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.
Josh Allen (Jax, 16%) — Starting around Week Five, Allen has been a force to be reckoned with. In those three games, Allen has 20 tackles (14 solo), 2.5 sacks, and 5 QB hits. This is the player the Jags have been waiting on. Playing nearly 80% on a defense that stays on the field a ton, Allen has moved into the DL1 conversation.
Christian Wilkins (Mia, 24%) — Wilkins posted 6 tackles in Week Eight, marking the 4th time this season he’s had at least 6. He’s never had fewer than 3. And while his sacks are few and far between, his steady usage and steady tackle production make him a DL1 in tackle-heavy leagues, and a rock solid bye-week fill-in for shallow, balanced leagues.
Top Targets
In leagues with 2-3 IDPs per position, these could be league-winners. We’re going decent floor, but mostly upside here.
Jonathan Greenard (Hou, 11%) — Greenard will stay on this list until he’s over 50% owned. He can not be stopped. He had the worst matchup of the week last week, and went out and had 3 solos, 1 sack, 1 TFL, and a PD. He’s been a top-5 DL since Week Three.
Trey Hendrickson (Cin, 10%) — Another week. Another Hendrickson sack. Except this time, he added 6 tackles for good measure. Hendrickson has 7.5 sacks on the season and has only had one sackless game so far. He’s a big play monster.
Grady Jarrett (Atl, 2%) — Jarrett posted his fourth 4-tackle game in his last six starts last week. He’s produced 9 tackles in his last two starts and although he’s short on sacks, he’s been a bit unlucky as the QB hits (5) suggest he should have more than his 1 sack so far.
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, 1%) — Davenport looked much better in his 2nd game returning from injury. He played 67% and posted 3 solos and a TFL. He also has a great schedule between now and his Week 13 bye (Hou, Bal, NYJ, Car, NYG).
DeMarcus Lawrence (Dal, 5%) — Lawrence isn’t back this week, but he should be back in the next week or so. Perennial DL1s are hard to find on the wire, so snatch him up before someone else does. With a much-improved defense and likely many leads to protect, D-Law should have plenty of QB-hunting opportunities on the back half of the season.
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.
Foye Oluokun (Atl, 39%) — The #7 overall LB continues to be under-rostered. He’s posted at least 12 tackles in four of his last five games, and only has one game under 8 tackles. That game was when the Jets offense could barely stay on the field. His role and usage shouldn’t budge and he’s been a double-digit tackle threat ever since last season.
Jordan Hicks (Ari, 23%) — While nursing an injury, the Cardinals managed his snaps (64%) in Week Seven. Last week, he was full-go and racked up 12 tackles (7 solo) and a TFL. He was dropped in a lot of leagues partly for the injury and partly in fear that he was finally ceding snaps to Zaven Collins. Not the case. Another sign of his value was that he wasn’t traded before the deadline.
Top Targets
In leagues with 2-3 IDPs per position, these could be league-winners. We’re going decent floor, but mostly upside here.
C.J. Mosley (NYJ, 18%) — Mosley was finally healthy enough to make it back into the lineup in Week Eight and wrapped up 12 tackles (8 solo). That’s the fifth time in six games that Mosley hit the double-digit mark. The other game he had 8. Even with a full LB room, Mosley would be their every-down leader. But with all but Jarrad Davis banged up, Mosley has the green light to anchor this defense that just can’t stay off the field. Mosley ranks 3rd in snaps per game for LBs, and that should remain a thing going forward.
Micah Parsons (Dal, 17%) — Parsons is Roy Kent. He’s here. He’s there. He’s every-(bleeping)-where. He’s two parts ILB and one part EDGE. He’s been an almost-every-down player since Week Four and since then, he’s been a backend LB2. But I think things are getting heated up for Parsons. His 11-tackle, 4-TFL performance in Week Eight was likely no fluke.
