Years ago, when Deone Bucannon introduced himself as a “money linebacker” on Sunday Night Football, the audience had a good laugh. The term was a reference to his defensive responsibilities but conjured images in the minds of viewers of the huge game checks that Bucannon was earning at that time. Memes popped up in the following days of Bucannon on top of piles of money and gold coins. Hopefully, following the guidance given in this column will have your rosters overflowing with a wealth of IDP riches. We will primarily focus on edge rushers but will also hit on some of the other players and situations that are likely to impact teams in big play leagues. We will cover risers and fallers in the format, injury situations fantasy general managers need to know, and upcoming matchups to target.
Note: The defensive player injuries covered in this column are not an exhaustive list, but an attempt to cover the situations most likely to impact big play IDP squads. For more extensive coverage of injury situations, see Jene Bramel’s latest Injury Rounds column.
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Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby continues to ascend. He played an astounding 90% of snaps for the Raiders this past weekend and continues to find his way onto the stat sheet each week. He is worth picking up, especially in dynasty leagues if he is still out there.
The Jets have had a slew of linebacker injuries lately that forced them into starting Brandon Copeland and James Burgess against the Dolphins. Neville Hewitt may be well enough to factor back into the lineup at some point, so keep an eye on that if you are using Copeland and Burgess as bye-week fill-ins.
Ravens linebacker Patrick Onwuasor returned from an ankle injury to deliver strong production. He logged eight tackles and a sack, but only on 42% of the team’s snaps. It is okay to roster Onwuasor and play him as a bye-week fill-in, but do not expect this type of production to become the norm.
Browns safety Jermaine Whitehead was kicked off the team after a tirade and threat-laced Twitter exchange with fans after the Browns lost to the Broncos on Sunday. It is safe to drop Whitehead across your leagues.
Marquise Blair and Brandley McDougald got 100% of the snaps against the Buccaneers, but we need to remember that the team recently acquired Quandre Diggs. One of these safeties will probably be the odd man out, but it is hard to say which one it will be. This is a situation to continue to monitor and all three should be on your bench waiting for clarification when Diggs is healthy enough to be active.
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Browns defensive end Olivier Vernon hurt his knee in the week nine contest and his status for next week is unclear.
49ers linebacker Kwon Alexander tore his pectoral muscle in Thursday’s contest and is out for the year, which will mean more opportunity for Fred Warner going forward.
Titans cornerback Malcolm Butler fractured his wrist and is out at least for week 10 and possibly beyond.
Texans cornerback Jonathan Joseph once again left the game against the Jaguars, presumably with a reaggravation of his hamstring injury. Recently acquired Gareon Conley played all the snaps and may be worth grabbing in corner required leagues if Joseph misses significant time.
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New York Giants Pass Rushers vs. New York Jets Offensive Line
The Jets continue to crumble, losing their last contest to the lowly Dolphins and giving up another three sacks to bring their average on the year to a whopping 4.6. Markus Golden and Lorenzo Carter have more appeal than they normally would in this matchup, as do Dexter Lawrence and Oshean Ximenes.
Kansas City Chiefs Pass Rushers vs. Tennessee Titans Offensive Line
The Titans are another spiraling team that cannot find cohesion along their front, allowing an average of 4.2 sacks per game. They gave up another three sacks to the Panthers, despite Carolina missing Mario Addison. We can expect Frank Clark (assuming he is back from injury) Emmanuel Ogbah, and Chris Jones to have a better chance to notch a sack or two in this contest.
Indianapolis Colts Pass Rushers vs. Miami Dolphins Offensive Line
The Dolphins gave up four sacks to a Jets pass rush that has done little this season, matching their average sacks surrendered per game on the year. The Colts have a much more effective pass rush and should have similar or better results. Jabaal Sheard, Justin Houston, and Denico Autry are all great plays this week.
Arizona Cardinals Pass Rushers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offensive Line
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pass Rushers vs. Arizona Cardinals Offensive Line
Arizona Cardinals Defensive Backs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Passing Attack
This is a contest in which both offensive lines are subpar and the opposing pass rush should hit home. For Arizona, that means Chandler Jones and Turrell Suggs might be adding to their sack totals this week. For Tampa Bay, Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaquille Barrett are the beneficiaries of a super pass-rush matchup. Additionally, we know that Jameis Winston has played mistake-prone football this year, surrendering a league-high 12 interceptions. Byron Murphy, Patrick Peterson, Corey Peters, and Budda Baker should all be better-than-normal starts this week.
Ravens Pass Rushers vs. Cincinnati Bengals Offensive Line
The Bengals have given up a whopping 3.6 sacks per game on the year, including five in their last contest. It does not help that Cincinnati will also be starting an inexperienced rookie quarterback who has issues with processing the field. It is difficult to know how the Ravens will deploy their linebackers in terms of playing time from week to week, but Matt Judon is probably the most likely of the group to benefit, as he is most consistently on the field. Patrick Onwausuar, Tim Williams and Tyus Bowser also have an increased likelihood of getting to the quarterback this week.
Buffalo Bills Pass Rushers vs. Cleveland Browns Offensive Line
Buffalo Bills Defensive Backs vs. Cleveland Browns Passing Attack
The Bills were mentioned last week and they will roll on to another great matchup against a Browns unit giving up nearly three sacks per game on average. Jerry Hughes, Trent Murphy, and Shaq Lawson all have better-than-normal odds of dragging Baker Mayfield to the turf. The Bills also get another great passing matchup against Baker Mayfield, who has turned the ball over through the air 12 times already this year. We should be licking our chops if we can start any shares of Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, Tre'davious White, and Levi Wallace.
New Orleans Saints Pass Rushers vs. Atlanta Falcons Offensive Line
The Saints are well-rested after their bye and ready to face off against a demoralized Falcons team making its way through a lost season. Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport are good plays this week and could add to Atlanta’s already poor 2.6 per game sack average.
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Dallas Cowboys Pass Rushers vs. Minnesota Vikings Offensive Line
This could be a stalemate in terms of pass rush for a normally potent Dallas unit. The Vikings, despite their shortcomings on offense, are not giving up many sacks on the year or in recent games. Tone down expectations for Robert Quinn and Demarcus Lawrence in this one.
Seattle Seahawks Pass Rush vs. San Francisco 49ers Offensive Line
The Seahawks have had a disappointing pass rush unit anyway this year, but do not expect things to get better versus a group that is giving up only a sack and a half per game, despite missing Joe Staley and Mike McGlinchey. Jadaveon Clowney, Jarran Reed, and Ezekiel Ansah all need to be benched this week where possible.
San Francisco 49ers Defensive Backs vs. Seattle Seahawks Passing Attack
Russell Wilson has been extremely responsible with the football this season, turning it over through the air just one time. The limited passing game also makes it tough to see Richard Sherman, Jaquiski Tartt, Jimmie Ward, or Emmanuel Moseley getting lucky enough to pick off Seattle in this contest.
Los Angeles Rams Pass Rush vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Line
We have to think that Aaron Donald and Dante Fowler will begin to heat back up eventually, but it probably will not be against an offensive line that has surrendered less than a sack a game on average and is the league’s best through nine weeks. You cannot bench them in most instances, but you should not expect much.
