Today, we continue our Risers and Fallers series by looking at the other side of the ball on defense. Let us look at who are the Dynasty Fallers at Linebacker heading into the 2022 fantasy football season!
My definition of a dynasty IDP faller is that it is someone whose poor production on the field could take a toll on their availability for playing time on their respective teams in upcoming seasons and how that could impact their fantasy PPG average.
Simple and straightforward, right!? Good.
Now, one confusing thing for newbies to IDP is being able to describe how defensive players, who are categorized as risers and fallers, compare to their offensive counterparts. Therefore, before we started going over some IDP fallers in this article let me categorize what an LB1, 2, 3, etc is in fantasy PPG based on Fantasy Pros scoring last season:
Now that we got all that out of the way, let’s talk about one particular linebacker that has fallen from grace and a few that could fall going forward into 2022!
A Linebacker who has fallen…
Leighton Vander Esch
Do YOU remember when LVE tallied 140 total tackles in his rookie season? I sure as hell did not until researching for this article. I mean I remember he had a great rookie season but I totally forgot about just HOW good it was. The next two years following his rookie year he was plagued by injuries. In 2021, he finally went back to playing a full season…in which he had 77 total tackles in 17 games. He finished averaging 6.8 PPG.
With his 5th-year option not being picked up by Dallas and the Cowboys drafting Jabrill Cox out of LSU last year it appears he’s heading to free agency. Who will pick him up? Who knows and who cares.
I’m sure he’ll make a good LB5 or LB6 on someone’s roster next year in fantasy, but a decline in play both against the run and in coverage based on his stats the past few seasons and/or persistent neck injuries aren’t really a buying point for me.
Let him be some other manager’s problem.
Linebackers who could fall…
Devin Bush
Coming off of a shortened season in 2020 due to an ACL injury, Bush looked nothing like his 109 total tackle rookie season self in 2021. Based on his solo tackle rate as well as looking on film it was quite apparent that the burst he displayed in getting to the ball carrier in 2020 was lacking as he almost always ended up in the assisted tackle department.
Health notwithstanding, the Steelers need to decide if they want to pick up his fully guaranteed $10 million dollar 4th-year option heading into next season. This is definitely a make-or-break year for Devin Bush for this reason.
For dynasty purposes, he might already be a faller for some people. However, I place him in the “could fall” category solely based on the fact that I think he just needed another year to get healthier. In cases like this, it’s important to follow the money and see how committed they are to extending Bush. If they do so soon enough then you have a solid dynasty asset in your back pocket. If they don’t then you might want to think about offloading before his value tanks even farther than it has already has.
Deion Jones
Hold up! Did I make a mistake?! The LB14 who averaged 13.1 PPG is a linebacker who could fall?!
Yes, he is.
Jones is a linebacker who got bailed out by volume in the tackle department in 2021 which salvaged his fantasy output. That being said his missed tackle rate was abysmal, he rated near the bottom of the league in every measurable defensive category according to PFF, and he is due a decent chunk of money that should NOT go to someone who is playing as poorly as he did last season. Plus Atlanta looks to be in some salary cap hell that might lead to them getting Jones’ salary off the books or at least allocated to a more deserving player.
Translation: He might not play in Atlanta anymore going forward.
Try and get ahead of the curve on this one and get as much trade value as you can for Jones this offseason!
Patrick Queen
I know, I know…it was only his second year and I should cut the young man some slack. YOU can go ahead and do that if you want, but I want to win championships with players on my roster that look like they might actually have some longevity. Patrick Queen displayed none of that in his second season.
Now, I know Wink Martindale is no longer the defensive coordinator in Baltimore but coaching had nothing to do with Queen’s ability to miss hitting the broad side of a barn last season.
A 12.5% missed tackle rate for a middle linebacker?! You have ONE JOB….hit people coming right at you!
Queen finished as an LB4 in fantasy PPG last season.
One area that Queen DID look good, granted not by much, was in the pass-rushing department. If the Ravens fully commit to him being the WLB on this defensive unit and allow him to rush more there might be some hope. That being said I want a hashtag tackle machine (#TackleMachine) in my LB spot, not a converted middle linebacker who missed hitting opponents like Tim Tebow missed hitting his receivers. I would trade him away for name value ASAP if I was you!
