Dynasty IDP Waiver Wire: Week Seven

If injuries haven’t sent you scrambling for the waiver wire yet this season, the bye weeks are about to. Week seven is one of two during the season with six teams on bye, and if you’ve been relying on Bengals, Cowboys, Jets, Panthers, Texans and/or Titans, you’ve got some holes to fill when setting lineups.

Before you dig into this week’s waiver wire column, keep in mind this advice is geared more toward 14- and 16-team dynasty setups, or 12-team setups with fairly large roster limits (65 spots or so). The reason is there are plenty of sites, podcasts and Patreons (and good ones) providing what I would consider obvious waiver wire advice for leagues that are of the “start eight IDPs” variety with combined defensive lines and defensive backs. My goal is to write this for managers who must dig deeper on the wire in order to stay ahead for both this season and future years.

And of course, not every IDP listed here is a good dynasty stash. Dynasty rosters need those short-term values too though, and this early in the season it’s worth it to churn a few end-of-your-roster-types to see if an IDP available on waivers is making a leap in play rather than just taking advantage of a good matchup.

Edge Rushers

Baron Browning, DEN

Nik Bonitto and Jonathan Cooper have taken IDP edge depth charts by storm, and rightfully so, but it’s worth remembering Browning was a hot item just a season ago after back-to-back huge outings in weeks five and six. He hasn’t yet seen the field this season due to a lingering knee injury, but with Randy Gregory now in San Francisco and Frank Clark off to destinations unknown, Browning is sure to see a nice role upon return. Plus, he’s just 24, and looked explosive off the edge when healthy last season. Patriots castoff Ronnie Perkins is currently filling the No. 3 role; Browning should in short order give Denver a three-headed committee (three-headed monster seems too strong) at outside linebacker.

Randy Gregory, SF

A ticket out of Denver and a fresh start in San Francisco may be just what the doctor ordered for Gregory. In his first game as a 49er, Gregory picked up a sack on three quarterback hits, and was credited with three solos (two for loss). He mostly split time with Drake Jackson, and while getting 50 percent or less of snaps isn’t ideal, it might work out well for the soon-to-be 31-year-old. You could do worse as a bye-week fill-in if you have an edge-needy team.

Food for Thought

D.J. Wonnum, MIN – I’m not much of a Wonnum supporter, but he’s occasionally productive (a sack, a pass defended and four combined tackles on Sunday). Should Marcus Davenport miss time with the ankle injury he suffered against Chicago, Wonnum will be in line for a larger role.

Revisits from Recent Weeks

Bud Dupree and Arnold Ebiketie, ATL – If you picked either up and started them out of desperation, it worked out against Washington (of course it did!), as each notched a sack-and-a-half on two quarterback hits to go along with a handful of tackles. If you need the roster spot, feel free to release either, though a week eight matchup with Tennessee looks appealing.

Samson Ebukam, IND – Ebukam continues his career season, picking up a sack on two quarterback hits, plus three solo tackles, against Jacksonville. Even though he’s seeing less than two-thirds of available snaps, Ebukam is worth DE2 consideration right now.

AJ Epenesa, BUF – After a monster week five, Epenesa was at it again against the Giants, collecting a sack on a quarterback hit to go along with three combined tackles. I still don’t trust him enough to plug into lineups, but he deserves to be rostered.

Bryce Huff, NYJ – I think it’s happening for Huff, who saw a season-high 35 defensive snaps and converted it into a sack-and-a-half on two quarterback hits and three combined tackles. Recommended last week, Huff is now a must-add.

Interior Defensive Linemen

Justin Madubuike, BAL

We saw Madubuike (two sacks on four quarterback hits, plus four solo tackles and an assist) at his best in London, and he’s certainly on the right side of roster-worthy in defensive tackle-required leagues. His big outing had a lot to do with Tennessee’s inept offensive line, and Madubuike and Jadeveon Clowney put a serious hurting on Ryan Tannehill. Even though he has four-and-a-half sacks on the season, I don’t know that I’m ready to trust him as a DT1, but he’s having a breakout season in the final year of his rookie contract.

Revisits from Recent Weeks

Christian Barmore, NE – His sophomore season was awful, but he’s now had a second nice statistical game this season with five combined tackles – one for loss – and two passes defensed against the Raiders. He’s getting back in our good graces for dynasty, even in leagues that require just one defensive tackle starter.

Off-Ball Linebackers

Oren Burks, SF

Dre Greenlaw was certainly questionable for Sunday but still a bit of a surprise inactive. Burks filled in and led the Niners in combined tackles with four solos and four assists. Should the ankle injury continue to hamper Greenlaw, at least we know Burks is the direct replacement.

