2016 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 14
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.
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Let’s start things off by going through some IDP news, notes, and commentary from Week 13 of the NFL season.
Injuries
Jason Pierre-Paul suffered a groin injury in the second quarter of Sunday’s game and did not return. Upon further examination, it was determined he had a sports hernia and had surgery on Wednesday to repair it. He will miss at least six weeks and is done for the regular season. This is a striking blow to fantasy owners who were relying on JPP’s DL1 production in the fantasy playoffs.
Rookie Javon Hargrave sustained a concussion early in the Steelers’ game against the Giants and did not return. He will have to pass through the proper protocols before playing again.
Veteran D’Qwell Jackson incurred a head injury and is in the concussion protocol as well. Additionally, it was announced that Jackson was hit with a four game suspension for violating the league’s PED policy. He can be safely dropped in redraft leagues.
The Packers linebacker situation is a mess to say the least – Jake Ryan re-injured his ankle early in the game and, with Blake Martinez already out with an injury of his own, Clay Matthews was forced to slide inside next to Joe Thomas. Additionally, outside linebacker Nick Perry left the game early with a hand injury so Green Bay had to rely on Datone Jones as their starting ROLB opposite Julius Peppers.
Kiko Alonso broke his thumb last Sunday and had surgery on Monday to repair it. The Dolphins are saying there is a “chance” he can play through the injury. We should know more later in the week. If he can’t suit up, Spencer Paysinger is the most likely linebacker to play every down and has the best chance to lead the team in tackles for the week.
Tahir Whitehead wound up being inactive in Week 13 due to a knee injury. Josh Bynes played every down in his absence. It will be interesting to see how the Lions distribute playing time if both Whitehead and DeAndre Levy return this week.
With Broncos LB Brandon Marshall likely to miss this week’s game, the team will rely on Todd Davis and Corey Nelson as their inside linebackers. Both players could see every down action but it’s not a situation I would bank on for strong fantasy production given the below average stats these specific positions have put up this year.
Rookie standout Karl Joseph left the game early with a toe injury and was spotted in a walking boot after the game. Given the nature of the injury, I would imagine he’s going to miss some time. Owners should start planning for an alternative option.
All Pro safety Earl Thomas cracked his tibia on Sunday night and will miss the remainder of the season. He can safely be dropped in redraft leagues. Thomas said he’s considering retirement so his dynasty value is now in jeopardy as well.
Harrison Smith’s season is likely over as well as he has a Grade 3 ankle sprain that may require surgery. For now, the team is going to take a week-to-week approach with his injury, but best case scenario is that he returns very late in the regular season.
General Player Notes
Many were wondering how the Seahawks defensive line rotation would be affected with the return of Michael Bennett. Well, Seattle opted to rotate Frank Clark, Cliff Avril, and Bennett fairly evenly with each player receiving 65% or so of the snaps.
Dont’a Hightower’s string of volatile playing time continued last week as he saw just 63% of the team’s defensive snaps. This helped result in a paltry 1-1 tackle line. It’s tempting to start a player of Hightower’s potential as he’s had big games this year but he’s just too inconsistent to trust as anything more than a LB4 in these ever important fantasy playoffs.
Tyvon Branch returned after an eight week stint on injured reserve and was inserted in to Tyrann Mathieu’s slot corner role. Although he only put up 4 tackles, he did play most of the game which is a good sign. He’s a player I’d watch closely this week and if he has a solid game, I’d be ready to pounce on him for Week 15 where he has an attractive matchup against the gun slinging Saints.
NOTE: I haven’t updated the Tackles Issued by Home Stat Crews in a couple weeks, but the trends aren’t likely to change much this deep into the season. I would continue to target New York (Giants), Buffalo, and San Diego as favorable stat crews and avoid Seattle, New England, and Carolina. This assumes standard solo tackle to assist scoring of 2:1.
Now onto The Guru’s IDP waiver wire selections for Week 14!
(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 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: Chris Long, Danielle Hunter, Devin Taylor, Dante Fowler, Frank Clark, Timmy Jernigan, Kerry Hyder, Yannick Ngakoue, Damon Harrison, Nick Fairley, Clinton McDonald, Derek Wolfe, Calais Campbell, Joey Bosa, Trent Murphy, Deforest Buckner, Danny Shelton, Willie Young, Joey Bosa, Gerald McCoy, Cameron Wake, Frank Clark, Marcell Dareus, Mike Daniels, Cameron Wake, Adrian Clayborn, Timmy Jernigan, Trey Flowers, Jurrell Casey, Robert Ayers, Stephon Tuitt, Marcell Dareus, Mario Addison, Noah Spence, Javon Hargrave, Andre Branch)
DE Derek Wolfe (DEN) – Wolfe has been quite dependable since coming back from injury/bye and his above average tackle production makes him a relatively safe pickup. The matchup against Tennessee this week isn’t great as they’ve only allowed 18 sacks in 12 games but Wolfe has shown the ability to put up points even in unfavorable matchups.
DE Michael Johnson (CIN) – Johnson has been unable to replicate his breakout 2011 season which saw him compile 11.5 sacks. However, he still remains an above average tackle producer who brings decent sack upside in the right matchups. Although he started off slow this year, he’s been a top 25 DL over the last nine weeks. And he has a delightful matchup this week against the Browns who have been allowing sacks in the handfuls as of late. I like him for 3-4 tackles and a sack on Sunday.
