IDP Rookie Review: Week Eight

Jason King Posted On November 5, 2020

I wasn’t so sure we’d make it this far into the 2020 NFL season without a delay, but at the halfway point of the fantasy season, you probably have a good idea about the postseason chances of your dynasty squads. For those teams that are out of contention, start making a list of the IDP rookies you’d like to acquire. Now is a good time to go get them from contenders, whether those rookies come via straight-up swaps for productive veterans, or as throw-ins in bigger trades that include offensive players.

As with each week in this article, I’m keeping watch on a number of those IDP rookies to provide a look at playing time and progression. At season’s end, my plan is to provide positional rankings and write-ups to give you a good feel for who you can build around, who you can keep rostered, and who you can let go.

As always, let me know in the comments section if you want more information on anyone covered or not covered.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN

Derrick Brown, DT CAR

56 of 70 snaps (80%); started; one solo tackle, three assists

Brown received his highest number of snaps and had a decent day in the tackle department as a gap filler. I don’t know that he’s going to offer much as a pass rusher this year, so his fantasy value is somewhat limited, but he seems to have a decent tackle floor right now given his playing time. If you own him in a defensive tackle-required league, hopefully he’s just a backup for you right now.

Alton Robinson, DE SEA

49 of 70 snaps (70%); two solo tackles, one assist; one sack; one tackle for loss; one quarterback hit

Stephen Sullivan, TE/DE SEA

22 of 70 snaps (31%); one assist

Robinson received his highest workload of the season, starting at the rush end spot with Benson Mayowa missing the game. His sack of Jimmy Garoppolo on a third-quarter, third-down play aggravated the quarterback’s ankle injury and knocked him from the game. At the beginning of the second quarter, an unblocked Robinson absolutely obliterated Garoppolo on a play that earned the Syracuse product a roughing the passer penalty.

What role Robinson plays going forward is a bit unknown. Not only did the Seahawks trade for Carlos Dunlap, who Pete Carroll said would step into the LEO role that Robinson played in week eight, but Rasheem Green is near a return from injured reserve. The defensive end rotation also includes Mayowa, LJ Collier and Jonathan Bullard. Damontre Moore was recently suspended for six games, and it’s possible that second-round pick Darrell Taylor gets healthy enough to play at some point this season.

As for Sullivan, he played a surprising number of snaps after adding defensive end responsibilities, and he’s now dual-eligible (from an NFL perspective) on defense and on offense at tight end. Don’t expect moderate (or any) usage going forward, but he did pick up an assisted tackle on his first play.

Tershawn Wharton, DT KC

31 of 57 snaps (54%); two solo tackles, two assists; one sack; one tackle for loss; one quarterback hit

The undrafted Wharton has been quite the find for Kansas City. He’s not the biggest defensive tackle in the game for sure, but he’s got a good frame, and used power and quickness to bring down Sam Darnold in the backfield early in the second quarter for his first career sack. He even dropped into zone coverage after lining up over the center on a play that he tackled a scrambling Darnold.

DJ Wonnum, DE MIN

37 of 75 snaps (49%); one solo tackle; one sack; two quarterback hits; one forced fumble

Following the Vikings’ trade of Yannick Ngakoue, Wonnum suddenly has an opening for major snaps. Working behind starters Ifeadi Odenigbo and Jalyn Holmes, Wonnum made the play of the day for Minnesota on the game’s final play, crushing Aaron Rodgers from behind just as the Packers quarterback got ready to let loose a Hail Mary (we’ve seen those play out enough times, haven’t we?). The blow dislodged the pass and secured a six-point win for the Vikings. I wouldn’t want Wonnum in my fantasy lineup right now but he’s a nice dynasty stash.

