The scramble for the waiver wire after the first week of NFL action is always an interesting one. Players who lit up the Week 1 scoreboards, despite being relatively unknown entities before the season, suddenly become the pickup-du-jour and are aggressively pursued. Sleeper draft picks who had a quiet start to the season suddenly find themselves dropped, while owners sift through depth charts to work out who the handcuffs are that just benefitted from an injury to a starter.
It’s one of the most chaotic weeks of the fantasy season and there can be some roster churn that creates opportunities for the patient, attentive owner. Although I don’t think we’ve got a WR Allen Hurns or RB Isaiah Crowell to get excited about on the defensive side, let’s dive in and highlight some players who can add some depth to your IDP roster.
Defensive Linemen
If you’re a hardened IDP gamer, you’re aware that there is a fair bit of volatility in scoring for defensive linemen, who are reliant on big plays for big scoring fantasy days, so don’t over-react to a Week 1 duck egg and start dropping your preseason DL2 for a guy on this list. You need a couple of games’ worth of data before you want to start making any major revisions to your assessment of the D-lineman landscape.
There were a few guys who showed they should be rostered in deeper leagues, and could be useful bye week fill-ins or a spot start for those of you who wait and draft IDP late.
Wallace Gilberry flirted with fantasy relevance in our preseason rankings, as the No. 39 defensive lineman and showed he can be productive if given an opportunity across from DL1 Carlos Dunlap. Gilberry played 67/88 snaps and racked up four total tackles, one for loss and 1.5 sacks for 13 points in the PFF IDP scoring system.
One of Jeff Ratcliffe’s sleepers, who you would have caught if you listen to our weekly IDP podcast, Andre Branch, had a productive start to the season. It’s taken a few years for Branch to get his game together in the pros, but on the evidence of Week 1 and the preseason, he is thriving in the Leo role in Gus Bradley’s defense. He only played 49/87 snaps as Red Bryant started, but he did register a sack and forced fumble and will continue to be asked to pin his ears back and get after opposing quarterbacks.
Despite not registering a sack, Jeremy Mincey showed he can pressure the passer for the Cowboys on Sunday with one quarterback hit and three hurries on his 22 pass rushes. Dallas is going to be in some shootouts this season and Mincey is the most talented sack artist on the roster right now. He won’t be recording DL1 numbers anytime soon but can be a viable backup in case of injury or bye week.
Already have a subscription? Log In
Ross Miles is a Lead Writer for Pro Football Focus Fantasy. Follow him on Twitter –@PFF_RossMiles Need more specific advice, start/sit help or expert opinions on trades? Let us know on Facebook by joining the conversation
DOMINATE FANTASY FOOTBALL & BETTING WITH AI-POWERED DATA & TOOLS TRUSTED BY ALL 32