Blake Cashman, HOU

Cashman was money against New Orleans with nine solo tackles, six assists, two passes defensed and a quarterback hit (on 82 snaps!), and if he had been dropped in any of your leagues, you need to scoop him up. Denzel Perryman has certainly been banged up as of late and was last seen trying to play with a massive red club for a hand, but after playing in week five, I wasn’t expecting him to be inactive for week six. I’m assuming his absence was related to the hand injury, but I guess it’s plausible that Cashman has permanently taken Perryman’s spot next to rookie Henry To’oTo’o. No one is being threatened at this point by Christian Harris, who has clearly not endeared himself to DeMeco Ryans and Co.

The Texans are one of six teams on bye in week seven, so pay attention to any news coming out of Houston related to Perryman’s status.

Rashaan Evans, DAL

Evans, signed to Dallas’ practice squad last Thursday, is again flirting with IDP relevance. Coming off a 154-total tackle season, Evans couldn’t find any suitable suitors, save a very brief stint with Philadelphia in the preseason. He’s clearly borderline NFL material, but Evans wouldn’t be the first “straight off the couch” IDP linebacker success story this season (see the aforementioned Eagles with Zach Cunningham and Nicholas Morrow, to an extent). If healthy, Damone Clark is the projected primary linebacker for Dallas while Leighton Vander Esch recovers on injured reserve, but Evans could have a moment and is worth a flier in tackle-heavy formats. If Clark fails to impress tonight against the Chargers, Evans could work into a big role following Dallas’ week seven bye.

Revisits from Recent Weeks

Dorian Williams, BUF – We were wondering how Buffalo would handle life without Matt Milano, and I think they made the wise decision by going with the rookie (65 of 77 possible snaps) over Tyrel Dodson. Williams brought some explosion and speed en route to six solo tackles, four assists and a quarterback hit. He’ll be rising a bit in my rookie and top 150 rankings after that performance.

Safeties

Jammie Robinson, CAR

With Vonn Bell and Xavier Woods both inactive due to injury, Carolina resorted to rolling out Matthias Farley at one of its starting safety spots against Miami. While Sam Franklin has proven capable, Farley’s not going to cut it, and given the state of the Panthers at the moment you’d hope Robinson would soon get a shot. That opportunity is perhaps more likely to come at the expense of slot defender Jeremy Chinn, whose star has plummeted over the past two seasons and whose name has been the subject of heavy trade speculation. Robinson, a fifth-round pick, was indeed billed as a versatile nickel safety out of Florida State, and was perhaps drafted as the succession plan to Chinn. A move could come soon with Carolina on bye in week seven.

Food for Thought

Percy Butler, WAS – With Darrick Forrest on injured reserve for at least another three weeks, Butler is manning the safety spot opposite Kamren Curl. He was quiet this week against Atlanta with just three total tackles, but better days should be ahead with good matchups against the Giants, Eagles and Patriots on tap.

JL Skinner, DEN – The long-legged sixth-round pick hasn’t yet seen the field for Denver, but considering the trade speculation in the Mile High City, it’s not out of the question that the team moves on from veteran Kareem Jackson at some point. Dellarin Turner-Yell has apparently worn out his welcome (one snap on Thursday night), and Caden Sterns was lost for the season back in week one. Even now, playing time seems a little bit of a long shot for Skinner, but if he does get a long look, the Denver defense sees high snap volume.

Revisits from Recent Weeks

Jabrill Peppers, NE – Peppers has re-energized his career this year in New England, where a diverse and box-heavy role is helping the former first-round bust be his best self. Peppers shined against Las Vegas with seven solo tackles and a couple of passes defensed, including one tipped ball that resulted in an interception.

Cornerbacks

Christian Benford, BUF

Bills corners remain good options most weeks, as evidenced by big outings against the Giants from both Taron Johnson (nine solos, six assists, and an end-of-game pass breakup to seal a close win over the Giants) and Benford (eight solos, one assist and a pass defensed). The gettin’ remains good in week seven at New England, assuming Mac Jones retains his starting job.

Dane Jackson, who was listed last week but missed week six with a foot injury, is also a viable option should he be able to suit up.

Joey Porter, Jr, PIT

The first pick on day two of the NFL Draft, Porter has seen his snap share climb recently. He had a key red zone interception in week five, and coming out of a bye in week six, I’m expecting the Steelers to give Porter a more prominent role going forward. The Rams represent a good matchup for opposing corners, so make Porter a priority where available.

At least one of Pittsburgh’s starting outside corners, Patrick Peterson or Levi Wallace, stands to lose a good bit of snap volume to Porter (rightfully so), so neither can be recommended for week seven.

Food for Thought

Kendall Fuller and Benjamin St-Juste, WAS – The Commanders’ corners are both coming off strong games vs Atlanta – each had an interception on two passes defended, Fuller had nine solos, and St-Juste had six combined tackles – and they make for good starts again in week seven against the Giants, provided Daniel Jones suits up for Big Blue.

Revisits from Recent Weeks

Julius Brents, IND – He continued a productive rookie season with an interception on two passes defended, plus five solo tackles and two assists against Jacksonville. He has another good matchup this week against Cleveland.