The first in-season waiver pass in IDP leagues is a tricky time for fantasy managers.
There were developments in Week 1 that were genuinely concerning. After talking up linebacker Jack Campbell much of the offseason, his usage in the Detroit Lions’ season opener was about the same as last year—a snap count around 55 percent. K.J. Britt, who got a lot of run in some IDP circles as Devin White’s replacement for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, left the field in obvious passing situations.
That’s not good.
But IDP managers also need to be leery of the dreaded panic drop. Yes. Minnesota Vikings edge-rusher Jonathan Greenard laid an egg in a primo matchup with the New York Giants. But that happens with elite pass-rushers—Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers had a tackle and an assist against the New York Jets Monday night.
There is nothing worse in IDP leagues than dropping a player who is then scooped up by an opponent just before said player turns on the jets—especially when said jets are aimed directly at your team. A substantial portion of my claims this week will wind up being IDPs other teams have dropped. I’m a value vulture.
Caw.
So, as you peruse this week’s waiver wire recommendations, ask yourself this question—why are you dropping the player(s) you are? Is it a lack of playing time? An injury and lack of IR spots? Or just a bad week?
It’s admittedly easier to find replacements early in the season. But try as best you can to make sure that replacement’s production won’t wind up paleing next to the dude you replaced.
That’s right. I occasionally give actual, useful advice.
What’s the saying about broken clocks?
IDP PICKUP OF THE WEEK
EDGE Gregory Rousseau, Buffalo
There was a time when Rousseau wouldn’t be on waiver wires. But a pedestrian five sacks in 2023 left many IDP managers less than enthusiastic about the fourth-year veteran. That enthusiasm level is exponentially higher after Rousseau’s three-sack explosion against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1, although he deflected the attaboys hurled his way while addressing the media after Buffalo’s comeback win.
“I’m just happy to be out there with the guys that I’m out there with. That’s what it’s all about,” Rousseau said. “One day it might be me, the next it’s someone else. We just feed off each other’s energy.”
There’s a reason that Rousseau was once regarded as a rising young talent on the edge—in 2022, he posted eight sacks despite playing just 56 percent of the defensive snaps. Rousseau had six solos and a forced fumble Sunday in addition to those three sacks while playing 78 percent of Buffalo’s defensive snaps. He may not see that many snaps every week, but Rousseau looked like a man on a mission last week.
WEEK 2 IDP WAIVER WIRE TARGETS
EDGE Demarcus Lawrence, Dallas
Lawrence was once an IDP stalwart, recording at least 10.5 sacks in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018. But Lawrence had just 12 sacks over the past three years combined, which relegated him to the waiver wire in many leagues. But the 32-year-old entered the 2024 campaign healthy, and he told Patrik Walker of the team’s website he was eager to show he has something left in the tank.
“I feel great,” Lawrence said. “Just understanding what I’ve been through in the past and being able to adapt to the different things that my body has been through. Now that I’m a little seasoned, I can control those things–understanding when my body is hurting, to take a day off, or if it’s just a little ache or pain, I’ll push through it. I haven’t reached my goal in the NFL yet, and my goal is a Super Bowl. And I feel like that passion won’t leave until the body leaves first.”
Lawrence certainly looked like he isn’t washed just yet against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1, logging five total tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. Lawrence benefits now from all the attention from opponents that teammate Micah Parsons commands, and if he can stay on the field, one more big season is hardly out of the question.
EDGE Andrew Van Ginkel, Minnesota
Greenard may have disappointed in Week 1, but Van Ginkel most assuredly did not—four total tackles, a sack, and a pick-six against the Giants. While addressing the media after the game, Vikings head coach Kevin O’ Connell credited Van Ginkel’s time as an off-ball linebacker as something that helps him stay a step ahead of opposing offenses.
“It’s really just the feel, the presence, the confidence. He’s a major part of the communication. We can overload him so that we can let other people play fast around him,” O’Connell said. “He does not get enough credit for just the problem he is; diagnosing plays. It’s almost Mike linebacker-esque how he can diagnose things but he’s playing on the ball most of the time and having to do that with a heckuva lot less time and space to make those plays.
Van Ginkel’s an odd story—he opened last year as a starting inside linebacker in Miami before being forced to the edge by injuries, where he responded with half a dozen sacks and a higher pressure rate than T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 29-year-old appears to have carried that momentum over into his new home in the Twin Cities.
