Welcome to the tenth weekly edition of “Raiding the IDP Waiver Wire” for 2021! For those returning for another installment of defensive player recommendations, your interest and support are appreciated! 

This weekly column will help you, the reader, plunder your league’s waiver wire for real value where it counts: in your line-ups. We’ll dig into the past week’s top performers among available options for repeatable production. 

“Raiding the IDP Waiver Wire” is written for fantasy football gamers in leagues that require a full complement of 11 defensive starters in leagues of 12 to 16 teams. Recommendations rely on scoring settings from FantasyPros.com, even though their value for passes defensed is low. We’ll look for options at both conventional and true defensive positions as they arise. Players qualifying for this column are those rostered in no more than a third of IDP leagues on MyFantasyLeague.com (MFL). These recommendations further assume you, the manager, have finite roster space with challenging cut decisions to add new names.

The names in this week’s edition might very well be new to many readers. Two young players without premium draft capital have paid their dues and are beginning to emerge. These are true sleepers in IDP fantasy football rewarding those few who have rostered them for ten weeks.  

Armon Watts, Vikings DT

The Vikings have hungered for an impact interior defender since former first-round pick Sharrif Floyd was lost to injury a half-dozen years ago. They have invested significant resources in Michael Pierce, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Sheldon Richardson. 

The Vikings’ sixth-round pick in 2019, Armon Watts from Arkansas began the season as a rotational nose tackle behind Michael Pierce. After a huge opener with two sacks, Pierce has suffered a series of injuries that finally landed him on the injured-reserve list. 

Watts has capitalized on the opening and then some. He ascended to the starting line-up in Week 5 and showed enough as a pass rusher that the Vikings began moving him up and down the line in subsequent weeks. He’s collected 16 tackles in five games beginning in Week 5 including two quarterback sacks. He’s pressured opposing QBs a dozen times and led Vikings defensive tackles in snaps with 42 (71%) in Week 10. 

Watts was quiet in Week 10 versus the pass-happy Chargers, so he’s likely to be free on most waiver wires. He doesn’t profile as a league-winner, but his workload and maturing deployment make him a solution for those unsettled at the position.

Dorance Armstrong, Cowboys EDGE

Engaged fantasy gamers will remember that the Cowboys redeployed rookie linebacker Micah Parsons as a defensive end after an early-season injury to DeMarcus Lawrence. When news broke that Lawrence’s bookend Randy Gregory was hurt in practice leading up to Week 10, gamers wondered if Parsons would change position groups again at The Star. 

Dorance Armstrong, the Cowboys’ fourth-round pick of 2018, showed signs of life in the preseason and reached 70% of playing time on defense for the first time in his career in Week 10. His performance – three tackles and three QB hits with a sack – didn’t disappoint!

Armstrong should see reps with the ones at least as long as Lawrence is out and needs only to outplay journeyman Tarell Basham thereafter to retain a significant role.

Dante Fowler, Falcons EDGE

Pass-rusher Dante Fowler is a better-known commodity than the players above, but he seems forgotten due to time lost to injury. He did nothing of note in Week 10, but neither did anyone else in a 43-3 loss to the Cowboys. That will only ensure he’s available on the waiver wire at a reasonable cost. 

Fowler collected two sacks among 13 QB pressures in the first 4 ½ games of the season before a hamstring injury sent him to IR. The NFL’s worst pass rush (according to Pro Football Focus) badly needs the help!

Erik Harris, Falcons SAF

Perhaps only the most degenerate of us are familiar with the back story of Falcons safety Erik Harris. The former Canadian Football League star finally stuck in the NFL as a rotational safety in Oakland. His play earned him a modest free-agent deal and the opportunity to start regularly in Atlanta. 

The 6’-2” 225-pound Harris has tantalized as a potential banger in the right defense. His role in Atlanta has been unpredictable in 2021, but he’s seen more time closer to the LOS recently. He’s made at least seven tackles in each of his last four. The 31-year-old isn’t an exciting option, but he’s likely a safer fantasy option than the injury replacements offered up in last week’s column.

Jimmie Ward, 49ers SAF

This column doesn’t always offer players on the field while it’s under construction, but early MNF hero Jimmie Ward is worth mentioning for his altered deployment in addition to his increased production. 

Ward started the season as the preferred deep option while playing alongside Jacquiski Tartt. Surprisingly, rookie fifth-rounder Talanoa Hufanga stepped not only into the starting line-up but also into the deep role following Tartt’s trip to IR. 

The immediate beneficiaries have been those deep-roster IDP gamers who held Ward through his Week 9 absence versus the Cardinals. Ward collected 14 tackles in two games prior to the absence and has returned with a bang: two interceptions of Matt Stafford including a pick-six. 

Happy Bidding!

Week 10 injuries were relatively merciful to defenders outside of the ACL tear suffered by Washington’s Chase Young. With he and bookend Montez Sweat both on IR, 2020 seventh-rounders James Smith-Williams and Casey Toohill belong on watchlists and deep conventional-position IDP leagues as 4-3 defensive ends. 

Midweek injuries have challenged us several times in 2021. The answers as to severity and replacement player have had us scrambling on the waiver wire on news from LA (Kenneth Murray), Buffalo (Tremaine Edmunds), and Dallas (Randy Gregory). Let’s keep up with it together on the bird app!

You’re invited to follow this column weekly for recommendations of players in suddenly favorable situations to produce fantasy value. This column drops every Tuesday afternoon. I’ll attach recommendations of widely rostered players one might consider dropping to make room for these players on Twitter. I look forward to interacting with you there!

A Clemson and Michigan alum, a fan of the Cowboys and Panthers, I try to see both sides of every debate and every fantasy football trade. Reach out to me @DynastyTripp on Twitter.