- Carson Schwesinger was automatic: The second half of the season has led to the production of elite IDP rookie linebackers, and he will have another week of fantasy season to solidify his Defensive Rookie of the Year bid.
- Major injuries at linebacker provide several possible options ahead of Week 17: DeMarvion Overshown and Nakobe Dean are among the latest linebackers lost to injury, which could leave IDP managers looking for a replacement.
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Estimated reading time: 75 minutes
Takeaways from week 16
Exemption thread
- L.B Shemar James, Dallas Cowboys: With DeMarvion Overshown likely to be out in Week 17 due to a concussion, Shemar James became an option after eventually playing a bigger role, while Kenneth Murray and Logan Wilson continued to share snaps throughout the game. The Cowboys’ linebackers are putting on quite a tackle matchup against Washington, allowing James to provide deep picks in need.
- L.B EJ speed, Houston Texans: With Azeez Al-Shaair absent this week, EJ Speed played a role alongside Henry To’oTo’o. Both players have been disappointing in terms of production, although they could be great fill-in options in a positive game against the Los Angeles Chargers next week.
- L.B Jack Gibbens, New England Patriots: With Robert Spillane essentially inactive this week, Gibbens manned the green dot as the team’s lone every-down linebacker. Gibbens again led the team in tackles and has been an efficient player in that regard this season. Gibbens will remain in this role if Spillane misses another game, putting him in play for the IDP managers in Week 17.
- L.B Jihad Campbell, Philadelphia Eagles: Campbell should be considered as a potential fill-in option for IDP managers in need, as Nakobe Dean will likely miss next week. Campbell would have to play almost an all-down role and have a positive matchup against the Buffalo Bills to potentially get results.
- S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Arizona Cardinals: With Jalen Thompson out again, Taylor-Demerson moved into a full-time role and led the team in tackles this week (11). The Cardinals have been missing Taylor-Demerson since Week 10 and had to replace Thompson by committee last week, but if Thompson misses one more game, Taylor-Demerson could be seen as a possible fill-in next week.
- S Javon Bullard, Green Bay Packers: Bullard returned to a full-time safety role for the first time this season after recently spending most of his time in the position. With Evan Williams injured and also potentially at risk of missing next week, Bullard could be a viable streaming option for those in need.
Be sure to check out last week’s waiver targets and team usage here.
JUMP TO A TEAM:
DELIVERY | ATL | BLT | BUF | AUTO | CHI | CIN | CLE | VALLEY | IT | THE | GB | NEW | IND | JAX | KC | LVR | LAC | LAR | MIA | MIN | NO | NO | N.Y.G | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF | SEA | TB | TEN | WSH
Arizona Cardinals
Team Ranks
| Defensive Snaps (Weekly Rank) | Zone coverage ratio(NFL rank) | Coverage rate for men(NFL rank) |
| 77 | 73.6% | 16.9% |
Edge
| Player | Total defensive snap share | Expired snapshare | Submit a snapshare | Win rate | Pressure rate | Pass-rush grade |
| Zaven Collins | 54.5% | 53.8% | 34.2% | 7.7% | 7.7% | 56.8 |
| Jordan Burch | 50.6% | 51.3% | 50.0% | 5.6% | 0.0% | 54.0 |
| Baron Browning | 46.8% | 43.6% | 34.2% | 9.1% | 9.1% | 56.2 |
| BJ Ojulari | 41.6% | 41.0% | 36.8% | 23.1% | 15.4% | 66.1 |
| Jos Sweat | 9.1% | 10.3% | 7.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 54.5 |
- Injury: Josh Sweat suffered an injury during the second phase of the match. He returned for a handful of snaps in the second quarter but was unable to finish the game afterward.
Defensive interior
- Injury: Walter Nolen suffered a knee injury early in the third quarter of this game and did not return. Nolen has had a productive rookie year when he is on the field; However, he has not been on the field much as he has been dealing with a series of injuries.
Linebacker
| Player | Total defensive snap share | 1st/2nd down snap share | 3rd/4th down snap share | Address efficiency | Total Tackles (PFF) |
| Cody Simon | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 7.8% | 6 |
| Akeem Davis Gaither | 88.3% | 89.5% | 85.0% | 14.7% | 10 |
Safety
- Exemption thread: With Jalen Thompson out again, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson moved into a full-time role and led the team in tackles this week (11). The Cardinals have been missing Taylor-Demerson since Week 10 and had to replace Thompson by committee last week, but if Thompson misses one more game, Taylor-Demerson could be seen as a possible fill-in next week.
Cornerback
- Injury: Garrett Williams suffered an Achilles injury early in this game and did not return.
Atlanta Falcons
Team Ranks
| Defensive Snaps (Weekly Rank) | Zone coverage ratio(NFL rank) | Coverage rate for men(NFL rank) |
| 57 | 76.1% | 19.5% |
Edge
- Rookie watch: James Pearce Jr. Narrowly kept his sack streak alive, landing half a sack on Sunday, stretching it to seven straight games in which he beat the quarterback. Pearce has earned his way into the ED2 bracket for IDP purposes and will have another tough game next week against the Los Angeles Rams.
