32 Teams, 32 IDP Questions: NFC West
The NFC West has quickly become a division of haves and have-nots. If you have your franchise quarterback, you’re in great shape. If you’re still trying to find that guy, you’re fighting an uphill battle. Especially since the division is home to four very strong defenses, albeit the defense in San Francisco is still recovering from the mass exodus of retirements of last off-season. Still, there’s a silver lining to that dark cloud as well – a very young and inexperienced silver lining.
The Seahawks and Cardinals have their sights set on February 5th in Houston for Super Bowl LI. The 49ers and Rams just hope to be competitive enough to challenge for a wild card berth. San Francisco has another new coaching staff with Chip Kelly coming from Philly. Their first task is figuring out who will run this offense, Colin Kaepernick or Blaine Gabbert. Who would’ve thought this a year and a half ago? The Rams hope they have identified their franchise quarterback in rookie signal caller Jared Goff from Cal. The long term goal is to pair him with uber-stud Todd Gurley for the next decade as they claw their way back into contention.
In a division loaded with defensive studs, we’re going to focus on that side of the ball today. We’re going to look at each team and identify one question mark on their defense. Maybe it’s a position battle between two players, a new player on a new team or simply a player who has been asked to change positions. Lets dig into the IDP side of the NFC West.
Arizona Cardinals
[am4show have=’g1;’ guest_error=’sub_message’ user_error=’sub_message’ ]
How has Chandler Jones’ fantasy value been impacted by his positional switch to outside linebacker?
One of the most surprising trades of this offseason was the trade which brought in Chandler Jones from the New England Patriots for Guard Jonathan Cooper and the 61st pick in the draft. Jones has been a top five dynasty defensive end over the past three years but he now finds himself officially playing outside linebacker full time for the first time in his pro career.
There’s very little doubt his fantasy stock took a massive hit. He totaled 12.5 sacks in 2015 which was good enough for fifth in the league at any position. In big play leagues it hurts because it’s one less stud to choose from in the player pool. His sack potential doesn’t really change that much, in fact, he might actually be in better position to improve on them. What it does mean to us IDP guys is it’s now a weekly boom or bust situation at a position you bank on consistency. Are you willing to roll the dice on a low floor, high ceiling player over a guy you know will give you six to eight total tackles each week?
On top of all that we’re now dealing with ridiculous hype and expectations of Jones getting 20 sacks this season. Both Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu believe if Dwight Freeney can get eight sacks in a part time role, Jones shouldn’t have a hard time getting 20-plus. Those numbers are incredibly lofty, especially without a proven player on the opposite side to draw attention. Either way, look for Jones to fall somewhere in that Justin Houston range of IDP assets.
Los Angeles Rams
What will the shuffled linebacker corps look like without James Laurinaitis?
Even though he hasn’t been a very good NFL linebacker for the last few years, James Laurinaitis has been a consistent and viable IDP LB2. 2015 was no different as he finished with 109 total tackles. The decision was made this offseason to part ways with the seven year veteran and he now calls New Orleans home.
The Rams will move forward with Alec Ogletree in the middle and Mark Barron at weak side linebacker. Barron, along with Deonne Bucannon, was worth their weight in gold last year because of a bit of a fantasy loophole. They were both listed as safeties even though they played a huge percentage of snaps at the linebacker position. That loophole has been slammed shut now as they have both been officially moved to linebacker and you can definitely attribute Laurinaitis’ release to the effectiveness of Barron at linebacker.
Moving forward, Ogletree’s value hasn’t changed much. As of August the 1st, he’s currently the LB3 in our dynasty rankings behind only Luke Kuechly and Lavonte David. Barron has settled in with an average ranking of 23.00 which places him as the LB19 overall, a solid LB2, which is what I’m comfortable with. Even though the names and positions have changed, the fantasy production from the Rams’ defense should not.
San Francisco 49ers
Who will win the starting inside linebacker job next to Navorro Bowman?
This basically comes down to a two man race between Michael Wilhoite and Gerald Hodges with an outside chance of Ray-Ray Armstrong sneaking into the competition. Wilhoite has been the starter the majority of the time since Patrick Willis retired but hasn’t fared too well in extended action. He finished 13th lowest among 60 qualifying linebackers in Pro Football Focus’s grades. Wilhoite signed a one year, $1.671 million contract as a restricted free agent this spring but is guaranteed nothing as far as playing time goes.
Gerald Hodges on the other hand is a former collegiate safety who excels in coverage and would complement Navorro Bowman nicely. He was acquired via trade last October for center Nick Eason and a sixth round pick. Hodges was never really able to make an impact as a Viking and should benefit from the scenery change. When Wilhoite went down with an ankle injury in week 13 of last season, Hodges performed really well. Through those final four and a half games he totaled 45 tackles. He has the highest ceiling of the group and should ultimately win this competition.
Ray-Ray Armstrong who was claimed off waivers in late November is in the mix but would have to really light it up to take the job.
Seattle Seahawks
Can second year defensive end Frank Clark be a consistent IDP contributor?
There were whispers early in the off-season of the Seahawks moving Frank Clark to outside linebacker to replace the departed Bruce Irvin who signed with Oakland during free agency. That would cripple his IDP outlook in the same way it capped Irvin’s value. As a situational pass rusher from the outside linebacker position you cannot afford to take the risk of getting stuck with a big fat goose egg in any given week. As long as he maintains his defensive end designation, which he currently has, he will provide a lot of value whether he plays with his hand in the dirt or not.
This defense is loaded in the back seven with Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright. As long as the secondary can shadow opposing pass catchers long enough, Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril and Frank Clark will have plenty of opportunities to bring down the quarterback. With Seattle rotating their linemen to keep them fresh and active, there’s a lot of upside to like with Clark. We currently have him ranked 29th among defensive linemen at DLF with Steve Wyremski ranking him highest at 15th. He’s exactly the kind of DE3 I want on my roster though as someone who could make a huge leap during the upcoming season.
Follow me on Twitter @OlingerIDP.
[/am4show]
- Dynasty IDP Waiver Wire: Week Seven - October 24, 2018
- Dynasty IDP Waiver Wire: Week Six - October 16, 2018
- Dynasty IDP Waiver Wire: Week Five - October 10, 2018
