Last week was a great week for streaming the defensive line positions. Some of the matchups were too good not to take full advantage of...cough...the Colts...cough. For edge streamers, we dropped the names D.J. Wonnum and Denico Autry. Wonnum played the Bears' non-existent offensive line and dropped a two-tackle and half-of-a-sack stat line. That did not tell the whole story. His Week 5 performance was close to being epic. Wonnum was just a step behind. He created five pressures on Justin Fields. Just two more steps and Wonnum could have had a huge week. Autry has been on fire and was playing the Commanders, whose offensive line is like swiss cheese. He finished with four tackles, one for a loss, and a sack. He is becoming a weekly stud at age 32.
At the IDL position, the stat lines say we missed, though we were close to having some blow-up games. Jarran Reed played the Giants, whose offensive line has not been great as a whole. Though Reed only had three tackles with one for a loss, he did generate three pressures and had a pass-rush grade of 80.1 per Pro Football Focus. The stat line was very close to blowing up for Reed. Roy Robertson-Harris was a miss, and a hard one. He graded out poorly across the board, having one of his worst games of this season to date.
The sleepers were a smash hit for the second week in a row. It was time to pick on the Colts, and likely will be for the foreseeable future. Both sleepers were Broncos. The edge sleeper was Baron Browning. He stepped into Randy Gregory's role seamlessly racking up five tackles, two for a loss, one and a half sacks, and an unbelievable 10 pressures in route to an elite 92.3 pass-rush grade. His teammate D.J. Jones was the IDL sleeper and was just as successful. He finished with five tackles, one for a loss, a sack, and three pressures. Here are the top IDL and Edge streamers to play based off of matchup for Week 6.
Week 5 IDL and Edge Streaming Options
Edge Travon Walker, Jacksonville JAguars
Matchup: Indianapolis Colts - Ranked 7th in Matt Bitonti's Rankings
Travon Walker's career got off to a fast start when he blew up during Week 1. Unfortunately, since then, he has been quite pedestrian. He has not been a terrible player in jeopardy of losing playing time, he just has not shown up much in box scores. The only thing that will jeopardize his playing time is if he does more bonehead plays like this once the whistle is blown.
What was Travon Walker thinking 😠pic.twitter.com/N8QwmJcbOZ
— PointsBet Sportsbook (@PointsBetUSA) October 9, 2022
Either way, Walker is an athletic freak of nature and has shown some inside-out talent. He has averaged 3.5 tackles per game this season, with 10 coming in the past two games. His volume, matched with his potential and matchup, is what makes him such a great streaming option for Week 6. He has seen the field for 85% of the team's defensive snaps this season and will line up against the Colts' disastrous offensive line. The Colts are tied for the league-worst, allowing 21 sacks in 2022 so far. To make matters worse, they have given up 19 in the past three games. Walker has the opportunity to erupt in Week 6.
Edge Leonard Floyd, Los Angeles Rams
Matchup: Carolina Panthers - Ranked 18th In Matt Bitonti's Rankings
Leonard Floyd is due for a big game. He has not accounted for a single sack all season and has been wildly inconsistent creating pressure. Floyd created eight pressures during Weeks 2 and 3, but only a single pressure in Weeks 1, 4, and 5 combined. Needless to say, Floyd has been a less-than-desirable player to have on your roster in 2022. There is upside, though. He has 20 sacks over his past two seasons and gets a pretty cake matchup against a struggling Panthers team.
The Panthers have given up the 7th most sacks so far in 2022 with 15. They will also have a new signal caller, P.J. Walker, under center. Not only will they have a new starting quarterback, but Coach Matt Rhule was let go after last week's lashing from the 49ers. Walker has played nine snaps so far this season and was sacked on two of them. Week 6 is as good a matchup to bounce back with for Floyd as any. It is time to jump-start his 2022 season.
IDL Sebastian Joseph-Day, Los Angeles Chargers
Matchup: Denver Broncos- Ranked 22nd In Matt Bitonti's Rankings
Sebastian Joseph-Day is off to a steady and solid start in his first season with the Chargers. He has shown a strong floor as an interior defender averaging five tackles per game over his last four games. He has even shown signs of life as a pass rusher this season, something he has lacked during his career to date. In Week 4 alone, he had five pressures. Watch here as he forces Davis Mills to get rid of the football far quicker than he was hoping to.
The Chargers did a stellar job of getting interior pressure against the Texans. Of their 23 pressures, 17 came from inside.
