This time of year, the IDP waiver wire can get a little—weird.
It’s not just a matter of young players thrust into larger roles by an injury who step up and post big numbers. No, this time of year other options sometimes become available. There are veterans who were either injured, started slow or both.
Fantasy managers needed the roster spot—or wanted an upgrade. So, players were cut loose you wouldn’t normally find on the waiver wire—the kind who could ostensibly make quite the nice dent in a starting lineup. The kind who can come in awfully handy with bye weeks upon us and injuries continuing to mount.
Again, to be clear, I didn’t just pull these names out of thin air. Everyone in this article was available in either The Huddle IDP Experts League or Deathmatch: The Deathening. The former is a long-running IDP Analyst’s league I have been in for well over a decade. The other is an IDP league I’ve run for a similar amount of time.
Neither is the kiddie pool. It’s the deep end, folks.
And as it turns out, there are some good-sized fish in the water.
IDP PICKUP OF THE WEEK
LB Pete Werner, New Orleans
After signing a three-year extension in the offseason, Werner made it a month into the season before suffering a hamstring injury that cost the 25-year-old about a month. The former Ohio State standout made his return to the field last week against the Los Angeles Chargers, and as Bob Rose wrote for Saints on SI, that return couldn’t come soon enough.
“Where Werner has been missed the most is as a run defender,” Rose wrote. “Demario Davis remains one of the NFL’s best all-around linebackers. Werner has been a perfect complement to him over the last three years, an underrated component to this defense. In the previous two seasons, Werner had 173 tackles and 116 solo stops. Those numbers were second only to Davis over that span. A sure tackler, this is an area where the Saints have struggled at a massive level in his absence.”
Werner wasn’t lighting up the stat sheet before he got hurt, but he has played essentially every defensive snap in each of his last three starts. In Week 8 against the Los Angeles Chargers, that role translated to a season-high nine total tackles with two tackles for loss. The cupboard isn’t exactly overflowing at linebacker on the waiver wire—a proven full-time player is absolutely worth a look.
WEEK 9 IDP WAIVER WIRE TARGETS
EDGE Dayo Odeyingbo, Indianapolis
Never let it be said that depth on the edge isn’t important. The Colts have suffered their share of injuries on the defensive front, but the unit has weathered the storm, largely because Odeyingbo has shined in a larger role. Colts director of college scouting Morocco Brown told the team’s website that he isn’t at all surprised that the fourth-year veteran has come into his own.
“He’s an impressive talent, and you just couldn’t bypass what he brings to the table, not just from the skillset that he’s going to bring individually but how he’ll help our defensive line and our front as a whole,” Brown said. “Because it’s a team game, and when you’re able to dominate that line of scrimmage, you pretty much can control the game and own the game how you want to do it.”
Odeyingbo had been in a funk of late, but he snapped out of it in a big way against the Houston Texans—four tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. That performance was enough to land Odeyingbo the seventh-best stat line from a defensive lineman last year—and get him a spot in this week’s waiver wire column.
EDGE Azeez Ojulari, New York Giants
When Kayvon Thibodeaux went down for the Giants, it appeared to be a major blow to the team’s pass rush. But Ojulari has stepped up in a big way—so much so that he’s a hot name in trade rumors as the deadline nears. The 24-year-old told reporters he’s just interested in keeping his hot streak going.
“I’m just working, man,” he said. “I know it’s business. I’m just here every single day grinding with my teammates, just blessed to keep working hard one day at a time. Take every opportunity. Never take it for granted. I’m just trying to go one day at a time. Just take advantage of every opportunity, every practice, every rep I get. Just trying to improve myself and help this team and help this defense try to win at the end of the day.”
Ojulari had seven total tackles and two sacks in Monday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, giving him a whopping five sacks over his last three games. Over that three-week span no defensive lineman in the NFC has more fantasy points, and that sounds like the sort of IDP fantasy managers should want on their roster.
