IDP Snap Counts: Week One – NFC
Hi everyone. Welcome back to the season. Week one was amazing just to have real football back but as the pigskin high wears off this is a great time to be nabbing the IDPs your league-mates haven’t figured out yet. As always, the single biggest driving factor for IDP production is playing time. So after one week we can scoop up the players who were on the field a ton and ignore those who produced big numbers from limited snaps. Every week, I’ll be trying to find those hidden gems for you.
Arizona Cardinals
With Markus Golden hurt, Benson Mayowa played 57 snaps (just behind Chandler Jones’ 63). Mayowa is a good short-term solution.
At linebacker, Josh Bynes seems to be a three-down player. He played 71 snaps with Haason Reddick way back on just 14. Reddick looks to be a bad bet right now. If you can sell him then it’s a good time to move on.
Atlanta Falcons
Deion Jones played 69 snaps but has subsequently been sent to IR. He’ll be back, but this one hurts. De’Vondre Campbell played 71 and will remain an every-down player. The big question is Jones’ replacement. Duke Riley (14) is first in line to be promoted to one of the main jobs but don’t be surprised if the team come up with a plan B.
At DE, Takkarist McKinley (47) led the team in snaps – with Vic Beasley behind on 44. Takk could have a breakout season this year. Keep faith in him.
After an injury to Keanu Neal (which also sent him to IR), Damontae Kazee came in to play 35 snaps at safety. However, he was very deep. Ricardo Allen (72) moving forward to the strong role seems a more likely option than Kazee being good.
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Carolina Panthers
Wes Horton surprisingly led the team in snaps at DE with 43, ahead of Mario Addison on 37. Bryan Cox (26) and Julius Peppers (24) were relievers.
Donte Jackson played 64 snaps on his debut at corner. He’s a very good IDP target.
Chicago Bears
Khalil Mack stole the headlines on his debut with an awesome performance from his 42 snaps. He played less than Leonard Floyd (46) who switched over to the right side of the defense to accommodate Mack.
Danny Trevathan was the main man inside with 57 snaps. Nick Kwiatkowski played 47 with Roquan Smith (eight snaps only) not ready for the full-time role he will have shortly.
Dallas Cowboys
Jaylon Smith (62) and Sean Lee (59) opened as the clear top options at the position. Leighton Vander Esch saw just 17 snaps in his first game.
Surprisingly, Jourdan Lewis played zero snaps at corner. He was fit and played special teams but Chidobe Awuzie (66), Byron Jones (66) and Anthony Brown (37) were all ahead of him on defense.
Taco Charlton led DEs with 49 snaps. Demarcus Lawrence (48) and Tyrone Crawford (47) were up there with him.
Detroit Lions
Ezekiel Ansah (19) was injured in this game. The other ends were Kerry Hyder (45) and Da’Shawn Hand (32) who played plenty inside as well.
At linebacker, Jarrad Davis played the Mike role on 58 snaps. Christian Jones (27) was the Will – which tends to be a part-time role for Matt Patricia. Devon Kennard was the Sam. He managed 58 snaps and a good game but he’ll be a frustrating IDP in 2018. Jalen Reeves-Maybin saw just 26 snaps.
At corner, Darius Slay (54) and Nevin Lawson (56) were the outside corners. Jamal Agnew (23) and Quandre Diggs (58) both spent time in the slot. Teez Tabor played just two snaps.
At safety, Glover Quin (40) and Tavon Wilson (40) were the nominal starters but Diggs is clearly involved too. This is a flexible situation and will morph against different oppositions.
Green Bay Packers
Blake Martinez was the key man at inside linebacker as we all expected. He played 70 snaps this week. Alongside him was a hodgepodge. Antonio Morrison played 11 snaps whilst safeties Jermaine Whitehead and Kentrell Brice also spent some time in the box in their “turbo” role. Once Oren Burks is fit, he should be taking that job over.
At outside linebacker, Clay Matthews (60) and Nick Perry (41) were the key players but Reggie Gilbert also managed 37 snaps. Kyler Fackrell saw just four snaps.
Kentrell Brice looks like the clear safety to own here. He was productive and played in a good spot with Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (70) playing as deep as usual.
Corner is a key spot in Green Bay this year. As expected, Kevin King played all 70 snaps and is the top man. Tramon Williams played 70 as well on the opposite side, and rookies Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson had 49 and 46 respectively. They’re both worth watching.
Los Angeles Rams
Aaron Donald (66), Ndamukong Suh (58), Michael Brockers (48), Dominique Easley (32) all saw significant playing time on a deep front.
With Mark Barron out injured, Cory Littleton (74) led the way at inside linebacker with Ramik Wilson (35) and safety Marqui Christian (35) also seeing some time. Mark Barron started out as a safety so Christian is an interesting potential backup.
On the edge, Samson Ebukam (57) and Matt Longacre (22) were the top names.
At safety, John Johnson (74) actually played more in the box than he did most of last season with Lamarcus Joyner (74) in his customary deep role.
