RADIO
The usual names are absent from the leaderboard for sacks. T.J. Watt, who led the league in sacks in two of the past three seasons, is only No. 12 this season. Maxx Crosby is tied with Watt with 6.5 sacks. Nick Bosa is barely hanging onto the top twenty with just 5.5 sacks in 2024.
In their place, young stars like Will McDonald IV are making the jump to the elite level, and older veterans like Dante Fowler Jr. are having age-30 breakouts. Prospects of the 2022 and 2023 draft classes, Travon Walker, Aidan Hutchinson (still injured), and Will Anderson Jr. round out the top five.
Those game-wreckers could be available in your league. According to Sleeper, the top six are all available in over 50% of leagues, as are the linebackers, defensive linemen, cornerbacks, and safeties I have highlighted here. Now, let's take a look at those waiver wire pickups for IDP leagues in Week 11!
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Waiver Wire Pickups at Linebacker
Jamien Sherwood, LB, New York Jets
Rostered in 15% of Sleeper IDP Leagues
Jamien Sherwood had his fourth ten-plus tackle day of the season this past week, piling up 17 tackles against the Arizona Cardinals.
While Sherwood is being used more than ever; 602 snaps this season versus 193 in all of last season. But he has always been good when he’s been on the field. This is his third straight season with a PFF grade over 75.0.
He has the second-most snaps of all Jets linebackers and the third-most snaps of all defenders. With the 32-year-old C.J. Mosley continuing to miss time due to injuries (neck), Sherwood should remain a 90%-snap linebacker for most of, if not all, the rest of the season.
Jordyn Brooks, LB, Miami Dolphins
Rostered in 26% of Sleeper IDP Leagues
Jordyn Brooks may never return to the glory days when he was able to rack up 344 tackles over two years with the Seattle Seahawks. He never was an elite player, but he was in a great system. He only graded in the 50s, according to PFF.
Now he is in his first season with the Miami Dolphins, and a couple of things have dropped his fantasy value. One is that Miami rotates linebackers more than a lot of teams. The other problem is that Brooks is not able to make tackles as often.
In 2021, his best season with the Seahawks, Brooks made a solo tackle on 11.3% of his plays, and he only missed 7.4% of the tackles he attempted. This season, he’s only making a tackle on 8.9% of his plays and he has missed 11.1% of the tackles he has attempted.
All that said, Brooks is still playing over 60 snaps in most games, and he has made seven or more tackles in every game from Week 3 on. That’s good volume to find on the waiver wire.
Quay Walker, LB, Green Bay Packers
Rostered in 31% of Sleeper IDP Leagues
Quay Walker might have a lower weekly floor than Jordyn Brooks, but he can hit and surpass Brooks’ ceiling. Walker has had more double-digit tackle games than Brooks and has made 1.5 sacks to Brooks’ one sack.
Walker was just starting to get into a groove. In Week 5, he played 78 snaps, and in Week 6, he made 11 tackles. Unfortunately, he had to leave early due to a concussion in Week 7, limiting him to a single tackle and forcing him to miss Week 8.
Week 9 was his first game back, and he made 12 tackles on just 57 snaps, and then the Packers went on bye. Walker is a potential pickup ahead of a Week 11 matchup against the Chicago Bears.
Pete Werner, LB, New Orleans Saints
Rostered in 6% of Leagues
While his pass coverage sometimes leaves something to be desired, Werner has always been a good tackler. His career missed tackle rate is on par with Foyesade Oluokun.
Werner went to the sideline last week with a hand injury, so monitor his health this week. If he can’t play in Week 11, Anfernee Orji is a potential streamer in deep leagues.
Waiver Wire Pickups at Defensive Line
Trey Hendrickson, EDGE, Cincinnati Bengals
Rostered in 38% of Leagues
I don’t know what to make of Sleeper’s “rostered” stats when Hendrickson, who tied for second in the league in sacks last season and is leading the league this season is reportedly available in 62% of leagues.
My only guess is that some managers are slow to respond to new developments in IDP leagues. Some leagues only have one or two starting spots for IDPs. In such a small league, Hendrickson really shouldn’t be starting, as he makes fewer tackles than other edges and very few impact plays on fumbles.
Sack leaders, via Pro-Football-Reference
Dante Fowler, EDGE, Washington Commanders
Rostered in 14% of Leagues
Fowler had his second-straight two-sack game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has made at least one sack in five of the past six games and at least half a sack in six of the past eight. On the heels of this hot streak, he is third in the league in sacks.
Travon Walker, EDGE, Jacksonville Jaguars
Rostered in 28% of Leagues
Travon Walker might not be as good as Aidan Hutchinson. He might not be the most fundamentally sound on a play in and play out basis. But can you argue with the fact that Walker makes sacks?
