IDP Dynasty Stock Market Week 4

The reason the NFL is king is the parity involved within the league. Any given Sunday, it seems that anyone can win. This is true, at least for most teams. The best teams, in theory, have the best players, but that’s not always the case, especially in terms of defense. Some bad teams have high-performing players, and some great teams have middle-of-the-road players. What can’t be debated is that good players win in fantasy football. IDP is no different from standard formats in this regard. Whether it’s a stud middle linebacker making plays all over the field or a refrigerator-sized defensive tackle stuffing the run and meeting the running back at the point of attack one thing is for sure. Footballguys is here to break it down for ya. Here’s this week’s group of stocks ready to improve your team, whether it’s via acquisition or liquidation.

High Dollar Stocks Trending Up

Linebacker Devin Lloyd: This week’s highest performer is no stranger to the shoutout seeing as he’s been a focal point of the article through the beginning of this year. Lloyd is currently the fourth highest scoring defensive player in standard scoring leagues. He is also LB2 on the year through his first three games EVER. Lloyd has yet to score below 14 points and is seemingly just as deadly in pass coverage as he is in tackling the ball carrier. He’s beginning to run away with defensive rookie of the year with production like that.

Defensive End Demarcus Lawrence: Time to take an L here. Lawrence in his first game looked like a man who had seen his best days go by and was covered in this article as such. That was until he got a Primetime game against a division rival where compiled six tackles and three sacks. He has increased his production in each game played this season and that needs to be recognized. Games like Monday night are few and far between, but the fact remains he’s increasing in production and is trending up. Is this the trade window frustrated owners needed or will he continue this trend?

Linebacker Roquan Smith: Smith had one of the best defensive performances we will see all year. Sixteen total tackles, a pass defended, and an interception helped catapult him to the LB3 spot, just six total points off the lead spot. Another name IDP fans are quite familiar with, Smith had some weird preseason contract dispute with the Bears, which made him a risky asset at best for the price that was necessary to acquire him in most leagues, whether through draft or trade, but fans have to be happy now that we are getting the normal Smith a stud, no-doubt top-three guy.

Defensive End Maxx Crosby: Hopefully, you didn’t dump all your shares of Maxx Crosby during the defensive positioning Armageddon this past offseason. If you didn’t, boy has it paid off. Crosby has 23 tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble through three games played and looks as good as ever on an otherwise disappointing Raiders team. In a league full of surprises each week, one thing remains certain, Mad Maxx is still a top-flight edge rusher and needs to be treated as such on your teams. Look for him to continue being a focal point of this article trending upwards.

Linebacker Nick Bolton: Bolton had a monster game last week against the Colts, registering two sacks and nine tackles. This was his first week with fewer than ten total tackles, but he made up for that with splash plays getting to the quarterback. Bolton has been seemingly under-the-radar in IDP circles this year despite the capital likely used to acquire him. He is far and away the best defender to have on the Kansas City Chiefs and needs to be a focal point of your IDP team if he isn’t already. He is a bona fide stud and is only 22 years old.

High Dollar Stocks Trending Down

Defensive End Von Miller: Miller got off to a crazy start on the Thursday night opener against his former team with four tackles and two sacks. Since then, he has totaled one tackle, and two defended passes. This has made managers nervous, as well as some Bills executives surely. He is residually benefitting his teammates on the line but was likely overdrafted at this point and could trend to losing games for managers at some point. Is the Von Miller of old just that, old? Managers will need to see some production here soon, or he could be on his way to the bench of IDP teams.

Linebacker Joey Bosa: Another pass rushing specialist who hasn’t had the start he wanted, Bosa had a great Week One consisting of three tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. He has since compiled only four tackles. This isn’t good for a Bosa brother who was likely drafted for name recognition, and seeing as he’s now classified as a linebacker in most leagues, he’s probably dropable in redraft or should be traded in dynasty. The bad thing is, what market is there for an edge rusher trending down?

Defensive End Myles Garrett: Are we noticing a trend here? Now it should be noted that before last week, Garrett was having a good year with at least one sack in each of the first two games, but he had a bad game Thursday night and was just recently in a car accident that he is lucky to have survived based on the pictures that were reported. I would keep Garrett on the bench this week even if he plays. Hopefully, he gets back to normal health soon!

Defensive End Travon Walker: The number one overall pick in the NFL draft started his career exactly how you would have wanted him to with four tackles, a sack, and a pick, but since then has only had four tackles and a defended pass. It normally takes some time for any rookie to adjust to the NFL, and Walker appears to fit that mold. His week one has every opportunity to be an outlier of production, but we shouldn’t panic just yet. This trend shouldn’t last long, but it is something that managers should keep an eye on.

