AFC IDP Snap Counts: Week Nine
We are officially over halfway through the 2020 NFL season and frankly, it’s turning into the season we thought it might.
Injuries are rife. Predicting IDP points is tough. It’s a jungle out there.
READ: NFC IDP Snap Counts: Week Nine
Baltimore Ravens – 68 snaps
Edge Yannick Ngakoue (45) has failed to record a sack in his first two games as a Raven. In fact, he failed to record any stats at all this week. He did manage four pressures though – don’t panic. He’ll be back. Only Matthew Judon (53) played more edge snaps than him. Pernell McPhee (33) was way back in third.
LB Patrick Queen (58) also had a quiet day while Malik Harrison had a big one. Harrison played just 33 snaps and is not a threat to “take over”. These sorts of days just happen sometimes.
Buffalo Bills – 65 snaps
LB Matt Milano missed another game which left AJ Klein (62) to play again next to Tremaine Edmunds (65). Klein managed two sacks. Good for him.
DE Jerry Hughes (44) managed a sack too – for the third straight game. His running mate Mario Addison (43) also got home. Trent Murphy (29) and AJ Epenesa (11) are both getting some snaps – but the top two guys are hogging the effectiveness.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals enjoyed their bye week.
Cleveland Browns s
The Browns enjoyed their bye week.
Denver Broncos – 71 snaps
Bryce Callahan missed the game at corner. De’Vante Bausby (54), Essang Bassey (48) and Kevin Toliver (17) all helped fill the gap.
Top lineman Shelby Harris was also out leading to a big old rotation. Dre’Mont Jones (41), Demarcus Walker (41), DeShawn Williams (33), Sylvester Williams (32) and McTelvin Agim (19) all saw action.
Houston Texans – 69 snaps
Edge players Whitney Mercilus (out) and Brennan Scarlett (10) barely played this week. Rookie Jonathan Greenard (57) had to step into the breach to play more than five snaps for the first time. He rushed the passer 27 times and recorded just a single hurry. So, it wasn’t a great day.
Indianapolis Colts – 64 snaps
The Colts continue to be one of the lowest volume defenses in the NFL. This is a worry even with Darius Leonard (63) having some huge games since his return.
Leonard is the sole every-down LB in this defense with Bobby Okereke (50) and Anthony Walker (43) not quite getting enough snaps.
Safety Khari Willis (64) finally recorded a decent IDP day. He’s played almost every snap this season and was due a big day.
Jacksonville Jaguars – 64 snaps
In my system, the Jags are the worst defense in the NFL. But LB Myles Jack (64) is having a fantastic year and his return really helps. He out-snapped Joe Schobert (61) who’s having a poor season.
The only edge rusher you should be considering starting is Josh Allen (57). K’Lavon Chaisson (18) is playing even worse than he worse early in the season.
Safety Jarrod Wilson (64) played for the first time since week six. Josh Jones (42) seemed to get hurt and Daniel Thomas (22) subbed in for him.
DT Taven Bryan saw just 23 snaps and was benched for Doug Costin (29). The Jags may have finally accepted Taven is not good. Costin racked up four pressures in this game from 18 pass rushes. Bryan has seven for the year from 175 rushes.
Kansas City Chiefs – 83 snaps
This is the most defense the Chiefs have played since week two.
DT Chris Jones played a massive 67 snaps. He’s really developed in terms of his motor.
The LBs remain ones to avoid. None of Anthony Hitchens (43), Ben Niemann (41), Damien Wilkson (38) or Willie Gay (15) are reliable IDPs.
There was a slight shift on the back end. Daniel Sorensen (83) played every snap with Juan Thornhill (67) spending some time on the side-lines. This is unusual for Sorensen.
Las Vegas Raiders – 79 snaps
This is the most the Raiders defense has played all season, which explains a couple of big days.
Slot DB Lamarcus Joyner (70) had a huge tackle game. As did LB Nick Kwiatkoski (62).
DE Clelin Ferrell (57) actually had another good game – even though he again failed to record a sack. His 20 pressures with no sacks is impressive in its futility.
