2015 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 7
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.
OK. Let’s start things off by going through some IDP news, notes, and commentary from Week 6 of the NFL season.
Injuries
Buffalo defensive tackle Kyle Williams injured his knee in the Bills’ Week 6 game and is not expected to play against the Jaguars this Sunday in London.
Everson Griffen was a bit of a surprise inactive on Sunday due to an illness. He should be back next week.
Jabaal Sheard injured his ankle against the Colts on Sunday Night Football; however, the injury is considered to be minor and he should hopefully be ready to go next week.
Bobby Wagner did not suit up against the Panthers on Sunday, but Pete Carroll said he could have played if absolutely necessary. All signs are pointing towards Wagner being active on Thursday night against the 49ers.
Shane Ray has been diagnosed with a sprained MCL and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks.
Prince Amukamara did not play against the division rival Philadelphia Eagles on MNF as he still working his way back from a pectoral strain. It may be a couple more weeks before we see him on the field.
Colts safety Mike Adams left Sunday Night’s game due to a hamstring injury and did not return to action. We should know more about the severity of his injury later in the week. Follow me on Twitter for IDP news, tips, advice, and more.
Eric Weddle injured his hamstring in the Chargers’ Week 6 contest against the Packers. He was seen limping after the game and his status for Week 7 is in jeopardy. He hasn’t missed a game since 2009 though, so Weddle owners have that going for them.
General Player Notes
Despite Jim Tomsula’s recent comments that they make look to limit Navarro Bowman’s playing time on passing downs, that did not happen this past Sunday. Bowman was in for 100% of the defensive snaps. Even if he does lose some snaps, the opportunity is so high in San Francisco that Bowman remains a LB1.
Rob Ninkovich continues to struggle in the box scores. It’s hard to pull the plug on a player that has been so consistently productive throughout his career, especially when he’s continuing to get a high degree of snaps. He’s obviously lost a step however and his advancing age is starting to hinder him. I wouldn’t discount him completely, but we need to readjust expectations down into the DL3 range.
Both Mario Williams and Jerry Hughes continue to struggle to put up sacks. Williams expressed frustration with the defensive scheme as he was forced to drop back into coverage more than he would like. This helps partly explain the lack of production this year. Unless Rex Ryan decides change up his scheme, it looks like we may have to significantly downgrade both players moving forward.
Now onto The Guru’s IDP waiver wire selections for Week 7!
(Please note that a majority of these pickups are long-term, rest of season pickups as opposed to matchup-type recommendations. As the season progresses and the waiver wire becomes more thin and matchup information becomes more reliable, the focus of this article will shift more towards recommendations based on weekly matchup.)
Defensive Linemen
(Previously recommended DLs: Henry Anderson, Allen Bailey, Mario Addison, Jacquies Smith, Jabaal Sheard, Sen’Derrick Marks, Jared Allen, Stephon Tuitt, Greg Hardy, Sheldon Richardson, Stephon Tuitt, Jarvis Jenkins, Kerry Wynn, Ryan Delaire, Jay Ratliff, Kony Ealy, Lawrence Guy)
DE Cameron Wake (MIA) – Year in and year out, I get a litany of questions and concerns from owners in the early weeks of the season asking, “Should I drop stud defensive linemen so and so? He’s done nothing for me so far.” My response almost always is “stick with your studs.” After registering 1 tackle in the first 4 weeks, Cameron Wake (a player I was very high on pre-season), came back with a vengeance with 4 sacks this week and he’s suddenly back in the top 35 in most leagues. He still didn’t play the amount of snaps he typically does, but this last outing shows me he’s back to trusting as a near every week play.
DE Adrian Clayborn (ATL) – Clayborn hasn’t quite produced at the level I expected him to coming into the year. However, he does have 2 sacks so far and faces a Titans team that has been sacked almost 4 times per game. The Falcons linemen rotate too heavily to put up monster numbers, but I think Clayborn is a good bet for a couple tackles and a sack this week.
