Week 8 is in the books, and IDP managers are furiously scouring the waiver wire for impact additions. The first few weeks of the season always provide some new and some old options to consider, some of which will 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.
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Ernest Jones (LB – LAR): 0% rostered on Yahoo
As speculated, Ernest Jones got the tap with Kenny Young shipped off to Denver, and he looked excellent. Jones exploded for seven solos, two assists, 0.5 sacks, one tackle for loss, one interception, and one pass defended in Week 7 and has forcibly inserted himself into the LB2 conversation. There was some who believed that Jones would get the tap as the starter to open the season once Micah Kiser got released, but Young was an effective bridge to the talented rookie. The Rams felt Jones was ready and proceeded to make the pre trade deadline move. Jones played 89 percent of the snaps in Week 8 and should be an impact IDP starter the rest of the way. Add the rookie linebacker wherever available.
Shaq Thompson (LB – CAR): 5% rostered on Yahoo
Back from a foot injury, Shaq Thompson returned with a bang in Week 8. He tallied eight solos, two tackles for loss, one interception, and one pass defended. Thompson has provided solid LB2 value when he has been healthy and will be an integral part of a Panthers defensive unit that will be looking to carry the team on their back. He is going to have his peaks and valleys like most IDP players, but his peaks will resemble LB1 production. Add Thompson where available.
Bobby Okereke (LB – IND): 14% rostered on Yahoo
As expected, Okereke was excellent against the Tennessee Titans, racking up 10 solos and two assists. The LB19 overall through eight weeks of action, Okerke should be rostered in all competitive leagues. He is right near the threshold needed to be excluded from this column and should get there after his double-digit solo performance. He is a top-tier LB2 option with LB1 upside for a plus matchup against the New York Jets in Week 9 and gets Jacksonville and Buffalo after that. Add Okereke wherever possible.
David Long (LB – TEN): 15% rostered on Yahoo
David Long has been excellent over the past few weeks and was at it again in Week 8, recording six solos, three assists, and one pass defended. He has been on fire since Week 5, has had four straight games with six or more solos, and has been the LB7 in fantasy points per game since that time. Long shows no signs of slowing down and should be leaned on as an elite LB2 who can fill in as an LB1. He will go back to LB2 status when he cools down but has solidified himself as one of the more consistent and trustworthy names at his position. This may be the last week for those of you lucky enough to play in a league where he is still floating on the wire to acquire him, so add him wherever available.
Micah Parsons (LB – DAL): 16% rostered on Yahoo
Parsons is actually beyond the 15 percent rostered cutoff for this column but needs to be highlighted here after an excellent showing in which he played the majority of his snaps at linebacker. Parsons tallied 10 solos, one assist, and a whopping four tackles for loss, highlighting the saliva-inducing upside that made him an IDP darling this offseason despite being a rookie on a crowded depth chart. There is no telling if he can keep it up, and he has been inconsistent enough to drop to being rostered in just 16 percent leagues, but he certainly has the talent to keep producing if he continues to log the bulk of his snaps at linebacker. Add Parsons wherever available as a borderline LB2 with obvious LB1 upside.
Willie Gay Jr. (LB – KC): 1% rostered on Yahoo
Yes, it took Anthony Hitchens being sidelined for Gay to shine, but if his strong play was any indication, it may finally be time for Nick Bolton and Willie Gay to take over at linebacker. Gay has frustrated with his inability to secure a starting gig over the last year and a half, especially when Nick Bolton became an immediate starter. He will need to show more consistency to land a starting role but seems to have closed the gap behind Ben Niemann with the strong showing. Gay recorded five solos, four assists, one interception, and one pass defended in Week 8 and looks to have bye week filler upside, at least as long as Hitchens is sidelined. He is more of a speculative add due to his immense talent but is the type of add who can provide a serious return on investment for fantasy managers.
Jonathan Greenard (DE – HOU): 11% rostered on Yahoo
Greenard is on fire for the Houston Texans. He recorded three solos, one sack, one tackle for loss, and one pass defended in Week 8. Greenard now has seven sacks in six games and has a sack in all but one of his contests this season. He has simply been elite during the games he has been active. His emergence has allowed the Texans to move on from Whitney Mercilus and Charles Omenihu, as he looks like the real deal. Unfortunately, this also means that opposing offenses are going to start game-planning for his game-changing pass rush ability, so we will have to see how he fares. However, he has simply been too good to be available in any competitive league and should be added wherever possible as a priority target. The DL2 since making his season debut, Greenard is an elite DE2 option with weekly DL1 upside until he cools down.
Trey Hendrickson (DE – CIN): 10% rostered on Yahoo
Maybe we should just change the name of this column to the home of Trey Hendrickson. Arguably the most underappreciated name in IDP, Hendrickson racked up three solos, three assists, one sack, and one tackle for loss in Week 8. He is up to 7.5 sacks on the season and looks to be on his way to surpassing the career-high 13.5 sacks he recorded with the Saints last season. His continued low-rostered numbers has been one of the more peculiar things in IDP through eight weeks of play. Yes, he has been a no-show in the solo department, making him extremely sack dependent, but has been the DL16/DE11 in total fantasy points through eight weeks of action. Add the star pass rusher wherever available.
