IDP Snap Counts: Week Two

Tom Kislingbury

Great news everyone – this week won’t quite be a 4,000 word epic like last week’s was. I know it was a long one, but I thought it was important to get a great idea of who has starting spots and who don’t. Hopefully everyone last week sped out to grab the surprising starters and trade away unproductive players who still had name cachet.

This week is a different beast. Although some people will have been waiting until you saw it two weeks running to really believe in players now I the time when you need to start reacting. That doesn’t mean making bad decisions of course. I was asked by one person this week if they should cut Landon Collins given his (slightly) slow start. Of course you shouldn’t cut studs now. But studs in IDP are short-term. If they’re not playing they’re not helping you win weeks.

With that in mind, here are the players you should be aware of after two weeks:

Arizona Cardinals

We’ve seen enough now to know that Budda Baker isn’t starting yet, or really involved much at all. He’s played five defensive snaps so far. Admittedly, he had tackles on two of those in week two but don’t let that fool you. He’s a luxury at this stage.

Haason Reddick was given more snaps this week as expected. He had 56 compared to Karlos Dansby’s 69. You can treat him as a full-time player going forwards. At least until Deone Bucannon’s return.

Atlanta Falcons

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Takk McKinley only played 14 snaps in week one but upped that to 44 in week two. With Vic Beasley being hurt the Falcons need as much pass rush as they can muster. McKinley should be getting healthy snap count over the next month at least.

Duke Riley an De’Vondre Campbell played the same amount in week one but last week Campbell had a 22-snap advantage. In games where they line up in a lot of sub packages that should continue to be the case.

Baltimore Ravens

Kamalei Correa and Patrick Onwuasor continue to share snaps at LB. Avoid the situation if you can for now. CJ Mosley is looking back to his best and producing, so he has a great opportunity to be an LB1 going forward.

The OLBs are in a big old mix at this stage with no one getting a huge workload. Terrell Suggs is the first amongst equals but I wouldn’t want to start any of them if possible.

Buffalo Bills

Ramon Humber is getting all the headlines with his production but he and Preston Brown are playing the same snaps. In fact Brown has played slightly more in both games so far. Stick faith with Brown. His big days are coming.

At DE Shaq Lawson got the same sort of volume as Jerry Hughes this week (42 and 45 snaps respectively). I’m happy starting either of them at the moment.

Carolina Panthers

Julius Peppers has been the most productive DE but in reality he and Charles Johnson are getting less volume than Mario Addison. Don’t be fooled into thinking Peppers can repeat his heroics every week.

Kawann Short has been a little quiet so far but is 14th in the NFL for DT snaps. Keep faith with him and feel free to start in DT-premium leagues.

Chicago Bears

With Jerrell Freeman and Nick Kwiatkowski both hurt Christian “Cheese” Jones is in line for a full workload. He should be a priority add in leagues with thin waivers.

At safety rookie Eddie Jackson again played every snap and is a bona fide starter. He should be owned in most leagues.

Cincinnati Bengals

Geno Atkins rewarded owners with a huge day last week. He managed to play 50 snaps in the game and is locked in as an elite DT.

Vincent Rey played every snap at LB alongside Nick Vigil but could be a short term bandage given the impending return of Vontaze Burfict.

With Michael Johnson out Jordan Willis emerged as the number two DE opposite Carlos Dunlap. Chris Smith stole the headlines with production but will struggle to do that every week having played just 34 snaps (to Willis’ 45).

Cleveland Browns

Derrick Kindred is the every-down starter at safety across from Jabrill Peppers. Peppers continue to play a little deeper so Kindred is good value.

Joe Schobert, Jamie Collins and Christian Kirksey all continue to play virtually every snap at LB. This is an interesting one to watch but for now feel free to start them all. Within the mix Jamie Collins is being used far more creatively with plenty of time lined up in the slot as well as on the edge. It’s great fun to watch but not brilliant for IDP points.

Dallas Cowboys

Jeff Heath continues to play every snap opposite Byron Jones. He’s still a bit rubbish. Xavier Woods played 34 snaps last week to make his debut but played many of them in the slot as opposed to strong safety which I thought would be his position.

