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Through one-quarter of the football season, rookie cornerbacks have been performing exceptionally well. Sauce Gardner, for one, shut down Ja'Marr Chase in Week 3, keeping the ball away from him and visibly frustrating him.
It’s not just the early-round draft picks who are doing well. There are many inspiring and unexpected stories behind the names on PFF’s top-graded list. The No. 1 rookie CB through four games? He didn’t even play in Division I. It’s Dolphins undrafted free agent Kader Kohou.
Kohou was born in the Ivory Coast and moved to the U.S. when he was nine. “[T]he whole move was a big step because there was such a big cultural difference. My first language is French so learning English was hard too,” he said in an interview with the website NFL Draft Diamonds. While he may only warrant fantasy consideration in deeper leagues, he is among four rookies whom I highlight in this Week 5 IDP Waiver Wire column.
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Haason Reddick, DL/LB, Philadelphia Eagles
Rostered in ~52% of MFL Leagues
Hasson Reddick made double-digit sacks the past two seasons in Arizona and then Carolina, but after joining the Eagles in an offseason where Philly made many big additions, he was overlooked. Philadelphia seemed like a good destination for a chaos-creating edge rusher. The Eagles' defense faced 4.35 more passing attempts per game last season than the Panthers did, and that trend is continuing this season, with the Eagles leading in all of their games.
The Eagles defense has faced the second-most passing attempts in the NFL through the first three weeks, 5.67 more per game than the Panthers. While Reddick is playing a lower percentage of snaps than he did last season, he is out on the field for more pass plays than he was before.
After a slow start, Reddick might have been dropped in some leagues. The numbers show he is available in about half of all IDP leagues hosted on My Fantasy League and probably even more on Sleeper. After his two-sack, two-strip performance against Jacksonville, he might get scooped up again. That’s two straight weeks he has made a sack. With low tackle numbers, he’s most valuable in sack-heavy leagues.
Damar Hamlin, S, Buffalo Bills
Rostered in ~1% of Leagues
Damar Hamlin played 100% of Buffalo’s snaps in Week 3 with Jordan Poyer sidelined. In that game, he made a sack. Poyer was back in Week 4 but underwent an X-ray for an undisclosed injury concern. Hamlin still got significant playing time and made eight tackles. Monitor Poyer’s injury, and boost Hamlin’s prospects if Poyer is doubtful, particularly against a Steelers QB in Kenny Pickett who threw three interceptions in one half in his debut.
Josey Jewell, LB, Denver Broncos
Rostered in ~52% of Leagues
Is Jewell the one Bronco who might be valuable in most IDP leagues? He missed Weeks 1 and 2, but in the past two games, he was swarming opposing ball carriers and putting up good tackle numbers. He has 23 tackles in two games, along with one sack and a fumble recovery.
Mike Edwards, S, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rostered in ~47% of Leagues
Moving into the starting lineup and playing 100% of the snaps this season, Bucs safety Mike Edwards is ascending the tackle leaderboard. He now has 34 combined tackles after two straight games with 13 tackles in addition to one sack, two tackles for loss, and a pick-six. He has a favorable matchup against the Falcons, whose QB Marcus Mariota is one of the league leaders in interceptions thrown. The allure of the matchup notwithstanding, Edwards is most valuable in tackle-heavy leagues.
Jonathan Owens, S, Houston Texans
Rostered in ~58% of Leagues
Another safety who is valuable in tackle-heavy leagues? Jonathan Owens of the Houston Texans.
After having made double-digit tackles in each of his first three games, he had a bit of an off-game—by his standards—against the Chargers, making just six tackles. He still ranks first in tackles, not just amongst all defensive backs (by himself), but amongst all NFL players (tied with Roquan Smith).
Roger McCreary, CB, Tennessee Titans
Rostered in ~18% of Leagues
Following the theme, give some love to Titans rookie CB Roger McCreary. He got knocked for being an inch under six feet tall, but the Titans took a shot on him in the second round, and now he leads his team in both defensive snaps and tackles. He is 13th amongst all DBs in tackles and second in the league in solo tackles. Those are worth twice as much as assisted tackles in just about every IDP scoring system.