Middle of the Pack Trending Up

Linebacker Jordan Hicks: Hicks is now a must-start if he wasn’t already. He has 31 total tackles, a pick, a sack, and a forced fumble through the first three games. He currently sits as the IDP ranked number two player by only six points in standard scoring leagues. He is averaging a whopping 19 a game and showing no signs of slowing down, ending last week’s game with 14 tackles and a defended pass. This dude is going to win leagues for some folks, and if you were ahead of the game, kudos to you because it’s all but a guarantee he is no longer a hidden commodity.

Linebacker Myles Jack: Jack is a tackling machine so far for his new team. He has 35 tackles through three weeks. He doesn’t have much else to report, but as of now, he doesn’t need to do anything differently to attribute wins to IDP managers. Sometimes in IDP, you just need guys who see ball hit ball, and it’s clear Jack is a master of that. Second teams always make managers nervous, but Jack has picked up where he left off in Jacksonville and is currently LB11 and averaging 14 a game. Look for him to steadily move up the ranks throughout the year.

Linebacker Mykal Walker: Walker is current LB4 and showing no signs of letting up. Last week he had nine tackles which were his highest yearly total, and it was less than his production the previous week by nearly five points. He is a stat sheet stuffer who has an opportunity and is currently making the most of it, and if you saw this coming, he’s another cheap team-changing defensive player. The days of Deion Jones are likely coming to an end in Atlanta so expect to hear about Walker for the foreseeable future.

Safety Eddie Jackson: In what has admittedly been a safety-heavy article to date, Jackson is this week’s first mention of the position. He is a perennial starter who contributes but isn’t talked about as much as some of the dominant playmakers like Derwin James or Minkah Fitzpatrick. That being said, he is having a great start to the year: 21 tackles, two picks, and a forced fumble are just the stats needed to swing games in your team’s favor. Jackson has been a solid contributor, and it appears to be something we can get used to. On what has been a less than ideal year for the Bears regarding team coverage within the media, they do have bright spots on defense with Roquan Smith and Jackson.

Linebacker T.J. Edwards: Edwards seems to be the main beneficiary of the Alex Singleton departure from the Eagles. He has 27 tackles, a sack, and two defended passes so far, but the best part is he has increased his production in each of the team’s last three games. The Eagles are rolling currently and appear to be the team to beat in the NFC, and while the offense may get the lion’s share of the credit, defensive play like that from Edwards is nothing to ignore.

Penny Stocks with a Chance to Succeed

Linebacker Josey Jewell: The offseason darling Jonas Griffith to this point, hasn’t 100% taken the IDP top spot for this team and neither has offseason acquisition Alex Singleton. Jewell had a phenomenal season debut, and this should be noted. He has been with the team the longest of this group and has a track record of production when healthy. Jewell scored more in his debut than the other three have as season highs. Jewell may be the right guy to roster here.

Linebacker Alex Highsmith: Highsmith has been the direct beneficiary of the injury to star edge rusher T.J. Watt and has had some eye-popping statistics to start the year. 20 tackles and 4.5 sacks are no small feat, and even when Watt returns, they won’t be able to double-team them both so we may be seeing another pass rusher emerge in this defense. He shouldn’t be available in leagues, but if he is, swoop him up before you’re too late.

Defensive Tackle Sheldon Rankins: The Jets aren’t exactly known for having the best defense lately, but that hasn’t stopped Rankins from performing well to start the year. After a slow week one, he has had back-to-back games of 5+ tackles. He also tallied a career-high seven tackles to go along with a sack. He’s available in most leagues on waivers and seems to be benefitting from the presence of Quinnen Williams on the interior of the line. He’s worth watching, especially in deep defensive tackle-required leagues.

Linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither: A relative unknown outside of Bengals fans, Davis-Gaither had the best game of his young career with 13 tackles against the Jets. Logan Wilson is the starter and IDP guy to have in this defense, but anytime someone pops for double-digit tackles, it’s worth taking note of. The Bengals have had fantasy-relevant linebackers in the past, dating back to the days of Vontaze Burfict, so we have seen what they can score when given the opportunity. It’s one game, but he needs to be a player on the watch list of managers.

Linebacker Jacob Phillips: Phillips is the fill-in for Anthony Walker, who will miss the season due to injury. In his limited action prior to the Thursday game, he had totaled five tackles. He then had seven tackles and one sack in replacement of Walker. This could be a savvy move for managers to pick him up quickly. Seven tackles are solid production, but it is one game. The true epitome of a penny stock is the dream behind the low price. He may be just that.

There ya have it. Twenty more players who either have that upside you need or the trends you need to avoid. Who are your favorites, and who are your poisons? Follow me on Twitter @Steakspeare for more IDP and football content, and make sure you follow @footballguys for all your premium fantasy football content and need!