The Guru and the Godfather: Week 6

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John "The Guru" Norton and Gary "The Godfather of IDP" Davenport are two of the most experienced and knowledgeable IDP analysts in the fantasy football industry. Every week during the 2022 season here at Footballguys, The Guru and the Godfather will come together to answer five of that week's most pressing questions.

With Week 6 of the 2022 campaign already here and the bye weeks upon us (no Maxx Crosby this week…sigh), the Guru and the Godfather have come together again to discuss some old faces in new places at linebacker, some players it's time to serve with divorce papers, and players who could be about to blow up (or just blow) this week.

1. A couple of familiar IDP names found new homes recently, with Blake Martinez signing with the Las Vegas Raiders and Deion Jones joining the Cleveland Browns via trade. Can either veteran linebacker recapture past glories and contribute for fantasy managers?

Guru: Both of these guys are good football players with plenty of gas in the tank. I am confident they will eventually get back to being the same players they once were. I am far less confident, however, that it will happen this season.

When Martinez made his preseason debut, I did not think he looked fully healthy. He was tentative, slow to react, and looked like a guy recovering/returning from a major injury. Even if he is physically healthy, I think he needs time to overcome the mental hurdles that are sometimes as tough as the physical ones.

I feel like Jones is probably ready both physically and mentally, but I can’t bring myself to trust the Browns. If they like Jacob Phillips and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah as much as they say, where is Jones going to find playing time? They were in major need of depth, but Jones is not a backup. My fear here is yet another time-share situation where three guys share two positions, and none of them are reliable IDP options.

Godfather: First off, any IDP pundit who says they know exactly how these situations are going to play out is either a soothsayer or full of it. Both are short on certainty. With that said, here's my take as things stand today.

As I told Footballguys' own Sigmund Bloom on The Audible Live this week, Jones has a clearer path to playing time than Martinez for one prevailing reason—Cleveland is (as evidenced by how rapidly this trade was made after getting gashed by Austin Ekeler and the Los Angeles Chargers) absolutely desperate to upgrade a run defense that has allowed over 200 yards in consecutive games. Jacob Phillips truthers don't want to hear this, but the youngster has been atrocious since entering the starting lineup. He's slow to react and takes bad angle after bad angle when he does. Once Jones is fully healthy and up to speed in Cleveland's defense, Phillips is going to turn back into a pumpkin.

The situation with Martinez is less clear. Divine Deablo hasn't been great for the Raiders, but he's been playing every down and making the defensive play calls. Denzel Perryman has missed time, and what few snaps Martinez saw in Week 6 came at his expense. I'm inclined to think that Deablo is the safer of the two incumbents, and given that Perryman was a Pro Bowler in 2021, Martinez may be little more than injury insurance. But the Raiders are a 1-4 time with a defense that ranks outside the top 20, so changes can't be ruled out. With the Raiders on bye in Week 6, if those changes are coming, we'll see them next week.

If you have the roster space, both have a resume that warrants at least a speculative pickup. But Jones is the preferred option—by a fair margin.

2. It can be hard to say goodbye, but identify one IDP at each position for whom it's time for fantasy managers to cut the cord and move on.

Guru: Aiden Hutchinson was supposed to be the next Nick Bosa type of player. When he blew up for three sacks and 26 fantasy points in week two, it looked like the was well on the way. Unfortunately, we have not heard from him since. In his other four games, Hutchinson has a total of 12 combined points. He may eventually live up to the draft status, but it often takes a year or two for young edge defenders to get their feet under them. I am moving on from Hutchinson in redraft formats.

Shaq Thompson played second fiddle to Luke Kuechly for a long time. After three solid seasons as the team’s lead linebacker, he finds himself playing second fiddle to Frankie Luvu. Maybe the coaching change will help, but the guy has put up four or fewer solo tackles in four of five games. There simply is not enough upside for me to keep hanging on.

Johnathan Abram rocked week one with nine tackles and three assists. Four games later, he ranks outside the top 50 defensive backs and is 10-3-0 over the last three games combined. There are too many better options out there.

Godfather: I should have seen the writing in the proverbial wall with Chandler Jones of the Raiders. Five of his 10.5 sacks last year came in the first game of the season. But I bought into the idea that playing opposite Maxx Crosby in Las Vegas could coax one more big year out of him. Five games and no sacks into the season, it's time to move on if another viable option is available—especially with the Raiders on bye this week.

It's a similar story with Arizona Cardinals linebacker Zaven Collins. Despite a miserable rookie season, we figured that things had to get better in 2022—especially with Isaiah Simmons moving to a "Star" role (don't get me started on that nonsense, either). But five games into the season, Collins is barely averaging six tackles a game and has that many solos in a game once. In shallower IDP formats especially, there are better options out there.

In the secondary, just about any defensive back who hasn't met expectations is puntable at the five-game mark—my patience tends to wear thin at that position. But it is with great sadness that I recommend Xavier McKinney of the Giants. The box snaps I thought would be there instead went to Julian Love, and McKinney barely ranks inside the top 100 defensive backs in scoring. If you haven't already cut bait, pour one out and do it.

3. Looking ahead to Week 6, which IDPs at each of the three main positions are going to exceed expectations, post beefy stat lines, and help lead fantasy managers to a much-needed win?