McCreary told Titans officials in the predraft meeting, “I try to cover my guy, Coach, and don't let him catch it. When he does catch it, I tackle him.”
That’s just what he’s been doing. He’s allowing just 8.2 yards per catch and 3.0 yards after the catch per catch.
The man can tackle:
Can he pick off passes? He hasn’t done so yet and hasn’t made an impact play on a fumble. He is most valuable in tackle-heavy leagues.
Andre Cisco, S, Jacksonville Jaguars
Rostered in ~18% of Leagues
In contrast to McCreary, here’s a young guy who is good for the big play-heavy scoring systems. Cisco is starting for the Jags in his second year, and he’s one of the reasons they are playing like a playoff team. He picked off Matt Ryan in the Jags’ shutout of the Colts. He picked off Jalen Hurts and took it to the house to put Jacksonville up early.
Cisco’s tendency to make take the ball should continue. He was adept at it in college at Syracuse, where he made one interception every two games he played. In fact, in 2018, he lead the NCAA in picks as a freshman and led the ACC as a sophomore. Unfortunately, COVID interfered with his junior year, but he still made one INT in two games.
He has only made 18 tackles, however. That’s half as many as the leading safeties, so Cisco is most valuable in big play-heavy leagues.
Denico Autry, DE, Tennessee Titans
Rostered in ~35% of Leagues
Amongst the players who have been rotating in to replace injured edge rusher Harold Landry, Autry is the most intriguing from an IDP perspective. He has a couple of nine-sack seasons under his belt since coming in as an undrafted free agent in 2014 and is on pace for his first with double-digit sacks. He has made 3.0 sacks and one pass defense this season. He would be best used in big play-heavy leagues, especially leagues that require you to start a DE (as opposed to an LB/DL).
Jaylen Watson, CB, Kansas City Chiefs
Rostered in ~1% of Leagues
A seventh-round rookie with his own story of triumphing over adversity, Watson has been getting more and more snaps in each ensuing game through the first three weeks. He almost didn’t even play college ball. He was rendered academically ineligible after committing to USC and had to go back home to live with his mom in Georgia and work at Wendy’s.
After two seasons at Washington State, he entered the NFL at age 24, picked off Justin Herbert, and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown to beat one of the Super Bowl favorites in Week 2.
He played over 80% of the snaps in Weeks 3 and 4.
Jack Jones, CB, New England Patriots
Rostered in ~1% of Leagues
Another rookie playmaker. Jack Jones, who was starting in place of the injured Jalen Mills (hamstring), led many IDP leagues in scoring this week. That’s what an interception returned for a touchdown, a forced fumble, a recovery of said fumble, and seven tackles will do.
He was a playmaker in college too, forcing three fumbles and picking off three passes at Arizona State before being drafted in the fourth round.
I’m not saying pick him up immediately if you are already strong at DB. He might not start next week if Mills comes back, but keep an eye on him. Mills has graded poorly in each game and is grading 29.3 on the season, so Jones could end up forcing Mills onto the bench if he keeps playing this well.
Kader Kohou, CB, Miami Dolphins
Rostered in ~1% of Leagues
Kohou was an undrafted rookie out of the Texas A&M–Commerce, which only just joined Division I the season after Kohou graduated. During Kohou’s career, they competed in the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference. During his redshirt freshman year, they won the NCAA National Playoffs Championship (DII).
He came in with no expectations. No one even expected him to make the roster, but then Byron Jones started the season on the PUP list. Noah Igbinoghene has missed a couple of games. Xavien Howard has been in and out of games.
So it’s up to the next man up. Kohou made three tackles and broke up a pass, allowing no receptions and earning a 91.9 PFF grade in 18 snaps in Week 1. He played more snaps the next three games, including 70 snaps in Week 3 against Buffalo, and has still allowed no touchdowns. With seven tackles Thursday against the Bengals, he brings his tackle total to 17.
You earn no extra points for having a man with an inspiring story win a spot on your fantasy roster, but you do earn a decent eight or nine points per game (15 or 16 in tackle-heavy leagues), good for a CB3. He has good value in dynasty, as he will likely be moving into a full-time starting role in the near future.
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