Others of note:

Michael Danna, DE KC – 25 of 57 snaps (44%); one assist
Raekwon Davis, DT MIA – 50 of 95 snaps (53%); started; one solo tackle, three assists
Jordan Elliott, DT CLE – 24 of 72 snaps (33%); two solo tackles, two assists; continues to work as third interior defensive lineman behind Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi
Neville Gallimore, DT DAL – 17 of 63 snaps (27%)
Bryce Huff, DE NYJ – 46 of 66 snaps (70%); one solo tackle
Khalid Kareem, DE CIN – 43 of 62 snaps (69%); one solo tackle; second in snaps among defensive ends
Javon Kinlaw, DT SF – 47 of 68 snaps (69%); one assist
Justin Madubuike, DT BAL – 18 of 53 snaps (34%)
John Penisini, DT DET – 47 of 77 snaps (61%); one solo tackle, one assist; one tackle for loss
Bravvion Roy, DT CAR – 37 of 70 snaps (53%); started; one assist

Notable inactives and injuries:

Marlon Davidson, DE ATL – activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list on Oct. 26, but still inactive for the game
AJ Epenesa, DE BUF – healthy scratch

LINEBACKERS

Krys Barnes, LB GB

49 of 52 snaps (94%); started; one solo tackle, three assists

Kamal Martin, LB GB

42 of 52 snaps (81%); started; one solo tackle, two assists

The Vikings ran the ball 34 times, but it didn’t result in big tackle numbers for either Barnes or Martin.

Seeing both on the field at the same time, Martin clearly looks like the better player. He’s the quicker of the two to diagnose plays, and plays at a faster speed. I would anticipate Martin having the larger role once Christian Kirksey returns. And before getting injured late in the preseason, Martin was in line to be playing next to Kirksey in sets with two inside linebackers. That said, Martin has been ruled out for Thursday night’s game against San Francisco, as he was deemed to be in high risk of exposure to COVID-19 after being in close contact with AJ Dillon.

On one play late in the first quarter, Martin did a nice job of working through blockers to snuff out a screen pass to Adam Thielen, hitting the receiver just as Thielen dropped the pass.

Jordyn Brooks, LB SEA

35 of 70 snaps (50%); started; one solo tackle, three assists

Brooks’ usage has been consistent over the past two weeks following his return from a knee injury, unfortunately he’s coming out in nickel looks – something that’s not likely to change this year with KJ Wright still in the fold. In addition, veteran Mychal Kendricks lurks on Seattle’s practice squad.

In pass coverage, Brooks allowed an early catch to Brandon Aiyuk. Later in the first quarter Brooks did a nice job of recovering from zone misdirection to quickly close on Kyle Juszczyk, who was open in the middle of the field, and make the tackle just as the 49ers fullback caught the ball. On the next play he filled the running lane to stop Tevin Coleman for a four-yard gain.

His active first quarter almost included a fumble recovery, but safety Ryan Neal rolled out of bounds while touching JaMycal Hasty’s fumbled ball; Brooks pounced on it a half-second later. Midway through the second quarter, Brooks combined with Bobby Wagner for a goal-line stop on a Hasty second-and-two run.

Willie Gay, LB KC

Nine of 57 snaps (16%); started; one solo tackle

Gay has been all over the place in terms of usage, and he’s not usable for fantasy due to that unpredictability. In the four weeks prior to week eight, his snap counts were:

Week 7: 39 snaps (51%)
Week 6: two snaps (4%)
Week 5: 33 snaps (47%)
Week 4: 25 snaps (33%)

Against the Jets, Gay was well behind Damien Wilson, Anthony Hitchens and even Ben Niemann in the linebacker rotation. Ultimately the linebacker to own here is actually safety Daniel Sorensen, so just keep Gay stashed for 2021 and beyond.

Alex Highsmith, LB PIT

25 of 82 snaps (30%); two assists; one interception; one pass defensed

The third-round pick from UNC-Charlotte got a lot of extra run this week with the Steelers utilizing a sub-package that included three outside linebackers – TJ Watt, Bud Dupree and Highsmith – along with inside ‘backers Robert Spillane and Vince Williams. Highsmith dropped into coverage and came up with a big interception early in the second half, giving Pittsburgh the ball at Baltimore’s 21-yard line. The Steelers scored two plays later.

The national media says it every year, but it’s really true this coming off-season: Pittsburgh is up against the cap and is likely to lose James Conner, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Bud Dupree and others to free agency. If you play in a “big play” format or one that groups outside linebackers with defensive ends as edge players, Highsmith is a nice bench stash for now with high snaps looking likely for 2021 and beyond. He has looked like a future starter in limited time this season.

Kenneth Murray, LB LAC

65 of 65 snaps; three solo tackles, one assist

This game was another statistical dud for Murray, who managed only a handful of tackles, and only one against the run. He stopped KJ Hamler, Melvin Gordon and Noah Fant after short receptions. I would say keep plugging him in there based on his snap counts, but this type of production has been his M.O.

