IDP Matchups & Sleepers: Week 7

Oct 16, 2019

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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 Week 7 has in store for us. I can't believe it's Week 7 already.

Linebacker

Nick Vigil, OLB, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

I'm going to continue targeting the Jaguars with linebackers and Nick Vigil. Vigil is enjoying a nice three-game stretch of production - he has three straight games of 19 or more fantasy points which has led to 37 tackles and a fumble recovery over that span. The Bengals are susceptible to giving up chunk yards to opposing running backs, so Vigil should be busy this week. The Jaguars are allowing nearly 15 solo tackles and 1.5 sacks per game to the LB position this season.

Tahir Whitehead, ILB, Oakland Raiders vs. Green Bay Packers

Whitehead went into the bye week after two straight games of double-digit fantasy points resulting in 14 tackles. He's going to be the primary signal-caller for the rest of the season and has a favorable matchup against Green Bay. The Packers are yielding nearly 10 total tackles per game to opposing ILBs. Whitehead is a more than capable tackler and with some of the top guys on bye, should be a decent LB2.

Benardrick McKinney, ILB, Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts

McKinney seems to be running away as the Texans top tackler this season. He's recording a 12.6% tackle rate and hasn't had a contest with fewer than 11 fantasy points. McKinney should be busy tracking Marlon Mack. The Colts have allowed just over 11 tackles per game to opposing ILBs. In Week 5, they allowed 22 tackles to both Ben Niemann and Damien Wilson.

Roquan Smith, ILB, Chicago Bears vs New Orleans Saints

The Bears are coming off their bye week to face Teddy Bridgewater and the Saints. Roquan Smith went into the bye on a high note - recording nine solo tackles against Raiders. Through four games, Smith is producing a 12% tackle rate. The Saints have been a favorable matchup for linebackers this season - allowing the fifth-most points to the position and 15 total tackles per game to opposing ILBs.

Sleeper

Ben Niemann, ILB, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos

Keep an eye on Anthony Hitchens. If he's trending towards not playing, Ben Niemann has a nice matchup with Denver this week. Over the last two weeks, Niemann has recorded a 10% tackle rate and last game he appeared in 90 defensive snaps. The Broncos are allowing the third-most points to the LB position while allowing 13 tackles per game to opposing ILBs.