Week 2 IDP Rankings (with Streamers and Fades)

Chris Gregory gives his Week 2 IDP rankings at LB (linebacker), DL (defensive line), and DB (defensive back) for fantasy football along with his top sleepers, streamers, and fades for weekly lineups.

That was quick, wasn’t it? We are already on to Week 2, with the pre-season… er, I mean Week 1 in the rearview mirror. It was a reasonably kind Week 1 to our IDP ranks and sleepers, too, with a 66% success rate for our Week1 Streamer and Fade predictions. It was an even better week for our pre-season IDP sleeper picks, with our dark horse picks of Marcus Maye, Jeremy Chinn, and Emmanuel Moseley putting up impressive fantasy weeks to begin the season.

Let's hope for even more success in Week 2, as defenses acclimate to this new season and those hamstrings finally loosen up, huh?

Note: As always, our rankings will be split into Rotoballer’s three primary IDP positions (DL, LB, and DB), and they will typically come with some flyer/fade notes for each position as well. Also, as per usual, we will include edge rushers in both our DL and LB ranks since they have different eligibility depending on the fantasy site you are using.

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Top-25 Fantasy Defensive Linemen for Week 2

DL Streamer of Week 2: Sheldon Richardson, Cleveland Browns

While Richardson is several years removed from being a Pro Bowl-caliber tackle, he has an excellent matchup this week. Myles Garrett will draw a lot of attention from the Bengals, and Cincinnati has one of the worst interior lines in the NFL to boot. Bengals’ starting Left Guard Michael Jordan allowed two pressures and two hurries last week, which is in line with the two pressures per game he allowed last season. Meanwhile, starting Center Trey Hopkins allowed three pressures last week, and starting Right Guard Xavier Su’a-Filo has allowed nearly three pressures per game when he has been a regular starter. This interior unit is poor, and Richardson should abuse them to the tune of at least three tackles and a sack.

DL Fade of Week 2: J.J. Watt, Houston Texans

Last week we faded Myles Garrett because he was going up against Lamar Jackson, and that move proved on point. Here we are doing the same with Watt for similar reasons. While Watt is still one of the best in the NFL, his skill set may be even less suited to stopping Lamar than Garrett's was. Watt is a powerful and deceptively quick athlete, but he isn't fast enough to track down Lamar with any regularity. Remember that the Ravens allowed just two sacks last week, none to the superstar Garrett, and they averaged only 1.9 sacks allowed per game in 2019. Watt can start in your lineup still, but he isn’t likely to finish in the top-10 at his position this week.

Underrated DL Matchup of the Week: Matthew Judon v. Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson is a terrific QB. He is both elusive and a smart player in the pocket, which should cause headaches for opposing defenders in the same way Lamar Jackson does. Watson isn't as difficult to bring down as Lamar is, however. In 2019, Watson was sacked an average of 3.4 times per game, which was third-worst in the NFL. When Watson went against Baltimore in 2019, Judon totaled two sacks, seven solo tackles, a forced fumble, and three TFLs. This line hasn’t improved since then, either, with Right Tackle Tytus Howard allowing more than two pressures per game over his career. Howard was beaten at least three times by Frank Clark in Week 1, and you should expect Judon to match up with him a lot this weekend. If you need a second pass rusher this week, Judon has definite boom potential.

Top-25 Fantasy Linebackers for Week 2

LB Streamer of Week 2: Alexander Johnson, Denver Broncos

In 2019, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line was 30^th out of 32 teams in Adjusted Offensive Line Yards, and they tied for second-worst in the NFL with 23% of their rushing attempts getting stuffed at the line, per Football Outsiders. Still, Pittsburgh was the 10^th most run-heavy team in Week 1, as well as in 2019. With James Conner a big question mark to play this week, and ineffective when he played last week, the Steelers can be expected to run the ball through multiple backs without much help from their offensive line. Against a very run-heavy Tennessee team last week, Alexander Johnson had himself a week with 12 combined tackles. Pittsburgh won't run as much as the Titans do, but they will run the ball at Johnson enough for him to get another eight tackles and a couple of TFLs.

LB Fade of Week 2: Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers

Now I know what you’re going to say, “a stud LB going against a bad offense should spell a big fantasy day!”

On its face, that is true. However, all fantasy players need snaps and opportunities to accumulate points. Last week Tremaine Edmunds totaled just two and a half tackles for fantasy owners despite going against this poor Jets offense, and the reason for that was a lack of opportunities. The Jets ran the third least amount of plays in the NFL in Week 1 (53), and you shouldn't expect them to run much more this week. Expect them to get behind early and suffer many three-and-outs against a talented and angry 49ers Defense. That means Warner won't be on the field that much, which limits your fantasy opportunities and upside.