On the other side, Maxx Crosby (69) did manage a sack. He has five for the season although he’s really not playing well.
Crosby has five sacks from 16 pressures. The difference between the two demonstrates how hard it is to predict pass-rushing stats.
Los Angeles Chargers – 50 snaps
On the opposite side of the field from the Raiders, the Chargers had one of the lowest defensive snap counts of the season, which likewise explains low IDP scoring.
Jerry Tillery (41) played left DE for most of the game with Joey Bosa out. He actually did pretty well.
Kenneth Murray (26) did not play well. He was benched in-game for Denzel Perryman (37). Murray has been racking up tackles which makes people think he’s playing well. In reality, he’s really struggled in coverage – no surprise given it wasn’t even a strength in college and rookie LBs tend to adjust poorly.
Miami Dolphins – 69 snaps
DE Emmanuel Ogbah (54) had another big day. He is having a spectacular IDP season. But please know the difference – he’s not a good player. He never has been. He’s an edge player who is poor at setting the edge. And he is not a standout pass rusher (notwithstanding his excellent pressure numbers this year). Enjoy the production while it lasts – but don’t expect him to be a long-term solution.
LB Jerome Baker (52) is similar. He’s a solid LB2, but he’s not a good player and is a strong risk for replacement in the off-season.
New England Patriots – 45 snaps
The worst Patriots season in decades continued this week with a lackluster win over the abject Jets.
DT Lawrence Guy and LB Ja’Whaun Bentley both missed the game.
To cover for Guy, the Patriots altered their personnel usage. Deatrich Wise (36) played inside a little more and Chase Winovich (31) saw his highest snap volume since week four.
At LB they were forced to turn to 2019 UDFA Terez Hall (30). High 2020 draft pick Josh Uche (4) and Anfernee Jennings (7) saw just a handful of snaps each.
With safety Kyle Dugger (4) also barely used, Pats fans can’t even comfort themselves with the development of rookies.
For IDP owners it’s really not much better. The Pats have played the fewest defensive snaps in the NFL and also, the fewest per week on average. There’s very little here to get us excited.
New York Jets – 81 snaps
This was the most the Jets defense has played in a single game since week one.
With LB Avery Williamson traded away, the big question was “who would take the second LB job?”.
The answer (this week at least) was Harvey Langi who played 77 snaps next to Neville Hewitt (81). That might change as Blake Cashman and Patrick Onwuasor become available – but for now Langi is very startable.
At safety Bradley McDougald remains on IR. Marcus Maye and Ashtyn Davis both played all 81 snaps.
Pittsburgh Steelers – 72 snaps
The Steelers’ defensive line continues to be spectacular. Stephon Tuitt and Cameron Heyward (both 64) continue to be fantastic.
With TJ Watt (66) and Bud Dupree (70) outside them causing havoc, this is such a fun defense.
LB Avery Williamson was not eligible to play in this game so Robert Spillane (67) and Vince Williams (60) both played high volume. At least one of those is likely to lose a lot of snaps next week, and it’s likely to be Spillane. Don’t mistake high tackle numbers for NFL quality.
Slot DB Brian Poole (8) was hurt – so Bryce Hall (39) and Arthur Maulet (28) both played their first snaps of 2020.
Tennessee Titans – 77 snaps
The Titans are a sneaky high-volume defense. They’ve averaged 71 snaps per game this season.
Early in the season Jayon Brown (77) was not scoring IDP points and owners were panicking. He’s a low-end LB1 in most leagues now after a sack this week and several good weeks in a row. His coverage prowess makes him vastly preferable to Rashaan Evans (53).
On the edge Harold Landry (72) recorded just his second sack of the season. He’s racked up 29 pressures (joint 13th among edge players) but his finishing ratio has been very poor. He’s a fine buy candidate if you can get a deal on him.
On the other side Jadeveon Clowney missed the game and Vic Beasley was traded away – so Derick Roberson (50) stepped in. He created four pressures and played well. He’s a sneaky add in large (start three edges or 70+ roster) leagues. The third edge was Wyatt Ray (13).
Good luck everyone!
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