IDP Matchups, Living the Stream: Week 10

Photo: USA Today Sports

On some level, this is an article no wants to read.

It's OK. I'm a big boy. I can take it.

More appropriately, this is an article no one wants to need to read. No one wants to be 10 weeks into the fantasy football season and needing a player they can pull off the bench or waiver wire and plug into the starting lineup. They want a "set-and-forget" menagerie of IDP monsters that dominates on a weekly basis and leads their team to an 8-1 mark after nine games.

Let's be realistic. There's always that one week where either your guys all decide to take a collective nap or the other guy's guys all decide to post a season-high in points.

But that's not how fantasy football works, of course. Injuries constantly chip away at lineups week after week after week. There are four teams on bye in Week 9—the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, and Philadelphia Eagles are all off. And as much as we'd all like to be right about every player we draft (I'm like 97 percent right—just ask me), the cold reality is some guys just don't work out.

So, while you may not want to read Living the Stream, if you are, it's because you probably need to.

Again, it's OK. I can take it. Besides. I'm a helper by nature.

DE Shaquil Barrett, Tampa Bay (vs. Tennessee)

At 30, Barrett may not be the game-wrecking force that piled up a league-leading 19.5 sacks back in 2019 anymore—halfway into his ninth professional season, Barrett has just three sacks, with the third coming last week against the Houston Texans. Per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Barrett acknowledges that he and his teammates must up their game rushing the passer.

"We haven't been synchronized that much this year with the rush and coverage, but I think we are going to get better at it," he said. "We (are) working on better eyes on the quarterback. We are working on the fundamentals and making sure we are fundamentally sound. We are most definitely going to get it fixed, because that is unacceptable."

The Tennessee Titans could be the kind of matchup that helps Barrett and the pass rush get back on track. In two starts since taking over for the injured Ryan Tannehill, rookie Will Levis has been sacked six times. The 29 sacks Tennessee has allowed as a team ranks fifth in the league. And the Titans are allowing the fifth-most fantasy points per game to defensive ends this season.

DE Darrell Taylor, Seattle (vs. Washington)

The Seattle Seahawks have a budding star on the edge in Boye Mafe, who has tied a franchise record by recording a sack in six consecutive games. But on the other side, the team was forced to make a change when Uchenna Nwosu was felled by a season-ending injury. That forced third-year pro Darrell Taylor into a larger role defensively, and former Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright said on his radio show that he believes Taylor has genuine star potential.

"I look at Darrell Taylor," said Wright via Maliik Obee of the team's website. "He hasn't even figured it out yet. He has not figured out how good he can be. Now just look at what he brings to the table. He fell into 9.5 sacks last year. I'm telling you, if it can just click in his brain like, 'I am talented, I am good, I want to take this coaching from Cliff Avril and (Michael Bennett), I'm going to just tap into that dog inside of me,' this guy can be a 13-14 sack type of dude. He can be a three-down player. It's right there for the taking. I swear to you, it's right there for the taking."

That Seattle had a player who tallied 9.5 sacks in 2022 playing as a third edge-rusher is a nice problem to have, and to his credit, Taylor has stepped up with 2.5 sacks over the past three weeks. This week, he and the Seahawks face a Washington Commanders team that has surrendered the second-most sacks in the NFL and the second-most fantasy points per game to defensive ends.