Dynasty IDP Waiver Wire: Week 13

Fantasy regular seasons are winding down, and the injuries keep piling up. If your rosters are feeling the effects of a long season, gird your loins for one more brutal bye week, as you’ll have to do without any Bears, Bills, Giants, Raiders, Ravens and Vikings in week 13.

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

Emmanuel Ogbah and Andrew Van Ginkel, MIA

Jaelan Phillips’ most unfortunate Achilles tear reopened the door for Van Ginkel’s fantasy relevance. Van Ginkel was on fire earlier this season in a primary role with Phillips struggling with a back injury, but was likely dropped in some shallower leagues with Phillips and Bradley Chubb serving as the primary threats off the edge. Ogbah moves up to become the third outside pass rusher of the group, and it was Ogbah who was the more productive of the two on Black Friday with a strip sack plus another shared sack on two quarterback hits.

Keion White, NE

Granted it came against the Giants, but White collected his first career sack during what has been a solid rookie season. He added three solos and two assists on 28 snaps – one of his lower snap counts of the season. Like any Patriot lineman, it’s hard to get too excited due to the heavy rotation tendencies of Bill Belichick and Co., but White looks like he’s in line to be one of New England’s primary options on the line for the next few seasons. He’s available in some shallow dynasty IDP leagues.

Revisits from Recent Weeks

Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, CLE – Uh oh. Myles Garrett said he felt something pop in his left shoulder, which was in a sling following the Browns’ loss to Denver. Za’Darius Smith also started the second half in the blue tent, possibly due to an aggravated ankle injury. It seems like a safe bet that we won’t see Garrett for a bit, meaning Okoronkwo (and Smith) would be in line for a big bump in snap volume. We should also see more of Alex Wright, who I’m not adding.

Interior Defensive Linemen

Karl Brooks, GB

Green Bay’s defensive line absolutely ate on Thursday, carving up the Lions for 33 total pressures (per Pro Football Focus), a dozen hits on Jared Goff, and three sacks. While Rashaan Gary got all the sacks, Brooks did tally five pressures, a quarterback hit, and forced and recovered a fumble on a tackle of Goff toward the end of the first quarter. Brooks is still running behind veteran Kenny Clark and former first-rounder Devonte Wyatt – and his place in the pecking order is not likely to change – but the rookie has proven capable of disrupting the pocket from the B gap and is deserving of roster consideration in defensive tackle-premium formats.

Food for Thought

Johnathan Hankins, DAL – The veteran had his way with Washington’s line with a couple of sacks, plus three solo tackles and an assist. Don’t run out and grab him thinking this is going to be a trend though – he played just 40 percent of Dallas’ defensive snaps. And Thursday marked his first regular-season sack since December 2020. He’s not a fantasy option.

Leonard Williams, SEA – Williams had his best game as a Seahawk with a couple of quarterback hits and four combined tackles. Pro Football Focus credited him with seven pressures. In smaller leagues with required defensive tackles, Williams, if available, is a good play this week against Dallas.

Revisits from Recent Weeks

Kobie Turner, LAR – I know I’ve already written up Turner a couple of times in this article series, but he bears mentioning once more following a two-sack, four-tackle performance at Arizona. Interestingly enough, his 31 snaps played represented a season-low.

Off-Ball Linebackers

Kamu Grugier-Hill, CAR

It’s hard to have any faith that Grugier-Hill will hang onto the second linebacker spot in Carolina, but at least for week 12 he overtook Deion Jones (29 snaps to 11) as the preferred off-ball next to Frankie Luvu. KGH was also the most productive linebacker, albeit with just five combined tackles, in a low-output Panther performance at Tennessee. This is a desperation play only, and only worth mentioning considering six teams are on their bye in week 13.

Food for Thought

Tony Fields, CLE – Anthony Walker’s absence opened the door for Fields (four combined tackles) to see work as the third linebacker. And Fields is fine, but he’s not much of a fantasy option as long as Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Sione Takitaki are active.

Isaiah McDuffie, GB – He’s of course going to be useless when both Quay Walker and De’Vondre Campbell are healthy, but that hasn’t been the case too often in 2023, and it wasn’t the case in Week 12. With Campbell sitting with a neck/stinger injury, McDuffie posted 11 combined tackles. And even though he’s unlikely to start in Week 13, McDuffie is worth a roster spot and starts when Walker or Campbell miss time. In short, McDuffie is a backup worth hanging on to.

Revisits from Recent Weeks

Sirvocea Dennis, TB – The rookie indeed saw plenty of volume (66 defensive snaps) with Lavonte David sidelined. And his stat line – five solos, an assist and a pass defensed – didn’t kill you if you used him in a lineup. He should be rostered in all IDP dynasty leagues with both David and Devin White scheduled to hit the open market in the off-season.

