IDPs You’re Sleeping On: NFC West

Alexander Onushco Posted On May 8, 2016

In case you missed it, here are the divisions we’ve covered in previous installments:

AFC East
AFC North
AFC South
AFC West
NFC East
NFC North
NFC South

This is it, folks. We have just one last division to cover in my sleeper series. The following three potential IDP breakouts from the NFC West were all drafted within 41 spots of each other last year and are in prime position to make big second-year leaps:

Jaquiski Tartt, S SF

Under new head coach Chip Kelly, the 49ers seem to be doing their best to follow in Cleveland’s footsteps (because, you know, the Browns are the pinnacle of the NFL) and get rid of their aging veterans. On that list of veterans includes 31-year-old strong safety Antoine Bethea, who played half of last season before heading to injured reserve with a torn pectoral muscle. In his place, rookie Jaquiski Tartt more than held his own on the way to 65 tackles, two sacks, an interception, one forced fumble and three passes defended. Clearly, the team believes in Tartt, as recent rumors have the 49ers trying to trade Bethea during this week’s draft.

When it comes to strong safeties, IDP owners like them tall, jacked and fast. At 6’1”, 221 pounds with 4.53 wheels, Tartt certainly fits that bill, going so far as to draw some Kam Chancellor comparisons coming out of college.

After taking over the starting gig in week seven of last year, Tartt averaged close to six tackles per game, and over a full season his stats would have extrapolated to 94 total tackles. Should he take over full-time next year, there is no reason to believe he will finish with anything less than that.

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Arik Armstead, DL SF

What’s that, you say? I already listed a 49er on this sleeper list? Yes, yes I did. And I’m going to list another one anyway, because I’m an edgy go-getter who loves to upset the established order and that’s what edgy go-getters who love to upset the established order do.

As the 17^th pick in last year’s draft, it was expected Armstead would play more than the 384 snaps he actually did. On those snaps, he managed an impressively unimpressive 19 tackles and two sacks – nothing worth IDP owners to start salivating over.

That said, his impact went well beyond just the numbers. Despite playing less than 400 snaps, he managed Pro Football Focus’ 13^th best overall grade (+14.0) among 3-4 defensive ends. Making that grade more impressive is that 11 of the 12 players ahead of him on that list played at least 250 more snaps. The kid has talent, folks.

And while he only managed two sacks, he also managed six quarterback hits and 31 quarterback hurries, meaning he was mere inches or seconds away from adding to his paltry sack total last year. Assuming an increase in snaps (which is a near certainty) and the likelihood that he can convert a better portion of those hits/hurries to sacks, Armstead is looking at the very real possibility of 7-10 sacks in his sophomore year.

Markus Golden, OLB ARI

Quick. Name the 2015 second-round pick who went on to earn PFF’s 25^th-highest overall grade among 3-4 outside linebackers? If you answered Markus Golden, you either A) made an extraordinarily educated guess or B) read the bold name above this paragraph.

Indeed, Golden proved to be thoroughly efficient on his 526 snaps last year. He earned a +5.2 overall grade from PFF while also posting 31 tackles, four sacks and two forced fumbles. And now that Chandler Jones is in the fold, Golden should be able to exploit more favorable matchups on his way to improved stats. If you don’t believe me (understandable, you barely know me), you should at least listen to Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians, who said Golden is capable of double-digit sacks.

It’s common that 3-4 outside linebackers are rarely the “sexy” targets that IDP owners covet, but if you play in a league where sacks and big plays have added value, then Golden is someone worth scooping up on the cheap this offseason.

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