IDP Upgrades: Week 10

This article immediately highlights defensive players whose production was significantly better or worse than normally expected for the prior week of games. Note there is sometimes limited information available when this article is written, but I will try to give everyone an early look at players who are moving up or down in value among IDP circles. It isn’t easy to give waiver advice for IDPs since there is such a wide variety of lineups and scoring systems, but hopefully, the information provided can help inform your waiver, trade, and upcoming lineup decisions. I'm also going to try and group edge rushers together with the understanding that classification as a defensive end or linebacker will depend on your league setup/host. If you have any questions about specific players or situations, please email me or reach out via Twitter.

Email: rudnicki@footballguys.com
Twitter: @a_rudnicki

UPGRADES

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN/EDGE RUSHERS

DT Javon Hargrave, PHI (6 solos, 1 asst, 3 sacks, 3 TFL, 3 QH on 68% of snaps)
One week after posting 8 tackles and 2 sacks against the Steelers, Hargrave topped it with a 3-sack game against the Texans. He quickly went from being a depth option to a must-start in leagues that require a defensive tackle.

DT DaRon Payne, WAS (4 solos, 2 asst, 1 sack, 4 TFL, 2 QH on 94% of snaps)
Payne is likely to cash in with a huge contract as he’s headed for unrestricted free agency this offseason. At just 25 years old, he’s already in his 5th year as a pro and enjoying a breakout season with 5.5 sacks through 9 games. He’s also been remarkably consistent with at least a partial sack in 6 of 9 games played.

DE Kwity Paye, IND (7 solos, 1 asst, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 QH on 73% of snaps)
Paye sat out the last 3 games with an ankle injury but he returned this week and was able to handle a full workload. He led his team in tackles with 8 stops, including 7 solos, and also picked up his 4th sack in 6 games played.

DE Jerry Hughes, HOU (4 solos, 1 asst, 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 2 QH on 65% of snaps)
The Bills let Hughes walk in free agency after upgrading with the Von Miller signing, but he’s found new life in his home state of Texas. He now has 7 sacks in 8 games played and this was his third multi-sack game of the season.

DE Dawuane Smoot, JAX (2 solos, 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 2 QH on 49% of snaps)
Smoot doesn’t get as much attention (or playing time) as Josh Allen or Travon Walker but now has nearly as many sacks as both of them combined. The pass rush specialist now has 3.5 sacks in his past two games but has the Chiefs and a bye coming up next.

EDGE Josh Uche, NE (5 solos, 1 asst, 3 sacks, 3 TFL, 2 QH on 40% of snaps)
Uche has not played very much this year but he’s a former 2nd-round pick who still has some untapped potential. He likely earned himself a bigger role going forward based on his effort his week though as he collected 3 sacks on just 25 snaps in an easy win over the Colts.

EDGE Matt Judon, NE (4 solos, 2 asst, 3 sacks, 3 TFL, 4 QH on 68% of snaps)
Judon is once again proving to be one of the best pass rushers in the league. Last year, he had 12.5 sacks by week 13 but failed to record another in his last 4 games as he seemed to wear down. He’s improved on that pace this year and now has 11.5 sacks after week 9 with multi-sack games in 3 of the past 5 weeks.

LINEBACKERS

LB Blake Martinez, LV (8 solos, 3 asst on 91% of snaps)
Martinez saw a huge increase in playing time this week as he filled in for Divine Deablo, who left early with an injury. Martinez has 4 tackles in each of the past two games in a limited role but he collected 11 stops with 8 solos on 63 snaps, which ranked 5th among Raiders defenders. Deablo went on injured reserve Monday with an arm injury, which creates an opening for Martinez.

LB Jack Sanborn, CHI (7 solos on 88% of snaps)
In the first week after Roquan Smith was traded away, Sanborn was the biggest benefactor as he started at middle linebacker and played all but 7 snaps. While he isn’t likely to match Smith’s production, he’s going to have an opportunity to showcase himself and has limited competition right now.

