NFC IDP Snap Counts: Week Four
Week four is done and dusted which means we’re a quarter of the way through the regular season. There will be plenty more surprises and injuries and breakouts – but teams mostly know what they want to do by now, and they’ve shown us with how they use their players.
READ: AFC IDP Snap Counts: Week Four
Arizona Cardinals
The 2019 Cardinals were such a great IDP defense because the fast-paced offense led to a huge amount of defensive snaps too. This season they’ve played just 272 snaps through four games, which is bang average.
Jordan Hicks and De’Vondre Campbell (both 77) continue to be the every-down LBs with Isaiah Simmons (10) an interesting role-player.
Both normal safeties were out this week which led to Curtis Riley (61) and Deionte Thompson (59) starting with Charles Washington (32) also on the field.
Isaiah Simmons did not play safety this week. Don’t believe every blurb or rumor you hear.
Edge defender Devon Kennard missed the game which means Haason Reddick (44) played his highest total of the season. Zach Allen (57) also received an inflated workload and played much more on the edge than normal as the Cards used more four-man fronts. It remains to be seen if this is a permanent change or just a one-week emergency solution. Allen rushed the passer 30 times this week and failed to record a single pressure so don’t get too excited about him.
Atlanta Falcons
We’ll start with good news; LB Foyesade Oluokun (61) returned after missing a game and a half. Deion Jones (63) played next to him which left Mykal Walker (32) with a limited role.
Now the bad news; this secondary is decimated. Damontae Kazee (21) had to leave the game early (he is done for the year) which means the top safeties were Sharrod Neasman (42) and Jamal Carter (31). That’s not good. Carter played strong safety with Neasman at free. But you should avoid this group in all but the direst emergency.
Cornerbacks did not fare much better. Isaiah Oliver (63) remains settled but Darqueze Dennard missed this game with Kendall Sheffield (63) coming in. Blidi Wreh-Wilson (39) and Jaylinn Hawkins (26) also saw some time.
Dante Fowler at least seemed healthy again on the edge. He played 45 snaps with no other edge hitting 30.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers played just 57 defensive snaps against the Cardinals this week.
DT Kawann Short (43) returned to the team which meant Bravvion Roy did not play.
On the edge, this team is still badly lacking pass rush although Yetur Gross-Matos (21) looked good in his return from injury. Brian Burns (51) is leading the way in snaps but he’s not an every-down player in an ideal world. Stephen Weatherly (38) is a journeyman and Efe Obada (16) and Marquis Haynes (11) are probably playing as much as they deserve.
For the third straight week, LB Tahir Whitehead (30) played limited snaps next to every-down Shaq Thompson (55). This defense is a three-safety scheme so there’s no room for a second full-time LB.
Chicago Bears
As more teams move towards just one full-time LB, Danny Trevathan (53) seems to be another player who is no longer as reliable as he was. Roquan Smith (72) is 73 snaps ahead of Trevathan after just four games. That’s the equivalent of another one to one-and-a-half games. It’s enough to mean players like Trevathan really aren’t in the mix to be reliable top 30 LBs.
After three games it’s clear Robert Quinn (32) is closer to Barkevious Mingo (25) and James Vaughters (23) than Khalil Mack (63) in the OLB pecking order. You can probably find someone who thinks Quinn is still getting up to speed (or some such nonsense) and offload him.
Dallas Cowboys
Whenever the Cowboys get discussed there’s a certain amount of hyperbole – but in this situation, it’s warranted. This is one of the worst defenses in the NFL. On the plus side – they are playing a LOT of snaps. 299 in four games to be precise. Only the Seahawks (304) have seen more.
Jaylon Smith and Joe Thomas (both 75) are playing every snap at LB. They’re both playing badly but they’re productive at least.
Aldon Smith (54) continues to be the top DE with Demarcus Lawrence (38), Everson Griffen (38) and Dorance Armstrong (20) all behind him.
The top tackles are solidifying as Trysten Hill (64) and Dontari Poe (59) with Antwaun Woods (47) and Tyrone Crawford (33) rotating in.
Trevon Diggs and Daryl Worley (both 75) are the top corners. Jourdan Lewis is playing nickel but managed just 22 snaps this week as the Browns kept the Cowboys in base.
Safety Xavier Woods (75) has played every snap with Donovan Wilson (70) stepping up this week after Darian Thompson (4) was hurt.
Detroit Lions
The Lions remain one of the worst defenses in the NFL. It’s a matter of time until Matt Patricia is shown the door I’m afraid.
Jamie Collins (63) has at least emerged as a (mostly) trustworthy option at LB. Jahlani Tavai saw just nine snaps this week. He has looked out of his depth all season. Reggie Ragland (44) was the second LB this week with Jarrad Davis (19) also seeing some time. Collins is just about viable. None of the others are.
At safety we saw Tracy Walker (70) play heavy snaps alongside Duron Harmon (69) for the second week running. Will Harris (22) was limited. The team appears to have decided this is the way forward.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers were without Christian Kirksey this week. Given what a productive role that single-LB spot is, all eyes were on the replacement. Ty Summers stepped up in week three and he led the way here with 52 snaps (of 70 total). But Krys Barnes (38) led the way most of the match until he was hurt and came out. There’s productivity here – but we need more clarity before we trust it.
