RADIO
This preseason has given us hints about how some teams might deploy their defenses, hints that could help us make last-minute waiver wire adds in IDP fantasy football before the season starts.
There are still some unanswered questions. When the Rams traded their leading tackler, Ernest Jones IV, to the Titans for just a 2026 fifth-round pick and a possible sixth, their linebacker room was thrown into chaos.
There are also a couple of linebackers who could easily exceed 100 tackles and who are still available on the waiver wire in most leagues, along with edge rushers and defensive backs to consider adding.
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IDP Waiver Adds for Linebacker
De'Vondre Campbell, LB - San Francisco 49ers
38.1% Rostered in Sleeper IDP Leagues
The 49ers LB2, Dre Greenlaw starts the season on the injury list and will miss at least four games after an Achilles tear that he suffered in the Super Bowl. He will be replaced by Campbell, a 31-year-old who has had a track record of success years ago.
After making 145 tackles in 2021, his first year in Green Bay, Campbell became disgruntled with the Packers and lost his love for the game. A new start in the Bay Area could be good for him.
He certainly thinks he still has it. He said after being cut, "Someone is about to get a great football player that's been badly misused."
E.J. Speed, LB - Indianapolis Colts
35.3% Rostered
E.J. Speed became a starting linebacker for the Colts last season and made 102 tackles, but he is being overlooked going into 2024. If he plays anything like he did to finish out the season, he'll be one of the top linebackers in the IDP fantasy football.
Speed was on the field for over 50 snaps in each game since Week 12. He made double-digit tackles in each of the last four games. The Colts' defensive system is favorable for linebackers, and they have often supported two top-24 linebackers in the same season.
Blake Cashman, LB - Minnesota Vikings
33.1% Rostered
Cashman broke out last season, making 104 tackles, two sacks, a fumble recovery, and an interception while playing 700 snaps for the Texans. In the offseason, he signed a three-year / $22.5 million-dollar contract with the Minnesota Vikings.
Ivan Pace Jr., an undrafted free agent who made the PFWA All-Rookie Team last season, was expected by some to take over the every-down linebacker role this season. But Cashman was wearing the green dot (which designates defensive play-caller) in the first preseason game.
Even if Pace takes the green dot during the season, Cashman has shown he can be a productive IDP starter with just 70% of a team's defensive snaps. If he maintains the LB1 role, he'll likely see about 300 more snaps than he did last year, which would be great for fantasy purposes.
Malik Harrison, LB - Baltimore Ravens
0% Rostered
Harrison, a fourth-year player from Ohio State, wore the green dot for the Ravens in their final two preseason games. His usage indicates a possible role as Baltimore's No. 2 linebacker behind Roquan Smith.
His competition is Trenton Smith, whom the Ravens picked in the third-round of the draft last year. Smith only played a handful of snaps last season, but he looked good. Harrison played 197 snaps and has improved his PFF grade in each season since 2021.
It is possible that Harrison ends up losing the LB2 job to Simpson. Sometimes, preseason trends aren't what they seem.
The linebackers above Harrison would all be better choices, but if they are all taken, Harrison is a potential 70%-snap linebacker who is almost guaranteed to be available on the waiver wire.
Rams Linebackers
The Los Angeles Rams' linebacker rotation is up in the air going into Week 1. After trading Ernest Jones to the Tennessee Titans, the Rams have no obvious every-down linebacker.
Christian Rozeboom (14% roster rate) was the No. 2 linebacker last season, but he wasn't overly impressive. Omar Speights (0%), an undrafted free agent from LSU, was one of the highest-graded defensive players in the preseason, and he has been heavily praised by the coaching staff.
Meanwhile, Jake Hummel, another UDFA from 2022, wore the green dot in the preseason. Any one of these guys could end up being the defensive playcaller this year.
IDP Waiver Adds for Defensive Line
Boye Mafe, Edge - Seattle Seahawks
43% Rostered
Mafe jumped from 3.0 sacks to 9.0 sacks in his second season. He increased his production in almost every category, including 52 tackles and 16 QB hits. He pressured the quarterback on 13.1% of his pass rushes and registered a sack on 2.0% of his rushes.
Those numbers are higher than edge rushers with a similar roster rate like the Saints' Carl Granderson and Tennessee's Jeffrey Simmons, and Mafe is considerably younger with room to grow.
Jonathan Allen, DL - Washington Commanders
37.4% Rostered
Jonathan Allen had a down year in both sacks and tackles. His 53 tackles were the fewest since his 2017 rookie season, and his 5.5 sacks were the fewest since 2020.
His pressure-to-sack conversion rate, a number that can fluctuate, was down, and Allen was clearly frustrated playing for a terrible team.
With a new defensive-minded coach and a rookie quarterback coming in, there is more optimism about the Commanders, and Allen could be ready to bounce back.
Arnold Ebiketie, Edge - Atlanta Falcons
37.2% Rostered
Ebiketie made 6.0 sacks in his second season despite only playing 400 snaps. He made a sack on 4.0% of his pass rushes, a rate higher than those of Joshua Hines-Allen, T.J. Watt, and several other big name edge rushers.
His sack rate will probably decline, but he could make up for it in volume. The Falcons lost two key edge rushers in free agency.
On the downside, the Falcons' recent trade to acquire Matthew Judon gives them another quality pass rusher, and Ebiketie's weakness on run defense could continue to limit his snap count.
Nick Herbig, Edge - Pittsburgh Steelers
9.5% Rostered
Herbig, who made 11.0 sacks in 2022 at Nebraska, has been earning praise from fellow linebacker Alex Highsmith.
He only played 200 defensive snaps last season, and he won't see the field much as long as Highsmith and T.J. Watt are healthy. But if either of them go down, Herbig could be a sneaky waiver wire add.
IDP Waiver Adds for Safety and Cornerback
Jalen Thompson, S - Arizona Cardinals
43.9% Rostered
Thompson was coming off two straight seasons with 110+ tackles, but his per-game tackle numbers declined a little bit this season on top of his having missed two games.
Still, a down year for Thompson means 78 tackles and four interceptions. Thompson remains a starter, and the Cardinals do not have experienced backups behind him.
Terrion Arnold, CB - Detroit Lions
38.8% Rostered
Amongst the cornerbacks drafted in the first round of this year's draft, Arnold is the only one yet to have earned the starting job on his team's depth chart. In his two years starting at Alabama, Arnold made six interceptions, one sack, and broke up 20 passes. He was drafted in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and flashed some serious NFL pedigree.
Deommodore Lenoir, CB - San Francisco 49ers
21.6% Rostered
Lenoir made over 50 solo tackles in each of his past two seasons as a starter. His PFF tackle grade has been over 73.3 in two of his three seasons. It is tough to find a cornerback with a tackling ability like his for fantasy.
Brandon Stephens, CB - Baltimore Ravens
0% Rostered
Stephens is flying under the radar. He played three seasons, making over 70 combined tackles twice. He was on the field for 99% of the snaps last season, and he is still No. 1 on the depth chart.
The Ravens drafted cornerback Nate Wiggins in the first round this year, but Wiggins is still buried on the depth chart at this point in time.
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