There were some late inactives last week, namely elite IDPs Robert Quinn and Jamie Collins, which may have hurt owners who aren’t setting their lineups in the final hour before kick-off. More than ever it’s important to keep tabs on if players are participating in practice, and what their chances of playing are. You can keep tabs on the league’s injuries with our own Injury Report, or use the NFL’s official Injury Report, and of course touch base with myself and other sources on Twitter if you need any specific help.
Week 9 Observations
With Donte Whitner sidelined for last week’s Thursday Night Football, rookie Ibraheim Campbell played 55-of-67 snaps in his stead, recording five total tackles. Dynasty owners will want to keep an eye on his progress, and he’s a sneaky plug and play while Whitner recovers… Vontaze Burfict played 76.4 percent of snaps in a short week, one week after playing 48.7 percent. Burfict is edging closer and closer back to being an every-down player again, and will be nominally ranked as a borderline LB1 when that happens… It was a decent game for a pair of Bengals D-Lineman against the Browns, with Carlos Dunlap notching two sacks, one hit and three hurries, while Geno Atkins generated one sack and three hurries. Dunlap is making a play to be a top-five fantasy defensive lineman this season… With Eric Kendricks rules out of Week 9 with a rib injury, veteran Chad Greenway played 74-of-74 snaps, and played well, making several open-field tackles. HC Mike Zimmer hinted Greenway might be playing his way back into a more significant role, but with Anthony Barr and Kendricks on the roster it’s hard to see who Greenway sees a significant snap increase if everyone is healthy… Vikings DT Linval Joesph put on a clinic against the Rams, recording ten total tackles and half a sack. He blew up several plays in the backfield and put pressure on Foles all game, and was the best player on display… It was good to see Michael Mauti on the field for the Saints. Mauti was a talented college player with more knee injuries than Thomas Davies, and he played 50-of-71 snaps with rookie Hau’oli Kikaha hurt. He’s a deep, deep sleeper for dynasty purposes only… Keep an eye on Sen’Derrick Marks as he gets back to full speed following his ACL tear last season. He has played 97 snaps in the last two weeks and is back as a starter… The Jets found no trouble in getting to Tyrod Taylor last week, with seven different players recording a sack. However, neither Muhammad Wilkerson (five hits, four hurries) or Sheldon Richardson (three hits, four hurries) were one of those names. Both players remain top-end fantasy options, it was simple ‘one of those days’… Khalil Mack had six hurries at the weekend, taking his season total to 33, which leads all 3-4 OLBs. He has to break out soon… Dashon Goldson can’t stop recording tackles it seems, as his ten total tackles this week marked his third straight game with double-digit tackles… Rookie LB Jake Ryan looks outsnapped Nate Palmer this week, 39 to 23, and played significantly better too. Ryan was being talked up in the preseason by the Packers front office as a potential every-down player and he may get his chance to prove it before the year ends… Another sack at the weekend for Kwann Short means he now has six in four games. He’s been a terror all season, generating pressure on 13.1 percent of his blitzes, an incredible number for a defensive tackle… The Bills pass rush has been let-down for fantasy gamers this season, no more so than Jerry Hughes, who has only posted a single sack through his first seven games. Hughes flashed some of his skills in Week 9 with two sacks and four hurries, plus a forced fumble, fumble recovery and three solo tackles. Hopefully this marks the tipping point for the Bills pass rush… It also proved safer to side with Bills DBs Ronald Darby and Corey Graham, who combined for 18 solo tackles last week, while LBs Nigel Bradham and Preston Brown only totaled 14 total tackles (nine solo). Graham is on course to be a top-five fantasy DB, and has an outside shot to be the No.1, while Darby has a good shot to be the top fantasy cornerback too… Keep an eye on how Philip Wheeler and Justin Durant share the WLB duties when Durant returns. Wheeler lined up there for the Falcons last week, and played better than Durant had been… Arguably the best news of last week was the return of Jason Pierre-Paul, who looked pretty darn good in his first action of the season. He paced all Giants defensive lineman with 47-of-64 snaps, and despite not recording a sack has two hits and four hurries. His box score will read just two solo tackles, but there was much more to it than that. Go grab him off waivers immediately if he is still there… Lavonte David doesn’t look the same player this year. He’s by no means a bad fantasy asset, but the top draw IDP scores he produced in his first two seasons have been lacking. ProFootballFocus has graded David’s last two games as the worst of his career, and David can no longer be considered a top-five LB lock week in, week out… Teammate Kwon Alexander recorded his second straight game with ten or more tackles, although over those two games only 11 of the 21 tackles were solos… Danny Trevathan is seeing more snaps in subpackages and is a must add in all formats. He played 73-of-81 snaps last week, outsnapping Brandon Marshall, and I like him to be an upside LB2 in a three-down role. Trevathan is one of those players who always seems to outperform expectations, so if he ranks as a rest of the season LB1 I wouldn’t be that surprised. His 19 total tackles last week, albeit just six solo, are a sign of that… Trevathan wasn’t the only Broncos with a big tackle performance in Week 9, as T.J Ward had 12 total tackles of his own (10 solo). Ward has never reached the heights of his Cleveland days in Denver, but is still a solid DB2… It was a head scratching day for owners of D’Qwell Jackson, the league’s leader in tackles. Jackson played 52-of-52 snaps, but posted a measly one assisted tackle only. Just one of those days I’m afraid. Jackson remains a low-end LB1 on a weekly basis… Plenty to update with the Eagles linebackers. Firstly, the snap count on Sunday read; Kendricks 57, Hicks 56, Alonso 29, Ryans 0. Then news broke that Hicks has landed on IR with a torn pectoral, handing Alonso his promotion back into a three-down starting role. Kendricks and Alonso will both move between low-end LB1 and low-end LB2, based on matchups, over the rest of the year… Fantasy owners of Pernell McPhee will have sympathy for Jackson’s owners this week after McPhee had just two solo tackles. The Bears OLB continues to be a very dangerous presence on the edge, registering three hits and four hurries, and is a boom-or-bust LB2.
