IDP Waiver Wire Pickups For Week 11

Nov 17, 2020

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We are entering Week 11 - if you can believe it - with just a few more weeks of regular-season fantasy football. At this point in the season, trying to find a reliable defender on the waiver might be futile, and is similar to me looking for snacks in my kitchen with two teenage boys patrolling the house like they are Ed Reed ready to intercept the Flamin' Hot Cheetos from my hands.

There are still some names available who you can add to your roster that could have an impact.

As we look ahead to Week 11, here are the IDPs I'm suggesting to target on your waiver wire this week.

Linebacker

Malik Harrison, LB, Baltimore Ravens

Harrison had a huge Week 9, recording nine tackles. His usage increased into Week 10 and he appeared in 84% of the snaps, although it translated to just two assisted tackles. The assists were on two impact plays - one prevented a TD and the other resulted in no gain - where he shot the gap along with Derek Wolfe. He's quick and has range, and I think he and Patrick Queen are going to be an effective LB duo. I'm hoping John Harbaugh and company continue to use him in more of their defensive packages going forward.

Cole Holcomb, LB, Washington Football Team

I mentioned Holcomb ahead of Washington's bye week as a pickup. Out of the bye, he ended up appearing in 100% of the snaps alongside Jon Bostic in Week 10. He can play anywhere on the defense, whether it's on the edge, in the box, or up in the gaps with his hand in the dirt. He won't get pushed around and won't hesitate to take on contact, plus he can get to the holes to make tackles. Holcomb just needs to clean up his missed tackles. After not missing on any tackles over 71 snaps, he's missed four over his last 128. He's producing an 18% tackle rate this season and has LB3 upside the remainder of the season.

Nicholas Morrow, LB, Las Vegas Raiders

Morrow's IDP value will rest on when Cory Littleton is activated off the COVID list - or it may not. He's actually outplayed Littleton when he's been on the field. Morrow was decent in coverage against Denver, limiting yards after the catch and defending two passes. He made a nice play on KJ Hamler in which Lock threw to him and Morrow buried his helmet into his chest, resulting in the incompletion. I think that's something Cory Littleton has struggled with all season. Those struggles might result in more snaps for Morrow. Morrow also had a nice sack off the edge on Drew Lock in which he forced a fumble. He also had a pressure which resulted in an interception for Carl Nassib. He's doing things that show up on and off the stat-sheet. It wouldn't surprise me to see the snaps tilt in his favor.

Leonard Floyd, LB/EDGE, Los Angeles Rams

Floyd is a big play specialist, and when he gets sacks, they come in bunches. Floyd is coming off a hat trick in Week 10 and has five sacks in the last two weeks. Brandon Shell had a rough go with the Rams' defense. On the first sack, Floyd came off the edge, but Micah Kiser rushed and took him on instead of Floyd, leaving him untouched to get to Russell Wilson. Literally, two plays, later, he broke off Duane Brown's block to get to Wilson, which stopped him from a potential scramble. This season, Floyd's generating a 10.2% pressure rate, however, his QBP received a huge boost thanks in part to his 25.6% pressure rate generated against Seattle. He's boom or bust, no doubt, but target him in big-play scoring formats.

Isaiah Simmons, LB, Arizona Cardinals

The 2020 10th overall pick in the draft makes his first appearance in this column. Simmons has appeared in 32 snaps in consecutive weeks, however, this week he saw the playing time due to an injury to De'Vondre Campbell. Campbell suffered a calf injury and never returned to the field in Week 10. If Campbell ends up missing this week, Simmons could be in line for more snaps. Now, he hasn't eclipsed more than 53% of the snaps, so I wouldn't be surprised if they capped him. Arizona might just deploy Hicks and Reddick on the edge. Simmons finished with four tackles and could see extra usage this week if Campbell can't suit up.