Denver Broncos

This team continues to use three safeties. Justin Simmons has 129 snaps so far. Will Parks 96. As a comparison Todd Davis has just 35. Darian Stewart is the third safety but plays mostly deep.

At DE Adam Gotsis is a very undervalued asset. He’s looked good if not spectacular in a starting role.

Detroit Lions

It may be just a one-off but in week two Miles Killebrew overtook Tavon Wilson for snaps 42 over 23. It looks like a shared role again so avoid starting either for now.

AT DE Ziggy Ansah had the stats but has played just 62 snaps so far. Anthony Zettel has 82 and Cornelius Washington 67. Overall 53 DEs have more snaps than Ansah does so far.

Green Bay Packers

Kevin King moved into a starting role this week with 46 snaps. If that continues he could be a good start in CB-required leagues.

Morgan Burnett continues to play as a full time LB. He played 58 snaps this week with Jake Ryan way back on 17 and Joe Thomas on 14.

Unfortunately at true safety Kentrell Brice lost about half his snaps to Josh Jones in week two. Neither are startable for now.

Houston Texans

Zach Cunningham picked up Brian Cushing’s role over Dylan Cole. Cunningham got 43 snaps with Cole on 23. Cunningham is worth adding if you can but not starting yet in most leagues.

JJ Watt completed his rehab with a full load of 58 snaps. Start him every week – as if you needed telling!

Indianapolis Colts

Matthias Farley played all 66 snaps opposite Malik Hooker. Farley looks like the real deal and has a great opportunity to be a S1 behind a weak LB corps.

AT LB Jeremiah George got the volume this week with 52 snaps opposite Jon Bostic. I’d start Bostic but not George yet.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Myles Jack and Telvin Smith are the most lightweight starting LB duo in the NFL. But they’re both extremely good IDP starts.

At DE all three players put up bad weeks when not facing the Texans O line. Yannick Ngakoue continues to play 20 more snaps than Dante Fowler each week. Fowler should not be starting and is a prime player to trade away if you can. Ideally Calais Campbell is the only one I’d be starting.

Kansas City Chiefs

With Eric Berry broken Eric Murray went from 13 to 50 snaps. But more importantly Daniel Sorenson (who has always played further forward) went from 48 to 72 snaps. Sorenson will be a good player this season.

Chris Jones had a huge day on the stat-sheet but trailed Allen Bailey 60 snaps to 32. Don’t expect weeks like that every time.

Los Angeles Chargers

Jatavis Brown is the lone LB staying on the field. Hayes Pullard is a popular add this week but even he only played 42 snaps (Brown played all 68). I’m avoiding the situation beyond Brown for now.

At safety Jahleel Addae remains the player to own and hopefully you started him this week knowing that his week one was an aberration.

Los Angeles Rams

Robert Quinn had a good game but played just 45 snaps. Connor Barwin managed 60 on the day.

Alec Ogletree and Mark Barron are locked in as starters on the inside but neither are that good. I’m still predicting disappointing seasons for both.

Miami Dolphins

Lawrence Timmons eh? In his absence Mike Hull got the start and managed all 58 snaps opposite Kiko Alonso but Stephone Anthony arrived on Tuesday. I expect Hull to go back to a part-time role.

At DT Ndamokung Suh managed 523 snaps as the team try desperately to recoup value on his absurd contract. Only 3 other DTs played more snaps in week two and two of those were 49ers as they played a high-volume game against Seattle.

Minnesota Vikings

Anthony Barr rewarded patient owners with a big day. Despite his struggles last season he played more snaps than Eric Kendricks. Barr is inefficient but the volume makes him startable.

At safety I’ve seen people chase Andrew Sendejo. He’s playing every snap but I don’t think he’s good enough to do that well over a whole season. Be cautious.

New England Patriots

The edge should be a position of interest going up against the Texans O line this week. Trey Flowers continues to play every snap (his 131 are second in the NFL so far) but opposite him Deatrich Wise (28), Cassius Marsh (31) and Lawrnce Guy (30) all rotated last time out.

The other spot you should be watching is safety. Devin McCourty is playing a fairly new role and has lined up 33 times at LB out of his 133 total defensive snaps. He’s not a top tier option even so but he’s looking in a more IDP-friendly situation than he has previously.

