Welcome to our team’s weekly article on IDP Fantasy Football Upside in player performance for the upcoming week!
Fantasy football is a battle of attrition. From BYE weeks to injuries and every other malady along the way, fantasy managers must be able to navigate the waiver wire. I am here to help find hidden gems and players that will provide IDP Upside for Week 10.
Defensive Line
Dexter Lawrence (New York Giants)
Dexter Lawrence is having a monster season and has a chance to deliver his best performance! This would be huge, considering he has a five-tackle and two-sack game back in Week 4. While it is difficult to recommend a nose tackle among a DL, I love this matchup, considering the massive bust rate of the position. The Houston Texans, notably Kenyon Green and Scott Quessenberry, are a leaky sieve up the middle. Against interior DT and NT, the Texans have allowed 42 pressures. Just last week, my upside pick of Javon Hargrave finished as the DL1 in FantasyPros scoring. I won’t go as far as predicting a Top 3 finish, but I could see a DL1 finish!
Dexter Lawrence pass rush rankings among DT’s
— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) October 18, 2022
Sacks: 4 (2nd)
QB Hits: 10 (2nd)
Pressures: 13 (2nd)
He’s flat out balling this year and is just as valuable in the run game pic.twitter.com/MXYzdRTma8
Zach Allen (Arizona Cardinals)
Zach Allen is looking to return DL3 upside in Week 10 as he had demonstrated between Weeks 4 & 5. Last time the Cardinals and Rams battled, the Rams had Noteboom at LT, who seemingly held his own against Allen. This week tho, there are a few changes in store for the Rams. For one, Noteboom is out, and converted guard, Alaric Jackson, will get the start. Jackson had a good start in Week 9, allowing only one pressure, but all bets are off in a divisional matchup.
Allen is really having a strong season, as he is 13th among DT, with 24 pressures. While the pressure numbers are great, it’s his Top 36 rankings among DL in solo tackles (26th), assisted tackles (3rd), TFLs (16th), QB hits (13th), and passes defended (1st) that support the strong floor.
But the final piece to this upside puzzle lies in the Rams’ backfield. Matthew Stafford has been absent from practice due to the concussion protocol. If he is unable to go, John Wolford will get the start. Need I say more?
Zach Allen is trending way up for the Arizona Cardinals. pic.twitter.com/4K70xOrjA2
— Johnny Venerable (@JohnnyVenerable) September 22, 2022
Linebacker
Jayon Brown (Las Vegas Raiders)
Well, here we are! Blake Martinez has decided to retire rather than play for the Raiders. Denzel Perryman has missed multiple days of practice. Divine Deablo is on the IR. These situations leave only a few players at LB for Vegas. Of the names to consider, Luke Masterson, Darien Butler, and Jayon Brown, I see Brown as the recipient of the most snaps on Sunday.
With a good matchup against a Colts team that has surrendered the most points to opposing LBs, Jayon Brown is in a nice spot, assuming the snaps go his direction. While I won’t be entirely certain, considering Brown hasn’t played a snap since Week 4, his veteran status would make him the most likely to step right in. He will undoubtedly be a serious dropoff from Martinez or Perryman, but he has a Top 48 finish on the season (Week 2).
If you have the room, grab Brown and follow along with Denzel Perryman’s health status.
Elandon Roberts (Miami Dolphins)
Last week we saw the Miami coaching staff take the playcalling duties away from Jerome Baker and hand them to Elandon Roberts. It was about a year ago that we did this same song and dance with Roberts. He would get overhyped about his hard-hitting ways, and then he would disappoint, leading to a Jerome Baker “resurgence”. Well, here we are again. Roberts saw his snap% increase to 77% while Baker saw hid drop from 91% down to 61%. Roberts used those extra snaps to collect 10 total tackles, leading to an LB25 finish!
While this one-week sample size isn’t the end-all, be-all, it does give us a glimpse into an upside play for Week 10. The Dolphins are set to face the Cleveland Browns, who will look to keep the ball on the ground and out of the hands of Tua and Co. The Browns may not be the most generous team to opposing LBs (12th), but they have given up back-to-back double-digit points to multiple linebackers. Here is a chance to scoop up an LB off of waivers and get LB2/LB3 upside.
Defensive Back
Eric Rowe (Miami Dolphins)
With Brandon Jones out (😓), Eric Rowe has stepped in and inherited the desirable box snaps. In fact, he has done a good enough job to allow the Dolphins to let Jevon Holland roam deep at Free Safety. Last week. Rowe saw 77% of the snaps in Week 9, with 51 of the 57 total snaps played at the line of scrimmage or in the slot. He turned those snaps into seven tackles and a DB4 finish.
With an increased role this week and an ideal matchup against the Browns, there is DB2/DB3 upside. The Browns have allowed the 4th most points to the Safety position, and will look to keep the game on the ground as indicated above in the Elandon Roberts paragraph.
Antoine Winfield Jr (Tampa Bay Bucs)
Antoine Winfield Jr has cleared the concussion protocol and will travel with the team to Munich to do battle with the Seahawks. Winfield, prior to his concussion in Week 7, had put up at least five tackles in each game. Up until that point, he led the Bucs in tackles for loss, was 2nd in Solo tackles, and 2nd in sacks. In fact, despite not playing the past two games, he leads all DBs in sacks with three.
Look for Winfield to jump right back in the driver’s seat at slot corner and be all over the field. Regardless if the Seahawks want to try to attack on the ground or through the air, Winfield is capable of making them pay, as well as delivering IDP upside!