2022 IDP Dynasty Target: Cody Barton
Today, we continue our series on players to target in your dynasty leagues this season. Let’s keep the train moving as we break down our next IDP dynasty target, Cody Barton!
Background
When the Seattle Seahawks used the 88th pick on a linebacker out of Utah, I’m not sure they assumed they were drafting Bobby Wagner‘s replacement. To be fair, I don’t know if they even knew they had Wagner’s replacement at the beginning of last season.
Barton was a 4-year letterman at Utah, culminating in All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention honors. Starting all 14 games at MLB, Barton was Top 10 in the Pac-12 in tackles (solo and assist) as well as tackles for loss. It doesn’t take much to see that Barton has the tackling prowess, evident by his 20 tackle performance vs Oregon in 2016.
Current
While spending the majority of his first 3 years in the league on Special Teams, it was obvious that Barton had his sights set on a starting role. His rookie season had glimpses of hope, most notably in Weeks 13 & 14. In those weeks he saw 80% of the snaps at OLB where he recorded 14 combined tackles. While he was thrilled to just be on the field, he definitely felt MLB was more his fit.
His sophomore year wasn’t exactly filled with many stat-filling performances, but he had 14 tackles against the Vikings in Wk. 5 despite only playing 60% of the snaps. It wasn’t until last year that we saw the Cody Barton that has us intrigued. Bobby Wagner left Wk 17 with injury and it was Barton who stepped in and manned the middle of the field. He didn’t just fill Wagner’s shoes on the stat sheet, he also wore the coveted green dot. The fact that Barton wore the green dot is huge for IDP success! Not only does it mean he has earned the trust of the coaches, but it almost ensures a direct path to a ton of snaps!
Those two weeks that he filled in for Wagner were all we could ask for. He tallied 18 tackles (1 TFL), 1 QB hit, and 1 pass defense. While I love the volume (Top 8 in tackles among LB during that span), it is the growth as an MLB that has me intrigued. Many point to his improved run-stopping, in addition to overall play recognition!
Cody Barton just looks so much more comfortable at the MIKE spot. Great job reading this play by following flow with pulling guard, hitting running back in the backfield. pic.twitter.com/Z6tFiZdQp2
— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) January 4, 2022
Outlook
When determining who makes a good candidate for an IDP Dynasty Target, I focus on the S.O.S. of the situation. Skills-Opportunity-Snaps
Skills-As noted above, his growth as a linebacker is documented as he was asked to be an OLB until the opportunity to take over at MIKE was available. Despite limited snaps, he improved in coverage but really started to excel in his run-stopping ability. Over the past two weeks, he was 7th among LB with 8 run-play tackles. An even more notable stat would be the ZERO missed tackles!
Opportunity-2022 should be filled with opportunities for Cody Barton. For starters, he looks to fill the enormous shoes left by Bobby Wagner. The linebacker depth is anything but full, and the Seahawks did not address the position in the draft. This tells me they are more than confident with giving the keys to Barton.
Snaps-If snaps you are looking for, then snaps you will get! If they allow Barton to wear the green dot, a huge snap share is all but guaranteed. Finally, I am pretty certain that Seattle’s offense will be less than stellar. A poor offense generally leads to increased snaps by the defense. To put it into perspective, Bobby Wagner saw roughly 1,000 snaps on a team that good on offense!
With a successful, and injury-free, season it is safe to assume that Seattle will be looking to extend their young linebacker. If given an extension, and no unforeseen MLB signings, it is safe to assume that Cody Barton will definitely be an IDP Dynasty Target for me!
Thanks for checking out our IDP Dynasty Target article on Cody Barton. Over the course of the summer make sure to click here for more Dynasty Target articles discussing players for you to acquire this season
For all your other IDP needs, tune in to “Shoot the Gap” for our weekly IDP Podcast, as part of the Fantasy In Frames Podcast Network.