Segun Olubi and E.J. Speed, IND – Speed is the most obvious add anywhere still available following last week’s release of Colts legend Shaquille Leonard. The tackle totals (five solos, one assist) weren’t anything to write home about, but Speed played 56 snaps (Zaire Franklin played 61). Olubi isn’t a factor right now, but would be worth rostering should either Franklin or Speed miss time with injury.

Mykal Walker, PIT – He was a total dud on 63 snaps in week 11, but was better (four solos, one assist) on 33 snaps in week 12. Either way, he’s the second linebacker in Pittsburgh at the moment. Blake Martinez (inactive this week) seems likely to get a shot at meaningful snaps if Roberts or Walker breaks down.

Josh Woods, ARI – Krys Barnes (seven total tackles on 27 snaps) had the more productive outing, but Woods (five total tackles on 67 snaps) indeed dominated snaps at linebacker in the wake of Kyzir White’s season-ending bicep injury. Rookie Owen Pappoe saw his first defensive snaps of the season, by the way, with four.

Safeties

DeMarcco Hellams, ATL

Richie Grant’s 2023 season has been a struggle, so much so that Arthur Smith had to offer some positive coachspeak earlier this week with the never-good “we’ve got a lot of belief in Richie.” Hellams, a good college safety but limited as a coverage defender, came in at times on and gave Grant an opportunity for some sideline introspection. Grant still played more snaps (54 to 38), but Hellams posted decent production with four solo tackles and three assists. At minimum we need to keep Grant on benches for now, and in deep leagues, Hellams should be rostered in case Smith reconsiders his belief in Richie.

Anthony Johnson and Jonathan Owens, GB

The Pack was of course without normal starters Rudy Ford and Darnell Savage on Thanksgiving, and in their stead both Johnson and Owens saw massive snaps (84!) en route to nice fantasy outings (Owens had eight solos, four assists and a fumble recovery, while the rookie Johnson put up seven solos, an assist and a pass defensed). Either comes with risk, as it seems likely right now that both Ford and Savage would be available in week 13. You could argue that Owens is an upgrade on Savage though, and the rookie Johnson has some minor dynasty appeal in 16-team leagues given he’s the only one of the four under contract for 2024.

P.J. Locke, DEN

Locke had a big game as the replacement for Kareem Jackson, who was handed a four-game suspension – his second of the season – for plowing crown-of-the-helmet first into Josh Dobbs in week 11. The former Texas Longhorn had a strip sack among his seven total tackles, and also defended a pass on 54 snaps. Denver earlier this year already had a decent look at Delarrin Turner-Yell, and with the good showing, Locke seems likely to man a primary safety spot until Jackson is eligible to return in week 16.

Food for Thought

Ryan Neal, TB – If you’ve been hanging on – like me in a couple of 16-team leagues – he’s safe to cut. His snaps dwindled starting in week nine and hit a season-low of 16 on Sunday.

Trenton Thompson, PIT – If you’re in a big league and you’re desperate, Thompson (an interception and five solo tackles) should have streamable value as long as Minkah Fitzpatrick remains out (which may not be for much longer).

Revisits from Recent Weeks

Ji’Ayir Brown, SF – Brown wasn’t much of a fantasy factor on Thursday (one solo tackle, three assists), but as expected he saw 100 percent of the Niners’ defensive snaps. Brown draws an advantageous safety matchup this week against Philadelphia.

Cornerbacks

Carlton Davis, Christian Izien and Zyon McCollum, TB

Davis has been hobbled by a hip issue this season, but is coming off a very solid outing against the Colts with an interception on two passes defensed, plus eight solo tackles and two assists. McCollum also was money in tackle-heavy formats with six solos, and three assists. All three of Davis, McCollum and Izien have a favorable matchup in week 13 against Carolina; the Panthers are particularly giving to slot corners, making Izien a viable option in deep leagues.

Deane Leonard, LAC

The second-year corner replaced Michael Davis at outside corner and wasn’t a total liability. The Bolts’ week 13 opponent, New England, has represented a pretty good matchup for opposing cornerback production, hence Leonard’s inclusion here. Of course, who knows how things will change should Brandon Staley get the hook on Monday. But for now, Leonard (seven solo tackles – one for loss) looks like a streaming option during a difficult week with six teams on bye.

Ambry Thomas, SF

San Francisco’s defense got a lot better once Thomas returned to the field in week ten. With Thomas coming on as an outside corner in nickel and Deommodore Lenoir sliding inside to the slot in place of the ineffective Isaiah Oliver, the 49ers have a trio of good corners. Thomas made up for a lack of tackles (just one) against Seattle with an interception and another pass knocked away in the end zone, and he’s put up startable numbers in two of the past three weeks. Depending on the size of your league and your cornerback depth, Thomas could make for a streaming option down the stretch and in the playoffs.