Eyes of the Guru IDP Info, Week 12

There are some interesting happenings in the IDP world this week. Some of them are shockers, and some not so much. But many of them have ripple effects that will create some opportunity for managers to improve, or at least supplement, rosters.

Arizona Cardinals

Kyzir White suffered a torn biceps against the Texans, so the Cardinals will be without their leading tackler for the rest of the season. Josh Woods took over the lead role after White left, finishing 6-1 on an 82% (55 snap) play share. White is the leading candidate for the every-down linebacker job the rest of the way, but managers should not overlook Krys Barnes. He logged just 22 snaps in week eleven but managed 2-1 and a pick in the limited playing time. We already know that Barnes puts up numbers when he gets on the field. If he sees 70% of the playing time, he could have decent value for us the rest of the way. Woods was seeing 70+ percent of the action on most weeks as the second linebacker, so it is reasonable to expect the same for Barnes.

Baltimore Ravens

If we look at the entire season, Los Angeles is the worst matchup for linebackers, but if we look at the numbers since week five, they are not all that bad. The Chargers are still struggling to get their ground game going, but the matchup for linebackers improved once Austin Ekler returned.

Buffalo Bills

The game was an easy win for Buffalo, but their secondary took a beating versus the Jets. Dane Jackson and Taron Johnson are both in concussion protocol, and Taylor Rapp left the field in an ambulance with a neck injury. Rapp's injury turned out to be relatively minor, but chances are, the Bills will be without all three players when they face a big test versus the Eagles this week.

With Rapp out, either Siran Neal or Damar Hamlin will serve as the third safety. The corner situation, however, is a much bigger problem. Rasul Douglas and Christian Benford should be the starters, with Cam Lewis as the nickel. Lewis has been on the field for 81 snaps all year, and 34 of those came after Johnson was injured last week. At best, the Bills are paper thin at corner. If you are looking for a stream option at the position, Douglas could be your guy. He has at least 12 fantasy points in each of his two starts since joining the Bills three weeks ago, including a 26-point outburst last week when he picked off Jets quarterbacks twice.

Carolina Panthers

Vonn Bell looked much better after knocking the rust off. He turned in a solid 6-1 against the Cowboys, but think twice before plugging him into your lineup this week. Only the Broncos have allowed fewer points to safeties this year than Tennessee.

Deion Jones has seen his playing time increase steadily over the last few weeks. Against Dallas, he exceeded half of the snaps for the second time this year and the first time since week three. The Titans are a poor matchup for linebackers, so there is nothing to get excited about here, at least not yet. The Panthers have a strong string of matchups for linebackers from week 13 to 17, though. If Jones's playing time gets up to 75% in the next game or two, we might have to take another look.

The chances of Jones seeing more action going forward got a big boost when the Steelers plucked Blake Martinez off Carolina's practice squad on Tuesday.

Chicago Bears

Tremaine Edmunds returned to action against the Lions but did not handle a full workload. He was 4-4 with a pick on 66% of the snaps. Edmunds came through without any setbacks and should be back in his normal, every-snap role this week. That means we can put Jack Sanborn back on the shelf for now. He logged less than half of the snaps last week and is likely to be down around 30% against the Vikings this week.

Cincinnati Bengals

We knew it was coming, and it should have happened in August. Jordan Battle appears to have finally moved past Nick Scott into the starting strong safety job. The results were impressive as Battle piled up ten solo stops and a pair of assists. Granted, the big numbers had a lot to do with the matchup, but Battle has some good matchups remaining on the schedule as well, including the Jaguars, Colts, Vikings, Steelers twice, and the Chiefs in week 17.

B.J. Hill went down early in Thursday's game and grabbed the back of his leg/ankle in the area of the Achilles. He returned after a few plays and looked fine, but keep an eye on the injury reports if he is your guy.

Cam Taylor-Britt had another of those games with less than a 60% share of the snaps, but this time we know why. He was playing full-time before exiting with a quad injury. Taylor-Britt is day-to-day leading up to week 12. If he is not able to go, look for rookie DJ Turner to get the start opposite Chidobe Awuzie.

