Dynasty IDP Waiver Wire: Week Seven
This week in IDP action was, unfortunately, highlighted by a brutal injury to one of the best young defensive players in the NFL. Aidan Hutchinson broke his tibia and required immediate surgery in Texas on Sunday. His season is over, and the Detroit Lions and IDP fantasy managers alike will be scrambling to try to find a replacement for this uniquely talented player.
Unfortunately for fantasy managers, it won’t be as easy as turning to Detroit’s next man up. When a running back or a quarterback goes down on the offensive side of the ball, there is typically a clear replacement that will earn fantasy value, regardless of how talented they are. For IDP players, especially pass rushers, it’s impossible to earn sacks and get to the quarterback without extreme talent and athleticism.
With Hutchinson sidelined late in the game, Isaac Ukwu saw his first NFL action, getting two tackles in the game. He is a 25-year-old undrafted rookie out of Ole Miss who has been inactive for the four previous games. This week, he dressed over James Houston, who has played 17 snaps this season. Both will be active this week, but it will be very tough to trust either of them in your starting lineups, and they may only be worth a roster spot in the deepest of leagues. Losing Hutchinson is a massive blow for his dynasty IDP managers.
As a reminder, these waiver wire suggestions are based on dynasty leagues that start seven defensive players, two at each position group and a flex. Some players profiled will be for deeper leagues, and others for more shallow leagues, but with no standard format for IDP leagues, we need to cast a wide net. I’ll be using roster percentage data from Sleeper.
Be sure to check out the DLF Expert IDP Rankings for our experts’ takes on how IDP players should be valued for dynasty leagues.
Defensive Linemen
Jonathan Greenard, DE MIN, 36%
I usually cut off my waiver wire suggestions at 35% rostered, but I’m making an exception for Greenard because he is only one percent over and should be considered in every league. Going into a week six bye, Greenard led all edge rushers in pass rush volume and pressures, other than Aidan Hutchinson. My colleague Tom Kislingbury mentioned it in his Ten IDP Fantasy Football Stats from last week, always an outstanding read for dynasty IDP managers. As he notes, the only issue for Greenard has been finishing his pressures. Last season, he converted on 26% of his pressures for 14 sacks. This year, he’s only earned a sack on 13.7% of his pressures. That abnormality should start to turn around, making Greenard a great waiver wire addition, or a buy-low option in trades.
Calijah Kancey, DE TB, 21%
Kancey made his season debut on Sunday, and notched a sack in his first game back. Last year’s first-round pick has recovered from his calf injury and he’s already making an impact. Kancey had 26 tackles and four sacks as a rookie last season.
Josh Sweat, DE PHI, 29%
Sweat had a slow start to the season, but he’s now recorded sacks in back-to-back games for the Eagles, this time getting to Deshaun Watson. It was a picture-perfect matchup for Sweat against the Browns, but it should be a good one for him against the Giants next week as well.
Dante Fowler, EDGE WAS, 6%
Fowler has been having a renaissance season in Washington after a lackluster couple of seasons in Dallas. This past week, he had his first two-sack week since 2019, getting to Lamar Jackson twice. He also added a season-high four total tackles to his score. He has a date with the Panthers next week, who have been very stingy giving up sacks this season, so it may not be the best week to pick him up and start.
Isaac Ukwu, DE DET, 0%
We discussed Ukwu in depth in the introduction to this article. He is a risky pickup, and you may want to see him get a large snapshare in a game before starting him, or even before picking him up, but he is likely to see an increased role in Detroit going forward with Aidan Hutchinson’s season over.
Other Players to Consider: Derick Hall, DE SEA, 25%; Chauncey Golston, DE DAL, 4%; Jaquelin Roy, DT NE, 2%; Naquan Jones, DT ARI, 2%; Logan Hall, DE TB, 11%; Kobie Turner, DT LAR, 26%
Linebackers
Azeez Ojulari, LB NYG, 14%
Ojulari was a force to be reckoned with on Sunday Night Football, filling in for Kayvon Thibodeaux who went on IR last week. He got to Joe Burrow multiple times and forced a fumble in the game, pushing him all the way up to the top of the waiver wire for week six. Thibodeaux’s wrist injury isn’t a serious one, so he may be out the minimum four weeks, but if Ojulari keeps this up in his absence, it’ll be very tough to move him back to the rotational role he held earlier in the season.
Divine Deablo, LB LV, 27%
The Raiders were happy to get Deablo back in their lineup after he missed the last three games with an oblique injury. He made an impact right away, sacking Justin Fields on Sunday and matching his season-high six total tackles. It was only the second sack of his career, so it can’t be expected that he’ll be a factor in the pass-rushing game, but he played 92.5% of the snaps (per Jon Macri of PFF) and should continue to see plenty of action for the Raiders.
Justin Strnad, LB DEN, 12%
Strnad continues to string together big games for Denver’s defense in the absence of Alex Singleton. The Broncos offense may be one of the worst in the National Football League, meaning the defense is on the field plenty, and they’re also facing teams that are running down the clock. Running plays means plenty of opportunities for the middle of the second level. Strnad and the Broncos travel to New Orleans next week for a Sean Payton revenge game.
DeMarvion Overshown, LB DAL, 30%
Overshown continues to be a key piece in this depleted Dallas offense. He matched his lowest tackle total of the season, but he forced his first fumble of the season, to help his fantasy performance this week. The Cowboys have a bye this week, but Overshown is worth holding through the bye, except for in shallow fantasy leagues.
Other Players to Consider: Cody Barton, LB DEN, 30%; Ventrell Miller, LB JAX, 14%; Krys Barnes, LB ARI, 5%; Devin Bush, LB CLE, 16%; Jamien Sherwood, LB NYJ, 20%
Defensive Backs
Tyler Nubin, S NYG, 35%
Nubin continues to pile up the tackles in the Giants secondary. He got another nine of them on Sunday night, up to 39 on the season. He’s earned a massive role in his rookie season and he’s approaching the point where he can no longer be mentioned in this waiver wire article.
Tre’Von Moehrig, S LVR, 15%
Moehrig had another big game on Sunday, racking up ten total tackles against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s up to 38 total tackles through six games and he may have been one of the top scorers at DB depending on your scoring in week six. He’ll face off against the Los Angeles Rams next week.
Jaylon Jones, CB IND, 27%
Jones is up to 39 total tackles through the first six games of his second NFL season. He had seven this week, the most he’s had since week one. The young cornerback will be tasked with covering the Dolphins’ talented receivers next week.
Rodney McLeod, S CLE, 4%
McLeod had his second straight big game on Sunday, getting 8 total tackles in the Browns secondary against the Eagles. He has been filling in for Grant Delpit, who missed this week’s game with a concussion. If Delpit comes back, McLeod may go back to a reserve role, but he’s played really well over the last couple of weeks and could have earned an expanded role.
Other Players to Consider: Tykee Smith, S TB; 11%; Brandon Jones, S DEN, 16%; Marte Mapu, S NE, 12%; Alohi Gilman, S LAC, 24%; Montaric Brown, CB JAX, 13%; Xavier Woods, S CAR, 12%; Levi Wallace, CB DEN, 4%
- Tactical Transactions: Dynasty Moves to Make Before Week 14 - December 3, 2024
- Dynasty IDP Waiver Wire: Week 14 - December 2, 2024
- Dynasty IDP Waiver Wire: Week 13 - November 25, 2024