Underrated LB Matchup of the Week: Demario Davis v. Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders were eighth in the NFL in rushing percentage last season, and in Week 1 they finished seventh in that same category by running on 50.82% of their plays. With two of his three starting WRs being rookies, expect Gruden to exercise this same game script to keep Drew Brees off the field in Week 2. If the Raiders can successfully run the ball, or the Saints struggle to throw consistently without Michael Thomas on the field, that could spell a good fantasy game script for Demario Davis. Shaq Thompson racked up 12 tackles against a run-heavy Raiders attack last week, and Davis could do the same. Expect at least seven tackles, and perhaps a PD or two in coverage if they use Davis to cover Waller.

Top-25 Fantasy Defensive Backs for Week 2

DB Streamer of Week 2: Kareem Jackson v. Pittsburgh Steelers

Jackson is a vet with a decent floor and ceiling this week thanks to his ability to adapt to Pittsburgh’s whims. He is underrated in run defense, showing up numerous times against Derrick Henry last week, and he should notch at least four tackles against the NFL’s 10th heaviest running team (Pittsburgh) this season and last. Expect him to line up in coverage on 74% of his snaps, per his tendencies the past three seasons, however. That should spell several opportunities at a big play with the risk-taking Big Ben throwing the ball his way.

A decent tackle floor and ample opportunity for a big play are what you want in a weekly streamer. Jackson joins Alexander Johnson as a great streamer this week against an effective Steelers offense that should stay on the field long enough for these Broncos defenders to have ample fantasy opportunities.

DB Fade of Week 2: Carlton Davis v. Carolina Panthers

Davis has spent only 59 snaps in the box since the beginning of 2019, which is only 5% of the 1,085 snaps he has played over that time. That means that Davis won’t be involved in a ton of run support. That shouldn’t shock anyone who drafted him, as he has always been a PD reliant fantasy asset who collects most of his tackles after the catch. It does limit his fantasy floor against a team whose best and most used offensive weapon (Christian McCaffrey, obviously) is a running back who lines up out wide only 5% of his snaps.

Of more concern in this matchup, however, is that Davis has only covered the slot on 6% of his snaps since 2019.  That is a problem because Carolina’s top receiver (D.J. Moore) has lined up in the slot or backfield on nearly 18% of his snaps since 2019. Last week Moore spent even more time in the slot, lining up there for 26% of his snaps. That means Moore should spend considerable time away from Davis when it matters this week. Carolina could even decide to move Moore around the formation, or keep him in the slot, specifically to avoid Davis.

If the Buccaneers don't use Davis to shadow Moore in this game, which they did not do in either of their games against Carolina last year, the former Auburn Tiger could be left covering Carolina’s third or fourth-best offensive weapon all game. That limits his fantasy ceiling and his floor.

Underrated DB Matchup of Week 1: Harrison Smith v. Indianapolis Colts

Although they were locked in a competitive game against a weak opponent this past Sunday, the Colts had Philip Rivers throw the ball on 68% of their plays (46 total attempts). 63% of those passes (29 of 46) were of the dump-off variety, meaning they were within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. That usage is consistent with how Rivers operated with the Chargers last year, too. In 2019 the Chargers threw the ball 63% of the time, with 55% of those throws failing to travel more than 10 yards from the line of scrimmage. If the 2020 Colts continue down this same path, we can expect tons of short throws to RBs and TEs and many interceptions.

If the Colts come close to throwing the ball 40 times in Week 2, which they might with how poor this Vikings pass-defense looked last Sunday, it could spell ample opportunities for an all-purpose safety like Harrison Smith. With half of Rivers' throws going to Nyheim Hynes, Jonathan Taylor, and Jack Doyle, we should see Smith clean up at least seven tackles between the sticks. With Rivers' penchant for turnovers, Smith could be looking at his first interception of the season as well.

My Biased Overreaction of Week 2: Ranking Jeremy Chinn as DB11

Let's just pencil Chinn in here as my overreaction for every week of this fair season, shall we? He has been my IDP crush all summer despite his rookie status, and I believe he is a special IDP asset. The Panthers used Chinn EXACTLY how I had hoped they would in Week 1, starting him at LB and never taking him off of the field. That sort of usage gives fantasy managers a fantasy DB playing the LB position in real life, which can translate into elite tackles and sack numbers for a fantasy DB. You rarely get that sort of production out of a DB in fantasy, and Chinn is talented enough to take advantage. I will rank him high most weeks until I have a good reason not to. Love the kid, and I don't care who knows it!

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