IDP Improvements: Moves to Make before Week 12

Chop Robinson | © Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Jason Abbey Posted On November 20, 2024

We’ve been digging through the data to ensure we can equip you with the necessary knowledge to stay ahead of other managers in your fantasy league. Here, we look at some of the moves you can make in preparation for week twelve.

Malcolm Rodriguez, LB DET – Add/start

Rodriguez saw significant snaps as an edge rusher early in the Detroit Lions’ rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was a curious decision by defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn but not wholly surprising, considering the injuries to other players at the position. The Lions were desperate for pass rush help after losing Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, John Cominsky, and edge/off-ball hybrid Derrick Barnes to injury.

The injury to Alex Anzalone brought about a premature end to the Rodriguez-as-an-edge-rusher experiment, and the third-year player moved into more of a traditional off-ball linebacker role. He ended the game with a 90% snap share – a new career high.

The Lions estimated that Anzalone will miss 6-8 weeks following surgery on his forearm, and Rodriguez should be the next man up. The concern is not whether he will play – but where he will play, as his tackling efficiency will suffer if the Lions continue to utilize him as an edge rusher.

Add Rodriguez from waivers. He could serve as an LB3 in week 12 with six teams on a bye and has an excellent opportunity to demonstrate why he deserves a more significant role in the Lions’ future plans.

Quay Walker, LB GB – Trade away
Edgerrin Cooper, LB GB – Add

Walker has failed to justify being a first-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. He consistently demonstrates lapses in judgment and has struggled to establish himself as a reliable three-down linebacker. Many considered him to possess incredible potential a few years ago, but it is difficult to envisage how he will remain a full-time player unless he demonstrates significant improvement.

This is less than #ideal I would think. pic.twitter.com/N9U16XYoj2

— Steve Czaban (@czabe) November 18, 2024

The Green Bay Packers invested a second-round pick in Edgerrin Cooper in the 2024 NFL Draft. The rookie has been far from perfect, but it speaks volumes that he is already outplaying Walker. His snap share has steadily increased, and it would not be surprising if he surpassed Walker in snaps before the end of the season. He is the rookie LB1 in the DLF IDP Rookie Rankings.

4th Quarter ✍️🏽
3rd and 7 ✍️🏽
Up by 3 ✍️🏽#Packers Rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper hits home with the twist for the strip sack.

Green Bay you have found your mike linebacker for the next decade. He can cover, he can tackle and he can damn sure blitz. 🧀#GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/5vt16cwvvy

— Packerfan Total Access- Clayton (@packers_access) October 28, 2024

Trading away a full-time linebacker is a scary prospect for some. If you are a contender and are thin at linebacker, you may choose to hold onto Walker and hope he finishes the year strongly. In all other scenarios, it is advisable to move on before he loses snaps and his value plummets. Cooper’s time is coming.

Chop Robinson, EDGE MIA – Add/trade for

Robinson failed to make an impact through the first seven weeks but has delivered promising performances in each of his last three games. Since week nine, he ranks eighth among all edge rushers with 15 pressures and ninth with a 23.1% win rate.

The ability to dip under the tackle directly after engaging with another blocker is ridiculous from Chop Robinson pic.twitter.com/HHgxJgEU3H

— FinsCentral (@finscentral) November 18, 2024

The rookie is currently mired in a four-man rotation comprising Emmanuel Ogbah, Tyus Bowser, and Quinton Bell and was third among the group in snap share in week 11. Still, Robinson is already the most dangerous pass rusher in the group. Despite his slow start to the season, he leads the team in pressures.

Robinson’s buy window is closing. Snap him up while you can, and hope his recent performances are a sign of things to come.

Dante Fowler, EDGE WAS – Trade away

Fowler has been extremely productive this season. His 8.5 sacks rank fourth among all players.

Unfortunately, the underlying metrics suggest Fowler’s production may decline. His 16.2% pressure rate is encouraging, but his 29% sack-to-pressure ratio will probably regress. Very few players consistently convert almost a third of their pressures into sacks over a prolonged period.

Test the waters in trade talks. You may not get much value for a 30-year-old journeyman on a one-year contract who hasn’t surpassed a 50% snap share since week six. However, you should be looking to move him if you are stacked at the edge position and have already fallen out of contention.

Ar’Darius Washington, S BAL – Add

The Baltimore Ravens boasted what appeared to be one of the strongest safety tandems in the league heading into the 2024 season. Kyle Hamilton had established himself as one of the premier players at the position, and Marcus Williams remained one of the better deep safeties. But, while Hamilton has upheld his end of the bargain, Williams’ performances have been extremely disappointing and even led to him being benched in weeks eight and eleven.

Eddie Jackson was the first choice to replace Williams in week eight but has been a healthy scratch in two of the three games since. He is no longer the player he was earlier in his career.

Washington’s role has grown steadily throughout the year, and last week, he played every down for the first time this season. The results were promising, and he amassed nine tackles. John Harbaugh praised the 25-year-old, explaining, “he played very well back there. He did a great job communicating.”

We can’t assume Washington will remain the starter the rest of the way, but he’s trending in the right direction, and if you’re desperate for help at safety, you could look his way.

Conclusion

We don’t pretend every recommendation will net positive results, but our track record in 2024 has been encouraging. If you followed the advice in this article, you would have acquired and started Jared Verse, Jamien Sherwood, Zack Baun, Will McDonald, Daiyan Henley, and DeMarvion Overshown before they blew up. You would have traded away Isaiah McDuffie and Justin Strnad before their roles diminished and obtained peak value for Patrick Jones before he went five games without a sack.

There have, of course, been misses. We advised trading away Devin Lloyd amidst the linebacker rotation in Jacksonville, became overexcited about Marte Mapu’s emergence in week five, and suggested Yaya Diaby would get going by now. Still, that’s just how it works. Nobody gets everything right!

We might be slightly early with some of the recommendations in this week’s article, but the assumption is that players like Jack Campbell, Tuli Tuipulotu, Calijah Kancey, and Daiyan Henley have already been snapped up. If you’re in a shallow league and they are somehow available, go and grab them.