Dynasty IDP Waiver Wire: Week Eight
Early Sunday morning, we learned that the Jets and pass-rusher Haason Reddick finally came to an agreement and ended the veteran’s holdout. He agreed to a reworked counteract and will practice this upcoming week. The Jets entered week seven with one of the best pass-rushing units in the league. They had accumulated 20 sacks on the season, only to be outdone by the Broncos and the Giants.
Reddick will certainly provide a boost to the Jets’ defense, but in the IDP world, it could be a downgrade to some of the players around him, specifically Will McDonald. While McDonald has been a weapon as a pass-rusher, he’s been a major liability in the rushing game. Going into week seven, Pro Football Focus has a grade on him at 50.6. That number is 101st out of 108 qualifying EDGE players. While fantasy managers may be celebrating the return of Haason Reddick, Will McDonald managers have been warned.
Meanwhile, Reddick is only on 47% of rosters on Sleeper. While he doesn’t qualify for this waiver wire article, be sure to check to see if he is available in your league before moving on to the rest of our suggestions for week eight.
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
Azeez Ojulari, EDGE NYG, 15%
Ojulari once again made an impact on Sunday with Kayvon Thibodeaux sidelined. Dexter Lawrence was the star of the Giants’ defensive line, he’s on 49% of waiver wires, so check to make sure he’s not available first. Ojulari has a sack in both games since Thibodeaux hit the IR. He added three total tackles as well. He’s a really talented pass-rusher and has a chance to get in the backfield once again next week against the Steelers.
Dante Fowler, EDGE WAS, 7%
Fowlers has been a big-play machine this season for the Commanders, and he had his biggest play of the season in week seven.
DANTE FOWLER JR. PICK-6!
📺: #CARvsWAS on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/JTuzB4p55Q— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024
On top of the pick-six, he also got a sack in his third straight game and added another tackle to his total. He has 4.5 sacks this season, more than he’s had in either of the past two seasons in Dallas.
Josh Paschal, DE DET, 5%
The Lions defense needs to replace the production that Aidan Hutchinson had prior to his injury. This was the first full game we saw without Hutchinson, and the Lions still recorded four sacks on Minnesota. Josh Paschal was the most productive on the defensive line, getting a sack and four total tackles. It was only his fourth sack in his career, but he may see more opportunities to rush the passer with Hutchinson sidelined.
Josh Sweat, DE PHI, 31%
Sweat had a sack in his third straight game for the Eagles, but it was the only tackle he had in the game. He is a sack-or-bust kind of player, so you should play the matchups with him. Next week, he has the Bengals. They’ve given up 18 sacks in seven games, so Sweat has a good chance to get home next week.
Other Players to Consider: Anfernee Jennings, EDGE NE, 11%; Calijah Kancey, DE TB, 23%; Chauncey Golston, DE DAL, 5%; Kobie Turner, DT LAR, 30%, Jaquelin Roy, DT NE, 4%; Dre’Mont Jones, DE SEA, 13%
Linebackers
Cody Barton, LB DEN, 31% and Justin Strnad, LB DEN, 16%
The Broncos offense may be a tough watch, but their defense is one of the best in the league, as displayed on Thursday night against the Saints. Barton in particular had an incredible game. He was all over the place and made several big plays, including a scoop-and-score. It was Barton’s first big play of the season, so it can’t be expected every week, but perhaps he can ride the momentum of that outstanding game into a great matchup against the Panthers next week. Strnad had a sack as well to go along with eight total tackles on Thursday. The Broncos are a bit of a no-name defense, especially with Patrick Surtain out, but their players are stepping up big-time.
Jamien Sherwood, LB NYJ, 30%
Sherwood had another nice game for the Jets, leading the team with nine total tackles in a loss to the Steelers. While CJ Mosley has been recovering from his injury, Sherwood has been an every-down linebacker for the Jets. But, with his performance and Mosley’s lingering issues, Sherwood may be doing enough to have a role over Mosley, even when he is fully healthy.
Neville Hewitt, LB HOU, 7% or Jake Hansen, LB HOU, 4%
Azeez Al-Shaair was having a solid season before suffering a knee injury in last week’s Patriots game. He ended up missing week seven’s game, and Hewitt and Hansen filled in admirably for him. Al-Shaair didn’t practice at all last week, so he should be considered a longshot to make it back for next week’s matchup against the Colts, an offense that makes plenty of mistakes and provides big-play opportunities to the other side. Hewitt had the better day on Sunday, logging nine total tackles and an interception. He had six tackles in relief of Al-Shaair the week before.
Ventrell Miller, LB JAC, 19%
Miller had another nice game in London this week in a win over the Patriots, logging nine total tackles. He’s a bit of a boring IDP player, but he has been very consistent in relief of Foysade Oluokun. Since he’s become a regular starter, he’s had ten, seven, ten and nine tackles. He’ll continue to be a consistent presence in the middle of a defense that will be on the field plenty next week against the Packers.
Grant Stuard, LB IND, 3% or Jaylon Carlies, LB IND, 5%
EJ Speed missed the game this week, but the Colts didn’t miss a beat at linebacker with Grant Stuard. Carlies was the first option off the bench, but the rookie suffered an ankle injury during the game. After that, Stuard came in and totalled 18 tackles, more than any other player in the NFL in week seven. Speed was a full participant on Friday, so he has a pretty good shot to come back next week, but if he’s inactive again, Stuard or Carlies are nice fill-in options for him.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr., LB PHI, 21%
Zack Baun has been a breakout IDP linebacker this year for the Birds, but he suffered a shoulder injury on Sunday. There haven’t been many updates on his status, but more news will come out as the week goes on. If it looks like Baun will be back, you can leave Trotter on the wire, but the fifth-round linebacker is the most likely to play middle linebacker in Baun’s absence. Trotter, a fifth-round rookie, is the son of former Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, so it would be a nice story to see him become a factor in this defense.
Other Players to Consider: Eric Wilson, LB GB, 5%; Malcolm Rodriguez, LB DET, 10%; DeMarvion Overshown, LB DAL, 30%; Krys Barnes, LB ARI, 8%
Defensive Backs
Ja’Quan McMillian, CB DEN, 8%
Add McMillian to the list of Broncos defenders who had huge games on Thursday against the Saints. He got a strip sack along with six tackles in the win over the Saints. It was his first sack of the season, but he’s done well in the tackle department so far this season. He’s less valuable in leagues where you don’t need to start a cornerback, but he’s done well this season. He’ll get the Panthers next week, a chance to come away with his first interception of the season. Brandon Jones has been doing really well as well, so he’s another Broncos defensive back to consider.
Deommodore Lenoir, CB SF, 23%
That’s three straight weeks in a row for Lenoir with eight total tackles, but this time he also got his first interception of the season. He has 40 of them through seven games this season, so he’s well on his way to matching last year’s 84 of them. His snap numbers have gone up lately and he’s been very productive. Next week, he’ll face off against the Dallas Cowboys, who give up 9.7 tackles per game to opposing safety groups, and 0.7 interceptions.
Coby Bryant, S/CB SEA, 6%
Rayshawn Jenkins is on IR and the Seahawks turned to Bryant to replace him in the starting lineup. He stepped up for IDP managers, racking up 11 total tackles and an interception. Bryant had an outstanding rookie season, but struggled with injuries last season and only had two tackles in this season before week seven. This was Bryant’s first career start at safety, so it may be a bit of a learning process, but he’s off to a great start.
Other Players to Consider: Tre’Von Moehrig, S LVR, 19%; Jaylon Jones, CB IND, 32%; Xavier Woods, S CAR, 16%; Malik Mustapha, S SF, 9%
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