Welcome to the IDP Waiver Wire article. Each of the three main positions will be broken down by league size. For shallow leagues, visit the Higher-owned Options. For 6-9 IDPs, check out the Top Targets, and for deeper leagues, check out the Going Deeper section. In general, we’re focusing on players who are less than 50% rostered in Yahoo! Leagues. The players listed are in waiver wire order based on balanced scoring.
Defensive Linemen
Higher-owned Options
These IDPs have steady, productive roles with high floors. Others may have better weeks but at the end of the season, these are most likely to help you most.
Cameron Heyward (Pit, 30%) — Heyward has at least 4 tackles in all but two games, and has 3.5 sacks in his last four games. He’s the #4 DL since then, and is now past his bye with some nice matchups ahead against Cincinnati, Baltimore, and Tennessee.
Top Targets
In leagues with 2-3 IDPs per position, these could be league-winners. We’re going decent floor, but mostly upside here.
Sam Hubbard (Cin, 17%) — I’ll never get why Hubbard is so poorly rostered. Granted, he’s coming off his bye, so I’m sure he was dropped out of necessity in some cases. But his 16 tackles and 3.5 sacks over his last four games makes him a top-5 DL. Now that his bye is out of the way, Hubbard’s massive tackle production — he has at least 6 tackles in 4 games this season — is a godsend as we race toward the playoffs.
Leonard Williams (NYG, 14%) — Williams saw his rostership plummet due to his Week 10 bye, so now is the time to scoop up the #3 DL over his last four games and #9 DL on the season. He’s racked up at least 5 tackles in eight straight games and has a sack in four of his last five games.
Jeffery Simmons (Ten, 19%) — Simmons was already a solid DL2 with his 3-5 tackles per game. But lately, he’s found his big-play button. Over the last two games, Simmons has 10 tackles and 5 sacks. The Titans D has started to click. As their secondary tightens up, it creates more time for the pass rush to get home, which has helped Simmons convert more QB hits into sacks. He faces the hapless Texans this week. Houston, you may have a problem.
Going Deeper
In leagues with 11-14 total IDPs, these are high-upside options who could come out of nowhere to be at least a solid 2nd/3rd starter, and at most give you a 1A option.
Marcus Davenport (NO, 3%) — Davenport’s stock continues to rise. Finally healthy and building momentum, the player the Saints invested in over Trey Hendrickson is hitting his stride. In his last three games, Davenport has 12 tackles (9 solo), 3 sacks, 4 TFL, and a forced fumble. He’s also playing over 70%.
Zach Alllen (Ari, 0%) — If you need a bye-week fill-in at DL2/DL3, Allen’s your guy. He has his bye next week, but you can plug him in this week when he faces the Seahawks. Allen’s snaps have risen since J.J. Watt went down, resulting in Allen being a top-20 DL since then. He has at least 5 tackles in two of his last three games, and Seattle is the 8th-best matchup for DLs.
Linebackers
Higher-owned Options
These IDPs have steady, productive roles with high floors. Others may have better weeks but at the end of the season, these are most likely to help you most.
Jordan Hicks (Ari, 30%) — Hicks is the perfect bye-week fill-in for those in shallow IDP leagues. He’s the #8 LB over the last month and has 30 tackles in his last three games. Ignore his 2-tackle game against Houston back in Week Seven. He was nursing an injury and Arizona limited his snaps during a game where they dominated from the first snap. Hicks has his bye next week, but he’ll prop you up this week.
Top Targets
In leagues with 2-3 IDPs per position, these could be league-winners. We’re going decent floor, but mostly upside here.
Anthony Walker, Jr. (Cle, 18%) — Walker has at least 8 tackles in every game but one, and has 10 or more tackles twice in his last four games. Since Week Six, his 49 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, and 2 PD lead all LBs in FP.
T.J. Edwards (Phi, 8%) — Edwards added another 7 tackles and a PD in a game where Denver couldn’t get anything going offensively. But what’s more encouraging than his Week 10 stat line is his usage. After hovering around 40-60%, Edwards now has back-to-back games of around a 95% snap share. Edwards appears locked in as Philly’s every-down LB.
