2020 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 9

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Let’s start things off by going through some IDP news, notes, and commentary from Week 8 of the NFL season.

Injuries
Joey Bosa has been up and down this season production-wise and now will have to pass through the league’s concussion protocol to play this week after a helmet-to-helmet hit against the Broncos.

Browns fans got a big scare last week as Myles Garrett left the game with a knee injury. Luckily, the MRI showed no structural damage and he’s expected to play in Week 10 following the team’s bye this week.

Eagles every down linebacker Nate Gerry was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury and will be out through Week 10 at a minimum. He was playing quite poorly before this move though and I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t return to the starting lineup this season.

Jamal Adams was close to returning this past week but still ended up being inactive. Head Coach Pete Carroll has indicated Adams should return this week. If that’s the case, Ryan Neal becomes droppable.

General Player News
The Patriots continue to throw playing time curveballs at us. Despite producing well in the box scores, Chase Winovich has seen his playing time reduced down to near nothing in recent weeks (5 defensive snaps in Week 8). Additionally, Anfernee Jennings went from 53 snaps in Week 7 down to zero last week. Outside of Ja’Whaun Bentley and Adrian Phillips, there’s not much fantasy value on this defense.

Marlon Humphrey tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday and now must enter a 10-day quarantine. This means he will miss this Sunday’s game against the Colts.

The Titans acquired CB/PR Desmond King from the Chargers. King hadn’t been getting much playing time at all as of late, so this move should definitely improve his value moving forward. He will likely play slot corner and could see some returns in the punt game as well.

For more details on the recent linebacker trades (e.g. Avery Williamson, Kwon Alexander) and playing time notes for linebackers specifically, check out my Every Down Linebackers article.

Now onto The Guru’s IDP waiver wire selections for Week 9!

(Please note that a majority of these pickups early on are long-term, rest of season pickups as opposed to matchup-type recommendations. As the season progresses and the waiver wire becomes thinner and matchup information becomes more reliable, the focus of this article will shift more towards recommendations based on the weekly matchup.)

Defensive Linemen

(Previously recommended DLs: Aldon Smith, Montez Sweat, Michael Brockers, Akiem Hicks, Mario Addison, Stephon Tuitt, Jonathan Allen, Kerry Hyder, Jeffery Simmons, Carl Lawson, Stephon Tuitt, Leonard Williams, Yetur Gross-Matos, Emmanuel Ogbah, Trey Hendrickson, Denico Autry, Justin Madubuike, Melvin Ingram, Leonard Williams, Sheldon Richardson, Melvin Ingram, Derek Barnett, Romeo Okwara)

DE Stephon Tuitt (PIT) – Tuitt has made two appearances on this list earlier in the season as more as of a matchup-type play/recommendation. Coming off a monster 8-1-2, 3 TFL, 3 QH performance however, it’s becoming evident that he deserves every week starter status as he’s on his way to a career-year. As an added bonus, he faces off against the Cowboys this week, so he has a very good chance of adding to his season sack total. If he’s still available in your league, Tuitt should be one of your top waiver wire priorities and serve as a strong DL2 the rest of the way.

DE Carlos Dunlap (SEA) – After seeing a dramatic dip in playing time and expressing his discontent for weeks, Dunlap was finally traded last week. Seattle is one of the better landing spots for him as they desperately need pass-rush help and often play with leads, so Dunlap should have a fair amount of sack opportunity. It’s always hard to peg exactly how much playing time recent trade acquisitions will receive, but Dunlap didn’t play last week so he has had a little time to learn the playbook and I’d feel comfortable starting him as my DL4+/DL3- in most leagues right away.

DE Marcus Davenport (NO) – Davenport missed the first month of the season due to injury which allowed Trey Hendrickson to establish himself as a viable fantasy play. Davenport returned to action in Week 5 and has quickly seen his playing time increase (30 to 64% in three weeks) and has at least 0.5 sack in back-to-back weeks. He’s not going to win you a championship but can be a solid contributor for your team in the right matchups.