— Gavino Borquez (@GavinoBorquez) October 3, 2022
Sebastian Joseph-Day and Morgan Fox led the team, each with five pressures. pic.twitter.com/jcBe3Seagm
Joseph-Day has seen a healthy snap-share this season, finding himself on the field for 66.2% of the Chargers' defensive snaps. He gets to take on the Broncos, who have just underachieved all across the board this season. They have given up the 6th most sacks in the league with 16 and have been unable to get anything going on offense. Joseph-Day has a solid floor to start against the Broncos and has some potential pass-rush upside to boot.
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IDL Osa Odighizuwa, Dallas Cowboys
Matchup: Philadelphia Eagles - RAnked 2nd In Matt Bitonti's Rankings
Osa Odighizuwa is having himself a breakout year and is a bright up-and-coming interior pass-rusher. He finally picked up his first sack of the season in the team's Week 5 victory while also tacking on seven total pressures. Odighizuwa has seen a solid 52.4% snap-share and doing everything he can with it. Pro Football Focus has given him a 72.5 pass-rush grade and a 72.4 overall defensive grade on the season. Odighizuwa has a fire-red hot motor that never quits. Watch this two-play sequence against the Rams causing severe disruption.
Osa Odighizuwa had a nice game. His relentless pursuit was on display against the Rams in this two-play sequence. pic.twitter.com/HOyHhXxnQX
— Dan Rogers (@DannyPhantom24) October 10, 2022
Odighizuwa takes on the Eagles in his Week 6 matchup. Sure, the Eagles have been great as a team and an offensive line in general, though their play style offers great upside for interior defenders. The Eagles have run the most rushing plays in the NFL through five weeks with 186 rushing attempts. That is good enough for 37.2 attempts per game. This alone offers the possibility for a high tackle floor, but that's not all. The Eagles have also given up the 12th most sacks in the league with 11, likely due to Hurts running the football and extending plays. All of that, matched with Odighizuwa's break out, make him a great IDL streamer.
Week 6 IDL and Edge Sleeper Options
Edge Efe Obada, Washington Commanders
Matchup: Chicago Bears - Ranked 29th In Matt Bitonti's Rankings
Efe Obada has been able to see extended time on the field, with Chase Young still recovering from his knee injury. He has responded quite well in his extended role. Though he has only seen a 38.2% snap-share, Obada has been able to compile 12 pressures in his last four games and has a season pass-rush grade of 71.5 per Pro Football Focus while contributing two sacks. Obada has made a case to take over the starting edge rusher role across from Montez Sweat with plays like this.
Efe Obada should be starting over James Smith-Williams. Obada has one less pressure than Jon Allen & has the 6th highest Pass Rush Win Rate among NFL DEs.
— Nathan Coleman (@CommandersStats) October 7, 2022
Snaps/Pressures/PR Win Rate/Rank
Sweat:126/12/15%/49th
Williams:67/4/9%/90th
Obada:51/9/23%/6th
🔦#CommandersSpotlight 🔦 pic.twitter.com/crVvG9YzIH
He wins with strong hands and then shows good athleticism exploding to the quarterback for the sack. Obada matches up against the Bears in Week 6, whose offensive line has been abysmal, to say the least. They have given up the 4th most sacks in the NFL with 18 and have not given Justin Fields the opportunity to make a leap. This defensive line should eat against the Bears.
IDL Kevin Givens, San Francisco 49ers
Matchup: Atlanta Falcons - RAnked 14th In Matt Bitonti's Rankings
Kevin Givens is far from a household name, but it is time he gets some respect to his name. He has really picked it up for the 49ers, who lost D.J. Jones during free agency. Givens holds a 41.6% snap-share while averaging almost three tackles per game. He has shown vast improvement this year, making plays like this one at the line of scrimmage. He knifes his way through the offensive line the pick up the tackle on the back side of the play.
Kevin Givens is doing this week after week pic.twitter.com/rVXnSuU38Q
— Jordan Elliott (@splash_cousin) October 10, 2022
Givens has five pressures over his last three games and boasts a 64.2 pass-rush grade during that span. The Falcons have had the 4th most rushing attempts this season with 162. That is good enough for 32.4 attempts per game. Givens has recorded a 73.4 tackle grade on the season so far and does a great job clogging running lanes. The Falcons also are tied for 9th in NFL in sacks allowed with 12. Add in Givens' recent success with his interior pass rush, and he could make for a nice Week 6 plug-and-play option.
Final Thoughts
Streaming through matchups is not a hit every time. You may swing and miss, but if you do your research, you should be able to find which matchups could provide ample return. We at Footballguys are doing that research for you and have been quite successful so far. All the players here have very strong Week 6 matchups and could be in line for games that can be difference-makers in your lineups. Thank you for reading and tune in next week to see who the best Week 7 matchups are.