Week 3 IDP Start Em, Sit Em - Streamers and Fades for Fantasy Football Defensive Players

There is one thing that new IDP managers should remember as in-season moves and injuries start to rack up. That is defensive news travels slower than offensive news does. Just think about how many alerts you got when Kareem Hunt signed, or Cam Akers was traded. These running backs couldn't find a field last week, and now they are blowing up your phone. Now think about the lack of alerts you got when Chase Young was finally active or James Houston went on IR.

Because news of defenders travels slowly, IDP managers have to be better plugged in than your average fantasy manager. Most people know that Joe Burrow is off to a slow start, and Zach Wilson is killing Garrett Wilson's stock. Far less talk about Nick Bosa looking winded after his holdout or Haason Reddick tanking early on. You have to do the work yourself or trust IDP analysts who love the game enough to scour injury reports focused on quarterbacks and receivers.

For a short primer on recent injuries that impact many IDP squads, here are a few noteworthy boo-boos that have slipped under the mainstream wire…. As we said, James Houston and his teammate C.J. Gardner-Johnson are on IR. Both were fantasy-relevant but are now droppable in non-dynasty formats. Budda Baker and Nakobe Dean have joined them on IR, while the likes of Troy Andersen, Marcus Williams, and Eddie Jackson all look like game-time decisions.

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Casual IDP Streamers and Fades

Stream: Chris Jones, DL, Kansas City Chiefs

This may seem obvious since Jones is a perennial Pro Bowl talent on the defending Super Bowl champs. However, Jones was available on waivers this week in the four shallow analyst IDP leagues I play in. Jones is also the 28^th most rostered DL in fantasy as of this writing and is being started in just 8.6% of IDP leagues. That's a low start rate, given Jones' performance from Week 2 and his opponent this week.

Jones looked great in his first action since his holdout, playing over half the defensive snaps and notching 1.5 sacks in his return. Now he gets a Bears team that has allowed 37 quarterback pressures in two games, is now missing its left tackle, and has a quarterback who creates his own sacks. Jones is a top-ten play for me this week, in all formats.

Stream: Dax Hill, DB, Cincinnati Bengals

Hill was a pre-season sleeper for us, but he started slowly in Week 1. However, he picked up the pace against the Ravens when Nick Scott left early with a concussion. Hill now gets the Rams, the second-most pass-happy offense in the league. Hill is a former corner who should help with Puka Nacua regularly, meaning he could clean up on tackles and net a turnover.

This former Michigan product is also readily available in most leagues. He is the 56^th most rostered DB in fantasy, which is low. He should be available in all shallow formats and can produce DB2 quality production this week.

Fade (Slightly): Josh Allen, DL, Jacksonville Jaguars

The "Other Josh Allen" had one of the biggest outputs of his career in Week 1 but went down with a shoulder sprain against Kansas City. Allen's injury is worth watching not only for his availability in Week 3 but also because that shoulder could compromise his effectiveness if he does play. The Kentucky product isn't exactly consistent, even when healthy.

If Allen is active, most of you will start him. His matchup with the Texans is elite. Houston has four potential starters on the offensive line on IR, and their starting left tackle is questionable to play against the Jags. They’re also attempting the fourth most pass attempts per game, which is why they’ve surrendered 36 quarterback pressures in two contests. Still, the injury and Allen’s inconsistency make him a low-end DL2.

Fade: Shaquille Leonard, LB, Indianapolis Colts

This one could make me look bad since Leonard still has some big games left in him and the Ravens are a fine matchup. That said, this "Fade" label has more to do with how he's played since 2021 and how he's being treated in most IDP circles.

Leonard is the seventh most rostered LB in fantasy right now, ahead of guys like Alex Singleton, Quay Walker, and Jordyn Brooks. This is despite Leonard registering just six solo tackles and no big plays in two weeks, while his teammate Zaire Franklin is hoarding all the tackles. While I like Leonard, he hasn't produced like a fantasy starter in two years and is a major injury risk. There are much safer plays as your LB1.

For context, think about Leonard like you do Michael Thomas. Thomas went years without producing because of injuries, but now he's finally on the field and contributing viable fantasy stats again. However, would any of you feel comfortable with Thomas as your WR1 or WR2 for the rest of the year? No? Then you know how I feel about Leonard as an LB1.

Premium/Deep League Streamers and Fades

Stream: George Karlaftis, Kansas City Chiefs

As we mentioned when talking about Chris Jones, Justin Fields is creating his own pressure at an astounding clip. He's faced pressure 40 times in just two games and has taken 10 sacks. Of those sacks, only four have been credited to Chicago's lack of blocking, and the Bears’ line is about to get worse with Braxton Jones on IR.