Linebackers

(Previously recommended LBs: Germaine Pratt, Nate Gerry, Jon Bostic, B.J. Goodson, Micah Kiser, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Foyesade Oluokun, Eric Wilson, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Joe Thomas, Ty Summers, Avery Williamson, Kyzir White, K.J. Wright, Mykal Walker, Anthony Walker, Josey Jewell, Nick Kwiatkoski, Tyrel Dodson, Foyesade Oluokun, Avery Williamson, Tyrell Adams, Jerome Baker, Troy Reeder, Dre Greenlaw, Krys Barnes, Robert Spillane, Tae Crowder, Alex Singleton, Kamal Martin, Vince Williams, Haason Reddick)

ILB Christian Kirksey (GB) – Kirksey has been out since Week 3 with a pectoral injury and therefore may have been dropped at some point over the last several weeks. If so, this is the time to pick him back up as he was activated off the IR last week and returned to practice. My guess is he finally suits up this week against the 49ers. He may be eased into the lineup initially since he had a relatively long layoff, but should be back to his LB1 ways sooner rather than later and provide a big boost for teams down the stretch.

OLB Dre Greenlaw (SF) – With the team trading away Kwon Alexander on Monday, Greenlaw will now assume an every down role for the remainder of the season. Since taking over for Alexander full-time in Week 6, Greenlaw has posted stat lines of 8-0-0, 3-3-1, and 7-1-0 and there’s no reason to think he won’t sustain that pace in the coming weeks. Consider him a LB3+/LB2-.

LB Neville Hewitt/Blake Cashman (NYJ) – With Avery Williamson now in Pittsburgh, Hewitt will have even less competition for tackles. He’s sneakily averaging 8.5 total tackles per game now and could now approach a double digit average (fairly assist heavy though). Additionally, once healthy, Blake Cashman is someone to keep an eye on as he could easily have starter value if the team gives him a full complement of snaps next to Hewitt. Hopefully we should have more clarity from the team on Williamson’s replacement(s) in the coming days.

LB T.J. Edwards (PHI) – After missing three weeks due to injury, Edwards returned with authority as he racked up 13 total tackles, 1 sack, and 1 forced fumble against the Cowboys on SNF. Although he did miss on a few plays, he looked aggressive at the point of attack and should serve as a LB4+ moving forward with an extra added bump against run-heavy teams.

Defensive Backs
(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)

S Josh Jones (JAX) – Jones seems like he was dropped in a lot of leagues last week with the Jaguars on bye. If that’s the case for you, he makes for a very solid ROS pickup. He’s currently on pace for 89 solos and 41 assists which are elite tackle numbers for a defensive back. Just don’t expect much of anything in any other categories as he’s failed to register a single PD, FF, FR, TFL, INT, or sack halfway through the season.

CB Mike Hilton (PIT) – The Steelers were hopeful Hilton could play last week after getting in a limited practice on Friday; however, he wound up being inactive. The good news is that makes him likely to play this week against the Cowboys who are giving up the 2nd most points to cornerbacks through the first eight weeks of the season. Dallas’ offensive line lacks cohesion and tends to be vulnerable to the corner blitz, so Hilton has a great chance to build upon his current sack total of three. Additionally, Hilton should be busy covering CeeDee Lamb in the slot and should have above average tackle/INT opportunity.

S Daniel Sorensen (KC) – The Chiefs employ a lot of three-safety sets with Sorensen playing more of a linebacker role in nickel subpackages. This helps boost his tackle production in certain matchups. Since Week 2, he’s registered 4 or more solo tackles in every game except one and has two INTS and forced fumble over the last three games. I would expect there to be more variance in Sorensen’s numbers than many other top fantasy DBs, but his production upside makes him worth a look as a DB3-DB3+ in most weeks.

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).

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Last Updated: November 3, 2020