Defensive interior
Linebacker
| Player | Total defensive snap share | 1st/2nd down snap share | 3rd/4th down snap share | Address efficiency | Total Tackles (PFF) |
| Divine Deablo | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 12.3% | 7 |
| Kaden Ellis | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 8.8% | 5 |
| Ronnie Harrison | 40.4% | 46.5% | 21.4% | 8.7% | 2 |
Safety
| Player | Total defensive snap share | Blitz speed | Defensive Line % | Box % | Deep Safety % | Slot% |
| Jessie Bates III | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 43.9% | 26.3% | 29.8% |
| Xavier Watts | 96.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 61.8% | 20.0% | 18.2% |
Cornerback
Baltimore Ravens
Team Ranks
| Defensive Snaps (Weekly Rank) | Zone coverage ratio(NFL rank) | Coverage rate for men(NFL rank) |
| 75 | 61.4% | 32.3% |
Edge
Defensive interior
| Player | Total defensive snap share | Expired snapshare | Submit a snapshare | Win rate | Pressure rate | Pass-rush grade |
| Travis Jones | 76.0% | 71.4% | 74.1% | 13.5% | 18.9% | 58.5 |
| John Jenkins | 49.3% | 90.5% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 5.9% | 52.0 |
| Josh Tupou | 40.0% | 61.9% | 31.5% | 11.8% | 5.9% | 63.1 |
| Brent Stedelijk | 34.7% | 61.9% | 24.1% | 7.7% | 15.4% | 64.4 |
Linebacker
- Interesting point: With Teddye Buchanan sidelined for the remainder of this season, Trenton Simpson stepped into the team’s part-time LB2 role and delivered a solid IDP performance, including a sack. Simpson will remain just a deep-league IDP option for those in need next week.
Safety
Cornerback
- Interesting point: Marlon Humphrey has been an excellent IDP cornerback this year and had another good game this week thanks to six solo tackles and an interception. Humphrey will have a bad tackling matchup next week that he may be able to overcome.
Buffalo Bills
Team Ranks
| Defensive Snaps (Weekly Rank) | Zone coverage ratio(NFL rank) | Coverage rate for men(NFL rank) |
| 67 | 69.2% | 23.9% |
Edge
| Player | Total defensive snap share | Expired snapshare | Submit a snapshare | Win rate | Pressure rate | Pass-rush grade |
| Greg Rousseau | 67.2% | 46.4% | 76.9% | 23.3% | 33.3% | 79.7 |
| Joey Bosa | 59.7% | 46.4% | 64.1% | 16.0% | 8.0% | 65.5 |
| AJ Ebenezer | 38.8% | 60.7% | 20.5% | 16.7% | 33.3% | 67.1 |
| Andrew Jones Jr. | 34.3% | 46.4% | 25.6% | 12.5% | 12.5% | 64.2 |
- Interesting point: Greg Rousseau made the most of this great game against the Cleveland Browns, landing 2.5 sacks this week. Rousseau has been playing well lately, although he hasn’t had much sack luck as he only had four sacks in this game. Next week he plays a more difficult game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Defensive interior
| Player | Total defensive snap share | Expired snapshare | Submit a snapshare | Win rate | Pressure rate | Pass-rush grade |
| DaQuan Jones | 61.2% | 42.9% | 74.4% | 10.3% | 10.3% | 68.7 |
| Deone Walker | 53.7% | 46.4% | 59.0% | 8.7% | 8.7% | 74.1 |
| TJ Sanders | 50.7% | 60.7% | 43.6% | 6.7% | 0.0% | 55.2 |
| Phidarian Mathis | 37.3% | 57.1% | 23.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 53.5 |
Linebacker
- Trend up: Matt Milano played a season-high 92% of defensive snaps this week, putting together another solid IDP performance after his huge two-sack game last week. Milano is still more of an option for non-shallow formats, but it was positive to see him more involved after a strong performance last week. Terrel Bernard was also back from injury.
Safety
Cornerback
Carolina Panthers
Team Ranks
| Defensive Snaps (Weekly Rank) | Zone coverage ratio(NFL rank) | Coverage rate for men(NFL rank) |
| 64 | 81.8% | 12.4% |
Edge
Defensive interior
Linebacker
| Player | Total defensive snap share | 1st/2nd down snap share | 3rd/4th down snap share | Address efficiency | Total Tackles (PFF) |
| Christian Rozeboom | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 12.5% | 8 |
| Claudin Cherelus | 71.9% | 76.0% | 57.1% | 15.2% | 7 |
- Interesting point: Christian Rozeboom has been much more effective when moved into a full-time role this season compared to Trevin Wallace, and with Wallace out, Rozeboom came through with a great game, including a sack. If Wallace misses another game, Rozeboom should be considered an upgrade in terms of IDP value for next week’s game against Seattle.
Safety
| Player | Total defensive snap share | Blitz speed | Defensive Line % | Box % | Deep Safety % | Slot% |
| Trevon Moehrig | 100.0% | 3.1% | 14.1% | 48.4% | 6.3% | 31.3% |
| Nick Scott | 93.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 21.7% | 71.7% | 6.7% |
| Lathan Ransom | 28.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 94.4% | 5.6% |
- Interesting point: Nick Scott has been on a good streak lately as he has totaled at least nine tackles in three consecutive games and hit double-digit tackles, leading the team in tackles in each of the last two games since the bye week. Nothing has changed usage-wise with Scott, as Tre’von Moehrig continues to play in the box-heavy role, but Scott is getting enough action to be an IDP option for us.
Cornerback
| Player | Total defensive snap share | Blitz speed | Box snap % | Slot snap% | Wide Angle % | Objectives confronted |
| Mike Jackson | 100.0% | 0.0% | 7.8% | 1.6% | 90.6% | 8 |
| Jaycee Horn | 100.0% | 1.6% | 4.7% | 0.0% | 93.8% | 0 |
| Chau Smith-Wade | 78.1% | 0.0% | 20.0% | 64.0% | 2.0% | 3 |
Chicago bears
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