Dynasty IDP Waiver Wire: Week 16

The fantasy playoffs are well under way, and I’m hoping your contenders are faring better than mine so far. Of my nine dynasty IDP squads, seven made the playoffs. I lost at least two – and likely three – contenders this week, and I only consider two of my remaining four to be true title contenders. An active and productive Tyreek Hill would make for a nice Christmas gift.

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

Derek Barnett, HOU

As suggested last week, Barnett’s recent move to Houston has been a timely one, and one that has provided new life to Barnett’s immediate outlook. With rookie stud Will Anderson shelved with an ankle injury, Barnett played 34 defensive snaps and notched a sack on two quarterback hits, and tallied four combined tackles. Assuming Anderson isn’t able to return by Christmas Eve, Barnett has another juicy matchup on tap vs Cleveland.

John Cominsky and Josh Paschal, DET

Neither Cominsky (five combined tackles on Saturday, a sack in week 14) nor Paschal (a sack and three total tackles) are special edge rushers, but both are capable of providing decent pressure opposite Aiden Hutchinson. With James Houston apparently not ready to return from a broken fibula suffered in week two, the Lions will continue to rely on Cominsky and Paschal down the stretch, especially with Charles Harris a healthy scratch for the past two weeks. The week 16 matchup against Minnesota is OK if you need to take a shot on either of these Lions.

Zach Harrison, ATL

I don’t know that he’s actually worth rostering for dynasty purposes, but Harrison is coming on a bit down the stretch. The third-round rookie never quite lived up to the billing at Ohio State, but he has the size that defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen looks for at edge. He played a career-high 29 defensive snaps this week and notched his first career sack, plus four combined tackles (two for loss).

Food for Thought

Samson Ebukam and Dayo Odeyingbo, IND – Neither is an option in 14- or 16-team settings, but in some 12-team leagues, either or both could be available. And both are coming off big games (they each had one-and-a-half sacks against Pittsburgh), and the Colts defensive line has an ideal week 16 matchup against Atlanta.

Malcolm Koonce, LV – The Raiders of course have stud Maxx Crosby and first-rounder Tyree Wilson on the edge, but Koonce is also carving out a nice role for himself. The third-year pro led the Raiders with four pressures (per Pro Football Focus) on Thursday night, landed two strip sacks on three quarterback hits, and collected three solo tackles. Barring injury, getting adequate snaps to justify starts is going to be tough for Koonce, but for rebuilds he makes for a decent dynasty stash in larger leagues with free agency coming post-2024. Whether Wilson is slow to develop or Koonce builds some buzz headed into free agency, there are paths toward dynasty value.

Revisits from Recent Weeks

Nick Herbig, PIT – He didn’t get the opportunity I thought he might with both T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith suiting up against Indianapolis, but Herbig continues to look great on limited snaps. Even though Pittsburgh may be fading fast in the playoff picture, Herbig is looking up dynasty-wise, and could force the Steelers to consider a three-way edge rotation in 2024 instead of ceding the vast majority of snaps to Watt and Highsmith.

Charles Omenihu, KC – He’s on a three-game sack streak, and now has four-and-a-half on the season despite sitting out the Chiefs’ first six games. It’s looking likely he’ll be back in Kansas City in 2024 despite a $11.15 million cap number – and that’s good for his dynasty value.

Interior Defensive Linemen

Gervon Dexter, CHI

The second-round rookie has been generating a handful of pressures each game, and notched half-a-sack on a quarterback hit against Cleveland. Dexter isn’t so much of a week 16 play as he is a minor dynasty asset in deep, defensive tackle-premium leagues.

Dalvin Tomlinson, CLE

He’d be hard to trust in a playoff game, but coming off a six-tackle performance against Chicago, Tomlinson finishes up the fantasy season with good matchups against the Texans and the Jets. He’s a defensive tackle streamer of choice down the stretch.

Food for Thought

Grover Stewart, IND – The veteran was surely dropped in a lot of leagues after being suspended for six games in the middle of the season. On Saturday, Stewart recorded his first sack (well, half a sack) in his second game back, and has a sweet matchup on deck against Atlanta. This is a shallow league call for sure, but still, be sure to check on Stewart’s availability.

Austin Johnson, LAC – Johnson is coming off a season-best eight total tackles against the Raiders. He’s a total zero when it comes to big plays, but in tackle-heavy leagues he may be OK down the stretch if the Chargers continue to mail it in the rest of the way, allowing opposing offenses (Bills, Broncos and Chiefs remain) to get out to big early leads and then salt the game away with the run game. Regardless, he’s a scrape-the-bottom-of-the-barrel option given his part-time usage.

Off-Ball Linebackers

K.J. Britt and SirVocea Dennis, TB

Devin White’s days in Tampa Bay appear to be done. Whatever the reason (healthy scratch, refused to play, not healthy, etc.), White was inactive against Green Bay, and from the sound of things, he’ll hit free agency and be wearing different laundry in 2024. Britt (six combined tackles – one for loss) is the immediate beneficiary, and is a waiver wire priority for linebacker-needy teams. He’s under contract for 2024 as well, as is the rookie Dennis, who for my money is still the better dynasty option headed into an off-season of uncertainty for the Tampa Bay linebacker corps (Lavonte David is hitting the open market for the second consecutive year).