DE Stephon Tuitt (PIT) – Tuitt made a showing in this article a couple weeks back as he had a favorable matchup against the Colts. Although he didn’t do much in the box scores in that game, he had 3 quarterback hits and was disruptive in the backfield. He’s likely been dropped in a few leagues after only generating 3 assists in his last two games. But now is the week to use him as he squares off against the Bills who give up the most points to defensive ends and have allowed the third most sacks in the NFL.
Linebackers
(Previously recommended LBs: Sio Moore, Todd Davis, Tahir Whitehead, Will Compton, Mason Foster, Craig Robertson, Justin March, Jonathan Casillas, Craig Robertson, Zach Brown, Deion Jones, Sean Weatherspoon, Tahir Whitehead, Zach Orr, Denzel Perryman, Bernardrick McKinney, Cory James, Darron Lee, Christian Kirksey, Jatavis Brown, Vince Williams, Cory James, Michael Wilhoite, Christian Kirksey, Nick Bellore, Perry Riley, Lorenzo Alexander, Markus Golden, Nick Bellore, Albert McClellan, Dont’a Hightower, Tyler Matakevich, Jordan Hicks, De’Vondre Campbell, Christian Kirksey, Demario Davis, Nate Stupar, Kiko Alonso, Dont’a Hightower, Elandon Roberts, Nigel Bradham, Korey Toomer, Ryan Shazier, De’Vondre Campbell, Korey Toomer, Gerald Hodges, Chad Greenway, Dannell Ellerbe, Blake Martinez, Gerald Hodges, Leonard Floyd, Jatavis Brown, Danny Trevathan, Shaq Thompson, Su’a Cravens, Justin Houston, Nick Kwiatkoski, Darron Lee)
LB Nick Kwiatkoski (CHI) – Kwiatkoski makes his second appearance in the column in as many weeks as he led the team in tackles last week with 9 solos and looks to be a solid option for us moving forward. He’s likely still available in a majority of leagues and should provide a boost to defensive rosters over the next two weeks while Jerrell Freeman serves out the remainder of his suspension. LB3+.
LB Edwin Jackson (IND) – The Colts lack of quality depth at the linebacker position has given Jackson (an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Southern) the chance to establish himself as a starter. He’s come on in recent weeks averaging 7 tackles a game over his last three games and has been elevated to an every down role. With D’Qwell Jackson suspended, the other Jackson should have little tackle competition and be able to rack up 8-9 total tackles.
LB Perry Riley (OAK) – Riley had his best game of the season last week with 10 total tackles (8 solos) against a poor matchup in the Buffalo Bills. Riley is a replacement level talent but has a relatively large amount of playing experience and the Raiders seem to trust him over rookie Cory James at this point. There’s risk here as the Raiders have been somewhat inconsistent with his playing time, but with Karl Joseph possibly out this week, Riley may find himself with more than typical tackle opportunity. LB3-/LB4+.
LB Josh Bynes (DET) – Bynes filled in at MLB for Tahir Whitehead last week who was unable to play due to a knee injury. He played every down and compiled 8 tackles (5 solo) in the process. Bynes becomes a somewhat appealing option in deeper IDP leagues this week if Whitehead and DeAndre Levy remain out. The Bears matchup is a bad one however, so I would prioritize the other linebacker options listed above before making a move for Bynes.
Defensive Backs
(Previously recommended DBs: Tony Jefferson, Da’Norris Searcy, Shareece Wright, Tyvon Branch, Andrew Sendejo, Kemal Ishmael, Karl Joseph, Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Jacoby Glenn, Vonn Bell, Logan Ryan, Kendell Fuller, Clayton Geathers, Duke Ihenacho, D.J. Swearinger, Bashaud Breeland, Rodney McLeod, Isa Abdul-Quddus, Donte Whitner, DeShawn Shead, Michael Thomas, Troy Hill, Bradley McDougald, Robert Blanton, Daniel Sorensen, Bradley Roby, Phillip Gaines, Andrew Adams, Kevin Byard, Bashaud Breeland, Byron Jones, Jimmie Ward, Jacquiski Tartt, Patrick Chung, Rashaan Melvin, Daryl Worley, Tavon Wilson, Bashaud Breeland, Jalen Collins)
S Jahleel Addae (SD) – Addae missed half the season with injury, leaving him largely forgotten about in IDP leagues. He’s been quite solid since returning in Week 12 with stat lines of 6-2 and 8-2. With the Chargers linebacking crew struggling with injuries, Addae has a chance to keep up this production down the stretch. I’d consider him a DB3+ moving forward.
S Michael Griffin (CAR) – Griffin got the spot start in replace of the injured Kurt Coleman who was still dealing with a concussion. With Luke Kuechly out as well, the tackle opportunity in the secondary was much stronger than usual which help lead to Coleman’s 14 tackle performance. If he gets another start, he’s worth rostering and playing against a San Diego team that gives up the fifth most points to safeties.
S Isa Abdul-Quddus (MIA) – Quddus has come on as of late by racking up 30 total tackles in his last four games. That said, he’s a nice starter option this week against a decent Arizona matchup and he becomes even more appealing if Kiko Alonso is inactive. DB3- for Week 14.
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Last Updated: December 6, 2016