Kyzir White (LAC, 8%) — White has survived the return of Kenneth Murray, who came off IR for Week 10. With Murray back in the lineup, White remained the primary LB, posting 12 tackles (8 solo) on a 97% snap share. White is past his bye and with Murray struggling in his first game back, White looks poised to continue his streak of at least 8 tackles in four straight games.
Going Deeper
In leagues with 11-14 total IDPs, these are high-upside options who could come out of nowhere to be at least a solid 2nd/3rd starter, and at best give you a 1A option.
Davion Taylor (Phi, 4%) — Taylor now has 15 tackles (12 solo) in the two games since being elevated to the #2 LB role in Philly. He’s played 71% and 69% respectively in those games and should be a solid 6-8 tackle option for the back end of your starting LBs.
Mack Wilson (Cle, 0%) — Wilson has quietly been putting up LB3 production over the past month. I say “quietly,” because no one has him on their roster. He’s now started in three of his last four games and has at least 6 tackles in three of his last four games. He also has a penchant for solo tackles, as 17 of his last 22 tackles have been of the solo variety.
Defensive Backs
Higher-owned Options
These IDPs have steady, productive roles with high floors. Others may have better weeks but at the end of the season, these are most likely to help you most.
Jamal Adams (Sea, 37%) — Oh. Hey there, Mr. Adams. We forgot you were a fantasy asset for a while there. After posting between 2 and 6 tackles for four straight weeks, fantasy managers in shallow leagues had to let him go. But over the last two games, we’ve seen the DB1 potential of Adams shine through. In those two games, Adams has 21 tackles, 2 QB hits, 1 INT, and a PD. The QB hits are particularly encouraging, as Adams is a talented pass rusher, and those were his first QB hits of the season; an indication of Seattle using him more as a blitzer.
Top Targets
In leagues with 2-3 IDPs per position, these could be league-winners. We’re going decent floor, but mostly upside here.
L’Jarius Sneed (KC, 8%) — Sneed has been a target magnet as he rotates from slot corner to lining up outside. He’s been targeted at least 5 times in seven of his last eight games and 9 times twice in his last three games. All that action has led to Sneed racking up 26 tackles in his last four games (at least 6 in each game), and as is usually the case with a CB, most of those tackles were solos. Add in his INT and 2 PD over that stretch, and Sneed is DB #14 and CB #4.
Jayron Kearse (Dal, 3%) — Kearse has been one of the reasons that the Dallas D has been a lot better than people expected. He plays on all three levels of the defense, almost equally splitting snaps between DL, LB, Safety, and slot corner. He’s posted at least 5 tackles in every game this season and carries a wide range of big-play upside due to his varied assignments. Kearse has 5 TFL, 4 QB hits, and 4 PD so far and is DB #23 on the season.
Erik Harris (Atl, 2%) — Since his Week Six bye, Harris has seen an uptick in usage and production. After playing 100% only once before the bye, Harris has been an every-down player in two of his last three games. His special teams snaps also dipped, an indication that they’re relying on him for more meaningful snaps. Harris has scooted up from a 4-6 tackle player to 7-8 tackles per game. He has at least 7 tackles in four straight games.
Going Deeper
In leagues with 11-14 total IDPs, these are high-upside options who could come out of nowhere to be at least a solid 2nd/3rd starter, and at best give you a 1A option.
Rayshawn Jenkins (Jax, 1%) — Playing every snap on a defense that plays an above-average amount of snaps has created a high tackle floor for Jenkins. He’s posted at least 4 solos in every game this season, with at least 6 total tackles in three of his last four games. Jenkins’ solid tackle floor is as stable as you can find for a DB.
Tracy Walker (Det, 2%) — Walker added another 7 tackles (all solo) in Week 10, giving him at least 7 tackles in four of his last five games. Remove his rough Week Three and Week Four performances, and Walker is DB #19. Of course, you can't remove those, and therein lies the rub with Walker. His snap counts vary wildly from week to week, so you can’t rely on him as a top-20 DB. But using him as the last DB in your starting lineup means you get to enjoy those 7-9 tackles he normally posts.
