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Mitch Blatt's top IDP waiver wire adds and defensive streamers for Week 8 of the 2023 fantasy football season. These LB, DL, and DB have matchups worth exploiting.
This week, I am recommending more than a dozen fantasy IDP players to add from the waiver wire.
Amongst the top adds are Za'Darius Smith, Camryn Bynum, Kenny Moore, and Julian Blackmon. The Colts have produced multiple productive defensive backs this week. Unfortunately, JuJu Brents left his Week 7 game with a quad injury, so you will have to monitor that.
Here are the best LB, DL, and DB adds of Week 8.
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IDP Waiver Wire Adds for Shallow Leagues
Za'Darius Smith, DL, CLE
Za'Darius Smith has been disappointing since joining the Browns. All of the production has gone to Myles Garrett, who is a leading Defensive Player of the Year candidate. But Smith's playing time has been increasing.
In Week 6, the Browns' first week after the bye, Smith played over 40 snaps for the first time this season. This past week, he played over 50 snaps. Not only did he make his first sack, he also forced a fumble and made four tackles, more than he has all year. Is this the beginning of a Za'Darius Smith breakout?
Camryn Bynum, S, MIN
Camryn Bynum is only rostered in 26% of Sleeper IDP leagues, while brand-name safeties like Minkah Fitzpatrick are rostered in 65% of leagues. However, Bynum has outscored Fitzpatrick in five out of six matchups this season.
It's only Bynum's third season in the league, but he had more tackles in his sophomore season than Fitzpatrick did. Now, with 60 tackles, he could surpass Fitzpatrick's own career-high. He's on pace for 145, which would come close to breaking the record for tackles by a safety (147) held by Jalen Pitre and Budda Baker.
Kenny Moore, CB, IND
Kenny Moore, who led all CBs in tackles in 2021, is quietly having another fairly good tackle season this year. He is averaging 6.5 tackles per game, which is on pace for 111 in a 17-game season. He just made double-digit tackles against the Browns for the first time this season, and he also made 1.5 sacks, a rare occurrence.
The Browns game featured a lot of plays, so Moore had 75 snaps, which helped him. He usually has between 60 and 72 snaps in a game. But he has consistently made four to nine tackles in a usual game, which is fine production from a DB.
Julian Blackmon, S, IND
Julian Blackmon is averaging 7.1 tackles per game, and he has made two interceptions in the past three games. He's playing well over 90% of the Colts' snaps. His tackle total has declined recently from three straight weeks of over eight tackles between Weeks 2 and 4 to just four or five tackles in each of the past three weeks. However, that's when he started making interceptions.
Jordyn Brooks, LB, SEA
Jordyn Brooks faded from the IDP scene. Even though he made over 160 tackles in each of the past two seasons, he is only rostered in 32% of IDP leagues on Sleeper. His low ownership rate is due to a combination of an ACL tear he suffered at the end of last season and the addition of Bobby Wagner to overshadow him in Seattle.
But the ACL tear didn't cause any lingering problems. Brooks played 52 snaps in Week 1 and made 12 tackles. For the season, he has 57 tackles in six games, an average of 9.5 per game, which puts him on pace for another 160-tackle season. He also has a career-high 2.5 sacks so far.
Lavonte David, LB, TB
I listed Lavonte David here last week, and then he went on to make 13 tackles in Week 7. Eight were solo tackles. One was a tackle for a loss. He also broke up a pass. That got him scoring 19.2 fantasy points.
David is a boom-bust type. Twice, he scored over 20 RotoBaller IDP points. He came close again this past week. Once, he scored 13.8. But in his other two games, he scored fewer than four.
His boom weeks came in weeks in which the Tampa Bay offense struggled and left the defense on the field for long stretches. He played 80 snaps in Week 3 and 70 in Week 6, and he made over 10 tackles and a sack in each game.
IDP Waiver Wire Adds for Deep Leagues
Benjamin St-Juste, CB, WAS
Benjamin St-Juste is the highest-scoring cornerback available in many deeper IDP leagues, especially in the past four weeks when he went over 10 points in each week and over 20 points in each of the past two. He has made eight pass defenses in the past three games.
Justin Madubuike, DL, BAL
Justin Madubuike has powered a resurgent Baltimore Ravens defensive line that is leading the league in sacks per game. He has made at least half a sack in each of the past four games, giving him 5.5 sacks on the season.
Blake Cashman, LB, HOU
Blake Cashman didn't play in Week 7, as it was his bye, but he remains a quality add heading into a Week 8 matchup against the Carolina Panthers. This is what I had to say about Cashman in last week's column:
Cashman only played 149 snaps in 2022, but now, in his second year as a Texan, he has surpassed that total in just four games. Cashman took over as a starting inside linebacker in Week 3 and proceeded to make 31 tackles in four games.
Last week was his biggest yet, as he made 15 tackles. He is primarily an option in tackle-heavy leagues, as he has not made many impact plays and did not do so in college, either.
Patrick Surtain, CB, DEN
Patrick Surtain is a good addition in leagues that reward pass defenses well. He has made four pass defenses in the past four games and 16 solo tackles. Almost all of his tackles are solos.
Geno Stone, S, BAL
Ravens starting safety Marcus Williams missed Week 7, so Geno Stone started. Stone made an interception and three tackles.
He only played at least 60 snaps per game from Weeks 1 to 4 and made 21 tackles in those games. But Stone, now that he's getting his opportunity with Williams missing time, has made three interceptions in the past four games. He has less value in Week 8 if Williams returns, but he'll still be on the field in heavy-WR sets.
Zach Cunningham, LB, PHI
Zach Cunningham's production has slipped since Nakobe Dean returned to the starting lineup, but Cunningham seems to be playing ahead of Nicholas Morrow. The Eagles face the sack-prone Commanders in Week 8, and there is a chance he could recover a fumble or make a play on a blitz.
James Bradberry, CB, PHI
Another good Week 8 streamer, James Bradberry could make an interception if Commanders QB Sam Howell is pressured and rushes his throws. Howell threw an interception in two of his past three games, including one against the Giants last week, and he has thrown seven on the season. Bradberry has yet to make an interception, but he has made four pass breakups.
Cam Taylor-Britt, CB, CIN
Cam Taylor-Britt was off last week, but he will resume his quest for a third-consecutive interception in Week 8 against the 49ers. Niners QB Brock Purdy threw two interceptions in Week 7.
A second-year cornerback, Taylor-Britt looked shaky at times, but he has now made interceptions in each of the past two games. He also forced a fumble the week before. He returned an interception for a touchdown in Week 5.
Looking back at his collegiate stats, we can see that ball skills are something real he has displayed for many years. He made five interceptions in his four years at Nebraska and returned his interceptions for an average of 30.0 yards and one touchdown. Two interceptions in 2020 were enough to put him in the top 10 for the Big Ten conference. His return ability was also evident as a punt returner, as he landed at No. 3 in the conference for punt return yards in 2020. He has a lot of value in leagues that reward points for return yards.
Justin Reid, S, KC
Justin Reid leads the Chiefs in coverage snaps. He was looking good. He had made five or more combined tackles in four of his first six games. Against the Chargers, however, his production slipped. He only made two solo tackles and two assists. He did make one pass breakup and now has pass breakups in each of the past three games.
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