Week 2 IDP Waiver Wire: Pickups & Targets (Fantasy Football 2024)

After months of anticipation and speculation, we've finally witnessed at least 60 minutes of football from each team. Some things that we believed coming into the season were proven to be true, while others likely left you scratching your head.

What's signal and what's noise?

I always advise being aggressive on the waiver wire early in the year. Week 1 brought us a few impactful injuries to universally owned players like Antoine Winfield Jr., Derrick Brown, and whatever is happening with Devin White.

Don't overreact to a slow performance from what of your team's anchor IDP'ers, but don't be afraid to turn over some of the players at the bottom of your roster if someone with more appealing usage or alignment is available to scoop up.

IDP leagues are like snowflakes, so if you have specific questions, jump into our subscriber Discord, find the IDP channel, and tag me with any questions you have. Some of you play in leagues where all of these players are already owned, and some of you play in IDP leagues where only 3-4 players are rostered on each team, so the players listed below might not even be on your radar, so don't be afraid to reach out.

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Week 2 IDP Waiver Wire

Defensive Line

Keion White

I wrote about Keion White multiple times over the past month, and he led off this column last week. I'm willing to do it again next week if you let him hang on your waiver wire again, but please go get him.

White played 80.4% of the Week 1 snaps against the Bengals, totaling 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and four combined tackles on his way to a top-ten fantasy performance in Week 1. He's an EDGE rusher with defensive tackle eligibility in most leagues, making him an even more valuable asset if your league mandates a DT starter. Go get him.

Jonathan Cooper

Broncos defenders not named Alex Singleton were mostly going overlooked during IDP drafts this summer, and Jonathan Cooper was one of the best late-round values that no one discussed. Myself included. Cooper showed up in Week 1, posting two sacks and six combined tackles on a 70% snap share.

Per PFF, Cooper's very on-brand 44.4% pass rush win rate on true passing sets (defined as a passing play that does not include screen passes, play action passes, or rollout plays) was the seventh-best mark in the league and is good enough to grab my attention and, perhaps, a spot on the end of your roster.

Marcus Davenport

Who knows how long Marcus Davenport will stay healthy? All we know for now is that he's available in most leagues, and he's capable of being a dominant player on a per-snap basis. Davenport played 62.2% of Detroit's Week 1 snaps, adding a disruptive book-end opposite of Aidan Hutchinson along the Detroit Lions front.

Davenport earned a half sack and finished with six pressures on 31 pass rush snaps, and his pass rush win rate, via PFF, of 40% was among the top ten on the week. This is a deeper league look but a low-risk one I'd consider if you think your squad is lacking sack upside overall.

Linebacker

Zack Baun

The Eagles linebacker situation was very fluid all training camp, but Zack Baun took his Week 1 opportunity and ran with it. Baun was a top-three fantasy asset in Week 1, regardless of your league's scoring system. He played every snap, compiling 15 combined tackles (11 solo) and two sacks.

He was a disruptive force who went out and earned a longer leash in the middle of Philadelphia's defense, and with the unknown surrounding Devin White and his future with the team, Baun is the type of player who can change the dynamic of your roster. This type of production is not sustainable, but finding every-down linebackers with season-long upside on the waiver wire is rare. Teammate Nakobe Dean is also a riser after Week 1 and he also deserves your attention.

Troy Reeder

Another linebacker room with a lot of ambiguity entering Week 1 was in Los Angeles. The trade of Ernest Jones just days before the season began led to a lot of speculation and scrambling among IDP owners, and it looks like Troy Reeder has come out on top for now.

Reeder was featured in this article last week, along with rookie teammate Omar Speights, but Reeder played every snap for the Rams in Week 1, while Speights didn't play a defensive snap. Christian Rozeboom (73.8% of snaps) played ahead of Speights and Jake Hummel, but Reeder is the priority. He finished with eight tackles, and while he's not a sexy add, opportunity is king at the linebacker position, and he's sitting atop the Rams' pecking order after the first week.

Isaiah McDuffie

Another player whom I wrote about relentlessly this offseason is the Packers' linebacker, Isaiah McDuffie. The Packers used two early draft picks on linebackers, and the general assumption early this summer was that second-round pick Edgerrin Cooper would be the Week 1 starter next to Quay Walker for Jeff Hafley's new defense in Green Bay. Well, McDuffie didn't get the memo.

