The months of anticipation have finally culminated in the conclusion of the first week of football! Wow, what a crazy first week!
While many will argue that a league is won or lost at the draft, I would disagree. Yes, you can position yourself nicely with a solid draft, but any great fantasy player will tell you that the waiver wire is where champions are born. I am going to do the digging for waiver wire gold and let you guys sport the bling. Below are 3 players who are criminally under-owned at the DL, LB, and DB positions and should be available on your waiver wire.
Here are our IDP WAIVER WIRE TARGETS FOR YOU THIS WEEK!
Defensive Lineman: Christian Wilkins
| % Rostered (FantasyPros Consensus) | 16 |
| Week 1 Fantasy Points | 19.5 |
| FPPG (Fantasy Points Per Game) | N/A |
Last years’ 13th overall pick out of Clemson put on a show in his return to his home state for only the 2nd time. Collecting 6 tackles (5 solo), 1 sack, 2 TfL, and 2 Passes defended, Wilkins showed off the talent that Miami had coveted in their 1st round pick. After facing the most rushing attempts in week 1 (42), the Dolphins come back home to face the Bills, another run-heavy team. Look for the 69% snap share to improve. Plus, he has these moves!
Defensive Lineman: Chase Young
| % Rostered (FantasyPros Consensus) | 19.5 |
| Week 1 Fantasy Points | 14.5 |
| FPPG (Fantasy Points Per Game) | N/A |
I think we all knew that Chase Young was going to have an impact on the NFL at some point, but I don’t think those same people assumed it would be so soon. In his first NFL action, Young played in nearly 80% of the defensive snaps. Not only did he get a large portion of the snaps, but he also took full advantage of them. Young tallied 4 tackles, 1 FF, and 1.5 sacks. While playing against a swiss cheese offensive line in Philly could definitely inflate ones’ stats, his constant pressure in the backfield and snap share give me an opportunistic outlook. Let’s be honest, it won’t be long before he is putting up video game numbers.
Defensive Lineman: Trey Flowers
| % Rostered (FantasyPros Consensus) | 6.4 |
| Week 1 Fantasy Points | 18.25 |
| FPPG (Fantasy Points Per Game) | N/A |
Flowers, entering his 2nd season in Detroit under new/old coach Matt Patricia, started the 2020 season off with a bang. Consistently in the backfield, despite only getting to Trubisky once for 1 sack and a Forced Fumble, he played disruptor for the majority of the game. That is until the Bears played the role of spoiler and marched back to take the W out of the clutches of their hands. Flowers added in 6 tackles to go along with the sack and FF. Next week, Detroit heads to GB to face the seemingly pass-happy Packers.
Edge Rusher: Aldon Smith
| % Rostered (FantasyPros Consensus) | 2.4 |
| Week 1 Fantasy Points | 18.75 |
| FPPG (Fantasy Points Per Game) | N/A |
What a triumphant return to the NFL for Aldon Smith. Out of the league since 2015 for off the field issues ranging from DUI to Substance Abuse, the Cowboys took a significant gamble bringing him back. While it’s only 1 week, it sure seems to appear it could pay dividends. On a night where the Cowboys left Los Angeles disappointed in their offense, Smith provided a much needed bright light. The fastest player in NFL history to record 30 sacks looked as explosive as we remember. Smith posted 11 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 QB hits. Playing in 74% of the snaps is amazing, but with the loss of Leighton Vander Esch, expect those snap totals to increase going forward.
Linebacker: Jerome Baker
| % Rostered (FantasyPros Consensus) | 13.3 |
| Week 1 Fantasy Points | 31.75 |
| FPPG (Fantasy Points Per Game) | N/A |
Jerome Baker was literally everywhere on the field. While he has always had the tackle volume, he added in the pass rush this weekend in the divisional loss to the Patriots. The clear leader among the LB’s, Baker could be on the verge of a 3rd season breakout. Baker totaled 16 tackles (13 solo), 1 sack, and 1 FF. In week 2, Baker and the Dolphins face another mobile QB in Josh Allen and the Bills. Expect another run-heavy attack and plenty of tackles for Baker.
Linebacker: Micah Kiser
| % Rostered (FantasyPros Consensus) | 2.3 |
| Week 1 | 12.75 |
| FPPG (Fantasy Points Per Game) | N/A |
Kiser played in 100% of the snaps in week 1! That is the immediate takeaway. Add in the fact that the Rams let Littleton walk, and it all adds up to a potential monster season for Kiser. He recorded 7 tackles, but most importantly are the 2 passes defended, which was tops among LB in week 1. The Rams face the Eagles in week 2 and I have to assume the Aaron Donald show will lead to a lot of short and intermediate passes, which is tackle soup for the IDP soul.
Defensive Back: Jeremy Chinn
| % Rostered (FantasyPros Consensus) | 4.2 |
| Week 1 Fantasy Points | 11.25 |
| FPPG (Fantasy Points Per Game) | N/A |
I have been on the Jeremy Chinn bandwagon since day 1! Expected to play a role at SS, he started week 1 at Strong Side LB and played in 100% of the snaps. Despite the talk of him being in the backup role at safety, he stepped into the LB role and delivered huge. Not only did he prove ready to play at multiple positions, but his 8 tackles were also 2nd to only Shaq Thompson. If you happened to listen to our podcast “The Fantasy Playbook Pod” by Fantasydata.com, I discuss his potential to play a big role. You can listen to it here
Defensive Back: Emmanuel Moseley
| % Rostered (FantasyPros Consensus) | 2 |
| Week 1 Fantasy Points | 19.5 |
| FPPG (Fantasy Points Per Game) | N/A |
Moseley was attacked often in the 49ers week 1 loss to the Cardinals. While I don’t normally recommend CB to be inserted into your lineups at DB when the S position is so much more consistent when it comes to fantasy scoring, I can see a path for Moseley both being picked on but also coming up with the big plays. Taking over in 2019 for the final 9 games, Moseley totaled 50 tackles, 8 PD’s and 1 Int. Let me be clear, I don’t see 15 tackles happening again for Moseley, but considering Richard Sherman is on the opposite side, I see plenty of QB’s trying to pick on him.
Defensive Back: Marcus Maye
| % Rostered (FantasyPros Consensus) | 1 |
| Week 1 Fantasy Points | 31.75 |
| FPPG (Fantasy Points Per Game) | N/A |
I was really confident that Bradley McDougald would take over the role of Jamal Adams. I was wrong. Marcus Maye stepped right into those shoes and played admirably. Maye played in 100% of the snaps, had 10 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 passes defended, and 1 FF. Going forward, it’s also safe to assume that the Jets offense will be pretty anemic, which means that Maye and Co. should be on the field for considerable snaps.