Cameron Jordan (DE – NO): 15% rostered on Yahoo
Finally getting it going with a two game sack streak, Cam Jordan should be scooped off the scrap heap where available. Fantasy managers have been cutting ties with Cam in droves, but he is an obvious talent who was always bound to get it going sooner or later. He was solid if uninspiring in Week 8, recording one solo, one assist, one sack, one tackle for loss, and one forced fumble against Tampa Bay, and should shoot back up over 20 percent rostered this week. Cam remains a DL1 who is more of a DL3 due to a down season but has started showing enough signs of life to trust as a DL2 during the byes. Add him wherever possible.
Julian Okwara (DE – DET): 1% rostered on Yahoo
Those who play in deep leagues should be looking to stash Julian Okwara immediately. A high-level talent who is finally getting his shot in Detroit, Okwara has two sacks and three tackles for loss over his last three games. He is still playing a rotational role, but there is an argument to be made that despite still being a bit raw, that he is the Lions most talented pass rusher. The younger Okwara should continue to see his role expand and makes for a solid deep league DL3 with DL2 upside. Add the Lions emerging talent where possible.
Larry Ogunjobi (DT – CIN): 3% rostered on Yahoo
Ogunjobi seems to be finding a level of comfort on the Bengals defensive line and has responded with 2.5 sacks over his last two games. He tallied three solos, two assists, one sack, and one tackle for loss in Week 8 and looks to be getting back to the solid tackling defensive tackle that put him on fantasy radars as a DT1 while he was in Cleveland. His low rostered numbers suggest that most Yahoo leagues use DL instead of splitting DT and DE, but it is time to once again start treating him as the DT1/DL3 that he is. Add Ogunjobi where feasible.
Landon Collins (S/LB – WAS): 12% rostered on Yahoo
Landon Collins has taken IDP managers on a ride this season. Initially, the move to the box to play more linebacker snaps was well-received, thought to push Collins back into the DB1 conversation he resided in for years prior. He was up and down at linebacker, so much so that Washington finally started giving talented rookie Jamin Davis starters snaps. In Week 7, Collins was demoted to a more base package role. So how did he follow up his 43 percent of the snaps outing against Green Bay? By having his best game of the season, of course. Collins played 83 percent of the snaps and racked up five solos, three assists, one sack, and two tackles for loss in Week 8, reinserting himself in the DB2 conversation. Add Collins as a boom-or-bust S/DB option who is more boom leaning.
Nasir Adderley (S – LAC): 3% rostered on Yahoo
Nasir Adderley being rostered in just three percent of leagues is one of the stranger things in fantasy football. Adderley tallied five solos, two assists, one pass defended, and a fumble recovery in Week 8, pushing him to DB24/S14 on the season. With most cornerbacks hard to trust due to being low tackle producers who are interception dependent, Nasir should be around the 14 percent mark. Yes, the Chargers were coming off a bye week, so his rostered numbers dropped, but you do not leave someone who has been producing so well on the wire. Punish your rival managers for being so short-sighted and snag Nas wherever available.
Erik Harris (S – ATL): 0% rostered on Yahoo
Hard-hitting safety Erik Harris had another strong outing in Week 8, recording five solos, two assists, and two passes defended. Harris has been solid all season but rarely has sexy enough performances to get the attention of the casual IDP player. However, with the byes here, Harris should be leaned on as someone with weekly DB2 value. He may not get ranked there by some due to his lack of standout performances, but there is something to be said about consistency. If you are looking for a bye-week filler, especially in a more competitive league, Harris is one of the top options at DB/S.
Marcus Maye (S – NYJ): 10% rostered on Yahoo
Marcus Maye is the DB4 in fantasy points per game. Despite that, he is rostered in just 10 percent of Yahoo leagues. Yes, he was injured and had a bye week but appeared in this column last week after his Week 7 return and is still not getting the respect that he deserves. Maye recorded five solos and two assists in Week 8, continuing to produce at a high level for fantasy managers. There is absolutely no reason for Maye, again, the DB4 in fantasy points per game to be available, so punish rival managers for being too lazy to add him last week. He is a priority add, even if it is just to block your opponents from adding a DB1 for free.
Kamren Curl (S – WAS): 4% rostered on Yahoo
If you are a regular reader of this column, you may have noticed that Kamren Curl has been making regular appearances. As mentioned last week, Curl is back to playing most of his snaps at free safety, meaning he will be able to provide the borderline DB1 value he provided last season when Collins was sidelined. Curl recorded five solos and two assists in Week 8. He now has five or more solos in three straight contests and has put up 11.1 fantasy points per game during that time. Count him as a DB2 option who should produce like a DB1. Add Curl wherever possible.
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Raju Byfield is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Raju, check out his profile and follow him @FantasyContext.
