IDP The Guru and the Godfather: Week 10

John Norton ("The Guru") and Gary Davenport ("The Godfather of IDP") are two of the most experienced and knowledgeable IDP analysts in the fantasy football industry. Every week during the 2024 season here at Footballguys, The Guru and The Godfather will come together to offer guidance for the week to come.

The 2024 season is flying by—we've already hit Week 10. The stretch run for the IDP playoffs is almost here, and for many fantasy managers the margin for error is razor-thin. Do much more losing, and the playoffs won't be a concern anymore.

The Guru and The Godfather know the feeling—all too well. Both have their thinking caps on to help IDP managers make a late push into the postseason.

Buy Low/Sell High

It's Week 10, and the trade deadline looms in a lot of IDP leagues.

If there was one IDP you could acquire at a reasonable price, who would it be? Is there an IDP managers should be looking to sell heading into the stretch run?

Guru: I hesitate to talk about Germaine Pratt here because Cincinnati will have played by the time anyone reads this. However, this question is not specific to this week's games and if you asked the same question on Tuesday, Pratt would still be my answer. He is coming off back to back games with less than stellar tackle totals, including a one stop game versus the Raiders in week nine. That will have his current managers frustrated and more likely to move him. On the other hand, Pratt has at least nine fantasy points in eight of nine games and has matchups with the Chargers, Steelers, and Cowboys leading up to the fantasy playoffs. While those are mediocre matchups, in weeks 15 and 16, Cincinnati has the Titans and Browns—the two best IDP matchups for linebackers this year.

There are a lot of managers out there who love Ivan Pace Jr.. of the Vikings. When he is in the lead role, I'm one of them. Pace put up double-digit points in three consecutive games before slipping a little last week, including almost 27 versus the Lions in week seven. He even has a great matchup in week eleven with the Titans. Throw out those selling points but don't mention that Blake Cashman is nearing a return or that there are no matchups between weeks 11 and 18 that are in the top half of the league in points allowed to linebackers.

Godfather: Good calls both. Pratt's not exactly a huge name, either.

Since the Guru hit linebackers, I'll mention a couple defensive linemen—no one trades for defensive backs. Danielle Hunter of the Texans has spent most of his first season in Houston being outshined in just about every way but salary—Hunter ranks outside the top-30 defensive linemen in fantasy points. Hunter is a proven producer who can rack up sacks in bunches who had 16.5 last year in Minnesota. He's due to get hot. Buy before he does.

Speaking of Minnesota, I love edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel. Love that he fell over backward into the role last year in Miami. Love that he plays like his flowing hair is on fire. But Van Ginkel isn't going to stay the highest-scoring defensive lineman in fantasy football. And his last two games have been his worst and third-worst statistical efforts of the season. Try to sell what he already did before he hits a slump.

Week 10 on the DL

Okay, it's on to Week 10. Name one defensive lineman who is about to exceed expectations this week, and another who will leave IDP managers holding the bag?

Guru: The Cowboys were a slightly above average matchup for edge defenders when Dak Prescott was healthy. That was largely because Prescott is mobile and does a good job getting out of trouble. The offensive line is struggling, they can't run to take the pressure off of Cooper Rush and are likely to be playing from behind most of the game. Meanwhile, the Eagles seem to have found the power button and have been getting after the passer recently. All of this bodes well for Josh Sweat, who is heating up. With a pair of sacks against Jacksonville last week, Sweat now has five in the last five games. I like his chances of adding at least one more to his total this week.

I will never tell anyone to bench T.J. Watt as long as both of his legs are still attached. That said, he is not immune to bad games. Watt had 2 points against the Colts in week four and 2.5 versus the Jets in week seven. Both of those teams were better matchups on paper than the Commanders. Washington does not throw excessively so there will not be an abundance of pass rush opportunities and Jayden Daniels is one of the few quarterbacks fast and athletic enough to run away from Watt. There is also the consideration that Washington is allowing the fifth fewest points to the edge position. Call it a gut feeling, but I see this being a down week for Watt. 

Godfather: Whoa. T.J. Watt. Now that's an assertive call.

My "sit" recommendation isn't quite that bold, but it does involve a top-12 fantasy option in points. Will McDonald IV of the Jets has been one of this year's biggest surprises on the edge, racking up eight sacks for the season. But McDonald's tackle numbers are essentially non-existent, and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has been dropped just 14 times in nine games.

At the other end of the spectrum lies the New England Patriots, who are tied for the second-most sacks allowed with 31. Montez Sweat's first full year with the Chicago Bears has been a mess—he has missed time and has just 3.5 sacks after logging 12.5 in 2023. Sweat is back to practicing in full and expected to play against the Patriots—and if he does, he's getting to Drake Maye at least once.