Khaleke Hudson, WAS

Well, hello Hudson! Following Jamin Davis’ surprising season-ending move to injured reserve last week, Hudson was thrust into a major role next to Cody Barton. On a career-high 64 snaps, Hudson secured eight solo tackles and six assists – easily blowing out of the water anything he’s previously accomplished on an NFL field. It appears Hudson was the direct backup to Davis, and he’s likely the top free agent IDP target this week in deep leagues.

Revisits from Recent Weeks

Duke Riley, MIA – Riley was out-snapped by David Long 54 to 47, but Riley was more productive with four solo tackles, an assist, a half-a-sack and a pass defensed. The matchup this week against Dallas is decent enough if you’re in need and Riley is still hanging out on the wire.

Safeties

Marte Mapu, NE

I can’t say what direction the Patriots are taking in the off-season with rumors of Bill Belichick’s imminent departure. It simply doesn’t seem likely during a franchise reset that the front office would be willing to make safety a priority in free agency, and for that reason I’m not expecting Kyle Dugger to return to New England. If that plays out, Mapu, who collected an interception on Sunday, seems likely to slide into a starting safety role in 2024. In “start 11” leagues he’s likely rostered, but Mapu could be hanging out on the wire in shallow leagues given his statistically quiet rookie season. Note that he’s classified as a linebacker on MyFantasyLeague – something that should change in the off-season.

Andrew Wingard, JAC

Despite being banged up for much of the season, Andre Cisco has typically been in the lineup for the Jaguars. When he’s out, though, as he was this week, Wingard is fantasy gold – as evidenced by his ten solo tackles and one assist on Sunday night. Keep your eye on Cisco’s status, and if he’s sidelined again, Wingard’s a nice plug-and-play option at safety.

Food for Thought

DeAndre Houston-Carson, HOU – Hopefully your safety room isn’t so bad that you might call upon Houston-Carson in week 16, but he’s the replacement for Jimmie Ward should the veteran not be able to make it out of the concussion protocol by next Sunday.

Revisits from Recent Weeks

DeMarcco Hellams, ATL – I guess the Falcons really did need to reconsider their belief in Richie Grant. Hellams saw a season-high 62 snaps, while Grant fell to a season-low of seven during Atlanta’s ugly loss to Carolina. I’m not trusting Hellams in a starting lineup – and his production doesn’t quite justify it – but in deep dynasty leagues, he’s worth rostering just to see what transpires with Grant in the off-season.

Quentin Lake, LAR – The son of Carnell Lake returned after missing three games with a hamstring injury. Returning to the slot, Lake made a slick pass breakup on a Jacoby Brissett pass to Curtis Samuel in the end zone late in the fourth quarter. He finished with four solos and an assist. Lake has big play upside as a blitzer in any given week.

Jartavius ‘Quan’ Martin, WAS – The rookie has officially taken over the slot defender role in Washington, and posted a healthy stat line against the Rams with a sack, seven solo tackles and three assists on 75 snaps. He’s going to be a fixture in the Commanders’ defensive back lineup for the foreseeable future. Go get him.

Jonathan Owens, GB – Amazingly, he’s still available in some of my 12-team leagues. I know safety is deep and there are a lot more proven options, but Owens is an easy S1 since week nine onward. Surely there won’t be any shares remaining on wires after this week’s 11-tackle performance.

Trenton Thompson, PIT – Thompson’s mostly been a liability but Pittsburgh may have no choice but to stick with him should Minkah Fitzpatrick’s latest injury (some sort of knee injury that knocked him out of Saturday’s game) sideline the star for week 16. Thompson tallied five solos and an assist while playing 51 of 67 snaps vs. the Colts.

Cornerbacks

Jaire Alexander, Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine, GB

Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean and Zyon McCollum, TB

Packers (vs. Panthers) and Buccaneers (vs. Jaguars) corners are your top streaming matchups for the week, so I’m lumping them all together here.

In Green Bay, Alexander seems unlikely to go with a shoulder injury that has sidelined him for six consecutive weeks. But I’m listing him since there seems to be some internal griping about him not being on the field. Slot defender and return stud Nixon is likely rostered everywhere, as is Valentine. Corey Ballentine, meanwhile, sat for most of Sunday’s game in favor of Eric Stokes, who was elevated from injured reserve prior to the game. Ballentine seems to have replaced Stokes late in the game though, so there’s that. Starting either in fantasy would seem like an ill-advised move.

In Tampa Bay, Carlton Davis missed this week with a groin. If he goes this week I like him best of all Bucs, though there’s a chance he could reaggravate the groin, of course. If Davis can’t go, McCollum makes for a good streamer. Dean, meanwhile, returned to Tampa’s lineup after missing three weeks with foot and ankle issues.

Julius ‘JuJu’ Brents, IND

The rookie finally made it back onto the field on Saturday after missing six games with a quad injury. In his first four games played (weeks three through six), Brents was easily a CB1. He was pretty quiet against Pittsburgh, but played all but two defensive snaps. He’s at least fully retaken his outside corner job from Darrell Baker Jr.