This article is part of our IDP Analysis series.
With rosters of all shapes and sizes, IDP advice can be a bit tricky, so the purpose of this article is to point out players whose values are elevated for the upcoming week. Some of these players will be superstars, while others will be found on many waiver wires. We'll look at team positional groupings based on the potential for a favorable game script. Whether you're streaming IDPs each week or have a stocked roster, this "one size fits" all approach hopefully will help most everyone find a weekly edge.
Linebackers
Bills (vs. Broncos) – Players with elevated value: Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milano and Lorenzo Alexander.
Overall, this should be a close game, as both teams are fine with running a conservative offensive approach to protect their QBs. Actually, Denver has more motivation to run the ball since they have two capable RBs and a raw QB who is unlikely to be able to do much damage against a top defense on the road. Expect Denver to commit to Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman, making the Bills' run stuffers solid plays on Sunday.
Panthers (at Saints) – Players with elevated value: Luke Kuechly, Shaq Thompson and Mario Addison.
Since the Panthers have a terrible run defense, but an excellent pass rush, the Saints may choose to attack Carolina's greatest weakness in this contest. Also, New Orleans is likely to continue to be without LG Andrus Peat, so they won't want Drew Brees to have
With rosters of all shapes and sizes, IDP advice can be a bit tricky, so the purpose of this article is to point out players whose values are elevated for the upcoming week. Some of these players will be superstars, while others will be found on many waiver wires. We'll look at team positional groupings based on the potential for a favorable game script. Whether you're streaming IDPs each week or have a stocked roster, this "one size fits" all approach hopefully will help most everyone find a weekly edge.
Linebackers
Bills (vs. Broncos) – Players with elevated value: Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milano and Lorenzo Alexander.
Overall, this should be a close game, as both teams are fine with running a conservative offensive approach to protect their QBs. Actually, Denver has more motivation to run the ball since they have two capable RBs and a raw QB who is unlikely to be able to do much damage against a top defense on the road. Expect Denver to commit to Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman, making the Bills' run stuffers solid plays on Sunday.
Panthers (at Saints) – Players with elevated value: Luke Kuechly, Shaq Thompson and Mario Addison.
Since the Panthers have a terrible run defense, but an excellent pass rush, the Saints may choose to attack Carolina's greatest weakness in this contest. Also, New Orleans is likely to continue to be without LG Andrus Peat, so they won't want Drew Brees to have to deal with a lot of extra hits by dropping back to pass too often due to inside pass rush pressure. This should be a week where both Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray see plenty of work, which in turn, will make the Carolina run stoppers improved options.
Lions (vs. Washington) – Players with elevated value: Jarrad Davis, Devon Kennard and Christian Jones.
When we combine the fact that the Lions are struggling to stop anyone on the ground, along with the fact the coach Bill Callahan wants to play stone-age football by running the ball as frequently as possible, we can see a scenario where 35 to 40 rushing attempts are on the table for Washington. Also, with both Derrius Guice and Adrian Peterson at his disposal, Callahan will have someone fresh to run the ball at all times. This looks like a great setup for the Detroit LBs to have a productive afternoon.
Pass Rushers
Ravens (at Rams) – Players with elevated value: Matt Judon, Patrick Onwuasor and Jaylon Ferguson.
Not only has the Rams' rushing attack been a train wreck for most of the season, but an already weak offensive line has lost three starters over the past few weeks. With the Rams facing an excellent Ravens defense that's gotten healthier as the year has moved along, it's possible we see one of those 50 to 60 pass attempt weeks from Jared Goff because the run game fails to get going. If Goff is forced into a one-dimensional role, his flaws quickly rise to the surface, and one of those will be him holding the ball too long when WRs aren't getting open quickly — and that should lead to solid sack totals for the Baltimore rushers.
Steelers (at Bengals) – Players with elevated value: T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree, Cameron Heyward and Javon Hargrave.
One of the things was that impressive in last week's Thursday night game was that the Steelers' pass rush was generating a lot of heat in a road game. Often, we'll see the pressure fade a bit when away from home, and coming off a big loss in that game, Pittsburgh faces a must-win playing in Cincinnati against another division rival. With the Steelers likely to stuff Joe Mixon often, Ryan Finley likely will be forced to throw the ball far more often than the coaching staff would like. As a result, this could be a smash spot for the Pittsburgh pass rush as it continues to generate major pressure.
Buccaneers (at Falcons) – Players with elevated value: Shaquil Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul, Ndamukong Suh, and Carl Nassib (questionable).
In this game, there are multiple factors leading to the Bucs' pass rush looking better than usual. The first is the fact that the Atlanta O-line hasn't been a strong unit all season — it likely will be overmatched when trying to get the run game going against one of the best run defenses in the league. That will lead to the Falcons finding themselves in many obvious passing downs, which will set up the Tampa Bay pass rushers to be in full attack mode. Then, the same offensive line that couldn't get the run going will be in worse shape when trying to protect Matt Ryan. Put it all together, and the Bucs' pass rush is looking good in this spot.
Defensive Backs
Colts (at Texans) – Players with elevated value: Kenny Moore (questionable), Pierre Desir (questionable), Rock Ya-Sin (questionable) and Malik Hooker.
With the Colts having been a solid defense at all levels this season, it would make sense for coach Bill O'Brien to put the ball in the hands of his best weapon, Deshaun Watson, early and often. Of course, there is a great deal of urgency for both teams this week because the winner gets a leg up in their quest to win the AFC South. Being at home, we should get Watson's "A" game, which in turn means a lot of action for the Indy secondary, making them improved IDP options this weekend.
Eagles (vs. Seahawks) – Players with elevated value: Jalen Mills, Ronald Darby, Avonte Maddox and Rodney McLeod.
As we've seen throughout most of the season, the Seahawks prefer to run a balanced offense, but playing on the road, where the Eagles are simply nasty against the run, could force the Seattle coaching staff to become a bit more one-dimensional. In addition, there's a good chance this game shoots out, and considering all factors, this is a week in which we could see Russell Wilson throw quite often. It should be noted that the Philly secondary is improving as the season goes on, but it's still the best area to attack them, making this a good spot for fantasy owners to use the Eagles' DBs.
Patriots (vs. Cowboys) – Players with elevated value: Jason McCourty, Stephon Gilmore, Jonathan Jones and Devin McCourty.
Even though the Cowboys' primary goal is to use Ezekiel Elliott as the foundation of their offense, they've shown that they'll largely abandon that when a game slides into shootout mode. With the Patriots on their home field, there's a strong likelihood that they jump out to a quick lead, and if that happens, look for Dak Prescott to try and keep pace with Tom Brady. Given the success Prescott has had, he should be able to consistently move the chains and extend drives, which bodes well for the IDP prospects of the Pats' secondary.
