IDP Watch: Week 11

IDP leagues can be won with some preemptive in-season pickups or trading for players who are on the rise, but whom the masses have not picked up on. Each week, we’ll detail a handful of IDP players or trends essential for dynasty players to monitor.

Often, things like quarterback hurries, quarterback knockdowns or snap counts don’t appear in the box scores – these are key indicators of potential value changes that may be forthcoming as they show a particular player is getting after the quarterback and a string of sacks may be on the horizon or a linebacker may be coming off of the field more than originally expected.

Here are some players to keep an eye on based on recent performances:

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Clayton Geathers, SS IND

With Mike Adams out in week 11 against the Falcons, Geathers started over Colt Anderson. In his first NFL start, he didn’t disappoint. He finished with seven tackles and two assists on 84% of the team’s snaps. Adams is expected to return to the starting lineup once healthy, but head coach Chuck Pagano was impressed, calling Geathers’ play “outstanding” and highlighting that he “played with a lot of energy, a lot of physicality, and a lot of passion.” Most notably, Pagano went on to state Geathers “brought a lot to our defense”, whether he made a play or someone else did. It was a great first start for Geathers, who has a promising future. He’s a perfect stash if still available. While Adams is on a two-year deal, he’s aging and arguably keeping the seat warm until a youngster like Geathers is ready.

Denzel Perryman, ILB SD

Both Perryman and Manti Te’o out-snapped Donald Butler this past week against the Chiefs. It was the first week Perryman saw a large chunk of snaps (approximately 50%) and he finished the game with three tackles, three assists and a sack. With this performance and the Chargers recent struggles, it won’t be surprising to see Perryman continue to steal snaps from Butler. Some angst built over the course of the early part of the season with Perryman’s limited snaps, but with the week 11 increase, Perryman could be in for a solid finish to 2015 with the potential for a full role in 2016. He’s someone to keep a close eye on through the end of the season, but this past week’s performance was extremely positive.

Arik Armstead, DE SF

Armstead is another rookie who saw his snap count jump in week 11. Glenn Dorsey left the game after one snap with a torn ACL, and was put on injured reserve this week ending his season. This leaves Armstead with a healthy volume of snaps for the remainder of the season. Viewed as a raw player with tremendous potential in this past year’s draft, we’ll get a chance to see if Armstead can bloom earlier than expected. With the increased snaps in week 11, he finished with three tackles and three assists. Not a stellar performance, but he finished with more total tackles than anyone else on the 49ers’ defensive line. It’ll be key to see whether Armstead is capable of defending the run since that’s been an area requiring improvement. He has the pass rushing down, but if he proves capable against the run, he’ll make a strong case for a starting role in 2016.

Derek Wolfe, DE DEN

Wolfe was also mentioned last week as a player to watch given his free agent status this off-season and recent improvement in his play. The upward trend continued this past week against the Bears as he finished with four tackles and an assist on a little more than 90% of the team’s snaps. He’s seen a nice chunk of snaps since week five which should continue through the remainder of the season. With that, he’s a viable option down the stretch in deeper leagues and a nice stash for team’s looking towards next year with hopes of a free agency IDP value boom.

Ben Heeney, ILB OAK

With Neiron Bell injured and Ray-Ray Armstrong struggling, Heeney saw increased playing time in week 11 playing approximately 50% of the team’s snaps. While playing primarily in passing situations, he finished with five tackles, two assists, a sack and a pass defended. It was the most playing time the rookie saw this season and head coach Jack Del Rio was impressed noting, “he plays hard. It was effort-filled performance. He made a heck of a move to get that sack. For his first extended action, I thought he did pretty well.” With Armstrong released this week and Curtis Lofton struggling, Heeney is a certainty to see a nice volume of snaps through the end of the year.

Nick Fairley, DT STL

Fairley is stuck in a logjam behind Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers, leaving many owners frustrated and moving on from the once highly touted defensive tackle. The thing to consider as we head into the end of the season is Fairley only signed a one-year deal with the Rams. He’s also only two years removed from a top ten and top 15 finish among defensive tackles. He’s a great stash candidate in defensive tackle required leagues with the likelihood he signs with a new team and his IDP value spikes.

Danielle Hunter, DE MIN

Hunter isn’t playing a substantial number of snaps yet, but he’s making the most of what snaps he’s getting. Over the last five weeks he has two and a half sacks, while he’s accumulated five tackles, two assists and a sack over the last two weeks. Both the coaching staff and his teammates have pointed to his development through the season thus far. He’s a physical freak who’s started to refine his game more quickly than many originally anticipated. Because his snaps aren’t terribly high, he’s not on the radar of many, but he’ll push Brian Robison for the starting spot in 2016 if he continues to improve his play.

Deeper Dynasty Watches

Quinton Coples, OLB/DE MIA – Despite his struggles in New York miscast as a linebacker, with the Dolphins claiming Coples, he’s an intriguing option with a shift to defensive end. He’s better suited with his hand in the dirt and with Cameron Wake out for the season and needed help opposite Olivier Vernon, Coples could be a sneaky speculative add with the shift to a 4-3 scheme.

Neville Hewitt, LB MIA – Over the last two weeks, with Jelani Jenkins out with an ankle injury, Hewitt’s led the team in snaps amongst linebackers. He finished week 11 with two tackles, two assists and a sack. He’s worth a stash to see if he can earn long-term snaps even once Jenkins returns.

Caraun Reid, DT DET – Haloti Ngata is a free agent this off-season, which will leave Reid as the only viable option inside. In defensive tackle required leagues, he’s an intriguing option as he’s currently a top ten to fifteen defensive tackle option with Ngata in the mix.

Ahtyba Rubin, DT SEA – He’s on a one-year deal with Seattle and playing reasonably well as the Seahawks’ second interior defensive lineman. He’s a stash to see where he lands in free agency next spring. The talent is there, he just needs a consistent volume of snaps like he did in Cleveland’s 4-3 defense years ago and we could have a top ten defensive tackle.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveWyremski

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