2020 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 11
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Let’s start things off by going through some IDP news, notes, and commentary from Week 10 of the NFL season.
Injuries
Thankfully, it was a relatively light week in terms of defensive injuries…
Akiem Hicks suffered a strained hamstring in the Bears’ Monday Night loss to the Vikings. We should find out more information about the severity of the injury in the coming days, but it’s a situation to monitor.
Arik Armstead was placed on the COVID list on Monday. He will have to pass through the proper testing protocols before being allowed back on the field.
Taylor Rapp suffered a knee injury in the first half and did not return. He was placed on injured reserve yesterday with a Grade 2 MCL sprain and is expected to be out three-to-four weeks.
Christian Kirksey returned to the starting lineup after missing the last handful of games with a pec injury. He was full-time upon his return and produced a 4-3 stat line. Although that was somewhat underwhelming, he still led the team in tackles and should have much better days ahead and provide managers with LB1 value.
Defensive Linemen
DE Sheldon Richardson/Olivier Vernon (CLE) – Outside of an eight-sack year back in 2014, Richardson has primarily been a 3-4 sack per season type guy with above average tackle upside. However, he’s increased his pass pressure stats this year with 3.5 sacks through 9 games and has a splendid matchup against the Eagles this week who have given up a league-leading 35 sacks. He has a good for 3-5 total tackles and a sack this week. If Richardson is unavailable, Vernon isn’t a bad consolation prize.
DE Trey Hendrickson (NO) – Even with the return of Marcus Davenport in Week 7, Hendrickson has still managed 3 sacks over his last four games. And although he laid a goose egg in the box scores last week (outside of 1 PD), he played ~70% of the defensive snaps and was ahead of Davenport in terms of playing time. He will face off against an Atlanta team that has given up the 2nd most points to defensive ends behind the Eagles this year and he has a solid chance of building upon his season sack total of 7.5.
DT DaQuan Jones (TEN) – Jones has compiled consecutive weeks of strong production (4-3-0.5, 4-1-1) and has a top 4 matchup on the slate this week against a Baltimore team who gives up an above average amount of tackles and sacks to defensive tackles. He’s available in virtually every league and could serve as a sneaky pick up in DT-required formats.
LB Alex Singleton (PHI) – After a 13 tackle/1 sack performance in Week 8, many (myself included) called out T.J. Edwards as a pickup. And although his value still largely holds after a 12 tackle performance in Week 10, Alex Singleton may see more rest of season value as he was the only Eagles linebacker to play every down last week (while calling the defensive plays) and had a whopping 16 total tackles. Granted, the Giants ran the ball a ton which boosted tackle opportunity for the Philly linebackers, but I can see both players having LB3-LB3+ value if their playing time situation holds.
LB A.J. Klein (BUF) – Klein had another monster performance this past week with a 10-1-1 stat line. He’s on bye this coming week but should be a player to keep an eye on for Week 11. If Matt Milano is inactive that week, Klein should be in serious consideration as a starting option in most fantasy leagues.
LB Cole Holcomb (WAS) – Over the last two games, Holcomb has seen 90% and 100% of the defensive snaps and remains a favorite of the coaching staff. Over his last four games, he’s produced stat lines of 5-1, 4-1-1 INT, 3-4, 4-2. I’d expect him to average 6-8 total tackles for the rest of the year given his recent bump in playing time.
LB Josh Bynes (CIN) – I’ve been avoiding the Cincinnati linebackers for fantasy purposes pretty much all year given that the team is employing a heavy rotation at the position with no person receiving more than 70% of the snaps. However, the Bengals play the WFT this week who have been a golden matchup for opposing fantasy linebackers. So for those desperate for a bye week/injury filler in those deep leagues, Bynes may not be a bad option as he typically leads the team in snaps and may be able to get up to 7-8 total tackles on matchup alone.
(Previously recommended DBs: Marcus Maye, Jeremy Chinn, Adrian Phillips, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Josh Jones, Brandon Jones, Logan Ryan, Kenny Vaccaro, Troy Hill, Holton Hill, Logan Ryan, Julian Love, Taylor Rapp, Mike Hilton, Donovan Wilson, James Bradberry, Kareem Jackson, Kenny Moore, Kareem Jackson, Tashaun Gipson, Pierre Desir, Taylor Rapp, Deshazor Everett, Terrence Mitchell, Malcolm Butler, Ronnie Harrison, Micah Hyde, Josh Jones, Mike Hilton, Daniel Sorensen, Marlon Humphrey, Jabrill Peppers, Kamren Curl, Breon Borders)
S Kamren Curl (WAS) – Curl was mentioned in this article as a waiver wire pickup last week; however, I wanted to mention him again after another big performance (6-2-1). He’s playing up in the box and is being used to rush the passer at an above average rate (as evidenced by his back-to-back weeks with a sack). If he’s out there, he should be picked up and started until further notice.
S Jordan Fuller (LAR) – Despite his three tackle performance, it was good to see Jordan Fuller back on the field after spending three weeks on injured reserve. He played in a full-time capacity and with Taylor Rapp heading to IR himself this week, Fuller will have a clear-cut path to every down playing time. Based on his performances earlier in the season, he’s not likely to be a big play contributor but should have enough tackle production to sustain DB3 value (e.g. 5-3-0 stat line).
S Kyle Dugger (NE) – Many of us have been patiently waiting for Dugger to get more playing time as his skillset and expected role project for him to have starting DB value if given enough snaps. Well, that time finally came this week against the Ravens when he wound up playing a season-high 85% of the snaps as the team’s third safety. He leveraged this into a 12 total tackle performance (7 solo). We’ve seen how much the Patriots vary their defensive players playing time week-to-week, so there’s a chance this was situational and Dugger sees a dramatic dip in snaps next week. However, he’s worth a pickup and stash in deeper leagues in case this trend continues. He should be rostered in most dynasty leagues as well.
S Daniel Thomas (JAX) – With Josh Jones on IR, Daniel Thomas has taken over the starting strong safety role in Jacksonville (100% of the snaps played last week). Based on what we’ve seen this year/the last couple years, the role in the scheme seems to be the main factor in creating production, not necessarily the player. So Thomas should be able to rack up tackles in a similar range to Jones, making him a DB3+.
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: November 17, 2020