IDP Matchups & Sleepers: Week 2

Sep 11, 2019

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After a fairly uneventful opening week, we had some duds. With those duds, comes over-reaction - much in the same way we over-react to the positional players. Don't make hasty moves and let the next few weeks play out.

Each week, I'm going to go through our IDP rankings and look at some of the top matchups and sleeper picks for the week at each position. My IDP brother-in-arms, Ross Miles, will have your IDP waiver wire covered. If you have specific questions pertaining to your lineup, you can always refer to the ranks or hit me up on Twitter @Mike_Woellert.

Now, let's see what the opening week has in store for us.

Linebacker

Benardrick McKinney, ILB, Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

I'm going to target LBs facing the Jaguars against Leonard Fournette. He should see a slight increase in carries now that Nick Foles is out. McKinney will have a chance to improve upon his 10% tackle rate he recorded against New Orleans. The Jags allowed 11 solo tackles last week and McKinney could get the majority of those.

Jordan Hicks, ILB, Arizona Cardinals vs Baltimore Ravens

Hicks established himself as the tackle leader in Arizona. He's going to have virtually little to no competition for tackles. Hick's numbers were inflated by the overtime, but he was having a solid game before the OT. Hicks recorded a 9.1% solo tackle rate - resulting in eight solos. He finished with 14 total tackles. Hicks is going to be busy with Mark Ingram, and even Mark Andrews this week.

Tremaine Edmunds, ILB, Buffalo Bills vs. New York Giants

The Giants are going to run Saquon Barkley into the ground and target Evan Engram. Engram found himself matched up on linebackers for seven targets last week. Barkley received just 11 carries in a game where they were mismatched, so they should be able to keep it closer against Buffalo. Edmunds recorded an 11.1% tackle rate last week and the Giants yielded 17 tackles to linebackers last week.

Thomas Davis, OLB, Los Angeles Chargers vs. Detriot Lions

Davis is bionic. No matter where he plays, he plays significant snaps and produces. Davis was the three-down LB last week and played 100% of the snaps. Davis recorded a 22.2% tackle rate - resulting in 14 tackles against the Colts. He should find himself busy with rookie T.J. Hockensen, and shifty running back Kerryon Johnson. Their tackles allowed are a bit skewed due to the OT, but the Lions offense yielded 34 tackles to opposing LBs last week.

Sleeper

Cole Holcomb, ILB, Washington Redskins vs. Dallas Cowboys

Holcomb may not exactly be a sleeper. He clearly outplayed Jon Bostic in fewer snaps. If Shaun Dion Hamilton is out this week, Holcomb should see an increase in snaps. He was in on 61% of the snaps last week and recorded a 13.7% tackle rate - resulting in eight tackles. Holcomb should be busy against Ezekiel Elliott.