This article is part of our IDP Analysis series.
RISING
Gerald Hodges, (3-4) ILB, SF
With Ray-Ray Armstrong suffering a season-ending pectoral injury, the 49ers appear to have little choice but to elevate Hodges to a full-time role. Armstrong had been stepping in for Hodges during passing situations, limiting Hodges' snap count and IDP utility. Considering Armstrong poached 69 defensive snaps in the first two weeks, Hodges' box score of 12 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble through two weeks doesn't look bad at all. Indeed, if Hodges can hold off any other passing-down linebackers the 49ers might have in mind, he has LB1 upside on a San Francisco team that pushes the tempo as high as possible.
Craig Robertson, OLB, NO
With Stephone Anthony in the doghouse for unknown reasons, Robertson has stepped up big time for IDP owners in the first two weeks, racing to 24 tackles while playing each of New Orleans' 152 defensive snaps. Although he was generally known as a rotational linebacker prior to this year, Robertson isn't a complete stranger to IDP viability – he started 14 games in 2013, totaling 85 tackles and three sacks, and in 2014 he reached the 99-tackle mark as an 11-game starter. It feels like something has to give with Anthony, either in the form of a trade or an eventual uptick in snaps, and Robertson's owners will just have to hope for the former.
Frank Clark, DE, SEA
Clark is showing everyone why the Seahawks selected him in the second round of
RISING
Gerald Hodges, (3-4) ILB, SF
With Ray-Ray Armstrong suffering a season-ending pectoral injury, the 49ers appear to have little choice but to elevate Hodges to a full-time role. Armstrong had been stepping in for Hodges during passing situations, limiting Hodges' snap count and IDP utility. Considering Armstrong poached 69 defensive snaps in the first two weeks, Hodges' box score of 12 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble through two weeks doesn't look bad at all. Indeed, if Hodges can hold off any other passing-down linebackers the 49ers might have in mind, he has LB1 upside on a San Francisco team that pushes the tempo as high as possible.
Craig Robertson, OLB, NO
With Stephone Anthony in the doghouse for unknown reasons, Robertson has stepped up big time for IDP owners in the first two weeks, racing to 24 tackles while playing each of New Orleans' 152 defensive snaps. Although he was generally known as a rotational linebacker prior to this year, Robertson isn't a complete stranger to IDP viability – he started 14 games in 2013, totaling 85 tackles and three sacks, and in 2014 he reached the 99-tackle mark as an 11-game starter. It feels like something has to give with Anthony, either in the form of a trade or an eventual uptick in snaps, and Robertson's owners will just have to hope for the former.
Frank Clark, DE, SEA
Clark is showing everyone why the Seahawks selected him in the second round of last year's draft, a pick that was generally regarded as a reach due to his dismissal from the Michigan football program over a domestic violence arrest. At 6-foot-3, 271, with nearly 35-inch arms, elite agility drills and elite jump numbers, Clark is a uniquely explosive player for his size. Playing off the bench in both cases, Clark's first two games of 2016 have yielded seven tackles and three sacks. His capped snap count behind Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril probably means Clark's level of production isn't sustainable, but he's established himself as a real double-digit sack threat this year.
Mason Foster and Will Compton, (3-4) ILB, WAS
Washington's defense has struggled to get off the field the first two weeks, allowing the Steelers and Cowboys to convert 58 percent of their third-down plays combined. That reflects poorly on the effectiveness of all involved, but for IDP purposes it indicates the potential for Foster and Compton to pile up tackles as the three-down inside linebackers of a defense that lets opponents pile up time of possession. Compton appears to be the technical leader between himself and Foster, as Compton has 129 snaps while Foster has only 106, but that hasn't stopped Foster from matching Compton's pace through two games. Foster actually leads the team in tackles with 24, while Compton has 23.
Noah Spence, DE, TB
If starting Tampa Bay end Robert Ayers (ankle) misses time, Spence could be in position to break out. Previously limited by the presences of Ayers and Jacquies Smith (IR, torn ACL), the Buccaneers might have to elevate Spence to a workload of 80 percent or more of the defensive snaps for as long as Ayers is out. Spence has logged 59 snaps off the bench through two games, finishing with a sack against the Cardinals on Sunday. As a 250-pound edge-rushing specialist, Spence would be unlikely to post high tackle totals even on a starter's snap count, but the sack potential with him is real for however long Ayers is out.
FALLING
Danny Trevathan, (3-4) ILB, CHI
Trevathan is one of the league's best linebackers when healthy, but injuries have been a recurring issue the last three years. His latest issue is a thumb injury suffered Monday that required surgery Wednesday, seemingly knocking Trevathan out of the lineup for at least a couple weeks. It's not clear whether the Bears will replace him with one player or a rotation of linebackers, but second-year player Jonathan Anderson as a candidate to see an increased role.
Denzel Perryman, (3-4) ILB, SD
Another week, another part-time role for Perryman. It's a frustrating development given the promise Perryman showed as a rookie last year, and it's unclear why the Chargers would spend a second-round pick on Perryman if they intended to only let him play 30 snaps per game. For now, though, Manti Te'o is playing one three-down role at inside linebacker while Perryman loses about 25 snaps per game to rookie fifth-round pick Jatavis Brown. It's hard to see a light at the end of this tunnel.
DeAndre Levy, OLB, DET
Levy sat last week with a quadriceps injury, and coach Jim Caldwell has not surrendered any further information on the matter. Given that Levy hasn't been seen at Lions practices since Monday of last week and Caldwell declined to rule out the possibility that Levy's injury is one of a long-term nature, it's hard to feel comfortable about Levy's chances of contributing any time soon. Meanwhile, even the Lions linebackers behind Levy are too beat up to reliably single out who might be the beneficiary of Levy's lost snaps – Tahir Whitehead is locked into one role, but outside linebackers Kyle Van Noy (calf) and Antwione Williams (hamstring) are both dealing with injuries.
Ezekiel Ansah, DE, DET
Ansah is one of the league's most talented defenders but is also among the least durable, making him a supremely frustrating IDP to own. Although he played all 16 games in each of the two years prior to this one, nagging injuries lessened his effectiveness at multiple points in that span, and it didn't take long for him to get nicked up in 2016. A high ankle sprain suffered against the Titans on Sunday should knock Ansah out for at least one or two games, and the possibility of limited play even after that point can't be ruled out. After getting to 14.5 sacks last year, Ansah will just be in a race to get to the double-digit sack mark this year.
Justin March-Lillard, (3-4) ILB, KC
March-Lillard isn't a true "faller" as much as he's a case of "buyer beware," but there are reasons to suspect the second-year player out of Akron might struggle to maintain his rate of production. His 17 tackles through two games is a great figure, but he lost snaps in passing situations Sunday to safety Daniel Sorensen, and the recent signing of former Packers starter Sam Barrington could present March-Lillard with a more direct competition for snaps. One could find more general concern in how March-Lillard, a 220-pound linebacker, is a candidate to lose passing down snaps in the first place – safety-sized linebackers like March-Lillard are theoretically supposed to excel in coverage, yet Kansas City doesn't seem to have that assessment of him at the moment.
