IDP Waiver Suggestions and Start/Sits: Week 1

Sep 06, 2016

IDP Week 1 Waiver Suggestions

We are headed into the first week of the NFL season, and if you managed to escape some of the injuries that happened during the offseason/preseason, congratulations. Reggie Ragland suffered a torn ACL and will miss his rookie year, and some other defenders have lost their roles or are looking at diminished snaps. As we head into Week 1, I'm going to take a look at some of the IDPs you can nab off the waiver wire if you need help. Once we get through those, I'll also take a look at some Week 1 IDP starts/sits.

Defensive Line

Chris Long, DE, New England Patriots

Chris Long was considered to be somewhat of an afterthought with Jabaal Sheard and Rob Ninkovich getting the bulk of rush snaps, but injuries have thrust Long into what should be significant playing time heading into Week 1. Long has been starting for most of the preseason, so if you need some DL help, he's a nice short-term chip.

Robert Ayers, DE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It's entirely possible Robert Ayers went overlooked in your draft. Ayers landed in a spot that should allow him to be on the field for more than 80 percent of the defensive snaps. He turned in a solid preseason, registering a half-sack, a forced fumble, three tackles and a defended pass in 80 snaps. He's also coming off a 2015 season where he produced a near 19-percent QB pressure rate on his rush snaps.

Derek Wolfe, DE, Denver Broncos

Derek Wolfe should be a target in tackle-heavy formats, as I put his sack ceiling at around eight this season. In just 14 preseason snaps, Wolfe recorded three tackles, a half sack and a QB hit. In seasons where he's played 12 or more games, Wolfe has averaged 41 tackles and five sacks.