Despite the great matchup, it was a slow day for Germaine Pratt on the stat sheet. There is nothing to see here beyond the strangely low numbers. Pratt was in his usual role, logging 85% of the snaps.

Cleveland Browns

Anthony Walker Jr. has been a huge disappointment, but at least he has an excuse for the week eleven goose egg. Walker lasted just eight snaps before leaving with a hamstring injury. Sione Takitaki inherited the extra snaps, logging a season-high 88%, but he was not able to do much with them.

Juan Thornhill missed week eleven with a sore calf, and Rodney McLeod left the game with a biceps injury. That put Ronnie Hickman in the lineup to finish the game. Hickman is in line to start against the Broncos this week, but there is no reason for grand expectations for either him or Grant Delpit. Denver has been a horrible matchup for safeties.

Dallas Cowboys

Markquese Bell is a perfect example of why we should not overreact to one week in the NFL. He gave us three solid outings while logging 53%, 73%, and 94% of the snaps at linebacker before having his time cut to 39% in week ten. A lot of managers took that as a sign the team was going in a different direction. In week eleven, however, Bell was back to almost 90% of the snaps with a solid 6-4 to show for it. The week ten hiccup is enough to impact the trust factor, but matchups with Washington this week, followed by Seattle, Philadelphia, Buffalo, and Miami over the next five weeks, could make him a quality start for the rest of the season.

Managers looking for Rashaan Evans to make some noise will have to wait at least one more game. Damone Clark was 2-4 with a pass breakup on 79% of the snaps versus the Panthers. Evans played seven defensive snaps.

Denver Broncos

The Broncos have solved their edge positions for the long term. Jonathan Cooper went 2-3 1 against the Vikings and has been getting it done all season. Baron Browning was 3-0-1 with a forced fumble in Sunday's game, making him 9-1-3 with two forced fumbles in his three games back from injury. Cooper has worked his way into the starting lineups of nearly all the fantasy managers that have him. After last week's game, Browning has proven his worth as well. If what these guys have done recently is not enough to convince you to start them this week, maybe the fact that Cleveland has allowed the second-most points to the edge position will do the trick.

Detroit Lions

The Lions changed things up a bit on the back end in week eleven. After having Derrick Barnes and Jack Campbell share time as the second linebacker for much of the season, they went with three backers on about 60% of the snaps against Chicago. Barnes worked as a full-time number two, and Campbell saw about 60% of the action. The effect in the secondary was that Tracy Walker's playing time was hacked to less than half of the snaps. There is a good chance this was a matchup-based adjustment for the Bears, but it's enough to make us think twice about playing Walker.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers had their starting linebacker tandem on the field at the beginning of Sunday's game. That has been a rare event, with both players missing time over the first eleven weeks. Unfortunately, it lasted 41 snaps before De'Vondre Campbell suffered a neck stinger and left the game. He is not practicing early in the week and there is pessimism about his chances of playing in week twelve. Isaiah McDuffie has been a productive fill-in and is in line for another start.

Green Bay has been without starting safeties Darnell Savage for the last four games and Rudy Ford in two of those four outings, but there is a chance both could be available this week. Savage was activated from IR early in the week, and Ford has been a limited participant in all practices leading up to the Turkey Day showdown with Detroit. The Lions are a strong matchup for safeties, so keep an eye on the situation in the short week.

Houston Texans

Henry To'oto'o has missed two games with a concussion, and Denzel Perryman is serving a two-game suspension. With both players out, the Texans went with a nickel base package on 87% of the snaps against Arizona. For Blake Cashman, this move was right in his wheelhouse. He lit up the box scores like a pinball machine, going 13-6-1 with a pass breakup for nearly 30 fantasy points. If his statistical production is not enough to convince the coaching staff he should be on the field at all times, maybe they should consider that, according to Pro Football Focus, Cashman has consistently graded out as the team's best defender since week five. He may not reach 30 points this week, but the Jaguars are an excellent matchup for linebackers.

Indianapolis Colts

The week twelve shocker was the Colts' release of Shaquille Leonard. They were patient and gave him every opportunity but finally had to accept that he is not, and probably will never again be, the player he was before the injury. Someone will claim Leonard, so if he is on your roster, be patient until we see where he lands.

