Week 1 was a little difficult when it came to projecting Edge and IDL streamers, mainly because there had not been any true football played yet. Still, there were some successful calls, mainly on the Edge position. The two edges in the Week 1 article, Samson Ebukam and Jadeveon Clowney, combined for five total tackles, one tackle for a loss, 1.5 sacks, and two passes defended. James Smith-Williams was the Edge deep sleeper and he totaled just two solo tackles, but it was a deep call. The two streaming IDL calls were a bit off. Arik Armstead and Jerry Tillery combined for just two solo tackles with one tackle for a loss, all of which were accumulated by Armstead. Dean Lowry, the deep sleeper, was able to come up with three total tackles, not great, but not bad for a deep sleeper IDL.
Now with a week of football under our belts, we can dig into matchups a little better. Some offensive lines struggled as we thought they would. Matt Bitonti had the Raiders offensive line ranked 30th overall. They gave up five sacks to the Chargers. The Chargers racked up pressure all day and forced Derek Carr into numerous turnovers. Though the Bengals invested in the offensive line during the offseason, they still gave up a league-high seven sacks to the Steelers during Week 1. Let's try to expose some of these struggling offensive lines. Here are some great streaming options for the Edge and IDL positions for Week 2.
Week 2 Edge and IDL Streaming Options
Edge Dominique Robinson, Chicago Bears
Matchup: Green Bay Packers - Ranked 29th In Matt Bitonti's Rankings
Dominique Robinson was a 5th Round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft for the Chicago Bears. After Week 1, he is looking like a steal. Robinson was noticeably the Bears' best pass-rusher, at least so far this season. Robert Quinn looked his age on Sunday. Rising talent Trevis Gipson looked better than Quinn, at least, but did not get to the quarterback. Not only did Robinson get to the quarterback (1.5 sacks), but he racked up 7 total tackles as well, with 5 of them solo tackles. Robinson only played on 41% of the team's snaps, third of all defensive linemen, but showed he should be on the field more, thoroughly out-performing his teammates. Robinson showed incredible explosion and speed on his first career sack.
Jim Nagy on Twitter 31 other teams are going to be sorry they let Dominique Robinson fall to fifth round.pic.twitter.com/Wl3AJguZye— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) September 11, 2022 Twitter He played excellent against the 49ers, accruing an overall defensive grade of 89.8 and a pass rush grade of 77.4 per Pro Football Focus. Robinson is matched up against the Packers offensive line that gave up four sacks during Week 1. Though they may get both David Bakhtiari and Elton Jenkins back for Week2, something stood out during the Week 1 debacle. Aaron Rodgers does not have confidence in his receivers. We have seen Rodgers have trust issues before. Ultimately it led to his offense struggling. He is holding the ball too long, and Robinson should be able to use his speed to beat up on Rodgers.
Edge A.J. Epenesa, Buffalo Bills
Matchup: Tennessee Titans - Ranked 23rd In Matt Bitonti's Rankings
A.J. Epenesa was a highly skilled collegiate player, though had yet to make a splash during his two seasons in the NFL. He is still part of a rotation, but a rotation that was camping in the backfield against Matthew Stafford and the Rams. Epenesa played on 54% of the Bills' defensive snaps during Week 1, second most of defensive ends on the team. He racked up four pressures and two sacks on the day, adding a 66.8 pass-rush grade. Epenesa won all day Sunday, setting violent edges and getting up underneath the pads of offensive linemen, keeping them off balance. Check out how he transfers power into the linemen, putting them on their heels.
Epenesa and the Bills bring their ferocity to Tennessee for Week 2. Though Tennessee's offensive line only ceded one sack during their Week 1 loss to the Giants, the story is not very telling. The Giants were missing their top two pass-rushers, Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux. The Bills will put up numbers on a Titans defense that gave up 21 points to the Daniel Jones-led Giants. This will force Tannehill into an excess of passing situations. The defensive line should feast again.
Continue reading this content with a ELITE subscription.
An ELITE subscription is required to access content for IDP (individual defensive players) leagues. If this league is not a IDP (individual defensive players) league, you can edit your leagues here.
IDL Zach Allen, Arizona Cardinals
Matchup: Las Vegas Raiders - Ranked 32nd In Matt Bitonti's Rankings
Zach Allen showed some incredible improvement during his second season in the NFL in 2021. He set career highs in pressures (26), tackles (48), and sacks (4). Allen can line up inside and on the edge, though he is best used inside. His versatility landed him a 78.8% snap-share in 2021. Allen was virtually non-existent...at least from the stat sheets. He still played well. The Chiefs have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL and Allen still racked up five pressures. Allen's volume role seems secure with the Cardinals. He was on the field for 83% of the team's defensive snaps in Week 1. In IDP, sometimes the best ability is availability.