DE Sheldon Richardson (NYJ) – In his first week back from suspension, Richardson was thrown back into his typical role seeing ~75% of the defensive snaps. He registered a decent stat line of 3 tackles and 0.5 sack. Expect that production to grow as the season wears on. There’s a chance another suspension is coming but it’s looking like that may hit next year. DL2-/DL3+.
Linebackers
(Previously recommended LBs: Thomas Davis, Vincent Rey, Brian Cushing, Koa Misi, Uani Unga, Dont’a Hightower, DeMeco Ryans, Jordan Hicks, Justin Durant, Hau’oli Kikaha, Jordan Hicks, Malcolm Smith, A.J. Klein, Christian Kirksey, Anthony Hitchens, Manti Te’o, Thurston Armbrister, Christian Kirksey, Eric Kendricks, Rolando McClain, Avery Williamson, Michael Wilhoite)
WLB Dannell Ellerbe (NO) – Ellerbe missed the first three games of the year due to injury but has made an immediate impact over the last two weeks with 21 total tackles (20 solo). The only true tackle competition within the front seven is rookie Stephone Anthony who has struggled to produce in the box scores. Ellerbe seems like a low upside pickup on the surface but given the tackle opportunity and his past propensity for big tackle games, I’d be willing to roll the dice on him as a LB3+ in a lot of weeks/leagues.
MLB Eric Kendricks (MIN) – I mentioned Kendricks as a top pickup last week but just in case you didn’t/weren’t able to pick him up, I’m calling him out again. He had a studly day with 10 tackles and a sack. This isn’t a mirage. He’s going to be a very solid LB2 for us the rest of the season.
ILB Michael Wilhoite (SF) – There was some concern that recently acquired Gerald Hodges would cut into Wilhoite’s playing time. However, Hodges is going to take several weeks to learn the this drastically different defense and even then, it’s no guarantee he sees the field over Wilhoite. Given Jim Tomsula’s most recent comments, I suspect he may be used to spell Navarro Bowman in some passing situations. Nevertheless, Wilhoite is coming off back-to-back 11 solo tackle weeks and has been producing step for step with Navarro Bowman. At this point, we must start him even given the slight risk that he loses some snaps to Hodges.
ILB Denzel Perryman (SD) – Perryman was thrusted into the starting lineup as Manti Te’o was inactive for Sunday’s game with an ankle injury. Although he only played about 50% of the snaps, he produced 8 total tackles (7 solos) and a forced fumble. Donald Butler played every snap but failed to do much of anything, so if Te’o is out again this week, Perryman makes for a nice boom/bust LB4. If nothing else, this is great news for Perryman’s long-term prospects – so dynasty owners take notice.
Defensive Backs
(Previously recommended DBs: Calvin Pryor, Trenton Robinson, Josh Norman, Adam Jones, Will Allen, Eric Berry, Adam Jones, Tony Jefferson, Corey Graham, Brandon Meriweather, T.J. Ward, Ronald Darby, Chris Conte, Jonathan Cyprien, David Amerson, Jonathan Joseph, Brandon Browner, Mark Barron, Jason McCourty)
CB Antwon Blake (PIT) – Pittsburgh’s secondary is still struggling and Blake is being targeted a lot. This has translated to a couple huge tackle games for the fourth year undrafted free agent out of UTEP. We can’t expect double digit solos every week, but given he’s done it twice this year, I’m willing to roll with him as a CB2+.
CB Jason McCourty (TEN) – McCourty missed the first fpir weeks due to injury and has only produced three tackles in the two games since his return. However, he’s proven to be one of the most consistent fantasy options at the corner position over the last handful of years and has a fantastic matchup against the Falcons this week. Atlanta has allowed 5-7 tackles to 1-2 opposing corners nearly every week so far. I think this is the week McCourty breaks out for a solid game.
S Devin McCourty (NE) – I couldn’t resist not putting the other McCourty twin on the list this week. He’s been the most consistent tackling option in New England’s secondary averaging nearly 5 solo tackles and 1 assist per game. He gets a top 3 matchup against the Jets this week, so 6-8 total tackles is a reasonable expectation.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at theidpguru@idpguru.com or follow me on Twitter. Also, feel free to post any questions or comments for me in the comments section of this post.
Last Updated: October 20, 2015