregory has outplayed Aldon Smith in recent weeks and that finally showed in the box scores against the WFT where he registered two sacks. His upside is a bit limited right now as he’s only playing around half the snaps, but he is efficient with the snaps he receives. He could be a nice deep league pickup down the stretch if he gets an increased workload and is a sneaky add in dynasty formats.
OLB A.J. Klein (BUF) – Since assuming a starting role in Week 6, Klein has been a top 5 fantasy linebacker. Given he’s failed to produce at a high level for a sustained period throughout his career, we all assumed the first couple performances were a fluke but he’s actually gotten better as the weeks have progressed. Over his list three games, he has 4.5 sacks and back-to-back 10 solo tackle performances. Given his career high in sacks is two, I would normally say the sacks are an anomaly but the team is using him to rush the passer at an above average rate so he should continue to have decent opportunity there. Add in the nice tackle production and you have someone that could potentially be a big contributor for your team down the stretch for as long as he continues to start.
OLB Nicholas Morrow (LV) – Morrow became an every down backer in Week 10 after Cory Littleton went on the COVID list. However, he seems to have played well enough to hold on to that role moving forward. Littleton returned last week but only saw 58% of the snaps versus Morrow who played every snap. During the three-game stretch in which he’s played every snap, Morrow has racked up stat lines of 4-1-1, 1 FR, 2 PD; 6-2-0, 1 PD; and 10-0-0, 2 PDs. He’s sneakily established himself as the best IDP fantasy option right now in Las Vegas.
ILB Anthony Walker (IND) – Walker has been one of the more efficient linebackers in terms of tackles per snap the last couple of seasons. He played every snap last week with Bobby Okereke inactive with an ankle injury and produced an average 6 total tackles. With Darius Leonard hogging a lot of the tackle opportunity, Walker’s upside is limited but if he gets another start, he could serve as a decent LB3-/LB4+ bye week/injury filler for a team in need at the position.
S Donovan Wilson (DAL) – Wilson has really started to establish himself as a big hit, “enforcer” type safety for the Cowboys. He had a couple huge plays in a big win over the Vikings in Week 11 which seemed to earn him more playing time as he’s had back-to-back weeks with 100% of the defensive snaps played. Over those two games, he’s compiled performances of 2-7-0.5, 2 FFs, 1 FR and 9-1-0. The Ravens aren’t a great matchup for safeties, but MIN and WAS were average matchups, so I’d still consider Wilson a solid DB3 this week.
CB Bryce Hall (NYJ) – With the release of Pierre Desir and both Bless Austin and Brian Poole heading to IR, Hall (a fifth round rookie) has started and been an every down player at cornerback for the Jets the last two weeks. Not surprisingly, opposing teams have thrown his way a lot which has resulted in solid box score production. He’s posted stat lines of 7-0 1 TFL and 5-1-0 1 PD in these two games and I see that trend continuing for as long as he’s starting.
CB Xavien Howard (MIA) – Howard has been an absolute machine this year when it comes to nabbing interceptions. He has 7 interceptions over his last nine games! He also has a ridiculous 15 pass deflections over that same time period. This said, I still see him on most waiver wires as fantasy managers are turned off by his relative lack of tackle production. Well, this week he gets the Bengals who are allowing the most points to corners by far. With no Joe Burrow, I wouldn’t expect there to be nearly as much tackle opportunity as there was earlier in the season, but Howard versus Brandon Allen may be one of the highest percentage chances for any corner this season to register an interception. Those in leagues that reward for big plays should definitely consider starting Howard this week if they are in need of a high risk/high reward play.
If you found this article (or past articles) helpful, please consider DONATING. I put a lot of hours every week into my in-season content and make that content available free of charge to my readers, so any support you can throw my way would be greatly appreciated (even if it’s just enough for a cup of coffee).
Last Updated: December 1, 2020