Week 3 is in the books, and IDP managers are furiously scouring the waiver wire for impact additions. The first few weeks of the season always provides some new, and some old, options to consider, some of who will be impact IDP starters for the rest of the season. The names below all seem to qualify and may very well be available in your leagues. Let’s take a look at some of the names that are worth some of your free agent budget.
View your league’s top available players with My Playbook
Logan Wilson (LB – CIN): 7% rostered on Yahoo
Logan Wilson has been excellent through three games of the season and is the linebacker to roster from the Bengals. He has forced his way into the permanent LB2 conversation with his latest performance, notching six solos, eight assists, two interceptions, and two passes defended. He is now up to three interceptions on the season and looks like one of the lone bright spots on an otherwise shaky Bengals defense. The LB8 through three contests, Wilson needs to be rostered in all competitive leagues.
Kenny Young (LB – LAR): 6% rostered on Yahoo
Kenny Young went off for eight solos, two assists, one sack, one tackle for loss, and one forced fumble in Week 3, vaulting himself to LB7 overall in the process. While no one should expect him to produce like an LB1 all season, he is in a high IDP value role for the Rams and will be the linebacker who remains in the lineup when Ernest Jones proves he is ready for a starter’s role. Consider Young an LB2 with weekly LB1 upside going forward. He needs to be added in all competitive leagues.
Denzel Perryman (LB – LV): 12% rostered on Yahoo
The LB12 through three weeks of game action, Perryman has solidified his name in the weekly LB2 conversation. He tallied 10 solos and four assists in Week 3 and is the LB10 in fantasy points per game when we exclude outside linebackers, Chandler Jones and T.J. Watt. Perryman has emerged as a near every snap player for Las Vegas and saw 92 percent of the snaps in Week 3 after hovering around the 75 percent mark during the first two weeks of the season. Perryman has delivered the reliable veteran presence in the middle the Raiders hoped they were getting with Corey Littleton and will be locked into LB2 upside on a weekly basis, or until a drop in play results in reduced snaps. Add Perryman where needed as an LB3, who you can treat as an LB2.
Bobby Okereke (LB – IND): 2% rostered on Yahoo
Okereke did not have the start to the season anyone was expecting but may have finally got his game legs under him in Week 3. He racked up six solos, two assists, one sack, and one tackle for loss and generally looked to be playing at a higher pace. Yes, his production came in a great matchup against the Titans, but many were expecting him to play at an LB2 level all season due to the departure of Anthony Walker this offseason. Dropped in many leagues after his slow start, Okereke is currently available in 98 percent of Yahoo leagues. Add him as a depth piece who could be your new LB2 by Week 6.
Christian Kirksey (LB – HOU): 7% rostered on Yahoo
Kirksey has been playing at a high level all season and is currently the LB11 in fantasy points per game. He continued his strong play in Week 3, recording seven solos and three assists. He has been soaking up enough tackles that supposed LB1 Zack Cunningham has fallen off a cliff, but there is optimism that both linebackers can co-exist and produce IDP wise after both players had LB1 level outings against the Panthers on Thursday night. Kirksey should be treated as an LB2 option going forward and needs to be rostered in all competitive leagues.
Brandon Jones (S – MIA): 0% rostered on Yahoo
Brandon Jones was on fire in Week 3. Despite playing just 43 percent of the snaps (fourth on the team at safety), Jones went bonkers with four solos, two assists, two sacks, and two tackles for loss. He had three QB hits in total. Now I have no clue what was up with the snap counts against Las Vegas as Eric Rowe and Jevon Holland led all safeties in snaps; however, Jones needs to be taken seriously again. He has always been a high-level IDP talent; the only issue recently has been a consistent role. He was up to 63 percent of the snaps in Week 2 but dropped under the 50 percent mark in Week 3. The Dolphins have enough talented safeties that a rotation may be something permanent, so temper expectations before adding Jones. He can be counted as a bye week filler who can transform into a high upside DB2 if the Dolphins start giving him consistent starter snaps.
Andrew Wingard (S – JAC): 0% rostered on Yahoo
Wingard has been producing at a high level for IDP managers through three weeks of the season and is the DB12/S5 overall. He was strong again in Week 3, tallying four solos, three assists, one interception, and one pass defended. He played 100 percent of the snaps for the first time in Week 3, and after his performance, could be locked into a near every snap role. Wingard has recorded at least four solos in every contest this season and should not want for consistency as long as he never leaves the field. The sack and interception on his ledger are obviously skewing things due to the small sample, but Wingard is emerging as someone fantasy managers will be able to trust as a solid DB2/S2 option. Add him wherever needed.
