IDP Snap Counts: Week Three
With three weeks in the bank, we can start seeing not just data but trends. Twice can be a coincidence but three weeks in a row? That’s when we know.
A reminder – this article is about spotting changes and interesting news for IDP owners. It’s not for explaining exactly what every single player is up to. 599 players played defense in week two. It’s just not possible to touch on them all – and the update for a lot of them would be “the same as last week”.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals continue to be a very high-volume defense. Play as many of them as you can most weeks.
Haason Reddick played all 63 snaps at LB next to Jordan Hicks. Reddick had been missing some snaps beforehand. This makes him attractive in deeper leagues.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons have averaged 78 defensive snaps per week so far. They could well end up playing a high amount in 2019.
We had nasty news with strong safety Keanu Neal out for the year with a bad injury. Lots of people will snap up Damontae Kazee (43) but he was actually a deep safety in 2018 and scored his points from (unrepeatable) interceptions. What’s more, he’s playing slot corner this year. The player you should be adding is Kemal Ishmael (39) who should get the first chance to play box safety.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens have averaged under 60 defensive snaps per week so far with their ball-control offense. This is not an IDP goldmine.
Kenny Young (40) played more than Chris Board (13) at LB this week but Patrick Onwuasor (67) remains the player you want.
In a competitive game, Matt Judon (58) and Pernell McPhee (56) dominated OLB snaps.
Buffalo Bills
No major changes this week. Siran Neal (30) continues to play dime nickel and look after bigger slot options. He’s not an IDP consideration yet.
Tackle Ed Oliver (36) has not managed a sack yet but he’s about to get one. Keep the faith.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers went mad this week with eight sacks. That’s awesome but it’s not going to happen every week.
Brian Burns (56) already seems to be the team’s top pass-rusher even though Mario Addison (46) got the headlines. Marquis Haynes (30) and Christian Miller (24) also got some action this week.
Chicago Bears
No major changes this week. Danny Trevathan (66) and Roquan Smith (73) are both being very productive as inside LBs.
Leonard Floyd (57) has failed to record a sack since the two he managed on the opening night of the season. But he has had three pressures in both his subsequent games after just two in that first game.
Khalil Mack (62) had three pressures in those first game but no sacks. In the next two games, he’s reached 17 pressures (wow) and three sacks.
Cincinnati Bengals
Slot corner B.W. Webb missed this game with Darius Phillips (22) and Tony McRae (29) stepping in for him.
Nick Vigil (67) and Preston Brown (58) remain the LBs to own. Vigil did OK this week. We knew it was coming because we look deeper.
Cleveland Browns
Starting defensive backs Denzel Ward, Greedy Williams, Damarious Randall and Morgan Burnett all missed this game. Ouch.
At corner, Terrance Mitchell (66) and Juston Burris (66) stepped in.
At safety, Jermaine Whitehead (66) got a full game. As did Eric Murray (66).
With Chris Kirksey on IR, rookie Mack Wilson (66) played LB. Sione Takitaki didn’t get any work on defense.
Dallas Cowboys
Jaylon Smith had a big day from just 47 snaps. Leighton Vander Esch (64) was much less productive. This is another reminder that betting on low-volume players to maintain high efficiency with more snaps (Vander Esch last year) is foolhardy. Joe Thomas (33) played in relief of Smith.
With Xavier Woods out at safety, Darian Thompson (72) played.
Denver Broncos
Todd Davis returned at LB for his first game of the year. He managed 56 snaps. With him in the team, Corey Nelson played just six snaps. Josey Jewell played 42.
Bradley Chubb (56) and Von Miller (53) continue to play high volume but not register sacks. Miller at least created pressure this week. Chubb has been worryingly poor so far.
Detroit Lions
Darius Slay took a knock at corner and played just 44 snaps. Mike Ford (31) stepped in for him.
Tackle Mike Daniels hurt his foot and could play just seven snaps. In his absence, A’Shawn Robinson (45) and Kevin Strong (34) played more than they normally would.
Jarrad Davis returned to health and played 67 snaps. He looks like he’s the top dog in the unit with Christian Jones (39) and Jahlani Tavai (27) losing a lot of their snaps. Jalen Reeves Maybin only saw one snap. Davis looks like the only confident start in week four.
Green Bay Packers
Preston Smith (63) and Za’Darius Smith (59) are one of the more destructive edge partnerships in football right now. Both should be starting in most leagues with three or more LBs.
Rookie Rashan Gary played 26 snaps this week. He’s added playing time every week and recorded his first sack this week.
Houston Texans
No major changes this week. J.J. Watt (71) is still a force, Zach Cunningham (69) still their best LB.
Indianapolis Colts
With star LB Darius Leonard missing this week, Anthony Walker (61) and rookie Bobby Okereke (55) were asked to step up. Both were liabilities in coverage but picked up a lot of tackles as a result.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Calais Campbell (54) continues to play a decent chunk inside. It doesn’t appear to be holding him back so keep starting him. Yannick Ngakoue returned from injury to play 64 snaps with Josh Allen (54) on the other side.