Minnesota Vikings
Sheldon Richardson had a very healthy day and it came from him playing 26 snaps at tackle next to Linval Joseph (49) at nose. Richardson is a top-ten option at the position.
On the edge, Danielle Hunter led the NFL in pressures from his 58 snaps. Everson Griffen played 51 on the other side.
Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks continued as every-down LBs with 66 snaps each. Ben Gedeon played 29 as the Sam.
Mike Hughes played 52 snaps on his debut at corner. This is highly unusual for Mike Zimmer who tends to want corners to get a bit more seasoned. Xavier Rhodes is clearly the top corner with Trae Waynes playing just 24 snaps.
At safety, Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo (both 66 snaps) played their usual roles but Jayron Kearse played 22 snaps too. Mostly in the slot.
New Orleans Saints
Cameron Jordan (60) is still the clear lead dog at DE. Alex Okafor (37) held off Marcus Davenport (23) for now but it’s likely this balance will be flipped by the end of the season.
At LB, Demario Davis (66) led the team and is probably the only player to own. Alex Anzalone (34), Manti Te’o (27) and A.J. Klein (25) were all on the field in part-time roles.
At safety, Marcus Williams played 66 snaps in his every-down deep role. Kurt Coleman (37) and Vonn Bell (30) both saw time in the box and the slot – very similar to how Bell played with Kenny Vaccaro in 2017. Both are tough to start right now.
New York Giants
Alec Ogletree (63) was the only inside linebacker to play full-time. B.J. Goodson managed just 33 snaps which should shock no-one. Ray-Ray Armstrong replaced him on passing downs with 30 snaps.
On the edge, Kareem Martin (61) and Connor Barwin (41) are the players to own. Lorenzo Carter played 24 snaps on his debut.
Philadelphia Eagles
This game feels a long time ago, doesn’t it?
As always, the Eagles rotated their edge players. Brandon Graham (46) is the top player again. Derek Barnett (40) started but played less than Michael Bennett (45) and Chris Long was very productive with just 39 snaps.
Jordan Hicks had a fine day from 70 snaps. In the absence of Nigel Bradham, Kamu Grugier-Hill (28) and Nathan Gerry (26) both saw some time but can’t be counted on going forward.
Seattle Seahawks
Rasheem Green surprisingly played 46 snaps at DE on his debut. Green is the “big end” opposite Frank Clark (43 snaps). Dion Jordan played just 15. Please don’t roster Jordan.
Bobby Wagner played his usual every-down role with 74 snaps. Shaquem Griffen got the start but saw just 41 snaps. Austin Calitro (who?) played 33 snaps to spell Griffen. Griffen is not a good NFL player at this stage.
The Seahawks might have the worst cornerback unit in the league at this moment. Tre Flowers (72), Shaquill Griffen (74) and Justin Coleman (36) were all atrocious.
San Francisco 49ers
Arik Armstead played an encouraging 59 snaps at DE. Solomon Thomas played 35 and Cassius Marsh 39. Somehow there is still zero pass rush from them. They managed one hit and four hurries as a unit.
At linebacker, the story starts and ends with Fred Warner who performed amazingly on his debut as a pro. He played 71 snaps and had a huge day. Brock Coyle was the second LB on 61 snaps. He managed to miss four tackles and had an atrocious day.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Vinny Curry and Jason Pierre-Paul led DEs with 48 snaps each. However, Carl Nassib (27) and William Gholston (25) also saw plenty of time. Pierre-Paul is a massive risk to disappoint. At this rate, he’ll play just 75% of his 2017 snaps.
Kwon Alexander and Lavonte Davis both played 64 snaps at LB. Alexander gave up eight catches from eight targets for 83 yards and a touchdown.
At corner, Carlton Davis played 53 snaps outside in the absence of Brent Grimes. If he can stay on the field, he’s a good IDP. Vernon Hargreaves also managed 53 snaps with Ryan Smith on 44 and M.J. Stewart on 18.
At safety, Chris Conte (64) and Justin Evans (63) are the clear starters. Conte had to share a role last season. If he continues to play this much, he’ll be a good value.
Washington Redskins
Da’Ron Payne played just 30 snaps at nose tackle on his debut. He shouldn’t be starting outside of 32 team leagues.
Similarly, Matthew Ioannidis (27) and Jonathan Allen (28) also played sparingly. They’re all good players but they just won’t create the stats you want for IDPs.
At linebacker, Zach Brown (36) and Mason Foster (37) played inside with Ryan Kerrigan (36) and Preston Smith (39) outside. They’ll all have better days as the low number of team snaps didn’t create many opportunities.
D.J. Swearinger (53) remains the safety to own. Montae Nicholson (53) and Deshazor Everett (2) are just pipe dreams.
Phew! That’s it for this week. I promise it won’t be so long in future weeks but week one gives us the best chance to actually see the IDP landscape falling into place.
Thanks for reading.
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