The rest of the story comes down to what the Colts do next at the position. Leonard played more than half of the snaps in all but one game leading up to week ten. Chances are, those snaps now go to E.J. Speed, who had been sharing time with Leonard at the weakside linebacker position. Speed was seeing most of the sub-package time already and has been highly productive in the past when playing full-time.

Las Vegas Raiders

When the Raiders signed Robert Spillane in free agency, no one knew if he would be a long-term answer to the team's middle linebacker position or just a veteran placeholder to keep the spot warm until it could be better addressed. To some extent, we still don't know the answer to that question. What we do know is that he's played well, has been highly productive, and has taken on a leadership role that had been missing from the Raiders for a long time. We also know how the team's interim head coach, Antonio Pierce, feels about Spillane. Pierce recently called him the kind of player you build a defense around. That is music to the ears of all those dynasty managers who picked up Spillane as late-round depth.

Marcus Epps left the week eleven game with what is believed to be a neck stinger. Isaiah Pola-Mao came on to go 4-3 with an interception on the final 54 snaps and would be in line for the start if Epps is out in week twelve.

Los Angeles Chargers

There was a role change for Derwin James in week eleven. He shifted from more of a traditional safety to the slot/rover role so he would be free to roam and find favorable situations to exploit. It's the same role that made him the fantasy games' best defensive back early in his career. The change has not yet made an impact on his production, but it has the potential to be huge going forward.

Joey Bosa left on a cart with a foot injury that, from his reaction, looked bad. He was later diagnosed with a significant foot sprain that landed Bosa on IR Wednesday. This opens the door for rookie Tuli Tuipulotu to start opposite Khalil Mack for the rest of the season. With Chris Rumph on IR, Morgan Fox should move up the ladder and become the third man in the rotation.

Los Angeles Rams

As of Wednesday afternoon, it remains unclear if safety Russ Yeast was injured or benched during Sunday's game. Regardless of why, the result is that Quentin Lake played every snap and put up a strong 7-1. Lake is a guy we've been watching for a couple of weeks. He put up good numbers with a 50% or so part-time role in a couple of games before moving into the lead spot at strong safety last week. He's a little banged up heading into week twelve, so pick him up, but keep an eye on his practice status later in the week.

Lake and Jordan Fuller were the full-time safeties, but the team finally got John Johnson on the field as well. The Rams rolled with a big nickel base defense with Johnson in the game as the third safety on 46 of 65 plays. His numbers were modest at three tackles, but it was good to see him finally get a shot. We'll have to see if his role increases.

Miami Dolphins

The Miami defense had three interceptions through the first seven games of the season. Since returning from injury in week eight, Jalen Ramsey has three in the last three games. His big play impact has been huge. Unfortunately for IDP managers, Ramsey has almost as many picks as tackles over those games. The Dolphins' remaining schedule includes two games with the Jets, Commanders, Titans, Cowboys, and Ravens. Some of those games are great opportunities to add to the interception total for Ramsey, but those are not matchups that promote quality tackle numbers for opposing corners.

David Long has not reached double-digit points in a game since week six. If he continues to be limited to fewer than 30 snaps per game as he was last week, Long may not reach double-digits again this season.

At least it's easy to see why Long only had four combined stops versus the Raiders. DeShon Elliott, on the other hand, played all 65 snaps and managed one tackle. The good news for Elliot is the snap count. The bad news is that he's fallen short of double-digit points in every game since week two.

Minnesota Vikings

When the Vikings lost Jordan Hicks for the season in week ten, it was a safe bet that Ivan Pace Jr. would see an increased role. What we didn't know is if the coaching staff would trust the rookie to stay on the field for every snap. They did so in week eleven, and Pace answered the bell with an impressive showing. At 6-3 with a forced fumble, he led the team in tackles and led the defense in points. Indeed, the only problem for IDP managers regarding Pace is his schedule for the rest of the season. On top of having poor matchups with the Bears, Raiders, and Bengals in the next month, Minnesota is one of six teams with a bye in week 13 when we need him most.

