What’s up, fellow IDP degenerates! I have a brand new series that I will be bringing you all each week called the IDP Round Up!
Looking at the box scores each week has been adequate for many to stay competitive in the IDP streets, but how do you gain a noticeable edge? That is the goal of this article. I want to dig deep into each game and find stats, notes, injuries, trends, etc.; all with the intention of giving the tools to be proactive in your approach.
Which players are under-appreciated and deserve another chance? Which teams are putting their players in a better position to score fantasy points? Who is the next big waiver wire add that you can get a week earlier than the competition?
Welcome to The IDP Roundup from Week 4 (2023).
DET @ GB
- If you had concerns with Aidan Hutchinson as a DL1, you can erase those concerns. Hutchinson is tied for the league lead in pressures with 27, while playing on 91% of the teams’ snaps.
- Brian Branch left the game multiple times with an ankle injury. Speculation as to whether or not he will play in Week 5, but if he plays, he is breaching the “must-play” territory.
- Rashan Gary still hasn’t eclipsed the 40% snap share in a single game, but continues to be electric in the pass-rush. Among DL, Gary is 13th in pressures, but 75th in pass-rush snaps. Try to buy low before he is unleashed completely.
TB @ NO
- Ryan Neal exited the game with a concussion. The Bucs are on BYE in Week 5, so Neal should be ready to return in Week 6.
- Vita Vea was the DL9 on the Week, recording two sacks to bring his season total to 3.5. If you play in a DT league, check waivers after this week to see if he was dropped for BYE week.
LA @ IND
- Aaron Donald added another eight pressures to his impressive season total (22). His 22 through the first four games are more than he has had over that span since the 2020 season. It’s good to have this level of Aaron Donald in the NFL.
- Kwity Paye left Week 4 with a concussion. Dayo Odenigbo was the recipient of increased playing time, and will face the Titans in Week 5, who have allowed the 5th most sacks in the NFL.
- Shaq Leonard aggravated his nagging back injury, which resulted in EJ Speed seeing the larger share of snaps. Speed could be a sneaky waiver wire add as his 4 tackles for loss are near the league-lead among ILB.
ATL @ JAX
- With Troy Anderson on the IL, it was Nate Landman who really stepped in and played well. If you picked him up on waivers last week, he rewarded you with 10 tackles and a solid LB3 finish.
- Another backup LB seeing an increase in playing time, Chad Muma, had a solid game. Muma played 99% of the snaps, recorded seven tackles and had two passes defended. With Lloyd set to miss a few weeks, if Muma is still available, he is worth a nice FAAB bid.
- The “real” Josh Allen posted another 3-sack performance. As you can imagine, he is the only player to have multiple 3-sack games on the short season.
MIN @ CAR
- Even without Xavier Woods, Jeremy Chinn doesn’t exceed the 64% snap mark. The production was there despite limited snaps, but it makes it hard to trust week in and week out.
- Despite Deion Jones being inactive, Kamu Grugier-Hill only played 29% of the snaps. His missed tackle rate and poor play didn’t elicit hope from Ejiro Evero when asked if he was going to start this past week. We should have listened…
- The Minnesota Vikings have as many blitzes as the Bears, Lions, and Cardinals…..COMBINED
- Harrison Smith has a game for the ages, with 14 tackles (2 TFL), three sacks and a forced fumble. Harrison’s pass-rush snaps on the season (31) are more than he has ever had through four games, and are more than he had all of 2022.
- Ivan Pace’s snaps have continued to drop week over week.
DEN @ CHI
- Great game statistically for Delarrin Turner-Yell with nine solo tackles and a pass defensed. Justin Simmons should return this week, so pay no more attention.
- Nic Bonitto had been a mention of mine this past week, but the lack of snaps had me concerned. The Broncos have now released Randy Gregory, which opens up a huge opportunity for Bonitto. 3.5 sacks and a 16% pressure-rate.
- Drew Sanders filled in admirably for Josey Jewell, playing 79% of the snaps and collecting seven tackles. Jewell could return soon
- Jack Sanborn played 65% of snaps, with 45% of them coming in the slot. Sanborn was effective with limited work, but hard to trust without an injury.
WAS @ PHI
- Chase Young deserves our attention. I will admit, I was in the “fool me once” camp, but he now is 15th in pressures and the current DL24 in FantasyPros scoring. It’s not all luck either as he is 9th in win-rate.
- Cody Barton may not offer much in the other counting stats, but if you’re looking for a solid tackle floor, look no further. 14% tackle rate/15th in total tackles in NFL
- Cody Barton has a teammate who is tied with him for the team lead in tackles, that man is Kamren Curl. Curl is set to shatter his previous bests in every category, securing his spot as a DB1 week in and week out.
- The Eagles have a team pressure rate of 53.6%. This was on display as they generated 32 pressures against the Commanders.
- Jalen Carter led the way in pressures for the Eagles with five. His 20 pressures only trail Aaron Donald among interior DL.
- Nicholas Morrow only had five tackles heading into Week 4. After his first productive game all year, he is now up to 16 tackles. The 11 tackles were nice, but the three sacks and forced fumble paved the way to his 1st LB1 week. With 100% of the tackles, I could see more LB2/LB3 weeks in his future.
BLT @ CLE
- Clowney led the way with six pressures for Baltimore, but didn’t record a sack. The sack-to-pressure ratio has never really been in his favor, as this is the 8th game dating back to 2020 in which he had <5 pressures without a sack.
- Kyle Van Noy made a strong first impression with the Ravens. He had four pressures across 15 pass-rush snaps. With the injuries mounting for the Ravens, and matchups against the Steelers and Titans over the next two weeks, he could be a sneaky value.