Za’Darius Smith (64) exploded with the huge game his owners had been waiting for. He and Preston Smith (67) played almost every snap with Rashan Gary out this week.
Los Angeles Rams
After the early-season drama, safety Taylor Rapp (68) seems to have won his job back. Terrell Burgess (19) has been a distant third in the rotation for the last two weeks now. Maybe the coaching staff was just trying to motivate Rapp?
LB Micah Kiser (44) suffered a groin injury allowing Troy Reeder to come in and play 18 snaps. Kenny Young (34) remains off the IDP radar due to low volume. If Kiser misses games, this is an interesting situation to monitor.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are now using Eric Kendricks and Eric Wilson (both 65) as full-time LBs. Wilson is playing much less on the edge than Anthony Barr did, which makes him a much more attractive IDP. Hardy Nickerson (9) and Todd Davis (8) are not relevant at the moment.
Star safety Harrison Smith (25) was ejected from the game which meant George Iloka (43) played. Iloka played a grand total of 117 defensive snaps across 2018 and 2019. He was (unsurprisingly) rusty.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints underwent a mini-crisis at corner this week. Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins both missed the game, so Patrick Robinson (58) and safety PJ Williams (54) had to be emergency solutions. Neither is a natural there at this stage of their careers.
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (59) played in the slot where he’s settled.
LB Alex Anzalone (59) played his highest snap count of the year. He’s very close to being an every-down player at this stage. He’s been very inefficient so far so he’s likely to be on waivers in most leagues even with his recognizable name and hair. He’s worth a gamble in deep leagues (16+ teams or 70+ man rosters).
New York Giants
It’s very fashionable to criticise the Giants as being awful. But their defense really isn’t that bad. They’re certainly not great – but this is similar to the Jets in 2019 – a terrible offense with a perfectly OK defense that gets unfairly lumped in.
Safety Jabrill Peppers missed this game with his ankle injury. In his absence, Adrian Colbert (43) played his first snaps since week one next to Logan Ryan (57) with Julian Love restricted to just 17 snaps.
Blake Martinez (57) remains the sole LB on the IDP radar with Tae Crowder (33) behind him.
Edge rusher Oshane Ximines (19) had a limited day this week with Kyler Fackrell (42) earning some more playing time next top the top option Lorenzo Carter (46).
The only corner you should be considering is James Bradberry (57). He’s having a decent year. The likes of Ryan Lewis (42) and Darnay Holmes (33) can be ignored.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles moved their secondary around this week as a result of injuries. Jalen Mills (73) played his old position of outside corner with Rodney McLeod (73) joined at safety by rookie K’Von Wallace (27) and Marcus Epps (44).
Darius Slay (73) played across from Mills at corner with Nickell Robey-Coleman (30) in the slot and Cre’Von LeBlanc as the extra corner.
LB remains Nate Gerry (72) as the sole every-down player. Duke Riley (47) is a distant second.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks are leading the NFL in defensive snaps so far with over 76 per game on average.
They’ve also settled into a more orthodox defense. Bobby Wagner (71) and KJ Wright are playing almost every snap at LB with Cody Barton (24) a minor player. Jordyn Brooks missed this game but has played just 29 defensive snaps this season.
Benson Mayowa retains his top edge role…for now. He played 46 snaps this week and again failed to reach the QB – although he did create five pressures. He’s been remarkably non-productive so far.
Superstar safety Jamal Adams was out this week so Quandre Diggs (71) was joined by Ryan Neal (71).
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers have adapted to their injuries and seem fairly settled now. Obviously, they’ve suffered but this is a well-coached team.
On the edge, Arik Armstead (48) and Kerry Hyder (47) are the top options with Dion Jordan (26), Ezekiel Ansah (13) and Kentavius Street (11) rotating in.
Rookie Javon Kinlaw (47) is leading DTs in playing time. DJ Jones (39) is the starting nose and Kevin Givens (17) providing cover.
With Richard Sherman and Emmanuel Moseley continuing to miss games, the corners are Dontae Johnson (59) and Jason Verrett (61) with K’Waun Williams (34) at nickel back.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs are the most settled and consistent defense in the NFL. They have used just 18 defenders so far. And four of them have seen under 50 snaps each.
The snaps don’t matter that much because the starters play basically every snap they can. To recap they are:
- DT: Ndamukong Suh and Vita Vea
- Edge: Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett
- LB: Devin White and Lavonte David
- CB: Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting. Jamel Dean is the third corner
- S: Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead
Washington Football Team
With Chase Young out this week, we surprisingly saw no edge player hit 30 snaps. Ryan Kerrigan (29) and Montez Sweat (27) were joined in the rotation by Nate Orchard (26) and Ryan Anderson (29).
The interior situation remained steady from last week. Tim Settle played 22 snaps (26 last week) with Da’Ron Payne (47) and Jonathan Allen (45) picking up the slack with Matt Ioannidis out.
Jon Bostic (57) remains the top LB with Kevin Pierre-Louis (48) yet another LB who is playing almost-but-not-quite a full-time role. Thomas Davis (8) played his first defensive snaps but he’s not on the IDP radar.
Thanks for reading and good luck with waivers.
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