This is the last edition of “Raiding the IDP Waiver Wire” for 2020. I thank those of you reading and especially those who’ve stuck with this column week in and week out.
This has been by far the most challenging season of sit/start decisions I’ve encountered in my years of fantasy football. Those of you in championship games and toilet bowls alike should take a moment to reflect on a challenging season, pat yourself on the back for your grit, and know that lessons learned this year will prepare you well for in-season roster management next year and beyond. If you’ve decided best-ball is your jam for 2021, I fully support you!
Navigating injuries and replacements among defenders are more difficult toward the end of a typical season. Week 16 of 2020 feels no different than previous weeks of the hardest season ever! Players who left the field with injuries include Cowboys’ LB Leighton Vander Esch, Browns’ DT Sheldon Richardson, Jets’ DT Quinnen Williams, 49ers’ DE Dion Jordan, Vikings’ DE Ifeadi Odenigbo, Patriots’ LB Ja’Whaun Bentley, Bucs’ CB Carlton Davis, and Pats’ CB Stephon Gilmore.
The players recommended below are available in at least two-thirds of IDP leagues on MyFantasyLeague.com (MFL). Recommendations are position-specific for lineups requiring including cornerbacks and defensive tackles (or interior defensive linemen) unless noted otherwise.
Derrick Brown, DT – Carolina Panthers
The Panthers used the seventh overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft to shore up the middle of their run defense. Derrick Brown, the heralded rookie from Auburn made his first showing in the “sack” column of an NFL box score. Brown’s ownership number falls just below my self-imposed threshold for a recommendation. Although widely drafted in DT-required leagues, Brown could have been dropped for lack of production.
Brown got to Aaron Rodgers twice last Saturday and will face Washington in Week 16. What is already quite possibly the worst playoff-bound offense this century lost another starting offensive lineman to injury in Week 15. Washington allows three sacks per game, fourth-worst in the league.
Dawuane Smoot, DE – Jacksonville Jaguars
If you’re playing for a fantasy championship in need of a defensive end in Week 16, I commend you for your nerves and invite you to write a weekly streaming column for DFF’s IDP team!
Dawuane Smoot has been on a hot streak for the Jaguars. The fourth-year pro is developing into a legitimate NFL defensive lineman even on a team playing out the string. He boasts 10 tackles, including 3 for loss and 4 sacks, along with 2 forced fumbles in his past 4 contests.
His next opponent, Chicago is playing better lately, but the Bears offensive line isn’t certain to control the line of scrimmage against anyone.
Austin Bryant, EDGE – Detroit Lions
Do you need a proactive pick-up for Week 16? How deep is your league?
Austin Bryant is Detroit’s JACK linebacker who has struggled mightily to see the field in his two years as a pro due largely to injury. Bryant’s eighth game as a pro was his best. He collected seven tackles, including one for loss, in 39 snaps (57%) in Week 15.
Bryant was a draft project with notable upside from Round 4 of the 2019 NFL Draft. The Lions were counting on the development of Bryant and 2020 third-rounder Julian Okwara at JACK LB, which in part explains Devon Kennard’s release this past off-season.
Bryant isn’t a particularly strong play for fantasy gamers in Week 16, but he’s an outside linebacker with good upside for tackle compilation on a team that badly needs young defenders to emerge. The key to my recommendation of him is his eligibility at defensive end on some fantasy football platforms.
Joe Thomas, LB – Dallas Cowboys
Former first-round pick Leighton Vander Esch is following Sean Lee’s footsteps too well. Each has been a good linebacker for the Cowboys when healthy. Unfortunately, both struggle to stay on the field.
Vander Esch suffered a high-ankle sprain that figures to sideline him in Week 16. Joe Thomas replaced Vander Esch earlier this season when the starter broke a collar bone. Former starter and current veteran role player Sean Lee was also hurt at that time. Thomas played full-time Weeks 2 through 5 and collected 33 tackles, including two for loss, and two passes defensed.
Fantasy gamers in need of a linebacker off the waiver wire could get a solid LB2 or a part-timer losing snaps to Lee.
Terez Hall, LB – New England Patriots
Unfortunately, risky injury replacements are the norm at linebacker this week.
Terez Hall stepped in for Ja’Whaun Bentley and was once again remarkably efficient. He’s making a tackle on almost 20% of his snaps, on average, and has 29 tackles in three starts. Thirteen of these came against the Dolphins’ run-heavy game plan in Week 15.
Bentley may very well have already lost his job to the 2019 undrafted free agent, Hall. The Patriots face the Bills in Week 16, a team that has been much more reliant on passing. Even if Bentley is out, Hall could lose snaps in sub-packages, thus limiting his upside.
Jayron Kearse, Safety – Detroit Lions
Tracy Walker looked like a rising star at safety for the Lions last year. As early as Summer 2020, the Lions were trying to replace him. Will Harris was given the first opportunity but failed.
Jayron Kearse is the next man up. At 6’-4” tall and 215 lbs., Kearse is quite an interesting IDP. He’s nearly as big as a linebacker and is almost always deployed on the flanks of the defense in and around the box.
Kearse has collected 48 tackles in seven starts. He’s made very few big plays though – only two passes defensed to complement a very healthy tackling rate for a fantasy safety.
Kearse is not a one-for-one replacement for Tracy Walker. Walker starred in the “JOKER” role in Lions defense in 2019, displaying a versatility that gets safeties on the field for most teams. The 2020 Lions, however, seem to prefer a clearer division of labor between deep and shallow safeties – Duron Harmon and Jayron Kearse, respectively.
Your writer is interested to see what Matt Patricia’s replacement has in mind for the incumbent Lions’ safeties. Walker is a player I’m not quitting in dynasty. In the meantime, we’re all suffering through the current coaching staff plugging in the likes of CB Alexander Myres with Walker mired in a minimal role.
Welcome to the NFL as a punchline, Mr. Myres!
Happy Bidding!
And good luck with your final games! Look for me on Twitter and at dynastyfootballfactory.com this winter and spring, where I’ll be breaking down NFL defensive scheme changes coming with new hires on our favorite side of the line of scrimmage.
Clemson and Michigan alum…Panthers and Cowboys fan…I try to see both sides of every debate and each trade. Find me on Twitter @DynastyTripp.