Patrick Queen, LB BAL

53 of 53 snaps; three solo tackles, one assist

This was the first game of Queen’s career that he played 100 percent of defensive snaps. The tackle numbers weren’t there, as the Ravens dominated the clock in the first half and the Steelers went heavy on pass plays in the second half, but Queen still popped with his fast pursuit to the ball. He didn’t get a tackle for his effort, but he contributed to a key stop on James Conner on a third-and-one run with less than two minutes in the game. He flew into the gap, stopping Conner dead in his tracks with a massive hit that Calais Campbell cleaned up for no gain and forcing a Steelers punt.

Rookie linebackers make mistakes in zone coverage, and Queen made a big one in the third quarter with the Steelers in an empty-backfield, spread formation. Queen allowed JuJu Smith-Schuster’s route to guide him away from his area of responsibility, where Ben Roethlisberger found Eric Ebron for a short completion. Ebron ran it into the end zone untouched to cut Baltimore’s lead to three.

Watch Queen’s status closely for week nine: he was among the seven Ravens deemed to be in close contact with Marlon Humphrey, who tested positive for COVID-19. At the time of this writing he had not been ruled out for the game, but would not be able to practice during the week after being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Logan Wilson, LB CIN

30 of 62 snaps (48%); one solo tackle, one assist; one sack; one tackle for loss; one quarterback hit

Wilson continued to make a case for a larger role and this week collected his first career sack, coming in clean on a blitz that dropped Ryan Tannehill for a ten-yard loss on a key third-down play in the third quarter. He’s definitely an IDP trade target right now whether you are rebuilding or contending. I don’t think he’ll help much this year – the Bengals seem intent on giving Germaine Pratt and Josh Bynes major roles – but I don’t know how they would justify part-time duty for Wilson in 2021. He’s a good asset to try to get thrown into larger deals.

Others of note:

Zack Baun, LB NO – one of 70 snaps (1%)
Shaun Bradley, LB PHI – special teams snaps only
Cam Brown, LB NYG – 4 of 70 snaps (6%)
Carter Coughlin, LB NYG – 4 of 70 snaps (6%); one solo tackle; one sack; one tackle for loss; one quarterback hit
Akeem Davis-Gaither, LB CIN – 22 of 62 snaps (35%)
Troy Dye, LB MIN – 21 of 75 snaps (28%); started; one solo tackle in return from injured reserve
Malik Harrison, LB BAL – ten of 53 snaps (19%); one solo tackle, two assists
Anfernee Jennings, LB NE – special teams snaps only
Davion Taylor, LB PHI – special teams snaps only
Josh Uche, LB NE – 12 of 58 snaps (21%); one solo tackle; one quarterback hit in debut
Mykal Walker, LB ATL – eight of 54 snaps (15%)
Jabari Zuniga, LB NYJ – nine of 66 snaps (14%); one assist in debut for the pass rusher

Notable inactives and injuries:

Tanner Muse, LB LV – third-round pick has been on injured reserve all season, and had surgery on his toe on Nov. 3. He’s out for the remainder of the year.
Jacob Phillips, LB CLE – inactive due to lingering knee injury

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Julian Blackmon, S IND

61 of 61 snaps; three solo tackles, one assist

This looks like the sort of production we can expect from Blackmon going forward, and he’s not going to be lineup-worthy without a turnover – and that is of course impossible to predict even though Blackmon’s a bit of a ball hawk. He’s not a bad depth piece but he’s just not a great asset playing the deep safety spot.

Jeremy Chinn, S CAR

66 of 70 snaps (94%); started; six solo tackles, four assists; one quarterback hit; one pass defensed

Players who are quick to diagnose plays and fly to the ball are so much fun to watch – and so productive for fantasy. That’s Chinn, who with another nice tackle game ranks in the NFL’s top ten in total tackles. He’s probably going to start showing up as a top-five dynasty safety soon – the big question is will he be reclassified as a linebacker on fantasy sites in the off-season.

In addition to the tackles, Chinn got after Matt Ryan a few times, and put the Falcons quarterback on the ground in the first quarter. He even got involved with the ball in his hands on a fake punt, taking the direct snap 28 yards in third quarter on a drive that ended with a Panthers field goal to pull them within two points.