Best/Worst Matchups
With the fantasy playoffs creeping ever closer, it’s getting more important to get a handle on matchups, as a couple of extra points in a game week could be the difference between progressing and being eliminated. Below are the best and worst five teams for edge rushers, off-ball linebackers and safeties to help guide those coin flip start/sit decisions each week.
Edge Rushers
Best
Chicago Bears, Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs.
Worst
New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins.
Off-Ball Linebackers
Best
Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles.
Worst
St Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts, Oakland Raiders.
Safeties
Best
Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens.
Worst
New York Giants, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders.
Guys I Like
Stephen Tuitt & Cameron Heyward vs Browns
The Browns failed dismally to protect QB Johnny Manziel against the Bengals, and while the Cincy pass rush is a more disruptive unit than Pittsburgh’s, the Steelers duo of Tuitt and Heyward have been surprisingly effective this season. Tuitt missed a couple of games with injury, and Heyward was not the same player with him missing, but I like both players to record a sack this week and rank as top-end DL2.
Kwann Short vs Titans
Short has been superb over the last four weeks, and it’s hard to ignore his rise up the rankings. Six sacks in four weeks make him a top-five fantasy DT, and bring him into DL2 consideration. The Titans have also been one of the league’s best matchups for defensive tackles too, making Short a must start this week.
Paul Posluszny, Telvin Smith, C.J. Mosely, Daryl Smith – Jaguars @ Ravens
The Jags and Raiders have been two of the best linebacker matchups after nine weeks, and with a plethora of studs on display, I’d suggest playing all of them. Smith and Posluszny have both set their stalls out as LB1s this year, so that’s not the boldest of statements, but I think both have the potential to be top-five players this week. Mosely has been a disappointment this season, and this is an important game in understanding his value for the rest of the year. If he cannot score well it’s a bad sign, and he’ll be slipping even further down my rankings to being a borderline LB2/3. Smith continues to be the consummate veteran and post solid weekly scores, averaging 9.5 total tackles a week. Coming off the back of a season best 14 total tackles last week, Smith is set to be a top-end LB2 this week.
Earl Thomas & Kam Chancellor vs Cardinals
The Seattle duo is perhaps the highest profile safety tandem in the league, but are not the fantasy scorers some assume. Both players have dynamic playmaking ability but are part of an elite defense that means the production is often spread out between a variety of talents. Week 10 brings divisional rival Cardinals to town, and I’m expecting a typical closely fought NFC West battle with an emphasis on defensive football. As Arizona is such a good matchup for safeties, I won’t be surprised if the game hinges on a big play by either Thomas or Chancellor.
Reggie Nelson vs Texans
Nelson has been a very volatile scorer this season. Very volatile. He’s posted three games of 15-plus points, but also four games of less than five points. He’s a risky play, but all three of his big fantasy games came in the last five appearances, and facing one the league’s top matchups for safeties is highly appealing. I like Nelson to post DB2 numbers this week.
Guys I Dislike
Jerry Hughes & Mario Williams vs Jets
When you’re off-form and struggling to score fantasy points, you do not want to have to face the New York Jets. Hughes looked better last week, recording two sacks, but it’s going to be a tall order to get to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Jets offensive line has only given up three sacks this season, the lowest total in the league, and I don’t see wither player being able to post more than a low-end DL2 score this week.
Jason Pierre-Paul vs Giants
As hyped as I am about JPP’s return, and how good he looked on the field, you need to wait another week before plugging him into your lineup. The Patriots are only giving up 10.6ppg to defensive lineman, the 4th worst in the league.
Kiko Alonso vs Dolphins
I was tempted to list Mychal Kendricks here alongside Alonso, as the Dolphins are a tough matchup for opposing linebackers, but I think Kendricks can still be a decent LB2 this week. Alonso though, who played just 29 snaps last week, should slot back into a three-down role with the news that Jordan Hicks (pectoral) has been placed on IR, there will be some rust he needs to work off. That combination of poor matchup and lack of game fitness is why I can’t recommend Alonso as anymore than a top-end LB3 this week.
Malcolm Smith vs Vikings
Smith has been a revelation this season, but coming off a couple of down performances, and facing a stingy Minnesota defense, I’m downgrading Smith from low-end LB1 to mid to low LB2. Eight total tackles in the last two weeks is concerning, so use some caution this week and find an alternative starter if you can.
Ron Parker & Eric Berry vs Broncos
Despite Peyton Manning have plenty of problems with interceptions this season, the Broncos have been a surprisingly tough matchup for DBs. Manning’s lack of arm strength and shift to shorter passing patterns has meant opposing safeties have struggled to be consistent point scorers. Parker is the better of the two options, but I wouldn’t consider him more than a low-end DB2.
