IDP Defensive Playbook - Week 2
Welcome to your Week 2 IDP Defensive Playbook. Each week, I'll highlight some of the top defensive waiver wire targets, as well as match-ups to exploit in each game. Week 1 is in the books, and there were some fine performances as well as some stinkers thrown about. There were some injuries, but it wasn't as bad as recent seasons. The biggest names were Luke Kuechly, who suffered a concussion and Terrell Suggs, a torn Achilles’.
Before I look at Week 2, here's how my Week 1 waiver targets performed:
Kony Ealy, DE, CAR: Registered no stats
Chris Smith, DE, JAX: Four tackles, one defended pass
Tyrunn Walker, DT, DET: Three total tackles
Shea McClellin, LB, CHI: Eight total tackles
Hau'oli Kikaha, LB, NOS: Five total tackles, one forced fumble
Uani Unga, NYG: 12 total tackles, one sack
Will Allen, PIT: Eight tackles, one sack
Jahleel Addae, SDC: Four solo tackles
Dion Bailey, SEA: Four total tackles
Defensive Line
Damon Harrison, DT, NYJ: Harrison was a beast in the offensive backfield against the Browns. Harrison recorded five tackles, including two for a loss. I would only target him in deeper leagues and tackle heavy formats where you need to roster a defensive tackle since he’s primarily a run stuffer. He’s a solid tackler and has averaged over 30 solo tackles and 61 total tackles in his first two seasons.
Phillip Hunt, DE, DET: Hunt might be in line for more snaps after a solid Week 1 performance. Even though he saw just 23 snaps, he recorded a sack and five tackles, including two for a loss, so it was an efficient performance. It’s hard to imagine he’ll continue his 0.56 points per snap rate, but he’s worth a look.
Daquan Jones, DE, TEN: Jones appeared in 39 snaps and was a solid run stuffer for the Titans and is in line for a solid game in Week 2. Jones recorded seven solo tackles and one for a loss, so he recorded an elite 17.9% tackle rate. Though he didn’t record any sacks or hits, he’ll be a target in tackle heavy formats.
Henry Anderson, DE, IND: Although he didn’t have any sacks or QB pressures, he was solid as a run stuffer. Anderson was responsible for eight solo tackles, including three for a loss. He also didn’t produce any misses. He looks like a decent streamer target in tackle heavy formats against a Jets team that gave up close to eight tackles and a sack per game to opposing DEs in 2014.
Linebacker