LB Derrick Barnes, DET (4 solos, 8 asst, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 QH, 1 PD on 68% of snaps)
Barnes has averaged fewer than 30% of the snaps this year but he saw an increased workload this week and made the most of it. He played 50 snaps and helped keep the Packers offense in check with 12 combined tackles plus a sack and a pass deflection that bounced off his helmet and led to an interception. His increased playing time came at the expense of rookie Malcolm Rodriguez, who only played a season-low 26% of the snaps.

LB Drue Tranquill, LAC (8 solos, 2 asst, 1 sack, 2 TFL, 1 QH on 100% of snaps)
Tranquill has shown some flashes in the past since joining the Chargers as a 4th round pick, but he’s clearly taken another leap in his development this year. He’s putting up top-10 numbers and getting a chance to blitz more with 3 sacks in his last 3 games.

LB Bobby Wagner, LAR (8 solos, 5 asst, 1 TFL, 1 BL on 100% of snaps)
Although he has been a productive starter, Wagner has not played up to his normal standards for most of the year. While he was helped by the Buccaneers offense throwing the ball 58 times, it was encouraging to see him come up with 13 tackles on 57 tackle opportunities.

LB JaWhaun Bentley, NE (6 solos, 3 asst, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 2 QH on 73% of snap)
Bentley has struggled with inconsistency throughout his career, like many Patriots players, but he’s been productive of late. Across his last 3 games combined, he has 12 solo tackles, 10 assists, plus a sack and interception despite sitting in some obvious passing situations.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

S Damar Hamlin, BUF (8 solos, 4 asst, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 QH on 100% of snaps)
Hamlin has been filling in for Micah Hyde this year but has also needed to come up and support the run regularly, particularly with Jordan Poyer missing time or playing at less than 100%. Hamlin has hit double-digit tackles in the past two games and has averaged 6 solos and 2 assists per game in 6 starts.

S Richie Grant, ATL (5 solos, 6 asst, 1 INT, 1 PD on 100% of snaps)
The Falcons remain a work in progress, but Grant has provided some stability in the secondary with his steady play. The 2nd year pro was a high draft pick last who has flown under the radar but he set a career-high with 11 tackles this week while also adding his second interception of the season.

S Kerby Joseph, DET (5 solos, 5 asst, 2 INT, 3 PD on 64% of snaps)
The rookie came up huge in a big win over the Packers this week as he collected two interceptions as well as 10 combined tackles on just 47 snaps. Unfortunately, he had to leave the game early after colliding with a teammate and suffering a concussion, but the future looks bright.

S Keanu Neal, TB (6 solos, 4 asst on 100% of snaps)
Neal wasn’t a great fit at linebacker in Dallas last year but has looked more comfortable in Tampa after moving back to his natural position. He’s played every snap over the past two games while filling in for Antoine Winfield and has 10 solos and 8 assists in both games combined.

CB Roger McCreary, TEN (6 solos, 2 asst, 1 INT, 1 PD on 100% of snaps)
The rookie has been a strong source of tackles all season but he also added his first interception of the year in a solid showing against the Chiefs on Sunday night.

CB Kader Kohou, MIA (8 solos on 99% of snaps)
The Dolphins secondary has been ravaged by injuries this year, which has created plenty of opportunity for the rookie Kohou. He’s often started opposite Xavien Howard and will likely continue to see plenty of targets each week as he was credited with 8 solo stops this week despite a poor matchup.

CB Steven Nelson, HOU (5 solos, 1 sack, 1 QH, 1 FF on 94% of snaps)
Nelson has been a productive starter during much of his 8-year career and he’s showing more of the same in Houston this year. He picked off a pass last week and then followed it up with a strip-sack this week that was recovered by the Texans. The strong play of Derrick Stingley might actually encourage quarterbacks to target Nelson more instead.

DOWNGRADES

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN/EDGE RUSHERS

DT Derrick Brown, CAR (2 asst on 30% of snaps)
Brown was starting to emerge as a very productive fantasy option, but he was limited to just 22 snaps this week while dealing with an illness. Matt Ioannidis played 74% of the snaps but didn’t do much with them either as the Bengals dominated up front.

DE Gregory Rousseau, BUF (1 solo, 1 TFL on 23% of snaps)
Rousseau was limited to just 14 snaps in this game, and the Bills likely missed his presence up front. Reports on Monday indicated he suffered a high-ankle sprain and should be considered week-to-week. That figures to create more playing time for others, but the Bills will rely on a rotation between Shaq Lawson, A.J. Epenesa, and Carlos Basham.

