IDP Matchups - Living the Stream, Week 8

The 2022 fantasy football season is flying by. In fact, in most IDP leagues, the regular season is already halfway over. And that means many different things fir different fantasy managers.

Sure, there are managers who have teams that are just cruising along. They have watched Las Vegas Raiders edge-rusher Maxx Crosby pile up sacks and tackles. Regaled as Chicago Bears linebacker Roquan Smith amassed stops and big plays with equal vigor. Done a little happy dance as safeties Donovan Wilson of the Dallas Cowboys and Talanoa Hufanga of the San Francisco 49ers went from late-round dart-throws or waiver adds to top-five fantasy options. They are 5-2, 6-1, or even 7-0, and all is well and good in the world.

There's a word for those people, but I can't print it here. Footballguys is a family site, after all.

For those fortunate fantasy managers, a loss in Week 8 is but a bump in the road. A temporary setback on the road to fantasy glory. This isn't to say they aren't trying to win. Only that there is less pressure if they don't.

However, for a lot of fantasy managers, that pressure is already ramping up by the week. They have waited in vain for Chicago Bears edge-rusher Robert Quinn to get it in gear. They have lamented a slow start from Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson. Wondered if Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker will start producing like the elite defensive back he was drafted to be. With a bit of good fortune, they have been able to keep their team just above .500. Without it, they are 3-4 or worse and in danger of having the season get away from them.

Of course, underperforming players aren't the only issue those teams face. Wilson missed last week's win over Atlanta with a shoulder injury. Houston Texans edge-rusher Jonathan Greenard just landed on short-term IR. Indianapolis Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard has more name changes than big games this year. Never mind the byes that in Week 8 claim the likes of Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton and Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James.

Frankly, how the holes in the lineup get there isn't as important as filling them. Finding an option to patch the gap created by injuries, byes or duds. Getting the fantasy points than can mean the difference between a win and a loss.

And that's where Living the Stream comes in.

DE Denico Autry, Tennessee (at Houston)

When the conversation turns to the best 3-4 ends in the league, the usual suspects come up, Cameron Heyward of the Steelers. Leonard Williams of the Giants. Calais Campbell of the Ravens and J.J. Watt of the Cardinals, even if they aren't the force they once were. Denico Autry doesn't get the accolades he deserves as a legit member of that club, but teammate Jeffery Simmons told ESPN's Turron Davenport that he's thankful to have Autry lining up next to him.

"I appreciate the Colts for letting him walk because it was a great pickup for us," Simmons said. "Me and Denico, we push each other. When he gets that 1-on-1, I can depend on him to win it and it makes it hard for teams to keep trying to double-team me."

It has happened without much fanfare, but after logging three tackles and a sack against the Colts last week, Autry is a top-10 defensive end in many scoring systems. The 32-year-old has now logged a sack in three straight games. And he is averaging more fantasy points per game than any of those other 3-4 ends I mentioned. With another plus matchup coming against the Texans, if you followed my advice and picked Autry up last week, it's ride-the-hot-hand time.

DE Rasheem Green, Houston (vs. Tennessee)

The Houston Texans have tried a little bit of everything on the defensive front this year, from young up-and-comers (Jonathan Greenard) to aging stars (Jerry Hughes) and journeyman veterans (Rasheem Green). Per the team's website, Green said that he believes the circuitous path he has taken to being a starter this year was actually something of a blessing in disguise.

"One of the biggest things I've learned from the guys I've played with and from being out there, being around a bunch of different coaches, I feel like the game is more mental than it is physical, for the most part," Green said. "For me personally, it's out there. It's not about the physical part. It's all mental, the preparation going into the week. I feel like that's the biggest difference for me."

After logging two tackles and a sack in last week's loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, Green has quietly posted at least half a sack in four of Houston's six games this season. In two of those games, Green also eclipsed five tackles. And this Sunday, the Texans will play host to a Tennessee Titans team that has had its fair share of issues protecting Ryan Tannehill.

DE Chandler Jones, Las Vegas (at New Orleans)

I haven't even written this recommendation yet, and I already regret it.

Jones was supposed to be an impact addition for the Raiders after racking up 10.5 sacks last year in Arizona and 71.5 over six seasons with the Cardinals. Instead, he's been all but invisible on the stat sheet—just half a sack in six games. Still, as Bill Williamson wrote for Silver and Black Pride, Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels said that Jones has made an impact defensively that goes beyond sacks.

“He’s making a lot of plays that don’t show up in the stats. And that’s probably going to be not good enough for everybody to listen to, but he’s making plays in the running game. He drew multiple holding penalties yesterday,” McDaniels said. “I mean, there is ways to produce, and there is a way to impact the game beyond just the one column that everybody’s looking for. We didn’t always get the sack or the TFL, but we created it for somebody else to have it.”

That Jones has been an IDP disappointment this season is an understatement. But even if you believe that the 32-year is well past his prime and was a bad signing, it still doesn't change the fact that's due to get home. Past due, actually. And with a top-10 IDP matchup against a Saints team that has surrendered 15 sacks this season next up, Week 8 is as good a time as any.

Akeem Davis-Gaither, Cincinnati (at Cleveland)

Akeem Davis-Gaither is a 21st-Century NFL linebacker—a rangy player who manned a hybrid role in coverage and was drafted much more for speed and versatility than size and run-stuffing prowess. Heading into his third season, there was a fair amount of buzz surrounding the former Appalachian State standout, and he told Michael Niziolek of Cleveland.com that he's intent this year on turning growth and potential into production.

