Favorable IDP Matchups for Week 2 (2021)
Each week we’ll be taking a look at the upcoming NFL games and giving you our take on which IDPs have the most favourable matchups and who you should be considering starting in your fantasy football teams.
Let’s get started for week 2!
Tre Hendrickson (Defensive Lineman) – Cincinatti Bengals
Yes, I’m aware of how disappointing his Bengals debut was, but everyone deserves a second chance, right? Well, I can understand if you are the “fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, we won’t be fooled again” camp. I am here however to play the glass-half-full role. In last weeks’ game against the Vikings, Trey led all Bengals defenders with 5 QB pressures and 4 QB hurries. While those didn’t translate to fantasy points, it does set us up for potential upside this week against the thin offensive line in Chicago.
The Chicago Bears offensive line is coming off of a rough outing against the Rams in Week 1. The loss of LT Larry Borom and a less than 100% Jason Peters could mean a lot of pressure in the face of Andy Dalton. I look for Trey Hendrickson to be the beneficiary of a big redemption week! Don’t be shocked to see both Trey and Sam Hubbard check the sack boxes.
Azeez Al-Shaair (Linebacker) – San Fransisco 49ers
The rise of Azeez Al-Shaair is upon us 😤📈 #49ers || #FTTB pic.twitter.com/xJR8WCzAXE
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers_) September 14, 2021
It’s unfortunate that the 49ers will be without Dre Greenlaw for an extended period of time, but I don’t think 49er fans are going to see a drop in production. Azeez Al-Shaair will be the main beneficiary of the lost snaps and should jump right into a very productive situation for IDP purposes.
Last week, in a very odd game against the Lions, Al-Shaair filled in for an injured Greenlaw and really was the pulse of that team. Al-Shaair possesses excellent coverage skills and a high motor, which will bode well for his fantasy managers this week against an Eagles team that historically targets the TE and RB positions. Last week, Azeez was targeted a team-high 13 times by Goff and Co. With numerous injuries to SF, look for Al-Shaair to be all over the field.
Jaylon Smith (Linebacker) – Dallas Cowboys
As with the bump to Al-Shaair in the paragraph above, Jaylon Smith could see the benefit of an unfortunate injury to the Cowboys. It is now known that Demarcus Lawrence will miss the next 6-8 weeks and the Cowboys have maintained that they are not pursuing help from the outside. This most likely would mean that they are going to put 1st round pick, Micah Parsons, on the end and rotate more of LVE or Jaylon Smith at LB.
Last week, if you blinked, you would have missed Jaylon Smith’s 4 tackles. That is mostly because he did all of that work (I know, it’s only 4 tackles) in just 16 total snaps. While the 1/4 tackle per snap pace is unsustainable, it is particularly interesting if he can regain a 75% snap share this week vs LAC.
While we don’t know exactly how the snaps are going to be divided up, there is a decent chance that Smith and Neal will be the primary LB. This alone is an exploitable matchup considering that Smith was probably dropped in a majority of leagues after last week.
Kyle Dugger (Defensive Back) – New England Patriots
#FFIDP – Patriots safeties:
— Jon Macri (@PFF_Macri) September 13, 2021
Devin McCourty – 100%
Kyle Dugger – 93%
Adrian Phillips – 61%
Dugger played 56% of his snaps in the box. All system’s go for KD! https://t.co/Dk0YGM8Nf3
Here’s what we know…Kyle Dugger appears to be in line for a heavy dose of snaps again, with the majority of them lining up in the box! This is fantastic news for Dugger managers. Last week, Dugger played in 93% of snaps. In the 5 games that he has played 50+ snaps since entering the NFL, he has recorded no less than 5 tackles. This week, against rookie QB Zach Wilson, and the Jets, Dugger will be deployed in a variety of situations. He is big enough to stay up in the box (6’2″/220LB) but also possesses the speed and coverage ability to go and get the ball (4.42/40 & 10 INT in college).
With the Patriots expected to control this game, I look for Dugger to be able to see a decent amount of pass rushes against a pretty weak O-line in the Jets. As pointed out in my IDP Waiver Wire article, Matt Judon is a quality play, which could lead to an opportune time for Dugger to get that first INT of his young career.