NFC IDP Snap Counts: Week Five
With COVID seriously starting to affect the league, there’s plenty of news and changes to aware of this week. It’s also shined a light on just how aware you need to be in 2020. Your league is likely going to be won by the person who adapts and reacts the fastest and best. In IDP, that means being aware of who’s playing and how they’re being used.
READ: AFC IDP Snap Counts: Week Five
Arizona Cardinals – 69 snaps
The biggest news was star edge defender Chandler Jones (29) picking up a biceps injury that looks like ending his season. He’d been having a relatively poor season anyway and this will create questions about his future in Arizona.
Haason Reddick (34) has not been trusted as a full-time option so far this year – but he might have to be now. Kyle Fitts (34) is also worth monitoring.
Interior lineman Zach Allen (44) again played fairly heavy snaps. This team just does not have another player who can cover Jones’ absence.
Budda Baker (69) returned at safety this week. He played alongside Deionte Thompson (68).
Atlanta Falcons – 65 snaps
The Falcons fired Dan Quinn after the game and promoted defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. We’re unlikely to see huge schematic changes but this situation needs monitoring.
Corner AJ Terrell (64) returned after missing two games on the COVID list. He led the CB unit with Isaiah Oliver (54) and Kendall Sheffield (59) behind him.
The edge position remains a mess. Charles Harris led the group with 42 snaps ahead of Dante Fowler (34) and the rest. There’s no one here you want to be starting.
The Falcons have had injury nightmares at safety. This week Keanu Neal (58) and Ricardo Allen (63) were both healthy. They were the top starters in 2018 and 2019 until injury hit. These days they both look like they need a boost. Maybe the coaching change will give them that.
Carolina Panthers – 65 snaps
This defense is hard to watch. There’s talent here and they’re clearly building for the future, but right now good individual performances are few and far between.
Having said that, this week Brian Burns (16) managed to deliver one – before getting concussed. Burns is such a good pass rusher he’s going to deliver these games sometimes. But he’s so hard to trust as a starter.
Stephen Weatherly (37), Efe Obada (33), Marquis Haynes (36) and Yetur Gross-Matos (17) all played a decent amount too – with varying success. Gross-Matos is clearly the most talented but he’s also just not ready for a full-time role yet.
LB Tahir Whitehead (35) has played 65 snaps in the past two games. His partner Shaq Thompson played that many snaps in this game alone. This is a three-safety, one-LB defense. Thompson is the only startable LB.
Corner Donte Jackson played just one snaps before injuring his toe.
Chicago Bears – 71 snaps
This is a settled defense and we’ve got a good idea of which personnel they want to use.
The big change this week was edge Robert Quinn (41) getting a noticeable bump in playing time. He’d averaged 30 snaps per game before this game.
LB Danny Trevathan had a good game but continues to not be a full-time player. Roquan Smith (71) is consistently playing 15-20 extra snaps per game. His 48 snaps per game average over the past four weeks rank 35th among LBs.
Dallas Cowboys – 68 snaps
The Cowboys were already having a very difficult season before their starting QB picked up a season-ending injury. Suddenly 2020 looks like a nightmare for the team.
This week saw a noticeable change in scheme – collectively their safeties played 151 snaps and the LBs just 122. It looks like they are yet another team starting to experiment more with single-LB personnel. Admittedly it was partially injury-caused but still…
In individual terms, Jaylon Smith (68) remains the full-time LB with Joe Thomas (46) missing part of the game with his injury.
At safety Xavier Woods (68) is the lone every-snap man, with Donovan Wilson playing 44, Darian Thompson 15 and Steven Parker 24. Parker has often been used as a box-safety but notably here he played plenty deep.
Detroit Lions
The Lions did not play this week with their bye.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers did not play this week with their bye.
Los Angeles Rams – 54 snaps
The Rams barely broke into a sweat against Washington. Eight sacks on just 54 snaps is absolutely devastating.
Three of those sacks were delivered by LB Troy Reeder (48) who had played just 18 defensive snaps before this game. He was playing in place of Micah Kiser who missed the game hurt. Kenny Young (38) reprised his normal limited volume.
Safety confounded IDP owners again with Taylor Rapp (13) playing limited snaps and Jordan Fuller (54) again installed as the starter next to John Johnson (54).
On the edge Leonard Floyd is still the top option (as strange as that sounds) but he was one of the worst Rams pass rushers in the game.
Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (14), rookie Terrell Lewis (14), Justin Hollins (11), Samson Ebukam (5) and Jachai Polite (4) were all given the chance to grab some pressures. Polite got his sack but is absolutely not a target. He’s played 12 total defensive snaps in five games now. Terrell Lewis is more interesting and could carve out a role.
Minnesota Vikings – 54 snaps
The only major change this week was CB Holton Hill not playing. Mike Hughes (43) came back in after missing the last couple of games. Notably Hughes played wide with Jeff Gladney (54) playing in the slot. This is a reverse from the last time they both played in week two.