“Now I go out there I know the scheme, I know what they want from the coaching staff and the defense as a whole,” Davis-Gaither said. “I can move around better and be more natural, more fluid. We can move it around and change it up; it depends on the week and depends on the call. We can flip sides; we try to be multiple and know each position.”

Davis-Gaither's IDP value in Week 8 admittedly carries a caveat—Logan Wilson (shoulder) missing another game for the Bengals. And even if he does, Davis Gaither will likely only se 65-70 percent of Cincinnati's defensive snaps. But last week, he turned a similar role into nine total tackles, and the run-heavy Browns have long been a favorable fantasy matchup for linebackers.

LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Cleveland (vs. Cincinnati)

After playing his second-fewest snaps of the season in Week 6, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah played arguably hie best game of the season last week against the Ravens, forcing a key fumble late to keep his team in the game. However, the Browns eventually lost 23-20, and as Owusu-Koramoah told Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon-Journal, that's all that really matters.

"Well, um, they still scored 23 points," Owusu-Koramoah said. "Couldn't quite pull it together, right? So, until there's a zero on the opponent's scoreboard, I don't think we've played to the peak which we have played or can play. So that's the goal. There's still some good things we did, but overall we want to make sure that we can give our offense the best opportunities consistently."

Owusu-Koramoah's six total tackles in that game weren't an eye-popping number, but on some level, it's not as important as his 80 percent snap count. With Jacob Phillips done for the season, Cleveland's linebacker depth is being tested, and "JOK" will probably see a similar snap load Monday night against a Cincinnati Bengals team that leads the league in fantasy points per game allowed to linebackers.

LB Leighton Vander Esch, Dallas (at Chicago)

After absolutely shutting down the Detroit Lions in a blowout win in Week 7, it has become abundantly clear that the driving force behind the 2022 Dallas Cowboys is the defense. Veteran inside linebacker Leighton Vander Esch has played a surprisingly prominent role on that defense, and he told Patrik Walker of the team's website that the entire unit has bought into the idea of being the No. 1 defense in the NFL.

"We've always taken an extreme amount of pride on the defensive side of the ball," said Vander Esch. "But I feel like we've taken it upon ourselves like, 'Yo, we got the crew this year to take it all the way.' So, we gotta stick together. Not let one loss or some mistakes divide us and really just keep the brotherhood that we have going and know that we're going to keep building off that week by week and just taking one game at a time."

Vander Esch isn't consistently an every-down player. But last week against the Lions the 26-year-old logged a 91 percent snap share and posted a season-high 10 total tackles. A similar workload (and stat line) is a real possibility against a Bears team allowing the fourth-most fantasy points per game to linebackers—and you could do a lot worse from a spot starter.

S Lamarcus Joyner, New York Jets (vs. New England)

The New York Jets haven't won four games in a row by throwing the ball all over the yard and piling up 40-plus points a game. The Jets are winning by running the ball and playing defense. And as Ethan Sears reported for the New York Post, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich credited the play of safeties Jordan Whitehead and Lamarcus Joyner for some of New York's defensive success in 2022.

“Them getting going like this is exciting for the entire unit because we’ll go a little bit as they go in that way because there is so much predicated not only on their play but their communication and their ability to run out defense from the back end,” Ulbrich said. “Having time on task from a back-end standpoint is one of those things that I think is highly underrated in this league."

Joyner picked up his third interception of the season in Denver last week, and thanks in no small part to those takeaways, he ranks among the top 30 safeties in IDP leagues this season. With a plus matchup looming with a Patriots team that has issues at quarterback. Joyner is back in this article for a second time this season—and back on the IDP streaming radar.

S Adrian Phillips, New England (at New York Jets)

There isn't much that Adrian Phillips hasn't done defensively over his two-plus seasons with the Patriots—the 30-year-old has played safety, linebacker, manned the slot, and even contributed on special teams. As he told Bernd Buchmasser of Pats Pulpit, his versatility as a player fits well in New England's multiple-fronts defensive scheme—and vice versa.

“Starting off, you have to learn a position,” the 30-year-old said. “You have to see yourself in a certain role and get a grasp of a certain position to get the basis of the defense and the scheme. And once you get more comfortable in that, they’ll put more on your plate and more on your plate. The more we can do as a defense as a whole, it just makes our whole scheme a lot better because you don’t know what I’ll be doing on a certain play."

Phillips hasn't posted big numbers this season (just two games with more than five tackles), in part because his snap share has varied from 100 percent in Week 3 to just 62 percent Monday against the Bears. However, starting box safety Kyle Dugger hurt his ankle against Chicago, and if he can't go this week against the New York Jets, Phillips would likely be in for a nice bump in playing time.

CB Deommodore Lenoir, San Francisco (at Los Angeles Rams)

Deommodore Lenoir didn't start the season as a starter in San Francisco. In fact, not that long ago, he appeared buried on the depth chart. However, injuries thrust the second-year pro into a more prominent role, he took advantage of it, and now he has played over 90-plus percent of the defensive snaps in three of the past four games. While speaking to Jarrod Castillo of NBC Sports Bay Area, Lenoir credited his willingness to get dirty while supporting the run.

"I ain't got no problem with getting my nose dirty," Lenoir said. "I got a snotty nose, I ain't got no problem. I would say, outside, you're more like constantly pass. I mean, you still play the run but you majority pass. You're a pass defender. So when you get into the slot, you kind of, well in our defense, we're kind of in the run game a lot more."

We have already seen Lenoir do his level best to cover Cooper Kupp—the Niners and Rams faced off back in Week 4. In that game, Lenoir played every defensive snap for the Niners, logged a season-high eight total tackles, and even pitched in a sack. He's right at the top of the list of top matchup plays in CB-required IDP leagues this week.