I was hoping for a 75-80% role as Green Bay's LB2 for McDuffie, who's been extremely productive on a per-snap basis over the past two seasons, but he played a whopping 97.3% of the snaps in Brazil against the Eagles. In fact, Cooper (13.5%) played behind Eric Wilson (20.3%) in Week 1, so McDuffie's role appears to be safe. In tackle-heavy scoring, McDuffie should be a priority.

Defensive Back

Tyler Nubin

Tyler Nubin was the first safety off the board in the draft, but there were a lot of unknowns coming into Week 1 who'd be getting starter reps on the back end for the Giants. I think we have our answer.

Nubin played every snap against the Vikings, playing over 35% of his snaps in the box or in the slot. He finished with seven tackles and is a great addition for those who lost Antoine Winfield Jr. this week. He comes from the University of Minnesota, where he had a standout collegiate career, setting the program record with 13 interceptions in 55 games. His high box snap rate should lead to a lot of tackling opportunities, with the Giants trailing often and likely seeing a lot of running back carries in the second half of games.

Quentin Lake

Rams defensive coordinator Nick Shula used Quentin Lake in a highly coveted hybrid nickel/safety role. Lake played most of his snaps in the slot but didn't leave the field, totaling ten tackles against Detroit. Lake has flashed strong tackle production in the past and is a priority for those of you in leagues where cornerbacks are required.

Tony Adams

This is a deeper league play, but Jets safety Tony Adams is worth monitoring based on his Week 1 alignment. It may have been game script dependent, with the 49ers running at will on Monday night, but Adams played 69% of his snaps in the box. That led to a 12-tackle night, and he sprinkled in a sack on top of it. Even if it's just one week, it's good to know who'd get the box snaps between Adams and Chuck Clark.

Dropable

Damone Clark

Clark played behind DeMarvion Overshown and didn't come in until the game was well out of reach. On top of that, Overshown played well, likely distancing himself from Clark in the views of the coaching staff. Clark is now battling Marist Liufau for LB3 snaps and can be comfortably dropped.

Jordan Battle

I so desperately wanted Jordan Battle to be a thing this season, but the second-year safety didn't play a defensive snap in the Bengals Week 1 loss to New England. He'll need an injury ahead of him to earn meaningful snaps at this point.

Willie Gay Jr.

Folks were excited about Willie Gay Jr. when he left Kansas City and signed with the Saints this offseason, but the Pete Werner contract extension in August spoke volumes about where Gay was on the Saints linebacker pecking order. An eight-snap Week 1 is a nail in the coffin.

Situations To Monitor

Falcons LB2

Kaden Elliss won the green dot role during training camp and was the lone every-down backer for the Falcons in Week 1. Troy Andersen (46% snaps) and Nate Landman (54%) rotated at the other spot, with Landman primarily handling early-down work while Andersen played on the clear passing downs. Andersen was going ahead of Landman in drafts, but if you have either, I'd rather have any of the linebackers listed above.

Buccaneers LB2

Head coach Todd Bowles spoke positively all offseason about K.J. Britt and his ability to handle the LB2 role next to Lavonte David, and with Tampa Bay utilizing two linebackers on nearly 90% of their defensive snaps last season, it looked like a role that was going undervalued in drafts. After one week, I need to pump the breaks. In Week 1, Britt played just 66% of the snaps, leaving the field on passing downs for SirVoncea Dennis. I'm not dropping Britt, but he's harder to trust if this usage trend continues.

Chargers Linebackers

A 3-man rotation is an IDP nightmare, and that's what we have in Los Angeles. It looked like Denzel Perryman (50% of the snaps) was set to be a near-every-down player. Still, the Chargers rotated series, working in Junior Colson (58.3%) and Daiyan Henley (66.7%) more than the veteran Perryman. I still think Colson is worth an add if available, and he'll take on a three-down role for this club before the season ends.

Vikings LB2

Ivan Pace Jr. was excellent when given an opportunity last season, but there were questions about his role coming into the season after Minnesota signed Brian Cashman in free agency, and no team used a second linebacker less than Brian Flores did in 2023. That trend looks to be holding up, with Cashman anchoring the unit (88% snap share), relegating Pace (54.4%) to situational work. Pace is tough to drop at this point and offers big-play upside, but in shallow leagues, I'm comfortable moving on.