Injuries suck.
I know, I know—I’m all about clever intros.
Injuries are a part of football. Every year fantasy managers go into the season knowing that at least one of their starters will probably suffer a significant injury. If you make it through an entire campaign without any, then either you should win your league’s championship, or you didn’t draft especially well.
But that doesn’t make it any easier when the injury bug bites your team. After the past couple of weeks, there may not be a fantasy manager without a banged-up wideout—so much for receivers being less injury-prone than running backs, at least so far this season.
IDP managers are no more immune to the scourge of injuries than anyone else, and some fairly prominent defensive players went down in Week 2. Buffalo Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard appears to avoided the season ending pectoral tear that fellow linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley of the New England Patriots, but just a strain could cost him a month. New York Jets edge-rusher Jermaine Johnson tore his Achilles. Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner suffered a significant ankle injury. Linebackers C.J. Mosley of the Jets (toe) and Jerome Baker of the Seattle Seahawks (hamstring) left their games and did not return.
That’s not a complete list—but I’m starting to get depressed. So, let’s turn that frown upside down and start filling some holes in lineups.
IDP PICKUP OF THE WEEK
LB Troy Andersen, Atlanta
Andersen got off to a hot start last year, only to see a torn pectoral muscle wipe out most of his second season. The upside of that is that Andersen came into training camp fully healthy, and he told reporters that his goal this year wasn’t just to return to the field—it was to become a leader on Atlanta’s new-look defense.
“I mean, as a linebacker you have to be vocal. You have to do it to do your job. You have to have everyone on the same page, get the front set, get the adjustments in on the back end,” Andersen said. “If you’re not talking, you’re not doing your job. It comes with the territory, and I am definitely comfortable with that.”
For the first couple of games this year, Andersen was mired on a rotation with Nate Landman opposite Kaden Elliss in Atlanta. But now Landman has Landman-ed on injured reserve with an injured calf, opening the door for at least a month of Atlanta playing full-time. In Monday night’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles, that equated to nine total tackles, and Andersen showed last year he can maintain that level of production if the snaps are there.
WEEK 3 IDP WAIVER WIRE TARGETS
DT Zach Allen, Denver
You won’t see an interior lineman that often who plays as many snaps as Allen—of a possible 133 snaps this season, Allen has been on the field for 126 of them. Per Mike Klis of 9News in Denver, the sixth-year veteran said that he doesn’t see his durability as anything special—it’s just a product of his conditioning.
“It was more refining than doing something super different,’’ Allen said. “Probably a little extra stuff, extra conditioning. I kind of fell in love with the Echo Bike. But the main stuff comes from practice and the offseason, so it wasn’t like a complete 180-degree change in the workout program.”
Allen has long been a favorite of the Godfather inside—a tackle who doesn’t leave the field, which means more opportunities for tackles and sacks. Last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Allen made the most of those opportunities, amassing four tackles and a sack after logging a safety in the season opener. He probably isn’t going to post top-five fantasy numbers all season long, but managers in DT-required leagues with a hole inside could do a lot worse.
EDGE Odafe Oweh, Baltimore
Oweh’s first three seasons in Baltimore have been relatively quiet, although he did record five sacks in two of his first three seasons. The former first-round pick out of Penn State also missed time in both of those seasons, and Ravens pass-rush coach Chuck Smith told reporters all Oweh needs to do is stay healthy to have a breakout season in 2024.
“He needs to be on the field and continue to get those reps,” Smith said. “He needs to continue to do as he’s doing now – playing fast, executing his moves and things like that. And if he gets those five games and those other, arguably, 400-500 reps, he’s a double-digit sacker. He’s going to be an A-list rusher, and I’m just excited for him.”
After posting four tackles and a QB hit in the opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, Oweh was a force of nature last week against the Las Vegas Raiders, logging five tackles, two tackles for loss, three QB hits and 2.5 sacks. Talent was never the question with Oweh, and the Ravens thought enough of him to pick up his option for 2025 at $13.25 million. That may wind up being a bargain.
