2020 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 15
If you find 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).
Although I’m happy to answer questions posted via the website comments section, IDP Forum, and email, I’m often quickest to respond via Twitter. So if you have IDP questions, it’s a good idea to Follow me on Twitter.
Let’s start things off by going through some IDP news, notes, and commentary from Week 14 of the NFL season.
Injuries
Clelin Ferrell left with a shoulder injury after just 7 snaps. We should know more about his Week 15 status in the coming days.
Fred Warner made it through half the game before having to leave the game with shoulder/neck issues. He has a stinger and is questionable to play this coming week.
Nicholas Morrow is currently in concussion protocol after suffering a head injury late in the Raiders’ game against the Colts on Sunday. With the team playing on Thursday, my guess is he doesn’t pass through the necessary tests to play this week.
Justin Reid suffered a hand injury and will miss the remainder of the season.
Josh Jones returned to the active roster this past week, but it was short-lived as he ended up exiting with a shoulder injury after just 16 snaps. Early reports indicate it’s a relatively minor injury but we should get more specifics around his Week 15 status in the coming days.
Rodney McLeod suffered a torn ACL last week and will miss the rest of the season.
Rookie Ashtyn Davis (foot) and veteran Jeff Heath (concussion) were both placed on injured reserve with a foot injury. They won’t be eligible to return until Week 17, so they are done for the fantasy season in the vast majority of leagues.
Defensive Linemen
DE Olivier Vernon (CLE) – Vernon is one of the more streaky defensive ends in fantasy, so if you were like me, you may have dropped in shallower leagues last week after back-to-back poor performances. Well, he had two sacks on Monday night and has a plus matchup against the Giants who give up the 8th most points to defensive ends. Plus, we could very well see a little extra motivation for Vernon as he goes up against his old team. I like him as a DL3+/DL2- this week.
DE/LB Alex Highsmith (PIT) – Highsmith hasn’t done much in the box scores since taking over for the injured Bud Dupree a couple weeks ago. However, he’s flashed nice upside at various points throughout the year in limited snaps and has an attractive matchup against a Bengals team that has allowed the 2nd most sacks in the NFL behind the Eagles and has a backup QB at the helm. Lastly, Highsmith (an outside linebacker who played 90% of the defensive snaps last week) still holds DE eligibility in some league management systems, which makes him a sneaky play this week in those leagues.
DE Dion Jordan (SF) – Jordan, the 3rd overall pick in the 2013 draft, has received a bit of a bump in playing time in recent weeks due to some injuries along the defensive front, culminating in a season-high 78% of the snaps played last week. He’s had a sack in back-to-back weeks which should help keep his playing time relatively high in the short-term. The Dallas line has played better in recent weeks but they are still a makeshift line with an immobile quarterback, so Jordan has a good chance of bumping his consecutive sack streak up to three.
ILB Avery Williamson (PIT) – Williamson was highlighted in this article last week, but I’m mentioning him again as he’s still likely available in a lot of leagues. He played 89% of the snaps last week and had a very nice performance production-wise with 11 total tackles (9 solo) and a quarterback hit. Consider him a LB2-/LB3+ for Week 15.
LB Jerome Baker (MIA) – Baker saw his snap counts plummet in Weeks 10 and 11 which cause him to be dropped in a majority of leagues. He’s seen his usage bump up in recent weeks and was up to 98% of the snaps played last week on his way to one of his best performances of the year (5-3-2.5). He’s been a bit reliant on quarterback sacks, but if you are an underdog this week, Baker could be a good boom/bust option as the team continues to send him on an above average amount of blitzes.
LB David Long Jr. (TEN) – Long only produced 5 total tackles last week. However, the team didn’t face a ton of run attempts (15) and, most importantly, Long was calling the defensive plays and was in for every snap. At this point in the season, there aren’t a ton of 100% snap linebackers available in deep IDP leagues, so Long is worth a shot for those desperate to fill their LB4 spot/flex in super competitive, deep bench formats.
CB Bless Austin (NYJ) – On the whole, Jets cornerbacks have been fairly productive from a tackle standpoint this season. And Austin is no exception. Prior to going down with an injury in Week 9, he was averaging over 5.5 solos and 1 assist per game in the contests in which he saw starter snaps. He returned last week from a multi-week injury and posted 7 solo tackles against the Seahawks. He draws the Rams this week who are a top 8 matchup for corners and should be able to produce 6-7 solos and an assist or two.
CB A.J. Terrell (ATL) – Terrell has really come on in recent weeks with 3 forced fumbles, 3 pass deflections and over 7 solo tackles/game his last four games (13 solos last week). He’s not afraid to be physical so his tackle performance, at least in the short term, isn’t likely a fluke. He should be a high upside DB3 with two pass-heavy teams up on the schedule in the Bucs and Chiefs.
S Eric Murray (HOU) – Up until last week, Murray hadn’t done much fantasy-wise. However, he exploded for 10 solo tackles, an assist, and 2 sacks against the Bears in Week 14. With Justin Reid out for the year due to a hand injury, the team very well may rely on Murray to play more up in-the-box in run defense which could keep his above average performance streak alive through Week 15 against a Colts team that is allowing the fifth most points to opposing safeties.
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 15, 2020