2019 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 8
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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 7 of the NFL season.
Injuries
Luckily, Week 7 was probably the lightest week of the season in terms of IDP injuries, so there isn’t much to report below:
Both Robert Quinn and Landon Vander Esch exited Sunday Night’s game with an injury and did not return. Neither player is believed to have a serious injury, however. And with the Cowboys on bye this week, both players should be back in the starting lineups come Week 9.
Damon Harrison pulled a groin and his status for Week 8 is currently unknown. We should get a better indication of his status after looking through the practice reports later in the week.
Pernell McPhee tore his triceps and is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
Eli Apple reportedly has a hyperextended knee and may miss a week or two.
General Player Notes
Quandre Diggs was traded to the Seahawks for a 2020 fifth-round draft pick. Seattle is a bit banged up at the safety position right now, so Diggs has a chance to come in and be an immediate contributor. Additionally, Tedric Thompson has allowed multiple big plays this year and Pete Carroll wasn’t shy about calling him out after their loss to the Ravens this past week. This said, I think Diggs will most likely wind up taking Thompson’s job at free safety.
For more updates on playing time splits across the linebacker position, check out the latest update of my every-down linebackers column.
Now onto The Guru’s IDP waiver wire selections for Week 8!
Defensive Linemen
(Previously recommended DLs: Sam Hubbard, Nick Bosa, Quinton Jefferson, Denico Autry, Chase Winovich, Robert Quinn, Brian Burns, Stephon Tuitt, Josh Allen, Robert Quinn, Ezekiel Ansah, Vic Beasley, Takkarist McKinley, Nick Bosa, Robert Quinn, Matt Ioannidis, Mario Addison, Jarran Reed, Jerry Hughes, Jarran Reed, Taco Charlton)
DE Jabaal Sheard (IND) – Missing the first three games of the year and having a Week 6 bye has caused Sheard’s surface level production to look quite low and consequently he’s flown under the radar for the most part this fantasy season. However, he’s posted a 8-1-1.5 stat line over the three games in which he’s played and is coming off a strong performance last week (4-0-1, 2 TFL). He has an excellent matchup in Week 8 against the Broncos who have given up the 6th most points to defensive ends and allowed 9 sacks to the Chiefs in Week 7. He’s a solid DL2+ this week and a DL2-/DL3+ moving forward.
DT Jeffery Simmons (TEN) – Simmons, the 19th overall pick in this year’s draft, saw his first regular season action after missing the Titans’ first six games as he recovered from a torn ACL suffered back in February. Despite only playing 33% of the snaps, he made an immediate impact on the field with 4 solo tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and a sack against the Chargers. In watching the game, it was fairly evident that Simmons has the ability to be a top-notch player at his position and should be an immediate add in dynasty leagues and redraft leagues that require you to start a defensive tackle.
DE Jason Pierre-Paul (TB) – After fracturing his neck in an off-season car accident, JPP practiced with the full team for the first time this year and reports indicated that he looked impressive. Although the team is unwilling to commit to a return date, it seems like he should see regular season game action sooner rather than later. For leagues in which he’s classified as an end, owners should consider scooping him up now if they have deeper benches. Although he’s not as dynamic of a player as he once was, he is coming off a 12.5 sack season and is playing opposite the NFL sack leader in Shaq Barrett.
DE DeMarcus Walker (DEN) – Despite being a second-round draft selection just two years ago, Walker hasn’t been mentioned much in fantasy circles due to his low output up until this season. He seems to have finally taken a big step forward in 2019 though – over his last four contests, he’s generated 15 total tackles and four sacks and has been the Broncos best pass-rushing producer during that time. He’s worth a shot as a DL4+/DL3- in most leagues.
Linebackers
(Previously recommended LBs: Jordan Hicks, Shaq Thompson, Josey Jewell, Kyzir White, Blake Cashman, Zach Cunningham, Quincy Williams, Mark Barron, Kevin Minter, Anthony Walker, Bobby Okereke, Shaq Barrett, Mack Wilson, Ryan Connelly, Todd Davis, Devondre Campbell, Nicholas Morrow, Nick Kwiatkoski, Vince Williams, A.J. Johnson, Ben Niemann, Troy Reeder, Rashaan Evans, Wesley Woodyard, A.J. Johnson, David Mayo, Nate Gerry, Najee Goode)
ILB Bernardrick McKinney (HOU) – Despite having above average performances in essentially every game this season, McKinney is still available in a lot of leagues. If there was ever a week to start him, it would be this week as he gets the pleasure of going up against the Raiders. With their throwback, “smashmouth” style of play, Oakland has been a fantasy goldmine for opposing ILBs. For example, over their last four contests, they’ve allowed a whopping 6 inside linebackers to compile seven or more solo tackles. I can easily envision a double-digit total tackle performance out of McKinney this week (Zach Cunningham is an even better play if you can start him).
LB Lorenzo Alexander (BUF) – Alexander received a huge bump in playing time (96%) last week with typical every down LB Matt Milano out with an injury. This increase in snap count helped lead Alexander to his most productive tackle performance of the year with 10 total tackles. He also brings above average sack production to the table, making him a sneaky, boom/bust LB3- option this week if Milano remains out.
LB Blake Cashman (NYJ) – With Neville Hewitt inactive due to injury, Cashman got another start despite C.J. Mosley’s return to the starting lineup. The rookie led all Jets linebackers with 8 total tackles (6 solo) and had his most productive game of the season. Cashman may have some decent LB3 value over the next couple weeks if Hewitt remains out/Mosley continues to shake off the rust after being inactive for several weeks.
Defensive Backs
(Previously recommended DBs: Juan Thornhill, Jordan Whitehead, Xavier Woods, Ronnie Harrison, Terrell Edmunds, Tracy Walker, Darnell Savage, Kemal Ishmael, Roderick Teamer, Tre Flowers, Reshad Jones, Khari Willis, Dre Kirkpatrick, Eric Weddle, Isaiah Oliver, Eric Reid, Byron Murphy, Maurice Canady, Jermaine Whitehead)
S Taylor Rapp (LAR) – Although Marqui Christian technically replaced John Johnson at strong safety and Rapp played more in a third safety role, Rapp played 98% of the snaps. Given his second-round draft status this year, the Rams clearly see Rapp as their starter of the future and is the player to own for fantasy purposes between the two. Although his 5-1 stat line last week was just decent, I would expect those numbers to grow as the season progresses and he better learns the defense. He’s a DB3- right now.
S Marquise Blair (SEA) – Blair, a 2019 second-round selection, got the opportunity to start at strong safety last week with Bradley McDougald sidelined with a back injury. Although he didn’t stand out in the box scores, he did contribute 7 total tackles and is squaring off against the Falcons in Week 8 who have allowed the most points to opposing safeties. If McDougald is inactive again this week, Blair makes for a nice DB3 streaming option.
CB Ken Crawley (NO) – This is a super deep IDP league recommendation for those in CB-required leagues. Injuries to Eli Apple and Patrick Robinson along with P.J. Williams being suspended have left the Saints absurdly thin at cornerback. If those players are inactive, the Saints will be forced to start Crawley at CB opposite Marcus Lattimore. Given the Cardinals pass-happy, high-paced offense, I would expect Crawley to see a TON of targets in this game if he ends up starting. It’s a situation to monitor over the course of the next few days for those in need of a cornerback to cover injuries or bye week holes.
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).
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at theidpguru@idpguru.com or follow me on Twitter.
Last Updated: October 22, 2019