New Orleans Saints

Marshon Lattimore left the week ten game with an ankle injury. On Monday, Dennis Allen updated the status of Lattimore, confirming that the bye week was not enough for the ankle to heal. Allen would not say if Lattimore was an IR candidate but did say he would miss some time with the injury.

New York Jets

The game flow was odd for Jets linebackers in week eleven. To say that Quincy Williams started slowly would be an understatement. He was shut out in the first half, making his first tackle of the game about five minutes into the third quarter. Williams still managed a quality outing at 6-4. The same can not be said for C.J. Mosley, who turned in his lowest production of the season by far a 1-3. It was the second time Mosley fell short of double-digit points this season. Not coincidentally, the other time was the first meeting with the Bills in week one. There is nothing to see here but a quirky game script. Mosley should bounce back with a big game against the Dolphins this week.

Philadelphia Eagles

Neither Zach Cunningham nor Nicholas Morrow were particularly impressive on Monday night. Both put up respectable numbers, though. Cunningham finished at 6-1 with a pass breakup in a 91% workload. Morrow went 4-1 with a fumble recovery on 70% of the playing time. If you are considering playing either of these guys this week, re-read the previous paragraph on the Jets matchup with Buffalo.

Pittsburgh Steelers

We expected Elandon Roberts to have the lead role in the Steelers' defense last week. Many expected good numbers from him, but I doubt anyone expected eleven solo stops and four assists, with two tackles for loss. It was an impressive showing for the veteran, but before we get too excited, let's take a look at what has been a busy couple of days for the team.

The firing of their offensive coordinator is getting all the headlines, but there is a lot more going on here. We'll start with Sunday's game. Most of us had Mark Robinson penciled in as the other starting linebacker. Instead, the team went with Mykal Walker, who was signed off the street on Saturday. Walker did nothing statistically against Cleveland but was on the field for almost 85% of the snaps.

The coaching staff must have been unimpressed with Walker. Since Sunday, they have talked Myles Jack out of retirement and plucked Blake Martinez off the Panthers practice squad. The team will look at all three during practice this week and decide who gets the start against Cincinnati. The member of the trio with the most long-term potential is Martinez, who is 29 years old and was a standout NFL starter before the knee injury in 2021. He has a chance to stick with the Steelers or at least make a positive impression that would land him an opportunity elsewhere. That said, Jack knows the scheme from his previous stint with the team, so they could go in any direction here, including the dreaded committee approach. A weak matchup with the Bengals is a good reason to avoid all of these guys, even if we learn the plan before the game.

Keanu Neal landed on IR this week, so unless Minkah Fitzpatrick returns, Pittsburgh will go with Trenton Thompson and Damontae Kazee at the safety positions.

Seattle Seahawks

Every week, there is a list of prominent IDP starters that let us down. This week's list includes Jordyn Brooks, who finished 1-2 against the Rams despite playing 66 of 67 defensive snaps. There was no injury or change in the scheme. It was just another case of game script and rotten luck for those of us who started him.

Jamal Adams was a somewhat surprising scratch last week. He was limited in practice all week, as usual, before sitting out on Friday. Adams returned to full practice on Monday, so unless there is another flair-up of his knee, he should play in the strong matchup with San Francisco on Thursday.

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers defense took a big hit when Talanoa Hufanga tore his ACL while trying to change direction on a play. Rookie Ji'Ayir Brown took over and made a good showing, going 2-2 with a pick and three passes defended on 36 plays. Brown is set to be the starter for the rest of the season.

How big of an impact does the addition of Chase Young make? He landed his first sack as a 49er on Sunday. More importantly for 49ers fans, the team had four sacks against a Buccaneers offense that gave up an average of two per game and had not allowed more than three in any previous contest.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers' strong safety situation remains unsettled entering week twelve. Ryan Neal had his playing time slashed in weeks nine and ten before missing week eleven all together with a thumb injury. Dee Delaney took most of the snaps at the position in week nine. He was not much better and has seen his playing time diminish over the last two weeks as well. Christian Izen also got a look in weeks nine and ten. His playing time shrank to 21 snaps last week, with Kaevon Merriweather getting a 34-play audition. Just to make sure, the team signed former Buffalo starter Jaquan Johnson to muddy the water even further. We know there is good fantasy value lurking here. Hopefully, someone will step up and lay claim to the job before it's too late to matter.

