It’s time to Wrap Up the 2019 IDP fantasy season by discussing some key takeaways from the year. In this series, we will analyze trends, identify studs, risers, and fallers, and project some sleepers for 2020 for each IDP position group. In this article, we’ll focus on defensive ends. So, without further ado, let’s wrap up the 2019 NFL Regular Season at defensive end!
Part 1: Defensive Tackle Wrap Up
What We Learned This Year
No surprises here. The three top tier defensive ends are as talented as they are tenacious. Danielle Hunter led all defensive ends in 2019, with Cameron Heyward and Joey Bosa nipping at his heels. Hunter and Bosa are only 24 years old, while Heyward is the grown man of the bunch at 30. Looking forward, I expect the two young superstar pass rushers (Bosa and Hunter) to consistently lead the league in IDP production for the next few years, barring injury.
There were five teams that produced multiple top 20 finishers at defensive end. The teams were Cincinnati, Los Angeles (Chargers), Jacksonville, Washington, and San Francisco. It’s interesting that only five squads rostered 50% of the top 20 IDP defensive ends in the league. It also goes to show that:-
1) When a pass rusher is playing well for a defense, others on that line will typically benefit.
2) Defensive scheme matters when analyzing defensive end production.
Major injuries to impact the defensive end world in 2019 were J.J. Watt, who missed eight games with a torn pec muscle and Stephon Tuitt, who lead the league in IDP scoring through five weeks before suffering his own pec injury. If Tuitt and Watt stay healthy next year, they could provide league winning performances in 2020.
Player Comparison – Top 20 IDP producers
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Risers
Arik Armstead – San Francisco 49ers
Armstead, in his first four years as a 49er, created nine sacks. Armstead, in his fifth season out of Oregon, finished 2019 with 10 sacks. In addition to the incredible increase in sack totals, Armstead produced 54 total tackle, 11 tackles for loss, and two passes defended. Still only 25, Armstead becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2020 and could garner plenty of interest on the open market. However, if he stays in San Francisco, across from Nick Bosa, he’ll be in line for double-digit sack opportunities for many years to come.
Maxx Crosby – Las Vegas Raiders
As a rookie out of Eastern Michigan, Crosby was a nightmare for opposing offensive linemen in 2019. The 22-year old, fourth-round pick, completed his first year with 47 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles, 10 sacks, and 4 passes defended for the Raiders. He’s on pace for one outstanding career if he can keep the fire going.
Shaq Lawson – Buffalo Bills
The former Clemson star may finally be living up to his potential. Lawson, heading into his fifth year in the NFL, is coming off of a career season. The former 2016 first-round pick tallied career highs in total tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks in 2019. Before the season, Buffalo declined Lawson’s fifth-year option, which makes the man a free agent going into the 2020 season.
Fallers
Jurrell Casey – Tennessee Titans
Casey has been so consistent throughout his career that when I noticed his slight decline in 2019, mostly due to injury, I thought about giving the 305-pound lineman the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, the USC alum has played 6,431 snaps in his nine-year career. That many snaps, combined with the physical brand of football Casey plays, makes me think the veteran may be in line for more injuries and fewer snaps going forward.Â
Ziggy Ansah – Seattle Seahawks
Ansah’s shoulders just can’t hold up for a full season anymore. Since finishing 16 games as a pro-bowler in 2015, Ansah has missed 21 games over the past four seasons. The incredibly promising athlete had a heck of a start to his career, but the former BYU beast is now in full decline five years later.
Demarcus Lawrence – Dallas Cowboys
After two consecutive double-digit sack seasons, the Cowboys gave Lawrence a multi-year mega-deal that might end up compensating Lawrence over $100 million dollars when all is said and done.
In my opinion, the star’s new financial security may have been a factor in his 2019 results. The former second-round pick only produced five fairly listless sacks on the season.
Sleepers
Kyle Phillips – New York Jets
Phillips, a rookie out of Tennessee, came to New York as an undrafted free agent prior to the season. In his limited time on the field, Phillips was able to produce strong numbers for the Jets, including 29 total tackles and 1.5 sacks. Consider Phillips a nice little stash in deeper IDP leagues.
Chase Winovich – New England Patriots
In Winovich’s first five games as a Patriot, the third-round selection played well, managing three tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in only five games. Unfortunately, after that solid start, the former Michigan Wolverine fell off the map thereafter, garnering only one tackle for loss and 1.5 sacks the rest of the season. That said, Winovich is almost certainly in line for more snaps in 2020. Plus, at 24 years old, Winovich has plenty of time to crack into the DE2 realm while still on his rookie deal. Â
Rasheem Green – Seattle Seahawks
Green accounted for 27 total tackles and four sacks in roughly 50% of the Seahawks 2019 defensive snaps. With Ansah on the decline (see above), Green could increase his statistics by 30% through simple opportunity. Additionally, the former USC Trojan is yet to turn 23 years old, which means his best days are still ahead of him.
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