Cameron Dantzler, CB MIN

14 of 75 snaps (19%); started; two solo tackles

Jeff Gladney, CB MIN

75 of 75 snaps; six solo tackles, two assists

This was a big snap day for Gladney, and he was targeted often, particularly on the Packers’ final drive where he racked up three straight tackles. He was abused by Davante Adams on each of the star receiver’s first two touchdown receptions, but it wasn’t all bad – he made a nice play on an incompletion over the middle to Equanimeous St. Brown in the third quarter.

Dantzler, meanwhile, was carted off the field after colliding with teammate Anthony Harris on a tackle attempt of AJ Dillon at the end of the first quarter. He was taken to the hospital, but reportedly has a chance to play in week nine so the injury must not be serious.

Ashtyn Davis, S NYJ

66 of 66 snaps; three solo tackles, one assist

With Bradley McDougald being placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, Davis is going to get a long look in the safety spot opposite Marcus Maye. Unfortunately for the Jets, it looks like Davis is not ready for prime time. On the Chiefs first drive, he looked bad in coverage on Demarcus Robinson, giving up an easy 15 yards. Two plays later, he got out of position on a shovel pass that Mecole Hardman took the house. And toward the end of the first quarter, he took a bad angle and got turned around trying to tackle Tyreek Hill on a touchdown.

Davis has the speed and physical attributes you look for in a safety, but just doesn’t look like he yet knows how to play the position in an NFL environment.

Trevon Diggs, CB DAL

62 of 63 snaps (98%); six solo tackles, one assist; two interceptions; four passes defensed

The good times continue for Diggs owners. He’s been the rookie cornerback to own so far in 2020 and came through with his best fantasy numbers to date. He gave up a lot of catches, but also made a few plays, including two interceptions of Carson Wentz – both on deep balls to rookie receivers. One was on a long throw to Jalen Reagor in the end zone toward the end of second quarter, and the second came on a deep pass to John Hightower near the beginning of the third quarter.

Antoine Winfield Jr., S TB

74 of 74 snaps; six solo tackles, one assist

Winfield had a strong tackle day in a game that the Buccaneers surprisingly played a lot of defensive snaps. He also saved Tampa Bay from a likely overtime scenario by knocking a pass away from Dion Lewis on a two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game with 28 seconds remaining. The play was controversial; Winfield was initially flagged for pass interference but the officiating crew overturned the penalty after talking it over.

Others of note:

Sam Franklin, S CAR – 48 of 70 snaps (69%); started; three solo tackles, one assist; one pass defensed
Harrison Hand, CB MIN – 29 of 75 snaps (39%); two solo tackles
Darnay Holmes, CB NYG – 49 of 70 snaps (70%); four solo tackles; one fumble recovery
Michael Jacquet, CB PHI – 30 of 79 snaps (38%); three solo tackles, one assist; one pass defensed. The long-armed, undrafted corner enjoyed a solid debut in a relief role of the injured Darius Slay.
Jaylon Johnson, CB CHI – 74 of 74 snaps; three solo tackles
Brandon Jones, S MIA – 39 of 95 snaps (41%); two solo tackles, one assist
Michael Ojemudia, CB DEN – 80 of 87 snaps (92%); three solo tackles, one assist
Jeff Okudah, CB DET – 75 of 77 snaps (97%); five solo tackles
Troy Pride, CB CAR – 70 of 70 snaps; one solo tackle, three assists; one pass defensed
A.J. Terrell, CB ATL – 54 of 54 snaps; four solo tackles, one assist

Notable inactives and injuries:

Damon Arnette, CB LV – removed from reserve/COVID-19 list but remained on injured reserve with thumb injury
Kyle Dugger, S NE – inactive; dealing with an ankle injury
Kristian Fulton, CB TEN – placed on injured reserve on Oct. 31 with a knee injury suffered in week seven
Xavier McKinney, S NYG – near the end of his recovery period from a broken bone in his foot and subsequent surgery in August

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Jason King

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

Jason is a lifelong Steelers fan and proud alumnus of NC State University. He caught the fantasy football bug in 1996, and has a strange but strong affinity for IDP dynasty leagues with multiple copies of players. When he's not thinking about fantasy football, he's doing something with his two children, dabbling with photography or fixing something around the house.