- Kyle Hamilton was bound to come back to Earth. While he did have five tackles and an interception, he was held without a pass-rush snap for the first time dating back to Week 6 of 2022. Keep the blitzes coming!
- The Browns’ LB room has watched Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Anthony Walker take turns with the snap% leads. I don’t want any piece of this chaos, honestly.
PIT @ HOU
- Linebacker snaps have been inconsistent outside of Cole Holcomb, which means I am continuing to avoid Kwon Alexander and Elandon Roberts.
- Denzel Perryman missed Week 4, which resulted in another solid week for Henry To’oTo’o. Perryman is set to return in Week 5, so it will be interesting to see how they divvy up those snaps.
- Christian Harris saw his largest snap share of the season (89%), and responded with 12 tackles. With Perryman returning, it’s going to be tough to replicate those snaps.
LV @ LAC
- Khalil Mack was an absolute terror, racking up six sacks, 10 tackles and two forced fumbles. Despite the nine pressures, he still only has a 14.7% pressure rate.
- Kendricks was handled with kid gloves this past week, but with the BYE week in Week 5, Kendricks should back to full strength against the Cowboys in Week 6
- Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo were both recommended “sits/fades” for me, and they combined for eight total tackles. Gone are the days of both playing 95% snaps…Deablo’s snap% are no longer “Divine”
NE @ DAL
- Matthew Judon suffered a torn bicep in Week 4. A devastating blow for one of the league’s best pass rushers.
- Christian Gonzalez, a true frontrunner for Defensive Rookie of the Year, tore his labrum and dislocated his shoulder. The Patriots expect Gonzalez to miss the remainder of the season…Rough week for the Patriots.
- Keion White should be in line for an increase in snaps as a result of the Judon injury. White had a strong pre-season and could be a sneaky deep-league grab.
- Marte Mapu saw a season-high 35 snaps for the Patriots. With the injuries across the Patriots’ defense, Mapu could be thrust into a higher snap% role. His athleticism and versatility is worth monitoring.
- Kyle Dugger was finally back over 50% box snaps, something we love to see! Dugger was magnificent in Week 4, collecting 15 tackles!
- Damone Clark is coming off of a game that could have some positive underlying metrics. His 89.3 PFF run defense grade was a team-high, resulting in six tackles and a season-high, three stops.
- Donovan Wilson will look to get back to 90% snaps in Week 5. Even on limited snaps (56%) (45% box snaps), he tallied six tackles
ARI @ SF
- Dennis Gardeck is an enigma. For starters, he is 7th in the NFL with four sacks. Those four sacks come on only seven pressures, which is 68th among edge rushers. To make it even more confusing, he is 5th among edge rushers with 25 coverage snaps. Make it make sense?
- Despite playing only 34% in the box (compared to his normal 59%) this past week, K’Von Wallace was productive with eight tackles.
KC @ NYJ
- 1st-round pick, Jermaine Johnson continues to disappoint. Johnson failed to record a single pressure, bringing his season total to five (4.7% pressure rate). Of the 40 edge rushers with at least 105 pass-rush snaps, his five are the fewest in the league.
- Nick Bolton missed his 2nd game of the season, which paved the way for another productive game by Drue Tranquill. His eight tackles led the Chiefs, but it appears Bolton is trending in the right direction.
SEA @ NYG
- Coming off of an incredible game by Micah McFadden in Week 3, the blowout at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks limited the ceiling in Week 4.
- After only seeing 26% of the snaps in the box through the first two weeks, Jason Pinnock has seen that number creep up near 40%. As the box snaps increase, so does his IDP value.
- Jamal Adams left Week 4 with a concussion and apparently wasn’t too happy with the Dr on the sideline. The Seahawks are on a BYE in Week 5, but there could be future discipline by the NFL. Stay Tuned
- The barrage that the Seahawks unleashed on New York Monday night was exactly what a few pass-rushers needed, Uchenna Nwosu for one.
MIA @ BUF
- The Dolphins were without Jaelan Phillips again, allowing Andrew Van Ginkel a full allotment of snaps. He turned those snaps into five tackles and two sacks. In the two games without Phillips, Van Ginkel has totaled 11 tackles, three sacks, four TFLs, and 1 PD.
- Jerome Baker may be playing himself out of a full-time role and paving the way for David Long to be their LB1. Baker has played 75% over the past two games, while David Long saw 93% in Week 4.
- Christian Wilkins is an enigma. Highly drafted DT for his tackle upside, who has shown no tackle upside outside of a six tackle game vs NE. What is interesting is that he has a sack and 10 pressures on the season, which we didn’t expect. It took him until Week 7 to get to 10 pressures and a sack. The Dolphins will face the Giants and the Panthers over the next two weeks, both less than average offensive lines.
- Jordan Poyer missed Week 4, but was spotted at practice on Wednesday. If he goes, you can give him a go vs JAX. If he does miss Week 5, Taylor Rapp filled in nicely with six tackles.
- Von Miller is back at practice with the Bills, and should be ready to go over the next week or two. Through 11 games last year, Miller had 19 blitzes, he turned those 19 blitzes into 16 QB hurries..which was tops in 2022 (in only 11 games)
CIN @ TEN
- Good to see Myles Murphy collect his first NFL sack. If an injury were to strike Hubbard or Trey, Murphy could be a solid waiver wire add.
- Harold Landry III had another disappointing week as he tries to get back to pre-injury form. Landry only has four pressures, despite playing 100 pass-rush snaps (4% pressure rate).