Rookie YaYa Diaby has been on the field for between 17 and 30 snaps in every game this season. Through the first six games, he was a complete non-factor. In week eight, the light came on for the young man. Over the last four games, Diaby is 7-0-4 on 88 snaps, including a 4-0-2 mark against the 49ers in week eleven. The Colts are a middle-of-the-pack matchup for edge defenders, but in week 13, when six teams are on bye, Diaby gets a juicy matchup with the Panthers, who are allowing nearly four sacks per game and the eighth most points to the position.

Lavonte David was having a great season right up to the groin injury he suffered late in Sunday's game. There has been no official update on the severity of the injury, but the vibe coming out of the presser with Coach Bowles on Monday was not positive. There has been plenty of speculation that SirVocea Dennis was drafted to be the heir to either the 33-year-old David or the somewhat disgruntled and underperforming Devin White. It looks like he will get a live audition over the next week or three. Dennis is a good target for anyone streaming the linebacker position.

Tennessee Titans

There were some strange numbers and snap counts that came out of last week's game for the Titans. Tennessee opened in a 5-1-5 with Azeez Al-Shaair as the lone linebacker. The starting safeties were K'Von Wallace, Amani Hooker, and Elijah Molden. Keeping an eye on the ball after that is tricky, though.

Wallace was hot, posting six solo stops on 24 plays before leaving with a concussion. Hooker played every snap in six consecutive games before dropping below 90% in this contest. He saw the most playing time among the team's safeties but managed a marginal 3-1 on his 63 snaps. There is no word of an injury here, so this one could be related to the lopsided score. Terrell Edmunds had the best statistical day of the team's safeties at 4-1-1 but was forced out of the game with a shoulder injury after 35 snaps. Mixed in with the injuries and game situation, second-year pro Mike Brown came off the bench to play 20 snaps. This is a situation best avoided if at all possible.

The linebacker situation might be even more of a head-scratcher. With a weak line of 3-2, Al-Shaair disappointed for the second week in a row. Unlike his six-assist performance in week ten, however, a low snap count contributed here. Al-Shaair had logged at least 92% of the plays in every game before seeing that number cut to 70% versus Jacksonville. I've not yet had a chance to review this game closely, but there has been no word of an injury or anything else that might explain the lost snaps. The fact that Al-Shaair has just 5 solo stops to go with 16 assists over the last three games is a concern as we close in on playoff time.

The Al-Shaair situation is not the end of the twists here. After solid numbers as a two-down inside backer for much of the season, Jack Gibbens lost snaps to Monty Rice in week ten and found himself in a dead-even timeshare with Rice in week eleven. Gibbens managed two tackles and two assists on his 29 snaps versus Jacksonville. On his 29 chances, Rice totaled a team-high 5-3, including a tackle for loss. The trend suggests we might see a lineup change this week with Rice taking over.

Washington Commanders

The Commanders didn't miss Montez Sweat or Chase Young when they racked up nine sacks last week. Unfortunately, they don't get to play the Giants again this season. Efe Obada went down on Washington's first defensive play, so Casey Toohill was joined by rookie fifth-round pick KJ Henry as the team's edge defenders. Toohill recorded a sack but did nothing else, while Henry went 2-2-1.5 with a pair of batted passes. He will have a tough time repeating that production against the Cowboys this week or the Dolphins next, and Washington is one of two teams on bye in week 14. Don't rush out and pick up Henry, but he is worth watching the rest of the way.

David Mayo has given us some solid production over the last five games, including the 5-1-2 he contributed last week. That party is probably over, with Cody Barton expected to return this week.

Safety Percy Butler left last week's game with a back issue. He was replaced by Terrell Burgess. Between them, Butler and Burgess produced a strong 7-2 in the game. Dallas is a pretty good matchup for safeties. Keep an eye on the injury report to see who is playing.

That does it for this week's offering. Best of luck in those crunch-time matchups this week!

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