Walker is tied for fifth with 7.5 sacks. He has some spike weeks, like his three-sack game against the Colts, and some droughts, but when he’s on, he’s on.
In the past four weeks, he has made half a sack or more three times and returned a fumble for a touchdown in the game in which he did not make a sack.
Rashan Gary, EDGE, Green Bay Packers
Rostered in 41% of Leagues
Rashan Gary is having a disappointing season even by his standards. The former top recruit in the nation and first-round draft pick only has 2.5 sacks at midseason. If he continues at this pace, he’ll have his worst season since his rookie season.
Nonetheless, he is a strong streaming candidate for Week 11 against the Chicago Bears. The Bears have allowed the second-most sacks per game, 4.1, and, after allowing nine sacks in a loss to the New England Patriots this past week, they have allowed 5.7 sacks in their past three games.
Rashan Gary has made 1.5 sacks in his past three games, and he is coming off his bye week, so he should be well-rested to go after Caleb Williams.
Anfernee Jennings, EDGE, New England Patriots
Rostered in 14% of Leagues
Anfernee Jennings is lesser known than the Patriots’ other edge rusher, Keion White, but Jennings has more tackles despite having played in one fewer game than White. That’s because Jennings excels at defending against the run.
In college, Jennings led the NCAA in stops on run plays. He made the transition to the NFL quickly. Every year, he has graded over 70 on run defense, and he tied for the lead on run defense stops last season. This season, he’s leading the league all by himself.
In IDP terms, that means he has made 48 tackles in nine games. From Week 2 through Week 9, he made five or more tackles in seven straight games, barring one missed game.
Last week, against the flailing Chicago Bears, he fell short, only making four tackles, but two of them were sacks. He will not repeat that very often. He only has 5.5 sacks in his career. Pick Jennings up in leagues that award tackles favorably.
Kenny Clark, DT, Green Bay Packers
Rostered in 13% of Leagues
Kenny Clark is second on the Packers in pressures. He has yet to make a sack but made 7.5 sacks last season and has made 34 sacks in his nine-year career. Against the Bears, a team that has given up 15 sacks in the past two games, Clark could end his dry streak.
Waiver Wire Pickups at Cornerback and Safety
Devon Witherspoon, CB, Seattle Seahawks
Rostered in 37% of Leagues
Following a rookie season in which Devon Witherspoon competed for Rookie of the Year honors, Witherspoon has cooled off somewhat.
He has fewer pass breakups, fewer interceptions, and fewer sacks than he did at this time last year, and he has allowed 74.0% of the passes against him to be completed versus just 57.4% last season.
Yet even if he’s not locking down opposing wide receivers, he’s still productive at making tackles from an IDP standpoint. His strong showing against the Rams was his fourth seven-tackle game of this season.
Jordan Whitehead, S, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rostered in 15% of Leagues
On the back of a career-high 12 tackles against the San Francisco 49ers, Jordan Whitehead has jumped to fifth amongst defensive backs in tackles. Disappointingly, he has not come through with an interception or any other impact play.
He has never been a ballhawk. He only made seven interceptions in his first five seasons in the NFL. He suddenly made four interceptions last season, but that is looking more like an outlier. Pick up Whitehead if you need the tackles, but don’t bank on any impact plays.
Julian Blackmon, S, Indianapolis Colts
Rostered in 11% of Leagues
Blackmon is one of the most consistent high-volume tackling safeties on the waiver wire. He has been on the field for over 70 snaps in five games, and he has made seven or more tackles in five games.
In Week 11, the Colts take on the New York Jets, who are fourth in the NFL with 35.9 pass attempts per game. This could give Blackmon a high tackle volume.
Reed Blankenship, S, Philadelphia Eagles
Rostered in 22% of Leagues
Reed Blankenship, who is now in his third year, is a high-volume tackler with interception upside. In his sophomore campaign, Blankenship recorded 108 tackles, and now, with just over half of the Eagles’ games having been played, he is halfway to a hundred.
His tackle numbers vary every week from as few as two (in Week 3) to as many as ten (in Week 2). He has recorded four or fewer tackles four times, but he has made eight or more tackles three times.
Jaylon Jones, CB, Indianapolis Colts
Rostered in 13% of Leagues
Jones ranks No. 11 in the league in passes defended, and he’s doing a good job limiting opposing receivers while also making a solid number of tackles. Last week, he had a slight down game against the Buffalo Bills, with just five tackles, but his matchup against the New York Jets, who rank in the top ten in pass attempts and completions per game, could be a good one.
Good luck in your IDP leagues the rest of the way!
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