IDP Waiver Suggestions and Start/Sits: Week 5

Oct 05, 2016

The dust from Week 4 has settled and there were certainly no prisoners taken. The big injury this week was 49ers ILB, Navorro Bowman, and the word out out of the San Francisco is that he suffered an Achilles injury that will end his season. This is the second week in which an elite IDP has had his season ended. Finding replacement for these types of players is tough, and we have four teams on bye, but I think I have some fill-ins that should help to keep you afloat.

We’re heading into Week 5, and I’ll look at a few waiver wire suggestions below, and analyze the matchups we have ahead of us. So, let’s get to it!

IDP Waiver Wire Suggestions

(Snap counts/percentage of total defensive snaps are in parentheses)

Defensive Line

Yannick Ngakoue, DE, Jacksonville Jaguars (60 snaps/77 percent)

I mentioned him on Twitter as a nice deep league sleeper against Indianapolis’ turnstile of an offensive line, and he didn’t disappoint. He finished with four solo tackles, a sack, an INT and forced a fumble in Week 5. Ngakoue is emerging as a force on the Jaguars defensive line, as he has three sacks and three QB hits on the year. He’s a nice target in big-play formats and could go overlooked with Jacksonville on bye in Week 5.

Derek Wolfe, DE, Denver Broncos (47 snaps/66 percent)

Wolfe has produced two games of 10 or more fantasy points this season and is producing the big plays for Denver. In those two games, he’s produced multiple sacks and is generating an eight-percent tackle rate. Wolfe has improved his pressure rate close to 10 percent this season and is emerging as a tackle-heavy/big-play scoring format asset.

Jaye Howard, DE, Kansas City Chiefs (34 snaps/58 percent)

Howard now has 14 tackles and he even notched his first sack of the season in a blowout loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday night. The Chiefs have a bye week coming up, so he may be a good preemptive pickup if you’re in need of DL depth. After a goose egg in Week 1, Howard has two games of nine or more fantasy points in his last three.

Clinton McDonald, DT, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (58 snaps/81 percent)

Gerald McCoy suffered a calf injury and was seen in a walking boot as he left the stadium Sunday. If McCoy is out this week, McDonald should slide in after a productive Week 4. He finished the day with eight tackles and 1.5 sacks, and now has consecutive weeks of seven or more tackles. McDonald is now producing a tackle rate of 8.5-percent and should be worth an add in DT-required leagues.

Marcel Dareus, DT, Buffalo Bills

Dareus is returning from a four-game suspension this week and should provide a boost to the Bills defensive line. When on the field, Dareus can be disruptive, so make sure to scoop him up if he’s on your wire in DT-required leagues.

Demarcus Lawrence, DE, Dallas Cowboys

Lawrence is yet another linemen coming off suspension. He’ll provide a much-needed upgrade to the Cowboys anemic pass rush that is desperate for sacks. Lawrence had eight sacks last season and generated a near 13-percent QB pressure rate in 2015. Get your claims in on him.

Akiem Hicks, DE, Chicago Bears

If you’re looking for a bye week filler, Hicks could be a sneaky pickup this week. Hicks recorded his first sack of the season in Week 4 and is producing a 10-percent QB pressure rate on the year. The Colts defensive line has been abysmal thus far, allowing nearly two sacks per game to opposing DL and 15 total tackles. There’s definite sack upside in big-play scoring formats as the Bears face the Colts this week.