New Orleans Saints

Alex Anzalone has been getting a lot of press. He’s played well as a starter and his beautiful golden locks stand out on the field. But he’s also been a clear second to AJ Klein so far. Klein has played around 20 snaps more than Anzalone in both weeks so far. Klein had a poor week last Sunday but he’ll have much better days.

At DE Cam Jordan has more snaps (140) than any other DE in the NFL and is a must start. Five solos and a sack so far merely underline how good he is. Opposite him Alex Okafor (113) and David Onyemata (72) are being a little overpursued from waivers.

New York Jets

The Jets have totalled the tenth most defensive snaps so far. Regular readers already know I give very little credence to the “bad teams create good IDPs” theory and this is a good example. The Chiefs have more defensive snaps than any other team and they’ve won both their games.

Demario Davis (134) and Darron Lee (120) are the every down LBs you want on your team. Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye have very similar value to each other as the clear starting safeties and the same goes for Leonard Williams and Muhammad Wilkerson at DE.

New York Giants

In 2016 Olivier Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul played basically every single snap. In 2017 there’s a bit more rotation going on but even so Romeo Okwara is averaging 17 snaps per game with Vernon and JPP averaging 64 each.

At LB when BJ Goodson missed week two Devon Kennard (32) and Jonathan Casillas (53) both maintained their volumes whilst Calvin Munson took Goodson’s role with 62 snaps of his own. Munson did not feature in week one.

Oakland Raiders

Nick Morrow has got a little bit of hype but he’s a bit-part player really at this stage. He only managed four snaps in week one and 25 in week two. The LB I really want to own is Cory James whose 116 snaps is around double Tyrell Adams’ 62.

Philadelphia Eagles

Mychal Kendricks is still seeing around 20 snaps per game as he’s only playing in base. Jordan Hicks and Nigel Bradham are the LBs to own.

At safety it’s worth watching Rodney McLeod this week to see how fit he is. When he got hurt last week his snaps went to Corey Graham.

Pittsburgh Steelers

At DE with Stephon Tuitt hurt Tyson Alualu has slotted right in. he’s good value in deep leagues if you’re desperate.

At LB Ryan Shazier is fit for now and ably backed up by Vince Williams. Shazier has 132 snaps so far with Williams on 103.

Seattle Seahawks

Michael Bennett leads the rotation at DE with 108 snaps. Behind him are Cliff Avril (86) and Frank Clark (81).

At corner it’s worth noting Jeremy Lane returned this week to starting duties. Shaq Griffen was relegated to just 20 snaps.

San Francisco 49ers

The D line is the fascinating thing here. So far here’s how it looks:

Arik Armstead: 118 snaps

DeForest Buckner: 120 snaps

Solomon Thomas: 91 snaps

That places them seventh, eighth and 34th in snaps of all defensive linemen currently. They’re all startable.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Obviously we have only one game to work on so far but Chris Conte emerged as the clear player to own at safety. He had 57 snaps with the next highest Keith Tandy on just 36.

At DE Noah Spence managed 45 snaps with Robert Ayers on 48. Ryan Russell (35) and William Gholston (32) were also in the mix though.

Tennessee Titans

Jayon Brown (67) has secured a surprising number of snaps behind Avery Williamson (103) and Wesley Woodyard (94). Brown isn’t startable yet but he’s one to watch.

At corner Adoree’ Jackson has played 119 snaps and is clearly being played through the learning process. He’s an excellent IDP option.

Washington Redskins

After playing terribly in week one DeShazor Everett had his playing time scaled back from 67 to 23 snaps. Montae Nicholson saw some time in his absence. Neither are useful currently but someone will emerge and be startable.

At LB Zach Brown and Mason Foster are the every-down players. I favour Brown by a long way given his mobility.

See? I told you that it wouldn’t be as long as last week’s. As always I’ll be posting snippets from this on Twitter all week long in graphic form. If you’re the type of person that needs to see information to take it in I highly recommend checking me out on there. Of course I would say that, wouldn’t I?

As always good luck for this week. IDP is a game of inches and knowing snap trends before your opponents can be a decent chunk of those inches.

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tom kislingbury