LB Tyrice Knight, Seattle
A fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft after racking up a whopping 140 tackles at UTEP in 2023, Knight flashed talent and athleticism in training camp and the preseason. But before the season began, Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald told Ari Horton of the team’s website that the youngster still had plenty to learn.
“He’s a rookie. He’s doing the things, he’s making the plays that he needs to make right now to compete, but he needs to keep chasing it. There needs to be a sense of urgency there on his mentality and he’s doing that. I told him, it’s going to take him three years. You haven’t made it yet buddy, you’ve got a ways to go. He’ll get there. We’re excited about him, but he’s got some room to grow.”
Knight got quite a bit of work with the first team in the offseason with Jerome Baker sidelined by injury, and with Baker out with a hamstring last week against New England Knight was pressed into action opposite Tyrel Dodson. His seven total stops weren’t jaw-dropping, but he played a full-time role, and Knight should be available in all but the deepest of IDP leagues.
LB Baylon Spector, Buffalo
Terrel Bernard is the defensive signal-caller and a captain for a Bills team with Super Bowl aspirations, so when he went down there was immense pressure on third-year pro Baylon Spector to step in as Buffalo’s defensive signal-caller. He told reporters after Buffalo’s blowout win over the Dolphins that it’s a role he feels prepared for.
“I was prepared for it. I mean, it’s the game of football. It’s happened before. It’s can happen again,” Spector said. “It happened last year. Clearly, same stadium. So, you just always got to be ready. I mean, you never know when your time’s going to be called and you just prepare each week the same way, and its football, it happens, and hopefully TB can get healthy and come back.”
Bernard appears to have avoided a season-ending injury, but he’ll be out several weeks. In his stead, Spector played every defensive snap and wound up tied for the team lead with 10 total tackles. He may just be a temporary solution for IDP managers with a hole at linebacker, but every-down “green dot” linebackers aren’t easy to come by on the waiver wire—even this early in the season.
S Quentin Lake, Los Angeles Rams
Lake has been called on to fill a very particular role in the Rams defense this year—that of the “Star.” In some sets, he lines up as a traditional safety. In others, he lines up in the slot. It’s an important part of the Rams defense, but Lake told the NFL Network’s The Insidersthat it’s a role he has been well-prepared to play.
“Obviously I’ve had my fair share of snaps at safety, at nickel, at a bunch of different positions. But Chris Shula, our defensive coordinator, and (head coach) Sean McVay, who I think is one of, if not the best coach in the NFL, really leaned on me this offseason to kind of lead that room,” Lake said. “And that’s something that I want to do, I want to have that leadership role, have that vocal leadership in the backend to help our team win games.”
Lake has been a rare bright spot in what is shaping up to be a miserable season for the injury-ravaged Rams, posting double-digit tackles in back-to-back games. With John Johnson out, Lake could see more time at safety moving forward, and the Rams’ starters at linebacker may well be the weakest duo in the NFL.
S Jordan Whitehead, Tampa Bay
Whitehead is on his second stint in Tampa—he played for the Buccaneers for his first four seasons before two years with the New York Jets. A two-way player at Pitt who played both running back and safety, Whitehead told Brianna Dix of the team’s website that playing the former has helped his play as the latter.
“If they are an aggressive running back, I have to use a different strategy in tackling them,” Whitehead said. “I was always a little running back, but I was strong, and I couldn’t take the hits on full so I would try and if they were going to tackle me high, I had to learn how to take the hit or spin out of the tackle. So, if they are a big running back, you have to learn how to get their legs down. But now, being on the other side, it is really a feel thing for the running back or the linemen or reads and run block reads and them firing off the ball or to just pop straight up. It helps with that, and it also helps with angles.”
Whitehead was certainly dialed in in Week 2. With star safety Antoine Winfield sidelined by an ankle injury, Whitehead played a major role in Tampa’s huge win in Detroit, tying for the team lead with 11 total tackles. Whitehead has had his moments as an IDP throughout his career, and while Winfield is out, he may just have a few more.
Gary Davenport (“The Godfather of IDP”) is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow him on Twitter (Can’t make him call it X) at @IDPSharks
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