DE Carl Lawson, NYJ (0 tackles on 60% of snaps)
The Jets pass rush gave Buffalo fits in this game and wound up with 5 sacks spread across 6 different players. Lawson was not one of them, however, and was held off the scoresheet with 0 tackles on 37 snaps.

DE George Karlaftis, KC (1 solo, 1 asst on 65% of snaps)
The rookie pass rusher has played nearly 400 snaps this year but has just a half sack and 7 solo tackles (with 9 assists) to his credit. Carlos Dunlap added 1.5 sacks this week while handling a similar workload and may be in line for more work.

EDGE Rashan Gary, GB (2 solos, 1 asst, 1 QH on 45% of snaps)
Gary had cooled off after a hot start but things took a turn for the worse this week as he was carted off the field. On Monday, he was diagnosed with a torn ACL and will be lost for the rest of the year with a risk to miss time next year as well. Cornerback Eric Stokes also left the game early with knee and ankle injuries and could possibly be shut down as well.

EDGE Josh Allen, JAX (1 solo, 2 asst on 78% of snaps)
Allen’s cold spell continues as he has now gone without a sack for five straight games. In that same time period, he has just 6 solo tackles and 3 assists. With the Chiefs and a bye coming up next on the schedule, he is quickly losing most of his fantasy value.

EDGE Brandon Graham, PHI (1 solo, 1 TFL on 38% of snaps)
Graham has not registered as much as a partial sack since his 2.5 sack game back in week 3. Over his past 3 games combined, he has been nearly invisible in the box scores and has just 1 solo tackle and 1 assist. The newly acquired Robert Quinn only played 12% of the snaps this week but should see a steady increase in the weeks ahead.

LINEBACKERS

LB Divine Deablo, LV (1 asst on 3% of snaps)
Deablo started the game but only lasted 2 snaps before leaving with an injury to his forearm. He was placed on injured reserve Monday and will be out until week 14 at the earliest. Blake Martinez took over for him and seems likely to retain that role.

LB Frankie Luvu, CAR (1 solo, 2 asst on 73% of snaps)
Luvu produced like a top-10 fantasy linebacker during the first month of the season. Since returning from his injury, the coaching staff changed in Carolina though and things have mostly gone downhill since. He played 50 snaps this week but was powerless to stop Joe Mixon and the Bengals run game as they piled up 241 yards on 39 carries.

LB Nick Bolton, KC (1 solo, 2 asst, 1 TFL on 100% of snaps)
This looked like a good matchup on paper as the Chiefs were facing Derrick Henry a run-heavy offense, but the Titans only generated 37 tackle opportunities. Bolton has been very productive all year, so this game looks like an outlier and he should bounce back next week against Jacksonville.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

S Vonn Bell, CIN (2 solos on 80% of snaps)
Bell has 4 interceptions this year despite coming into the season with 2 over a 6-year career as a starter, but his tackle numbers have fallen off lately. Over his past four games, he has been credited with just 9 solos and 3 assists making it harder to rely on him for reliable production each week.

S Mike Edwards, TB (1 solo on 100% of snaps)
Edwards was one of 8 Tampa defenders to play at least 89% of the game, so he remains a core piece of their defense. He was nearly shut out this week though as the Rams offense struggled to generate much offense and only completed 13 passes on 41 tackle opportunities.

CB Cameron Dantzler, MIN (1 solo, 1 asst on 30% of snaps)
The young corner has played well for Minnesota this year and was coming off a 9-solo performance against Arizona last week. Unfortunately, he left the game early with an ankle injury and appears unlikely to play next week against Buffalo. Rookie Akayleb Evans replaced him in the lineup and added 4 tackles with a pass defensed on a 70% workload.

CB Amani Oruwariye, DET (0 tackles on 1% of snaps)
Oruwariye had played every snap the past two weeks but struggled and was sent back to the bench this week. He wound up playing only a single snap this week as the Lions gave a much larger workload to Jerry Jacobs and Will Harris.