LB Zack Baun, Philadelphia
There may not be a hotter name on IDP Waiver Wires this week than Baun, and with good-reason—the fifth-year veteran had as many sacks Friday against the Packers as in four years with the Saints and led the Eagles with 15 total tackles—including 11 solos. As Brooks Kubena wrote for The Athletic, Baun appears to be thriving in Vic Fangio’s defense.
“Baun’s blend of experience both in the box and as an edge rusher in his career has so far proven beneficial in Fangio’s system,” he said. “Baun was effective between the tackles; nine of his tackles limited the Packers to three yards or less. Baun’s two sacks suggest he can be a brutal blitzer. That those rushes were called on a first-down situation and a third-down scenario fulfilled Fangio’s adage of blitzing when he wants to, not because he has to.”
The Godfather would say that Baun can’t possibly make this kind of impact on a weekly basis, but that idiot also questioned whether Baun would be successful at all playing as an off-ball linebacker. Baun also played every defensive snap for Philly in Week 1—he could wind up being the sort of surprise star that wins leagues, and he’s available in a lot more leagues than he should be.
LB Henry To’oTo’o, Houston
With Christian Harris on injured reserve to open the 2024 season, the Texans were forced to turn to youngster Henry To’oTo’o opposite Azeez Al-Shaair at inside linebacker. Ahead of last week’s opener against the Indianapolis Colts, To’oTo’o told reporters the plan was to play loose and fast—while applying the lessons learned on the field a year ago.
“Man, just come out and play ball,” To’oTo’o said. “I think we’ve been doing it for a while. Next man up, doing exactly what we did throughout camp. Coach DeMeco can build trust with you if you do your job consistently over and over. We’re excited about the opportunity. I’m excited to play a lot of ball. Man, we’ve got to dictate and dominate. That’s our motto as a team, as a defensive group, kind of demand dominance from everybody. Really another opportunity for kind of demanding that violence from everybody.”
The Houston defense didn’t exactly dominate, but IDP managers don’t get fantasy points for dominance—they get them from stats. In that regard the second-year pro from Alabama held up his end, pacing the Texans with seven stops, a tackle for loss and a pass defended while playing 89 percent of the snaps. With three-down linebackers hard to come by on the wire, To’oTo’o is worth an add—even if he likely carries an expiration date.
S Javon Bullard, Green Bay
A second-round round pick out of Georgia, Bullard has impressed the staff in Green Bay from Day 1—so much so that he was named the Week 1 starter opposite Xavier McKinney. Bullard told reporters that the opportunity to play (and start) for such a storied franchise as the Packers is a dream come true.
“I’m a winner,” he said. “I want to win at all costs. Whatever that may be. Winners like to hang around winners, If you’re a winner and you want to hang around losers than sooner or later you can possibly become a loser. I like to hang around winners and I feel like this organization is all about winning, so I feel like God placed me in the best place possible.”
For clarity’s sake, this week I used Deathmatch as the benchmark for available players—a 40-team league split into four conferences where 110 IDPs start every week. Bullard heads into Week 2 available in all four conferences of that league, although after playing all 76 snaps against the Eagles last week and tallying 11 total tackles he likely won’t stay that way—especially with Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. out at least a couple of weeks with a bad ankle.
S Nick Cross, Indianapolis
It has been an up-and-down two years and change for Cross in Indianapolis. The third-round pick out of Maryland made a start here and there, but he wasn’t able to carve out a consistent role on defense. But over the summer, Colts general manager Chris Ballard told reporters that may have been as much the fault of the team as the player.
“It wasn’t Nick’s fault that we drafted him at (age) 20. That’s on me,” Ballard said. “He’s young. Then you get up here and you talk glowingly about him, and you almost blow the expectations to where we all expect something, and you forget how young he was. But I think you’ve seen a guy that just consistently gets better each and every week.”
In his third season, Cross has earned that full-time role opposite Julian Blackmon at the back end of the Colts’ defense. It’s not especially likely that both Indy safeties will record double-digit tackles the way they did in the team’s Week 1 loss to the Houston Texans, but a widely available safety who racked up a team-leading 14 total stops in the season-opener can’t be ignored.
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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