LB Myles Jack (38) was hurt again and has failed to finish two of his three games this year. In his absence, Leon Jacobs (27) and Najee Goode (42) again picked up snaps with Quincy Williams (79) the clear top option.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs played a very high 83 snaps this week against the Ravens. Bear that in mind.
Anthony Hitchens (68) and Damien Wilson (65) remain every-down LBs.
Frank Clark (63) and Alex Okafor (56) remain much better options than Emmanuel Ogbah (37) even though the latter had a sack.
Los Angeles Chargers
Rookie tackle Jerry Tillery frustratingly continues to play limited snaps, He had 23 this week. More, please.
Denzel Perryman returned at LB to play 38 snaps which meant Kyzir White saw just seven snaps. Thomas Davis (60) is the only trusted option here right now.
With Adrian Phillips and Derwin James hurt, Roderic Teamer surprisingly stepped in to play strong safety.
Los Angeles Rams
Rookie safety Taylor Rapp played mostly in the box this week as an ersatz LB. He saw 55 snaps with Bryce Hager (12) in on more conventional LB sets. Neither are startable right now.
Miami Dolphins
Taco Charlton managed a sack on his debut, but he played just 30 snaps. The ineffectual Charles Harris still leads the way with 67 snaps.
Sam Eguavoen rewarded our patience with a big day. He played all 72 snaps with his partner Jerome Baker. Raekwon McMillan (21) is a part-time player.
Minnesota Vikings
Anthony Barr missed the game, so Eric Wilson stepped up with 59 snaps. He had a big day, but he could be back on the bench quickly.
New England Patriots
Patriots LBs are going to be tough this year. They moved around a bit but the basic look was Jamie Collins (39) at ROLB, Dont’a Hightower (35) inside and Kyle Van Noy (51) at LOLB. Ja’Whaun Bentley (14) and Elandon Roberts (16) both played specialist roles inside in certain sets.
None of them are good starts currently. None of them.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints played 84 snaps this week so that inflates all players’ production.
Cameron Jordan (82) remains the top DE. Marcus Davenport (65) is number two with Trey Hendricks (52) third.
Demario Davis (83) and A.J. Klein (82) played full-time LB this week with Kiko Alonso playing ten snaps.
New York Jets
With megabucks LB C.J Mosley still out, the Jets played Neville Hewitt (77) and late-round rookie Blake Cashman (69) with predictably average results. This Jets team is horrendous.
New York Giants
LB Alec Ogletree pulled his hamstring in this game which limited him to just 29 snaps. Tae Davis also played 29 in relief with Ryan Connelly (71) a full-time player.
Markus Golden played 61 snaps on the edge. He has ten pressures and four sacks in his last two games. Wow.
Oakland Raiders
Please stop starting Benson Mayowa. He had four sacks in his first two weeks but that was from just five pressures and 43 snaps. That’s a textbook anomaly there.
At safety, Karl Joseph played 61 snaps with Curtis Riley (45) and Erik Harris (19) both splitting time. You shouldn’t be starting any of them.
Philadelphia Eagles
LB Zach Brown had a good game from just 53 snaps. Nigel Bradham (63) remains the only full-time LB. He’s not an efficient player though and this whole team might be best avoided.
Pittsburgh Steelers
New acquisition Minkah Fitzpatrick (79) played free safety with Sean Davis out for the year. He had a lucky pick but he’s a very tough start going forwards.
At LB, Devin Bush and Mark Barron both played 79 snaps. Vince Williams was out of the game though.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks defense has played under 60 snaps the last two games.
The weird thing here is that all three LBs are playing significant time. Bobby Wagner (58) is obviously the star but K.J Wright (57) and Mychal Kendricks (42) are seeing serious time too. Kendricks has been lining up plenty against TEs in the slot which is… curious.
San Francisco 49ers
Dre Greenlaw has been making his way into IDP starting lineups for some reason. He played just ten snaps this week and was only an emergency starter in week one. Kwon Alexander (52) and Fred Warner (53) are obviously the guys.
Arik Armstead (41) is playing more than Nick Bosa (39) and Dee Ford (16). This probably won’t last but you need to know it.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
With Devin White out, Kevin Monter (59) stepped in again at LB.
On the edge, Shaq Barrett (60) is just about the most devastating defender in the NFL right now. Eight sacks and eighteen pressures from three games is absurd. Carl Nassib quietly has ten pressures on the other side and just one sack to give you an idea. Sack to pressure ratio is a very unstable stat so expect that to equalize out a bit.
Tennessee Titans
Wesley Woodyard did not play on defense this week. You should have dropped him already.
Cam Wake played just 14 snaps on the edge. After his big week one, he has just three pressures in the last two combined games. He’s simply not playing enough to be reliable.
Washington Redskins
LB Shaun Dion Hamilton did not play on defense in week three. He did play special teams, so this isn’t a good look for him. Cole Holcomb played just 30 snaps too with Jon Bostic the only reliable LB option on 66.
At cornerback, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie did not play so Fabien Moreau (63) came in.
Good luck next week everyone.
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