It increasingly looks like Danielle Hunter is not going to play this season. Yannick Ngakoue (46) and Ifeadi Odenigbo (42) are leading the way but Jalyn Homes (31) and DJ Wonnum (27) are just behind them. Don’t be shocked when the two “starters” fail to get to the QB but the “reserves” do.
New Orleans Saints – 71 snaps
Marcus Davenport (21) made his long-awaited season debut at DE this week. Trey Hendrickson (50) was still way ahead of him for now. As of course was Cameron Jordan (59).
Sheldon Rankins (36) managed a sack from DT this week – he and David Onyemata (38) offer a very good one-two punch of interior rush.
Alex Anzalone and Demario Davis both played every snap of this game. It’s a matter of time until Anzalone has some very good IDP games.
Star corner Marshon Lattimore (70) returned after a brief injury.
New York Giants – 66 snaps
The Giants are 0-5 having lost to the Cowboys who cannot defend and just lost their quarterback. Ouch.
Giants edge rusher Lorenzo Carter (10) suffered an injury and could be out for the season. In his absence, Kyler Fackrell (65) and Markus Golden (57) played the majority of snaps and both had big games. Oshane Ximines is already on IR so Fackrell and Golden may have much bigger roles going forward.
LB Tae Crowder (49) played his highest snap total yet – but he’s still a part-timer with Blake Martinez (66) the only viable IDP option.
Jabrill Peppers returned at safety but played just 23 snaps. Logan Ryan (66) and Adrian Colbert (50) were ahead of him. Expect Peppers to ramp up next week at Colbert’s expense.
Philadelphia Eagles – 75 snaps
This secondary is still in trouble.
Jalen Mills (73) and Darius Slay (60) played outside corner. Nickell Robey-Coleman (32) and Cre’Von LeBlanc (30) mostly played in the slot. CB Craig James (9) also got some snaps.
Rodney McLeod (75) led the way at safety with Marcus Epps (54) and K’Von Wallace (13) also seeing the field.
So that’s eight different defensive backs with just one playing every snap. Yuk.
Nate Gerry (75) continues to be the sole full-time LB, but it cannot be overstated how little he deserves that accolade. He’s had a shocking season so far and is in dire danger of losing his job imminently.
Duke Riley (56), Alex Singleton (28) and TJ Edwards (who missed this game) are all in line to play. Rookie Davion Taylor has not played a defensive snap yet (he has been an active special teamer every game) should also see some time at some point.
Seattle Seahawks – 87 snaps
That’s right. 87 snaps. This Seattle defense is on the field a LOT.
LB Cody Barton had a huge game but played only 59 snaps – well behind Bobby Wagner (87) and KJ Wright (86). Many will assume the Seahawks are returning to their three-LB defense of 2019 but it was likely just a response to the Vikings who use three WRs relatively rarely.
Corner Quinton Dunbar (69) returned for this game and played across from Shaquill Griffin (87). Ugo Amadi (28) and Tre Flowers (18) rounded out the group.
At safety Ryan Neal (87) continued to deputize for Jamal Adams next to free safety Quandre Diggs (87).
San Francisco 49ers – 67 snaps
What a terrible week for the Niners as they got absolutely smashed by the Dolphins. There are some good players on this defense still – but the weak spots are looking disastrous right now.
Number one among them was corner. Brian Allen (24) started the game but was yanked from the game early after giving up five catches quickly. Sadly he did not look like an NFL player. Jason Verrett (65) is holding one corner job down but Ahkello Witherspoon (41) has probably already shown us he’s not an answer either. Jamar Taylor (33) also had an utter stinker in the slot.
On the edge, Arik Armstead (54) and Kerry Hyder (43) are both playing well. Dion Jordan (35) and Kentavius Street (27) are both looking like the replacement options they are.
At LB Dre Greenlaw (35) returned to his third-man job after missing two weeks. Kwon Alexander (66) and Fred Warner (67) hold the main jobs.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 63 snaps
The Bucs are the most consistent defense in personnel terms in the NFL in 2020. They really are just using 14 main defenders each week.
There were no significant changes in personnel this week.
The big event here was interior lineman Vita Vea (44) getting hurt. He’s sadly done for the year. Expect Ndamukong Suh (53), William Gholston (37) and Rakeem Nunez-Roches (19) to all add a few snaps per week – but the Bucs should also add a new body to the mix as well.
Washington Football Team – 68 snaps
There’s not much to be happy about at the moment for Washington. One slight ray of sunshine was DE Chase Young’s return to the team with 45 snaps. Sadly, they were pretty weak snaps as the Football Team struggled to generate any pressure. Montez Sweat (44) did manage a sack but that was one of just three pressures in this game. Third DE Ryan Kerrigan played just 21 snaps, so he was notably behind the young starters.
Veteran LB Thomas Davis (33) played his biggest game for the team so far. Largely due to the Rams allowing them to remain in base formation much of the game. Jon Bostic (68) and Kevin Pierre-Louis (52) were out in front.
Safety Kamren Curl (36) played the most snaps of his career. He’s behind starters Landon Collins (68) and Troy Apke (47) but Curl is gaining momentum.
Thanks for reading and good luck with waivers.
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