These factors are noteworthy because the Bears will likely play from behind early against the Chiefs. Fields steps up into pressure regularly and hasn't shown improved field vision this year. Expect the Chiefs to take him down at least five times. For the same reasons we like Chris Jones in shallow IDP formats, we like Karlaftis as a flyer in deeper leagues.

Stream: Patrick Surtain II, DB, Denver Broncos

Tyreek Hill is earning 12 targets per game to start the year, which is consistent with his usage last year with Tua Tagovailoa under center. Hill's numbers went down in a low-scoring affair with the Patriots, but they still bordered on double-digits. The Broncos should push the envelope harder than the Pats did, though.

Surtain has a strong history of shadowing an opponent’s top receiver, including in Week 1 against Davante Adams. Odds favor him following Hill in this one, which means double-digit chances at PDs and INTs. Surtain is the 61^st most rostered DB in fantasy but should outperform that position this week.

Fade: Ja’Whaun Bentley, LB, New England Patriots

Depending on how deep your league rosters go, you may have no choice but to play Bentley. For the rest of the season, he’s a fine LB4 option with LB3 upside some weeks. This is not one of those weeks that you can rely on him for a high floor or ceiling, though.

The Jets are the second lowest-volume offense in the NFL this year, and there should be no expectation that will change with Zach Wilson and Nathaniel Hackett still at the helm. Gang Green is also averaging the fifth-fewest rush attempts per game, which shouldn't change as long as Wilson is putting his team behind. This feels like a low-volume week for Patriots defenders, though the upside for big plays is higher than usual.

Fade: Zaven Collins, DL/LB, Arizona Cardinals

Collins snuck into the DL2 tier for me and many other IDP rankers late in the summer. To many, he was seen as a hybrid linebacker with DL eligibility. The idea was that you could get close to 100 tackles with Collins playing a more traditional role on base downs, but also see a handful of sacks when he was deployed as a pass rusher. So far, Collins hasn’t delivered on either of those expectations.

In two games at his new edge position, Collins has yet to play more than 60% of the Cardinals' defensive snaps despite being in competitive games both weeks. He's also collected just two solo tackles and a half-sack. The only thing bailing him out so far is an INT in Week 1, but Dallas is unlikely to offer many big play opportunities like that in Week 3. Expect the Cowboys to play with an early lead and go conservative.

Collins' advanced metrics aren't encouraging for his season-long value, either. His pressure rate is an abysmal 4.25%, he has just one quarterback hurry in 47 pass rush snaps, and his PFF grades are poor as both a pass rusher and run defender. The clock is ticking on Collins as a viable fantasy asset, and his value should already be in doubt… even if I am stashing him in deeper leagues with the hope his role will expand.

Defenders Worth Stashing

Byron Young, DL, Los Angeles Rams

An athletic project coming out of Tennessee, I was higher than most on this rookie. Still, I didn’t expect him to contribute so much so early. Young has played on 74% of the Rams’ pass rush snaps, with a solid 20% pressure rate on those opportunities. He also showed flashes in run support against the 49ers.

Young is a plus athlete playing better than most thought he would this early in his career. He has stash value in dynasty and deep IDP formats. He’s available in 98.5% of IDP leagues, meaning almost everyone has a chance to grab him if they like his potential.

Christian Gonzalez, DB, New England Patriots

Despite being our DB Riser of the Week, Gonzalez was started in just 3% of IDP leagues in Week 2, and his roster rate was a mere 3.3%. His roster percentage has risen to 5.7% since then, but that still makes him just the 59^th most rostered DB in fantasy. This is despite the fact the athlete from Oregon has outperformed half the fantasy DBs rostered ahead of him.

Gonzalez has been sporadically used in shadow coverage this season, and his plus performance suggests that usage could increase. If the CU-Boulder transfer is used more in shadow, he has a promising schedule ahead of him for fantasy purposes. Seven games left on New England’s schedule include a high-volume WR1 for him to follow.

Daiyan Henley, LB, Los Angeles Chargers

Henley’s is a name to know almost exclusively in dynasty circles, at least for now. Until he starts to see snaps, he isn’t worth rostering in redraft leagues. However, he was one of my favorite linebackers in this draft class, one of the best testers at the Combine, and his coverage skills are premium.

The Chargers are still trying to make something out of Kenneth Murray Jr., but he is in the last year of his contract after LA passed on his fifth-year option. Meanwhile, Eric Kendricks is 31 years old and on a two-year deal that Los Angeles can get out of next season. With Henley earning PFF's top pre-season grade amongst rookie LBs, there's long-term upside here. Consider him a fine dynasty stash with massive upside.

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