LB Mohamoud Diabate, Cleveland
The Cleveland Browns have been blasted by injuries at linebacker again—Jordan Hicks missed Week 8, and Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah wound up hospitalized after Derrick Henry ran him over last week. Mohamoud Diabate made the start in place of Hicks last week and reveled in the stop the Browns got to secure a win over the rival Ravens.
“Shoot, we know the situation,” Diabate told reporters. “You get the stop, you win. So, our coaches prepare us for those situations every single day. So, we were prepared for the situation when it came and we were able to take advantage of it, get off the field and get the W.”
Diabate had arguably the best game of his young career against the Ravens, playing 89 percent of the defensive snaps and making nine total tackles with a tackle for loss. Given the depleted state of Cleveland’s linebacker corps, the second-year pro will likely make at least one more start Sunday at home against the Los Angeles Chargers.
LB Drue Tranquill, Kansas City
Frankly, it has been something of a rocky 2024 season so far for Tranquill. After signing a three-year, $19 million extension with the team in the offseason, Tranquill hadn’t made the impact this year that he did a season ago. But as Shawn O’ Brate wrote for Arrowhead Addict, that changed in last week’s win over the Raiders in Las Vegas.
“Before leaving the game late with an injury late in the fourth quarter, Tranquill was having himself a game with one sack, three tackles for loss, and six total tackles including a big QB hit,” he said. “Since coming to Kansas City from the Chargers, Tranquill’s proven to be a wily vet who knows where to be no matter what type of offense he’s facing. He knew where to be in the fourth quarter as well when he recovered the fumble that eventually set up the Chiefs’ final touchdown drive of the game.”
Tranquill was drafted in the vast majority of IDP leagues this summer, but lower-than-expected tackle numbers got him the gate in many places. Six stops aren’t an especially impressive number, but a big play here and there could help compensate for that—and we have seen what Tranquill can do in Kansas City, including a 10-stop game against the Chargers a month ago.
S Eddie Jackson, Baltimore
Jackson spent most of the summer languishing in free agency before latching on with the Ravens just before the season began. The eight-year veteran and two-time Pro Bowler told Ryan Mink of the team’s website that the Ravens were a perfect fit for him as a player—a player determined to show that that he still has plenty left in the tank.
“[I want to show] that I’m still the type of player that I know I am, that I still can go out there. I can compete, I can fly around, make plays,” Jackson said. “I can come in and contribute to a team. I know the type of person I am off the field as well. I just want to show that around the league and to everyone.”
After playing in a rotational role early in the season, Jackson was elevated to full-time starter last week against the Cleveland Browns when the Ravens decided to bench Marcus Williams. Jackson has racked up 18 total stops over the past two games, including 10 in Week 8. We know a healthy Jackson can produce if the snaps are there. For now at least, they are.
S Harrison Smith, Minnesota
Smith has been a fixture at the back of the Minnesota defense for a whopping 13 years. Over that time, he has been named to six Pro Bowls. Made 182 starts. Logged almost 1,100 total tackles. Intercepted 35 passes. And as the 35-year-old told Tyler Dunne of Go Long, become rather philosophical about the game he loves.
“I’m going to control what I can control,” Smith says. “Do what I can be to make myself the best I can and then permeate that throughout the guys I’m around, the team I’m around. And at the end, you look up and see where you’re at. Obviously, everyone has the same goal and then there’s going to be this ride that you go on every season. How do you respond to that ride? Good or bad? And it’s just a long game you’ve got to play. Everyone’s got to play on their own, but collectively as well. That’s the beauty of football. The physicality that’s added in. The pain. The love.”
There was a time when Smith would have been one of the first defensive backs drafted in IDP leagues. But as he’s gotten older his statistical production hasn’t matched his value to the Minnesota defense. However, over his last three games Smith has tallied 21 tackles, added a sack and posted top-20 fantasy numbers among defensive backs. Hell, Smith’s worth a look from IDP managers just for nostalgia’s sake.
