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, 23%) — Heyward’s lowest tackle output of the season is 4. He posted 8 last week and 7 in Week Two. His 24 tackles are one shy of the league lead and with their D-line currently thin and their offense currently broken, the Steelers need Heyward to play a boatload of snaps. Expect the veteran to keep rolling at his current DL1 pace.
Top Targets
In leagues with 2-3 IDPs per position, these could be league-winners. We’re going decent floor, but mostly upside here.
Javon Hargrave (Phi, 19%) — Hargrave posted another 6 tackles in Week Four, giving him 25 tackles, 5 sacks, 6 TFL, and a forced fumble on the season. His upcoming matchups with Car, TB, and LV should all contribute to Hargrave remaining the #1 overall DL, or at least hanging near there.
Sam Hubbard (Cin, 20%) — I know it’s probably worthless to post him here because if you’ve been following this article (or listening to me on the IDP Corner or on SiriusXM) you already have Hubbard in your lineup. That means you’ve enjoyed his 20 tackles (13 solo) and 2 sacks since Week Two. He’s the #5 DL since then.
Leonard Williams (NYG, 8%) — After 5 tackles in Week Three, Williams didn’t see his roster % budge. Then he racked up another 6 tackles last week. He’s been climbing the rankings since his slow Week One. In the past three weeks, he’s proven to us that his DL1 production from last season was not a fluke. His next three matchups feature DL-friendly offenses: Dal, LAR, and Car.
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.
Austin Johnson (NYG, 2%) — I mentioned last week that Johnson’s 5 tackles per game he was posting would be hard to sustain. Well, that shows you what I know. The dude went out and posted 6 tackles in Week Four. His 20 tackles and 2 sacks make him DL #13 so far.
John Jenkins (Mia, 0%) — Jenkins posted 7 tackles (2 solo) in Week Four, giving him at least 4 tackles in three of his four games this season. This rotational DT has been much busier since Raekwon Davis went down.
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.
De’Vondre Campbell (GB, 36%) — Campbell has found a home in Green Bay. After being overshadowed by Deion Jones in Atlanta and Jordan Hicks in Arizona, he now is the lead dog in the middle of this Packers defense. He’s wasted no time making an impact too, as his 40 tackles and 5 big plays so far have made him a steady LB1. There’s finally not much tackle competition for him, so pick him up and load him into your lineups with confidence.
Top Targets
In leagues with 2-3 IDPs per position, these could be league-winners. We’re going decent floor, but mostly upside here.
Jordyn Brooks (Sea, 14%) — We knew Brooks couldn’t sustain his 11-tackle pace to open the season. But the 7-9 tackle clip he’s been humming along at since then is ideal LB2 production. We like consistency and high-floor tackles to anchor that 2nd or 3rd spot, and Brooks is giving us that, plus some sack upside as an occasional pass rusher. Brooks is currently the #16 LB.
Jordan Hicks (Ari, 23%) — We thought Hicks was done. Toast. Trade bait. As it turns out, rookie Zaven Collins is not ready for prime time. So Hicks has been the every-down LB for the Cardinals. Hicks has 30 tackles (19 solo), 1 sack, 2 PD, and a forced fumble so far. With the Arizona defense playing well (and undefeated) while Hicks leads them, it’s hard to imagine he’ll be ceding snaps anytime soon.
Christian Kirksey (Hou, 12%) — We would have liked to have seen Kirksey take more advantage of Zach Cunningham’s absence, but his 7 tackles are still solid LB2/LB3 production. Kirksey has at least 6 tackles in every game but his 3 sacks, 3 PD, 1 INT, and a fumble recovery have boosted his production into the high-end LB2 range.
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.
Bobby Okereke (Ind, 2%) — Okereke continues to be overlooked for fantasy. He now has back-to-back weeks of 8 tackles and has at least 7 tackles in three of his four games. As I said last week, even in average matchups Okereke is a weekly 5-8 tackle guy. He plays every down and is a consistent LB3 at a time when 100% LBs are few and far between.
Jermaine Carter (Car, 0%) — With Shaq Thompson now on IR, Carter will be thrust into an every-down role. He had been playing well until Ezekiel Elliott put him in the spin cycle. If you set aside that series of plays, Carter has shown he can adequately hang in both run defense and pass coverage. His 9.5% tackle rate puts him around league average, so assuming he plays every snap (or close to it), Carter has LB2/LB3 potential.
Reggie Ragland (NYG, 0%) — With Blake Martinez on IR, most managers rightfully grabbed Tae Crowder, but Ragland is currently unrostered and posted 8 tackles (4 solo) in his first start without Martinez. If you're hurting at LB3, Ragland has a pretty decent floor going forward.
Jamin Davis (Was, 2%) — Veteran Jon Bostic suffered a pectoral injury in Week Four that may end his season. This will open up room for Davis to take more snaps, which he had been trending toward even with a healthy Bostic. The rookie hasn’t been playing great but has been flashing at times, so he should be a serviceable LB3 with some LB2 upside if he improves with the additional reps. Cole Holcomb is still the man here, though. And with three safeties — including two box specialists in Landon Collins and Kamren Curl — there’s a chance that Washington can fill the box with 70-80% Davis and 20-30% dime safety.
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.
Logan Ryan (NYG, 26%) — While the Giants use a 3-man safety rotation, it’s clear that Ryan is the every-down safety and a highly-productive one at that. Through four games, Ryan is the overall #1 DB. His 35 tackles lead all DBs and his 5 big plays remind us of his big-play upside.
Top Targets
In leagues with 2-3 IDPs per position, these could be league-winners. We’re going decent floor, but mostly upside here.
Daniel Sorensen (KC, 9%) — Please tell me everyone reading this either has Sorensen or will have Sorensen after this. I really don’t want to keep him on this list, but 9% rostership for the #5 overall DB is just criminal. If you remove his first week when he was filling in for Tyrann Mathieu, Sorensen is the #2 overall safety. He recorded 9 solos last week.
Chuck Clark (Bal, 3%) — After an uncharacteristically slow start to his season, Clark seems back to being a legitimate DB2. His 4 total tackles after two weeks have been left in the dust by his 12-tackle and 7-tackle games. Clark was the 19th overall DB for fantasy last season.
Andrew Wingard (Jax, 4%) — Wingard has been a good combination of solid tackling and logging tons of snaps. This defense is so bad that Wingard basically can stand upright and he’ll end up with a few tackles a game. He’s doing better than that though, as Wingard just posted his third straight game of at least 7 tackles. That high tackle floor along with his sack and INT have boosted Wingard into backend DB1 territory. He’ll likely settle into a DB2, but that’s still plenty valuable.
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.
Terrell Edmunds (Pit, 2%) — One of the benefits of the Steelers being bad on offense and suddenly not great on defense is that Edmunds has been more productive this year than his previous two seasons. Last year, Edmunds finished as the 73rd fantasy DB, averaging 4 tackles per game. But this season, he’s the 26th fantasy DB, averaging almost 6 tackles a game.
Rodney McLeod (Phi, 0%) — McLeod was eased in after beginning the season on IR. He played 48 snaps (72%) in Week Four but that should go up moving forward. He posted 4 solos in his first game of the season and should serve as a solid DB3.