Landon Collins (S – WAS): 12% rostered on Yahoo
Somehow rostered in just 12 percent of Yahoo leagues, Landon Collins needs to be added in all competitive leagues. His dud in Week 1 caused many fantasy managers to cut bait with the long-time DB1/S1, so turn their mistakes into your advantage. A week after recording six solos and one assist against the Giants, Collins tallied five solos, three assists, and one tackle for loss against the Bills. We will want to see a couple of strong games before intimating that he is all the way back, but there is no denying that Collins is one of the top options at DB/S in IDP. Stop sleeping and add the former All-Pro where available.
Kamren Curl (S – WAS): 3% rostered on Yahoo
Kamren Curl has taken a step back with Landon Collins back on the active roster but may still prove to be a valuable DB2/S2 option. Curl vanished in the first two weeks of the season but got back on track in Week 4, recording five solos and four assists, surpassing his combined totals from his first two games. He has seen his snap percentage grow each week, finishing with 78 percent in Week 3. Curl was one of the most exciting IDP finds of 2020 but will likely be more of a DB2/3 option with Collins back in the lineup. Add him where needed as a DB3 type who can bounce right back into the DB2 conversation with some added consistency.
Marcus Maye (S – NYJ): 5% rostered on Yahoo
Marcus Maye has been excellent to start the season. We have seen him start the season strong before, so we will temper expectations, but it is safe to say that Maye is firmly in the DB2 conversation until he suffers a stark drop in production. He is the DB6 overall on the season in total points and is the DB8/S6 in fantasy points per game. Maye racked up an impressive seven solos and two assists in Week 3 and should be started until he cools off. Maye needs to be rostered in all IDP leagues.
Nasir Adderley (S – LAC): 1% rostered on Yahoo
Nasir was excellent in Week 3, tallying seven solos and two assists. He started the season slow enough to be available in 99 percent of Yahoo leagues but has now had two DB1 level outings in a row. Like Curl above, Adderley had a breakout season in 2020 but was sent to the waiver wire following a slow Week 1 that fantasy managers chalked up to being because of the return of an injured veteran. Nasir has proven he can produce alongside superstar safety Derwin James and is a strong DB2 option going forward. Add Adderely where needed as a startable depth piece.
Jadeveon Clowney (DE/LB – CLE): 7% rostered on Yahoo
Jadeveon Clowney and Myles Garrett hosted a sack party in Week 3, with Clowney getting home for the first two times of the season. He finished the day with two solos, one assist, two sacks, and two tackles for loss. He is up to eight pressures on the season, putting him right behind his pace from his final season in Houston. His two sacks are more than half of the sack total he put up in the last two seasons combined. Yes, the sacks on the so-called offense Matt Nagy called for Justin Fields have to be taken in context, but the fact remains that Clowney has been a disruptor all season and has been put in a position to succeed for the first time since his Texans days. Clowney should be rostered in all competitive IDP leagues, even if it is just as bench depth with DE2/DL2 upside.
Darrell Taylor (DE – SEA): 0% rostered on Yahoo
Taylor flashed again for the Seahawks and looks to be making good of his immense physical gifts. He racked up five solos, one assist, one sack, and one forced fumble in Week 3. Now up to two sacks, his arrival has come before many anticipated, so there may be some skepticism among fantasy managers. Consistency will be an issue for all defensive line options, so don’t make the mistake of overthinking this one. Young players on the cusp of a true breakout like Taylor, Payton Turner, and Greg Rousseau should be added in all leagues, even if it is just as depth. They can quickly become DE2 level weekly contributors and are another strong game or two from being given starters’ snaps and potentially moving to must-start territory.
Haason Reddick (DE/LB – CAR): 6% rostered on Yahoo
Haason has been balling out for the Panthers this season and is currently the DL6 overall. He went off again in Week 3, tallying one solo, one assist, 1,5 sacks, and one tackle for loss. Third, in the league with 4.5 sacks on the season, fantasy managers should look to start Reddick and ride the production wave until Reddick cools off. Fresh off a career year with 12.5 sacks, Reddick should have been taken seriously after locking in a starter’s role in free agency. Don’t make the mistake again. Add Reddick wherever possible as a DL2 with matchup-based DL1 upside.
Von Miller (DE/LB – DEB): 14% rostered on Yahoo
Yes, I was surprised as you to see that Von Miller is only rostered in 14 percent of Yahoo leagues. For context, Zeke Turner is rostered in 16 percent of leagues. A lot of this has to do with his positional labeling at Yahoo, but Miller is one of the top pass rushers in the league and has D flex appeal in leagues of all shapes and sizes. Miller recorded one solo, two assists, one sack, and one tackle for loss in Week 3 and is producing at a level that is impossible to ignore. Tied for fourth in the league with four sacks, Miller is on a three game sack streak and has been doing so with Bradley Chubb missing in action. It is time to start treating Miller as the elite pass rushing outside linebacker that he is, especially ahead of a tasty matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. Add Miller in all leagues, even if it is just to block a rival.
Import your team to My Playbook for instant Waiver Wire advice
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup, based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – that allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team, and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
Raju Byfield is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Raju, check out his profile and follow him @FantasyContext.