Allen faces off against the Raiders in Week 2. The Raiders' offensive line was atrocious last week, allowing five sacks and forcing Derek Carr to push the ball resulting in three errant interceptions. Markus Golden will be another week healthier, and the defensive line as a whole has a much easier task ahead of them than they did in Week 1. Allen should be able to have a better sack/pressure conversion rate this week and carries potential IDL1 upside.
IDL Justin Madubuike, Baltimore Ravens
Matchup: Miami Dolphins - Ranked 16th In Matt Bitonti's RAnkings
Justin Madubuike has finally clawed his way into the starting front seven of the Baltimore Ravens defense. Oh my, did he have a fantastic Week 1. Madubuike was wreaking havoc all day on the interior against the Jets. He racked up four total tackles, a sack, and five pressures. PFF gave Madubuike an elite 90.7 overall defensive grade, as well as a 75.6 pass-rush grade and an 84.2 run defense grade. His sack conversion rate of 23% from 2021 seems to be carrying over to the 2022 season. Madubuike was fast and violent on Sunday. Here is a clip of him coming up with the play on the back end in pursuit. Watch as he comes flying into the picture.
Spencer N. Schultz on Twitter Justin Madubuike is an incredible pursuit defender for an interior defensive lineman. Has consistently chased down screens and blown up zone concepts from the backside throughout his young career.Insane athlete. pic.twitter.com/UhAipz6Qt4— Spencer N. Schultz (@ravens4dummies) September 13, 2022 Twitter Madubuike gets to bring his maniacal approach to the Dolphins' offensive line for Week 2. The Dolphins squared off with the Patriots' lackluster pass-rush in Week 1 and allowed 17 pressures and three sacks. Madubuike and the Ravens front should make things much more difficult to operate against.
Week 2 Edge and IDL Sleepers
Edge Brandon Graham, Philadelphia Eagles
Matchup: Minnesota Vikings - Ranked 20th In Matt Bitonti's Rankings
Brandon Graham is long past his days of being a dominant pass-rusher...or is he. Sure, Graham will be 35 years old, in his 13th season, and coming off of a lost year due to injury. It was just two years ago when Graham last played a full season. During that season, he finished with 46 tackles, 8 sacks, and 58 pressures. During Week 1 this season, Graham played on only 29 snaps, with both Josh Sweat and Haason Reddick getting most of the pass-rush snaps. Graham still was able to produce four pressures and a sack.
Derek Barnett will now miss the season after tearing his ACL, leaving Graham as the primary pass-rushing backup. Graham will go up against the Vikings in Week 2. Outside of Ezra Cleveland, the line was poor in pass protection, especially on the interior. Graham could sneak his way into DL2 territory.
IDL Osa Odighizuwa, Dallas Cowboys
Matchup: Cincinnati Bengals - Ranked 14th In Matt Bitonti's Rankings
Odighizuwa was a nice surprise for the Cowboys as a third-round rookie in 2021. He accrued 36 tackles, two sacks, and 38 pressures. Odighizuwa kept the momentum going this season with a great showing against the Buccaneers in Week 1. He played on 58% of the team's defensive snaps, coming up with four tackles and two pressures. His play warranted a 75.5 overall grade per PFF as well as a 68.3 pass-rush grade.
Odighizuwa gets a gravy matchup against a leaky Bengals offensive line. Interior defensive linemen on the Steelers totaled six tackles, two for a loss, and a sack in Week 1 against the Bengals. The Bengals line gave up a total of seven sacks against the Steelers, constantly looking overmatched. Odighizuwa has a nice matchup and is worth a start in true position formats.
Final Thoughts
After the first week of the NFL season, we have a better idea of team usage and base formations. We also had a glimpse into which offensive lines look to be in trouble to start the season. It is still only one week. Even so, All of these players listed have the potential to give serviceable production, especially if you got hit again by injuries. Yet another huge name, T.J. Watt, went down with a strained pectoral. Nobody in the NFL can replace Watt's production as an edge defender, but what we can do at Footballguys is help you find matchups and players you can use to exploit them every week. Thanks again for reading, and hopefully, this information can help you get through some short-term IR woes.