Ernest Jones (LAR, 1%) — I knew the departure of Kenny Young meant more snaps for Jones. And I suspected that Jones would eventually take over as the every-down LB. But I didn’t see it coming this fast. Jones immediately stepped into the primary LB spot in this Rams defense and soaked up 9 tackles (7 solo), 0.5 sacks, 1 PD, and 1 INT. Oh. So that’s why they let Young go! Lock and load Mr. Jones into your lineups as an LB2 going forward.
Myles Jack (Jax, 8%) — Jack is a weekly 6-9 tackle guy, who can anchor your LB spot. But an injury and a bye week made him unusable for three weeks. Post-bye, he snapped back to an every-down player who posted 9 tackles (4 solo) and a TFL. He’s got solid matchups ahead against Buffalo, Indy, and San Francisco.
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.
Shaq Thompson (Car, 5%) — Thompson returned to the lineup in Week Eight and had a strong 10-tackle game, but only played 66%. We’d like to see him regain his every-down role before slotting him into our LB2 spot, but he may have been eased in. Either way, Thompson should be rostered in 3-4 LB leagues at minimum. Jermaine Carter may out-snap him, but he hasn’t produced much.
T.J. Edwards (Phi, 0%) — After floating around the 30-40% range, Edwards finally took the lead in LB usage (66%) over Alex Singleton (33%) and Eric Wilson (healthy inactive) in Week Eight. The Philly defense played well, so that’s a sign that they may stick with Edwards as the lead dog, but there is some concern that this may be a constantly evolving situation. Grab him as an LB3 with LB1 upside and let’s see how this plays out.
Damien Wilson (Jax, 4%) — Similar to Myles Jack, Wilson has been a 6-9 tackle player for Jacksonville. He usually hovers around 85-90% usage, but that’s enough to be fantasy-relevant on a defense that logs a lot of miles. He’s a more volatile option than Jack, but his LB3 production is valuable in deeper leagues.
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.
Harrison Smith (Min, 40%) — Smith has been rejuvenated this season. The once-and-former DB1 is now back to his original post now that Anthony Harris is an Eagle. Smith has either 8 or 9 tackles in every game since Week Two. That kind of high tackle floor is like gold. Or bitcoin. He also has three DB-friendly offenses up next: Bal, LAC, and GB.
Top Targets
In leagues with 2-3 IDPs per position, these could be league-winners. We’re going decent floor, but mostly upside here.
Johnathan Abram (LV, 17%) — Abram is now past his bye and with several valuable DBs dropping due to playing time or injury, the steady role Abram plays is just what we need as we roll through the bye weeks. He has between 6 and 10 tackles in every game and plays a historically valuable role for fantasy in Gus Bradley’s defense. He also has 3 PD and an INT, so there’s some nice big-play upside to pair with that solid tackle floor.
Jalen Thompson (Ari, 8%) — Thompson has taken over as the main tackler in the secondary over Budda Baker. His 10 tackles in Week Eight is the second time he’s hit the double-digit tackle mark, and the sixth time that he’s had at least 6 tackles. That’s not bad for being rostered in the single digits. His bye isn’t until Week 12.
Kareem Jackson (Den, 5%) — Jackson’s 7 tackles in Week Eight moved him from DB #23 to DB #18 on the season. It’s the fourth time in five weeks that he’s had at least 7 tackles. Part of the raised floor of hsi production is due to the lack of ILBs on Denver. It’s been Jackson and Justin Simmons who have been the plugs on this defense, and we can reap the benefits.
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.
Xavier Woods (Min, 2%) — Week Eight marked the third time in four games that Woods had at least 8 tackles. He’s had at least 5 tackles in six of eight games and also has 2 INTs, 5 PD, and 2 forced fumbles. If he can keep this up, he’ll be a surprising DB1. If he can’t, he’s still a helluva DB3.
Rayshawn Jenkins (Jax, 1%) — Jenkins had another 6 tackles in Week Eight and now has at least 5 tackles in every game but one. He’s also past his bye and should continue to be a solid DB3 for us going forward.
