Cliff Avril

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril took down Blaine Gabbert twice on Sunday as the Seahawks beat the 49'ers 29-13. The two sacks lift his season total to 6.5 and mark the first time he's had 2+ sacks in a game since 2012.

Fantasy Impact

Cliff Avril has become a cheap replacement option for owners who have struggled to find DL replacement help. With the byes over he may see his ownership dip, but he does have a nice schedule during the fantasy football playoffs.

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril recorded his first sack of the season against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Avril, who has become somewhat of a pass rushing specialist, has averaged 7 sacks a season in his 2 years with the Seahawks.

Fantasy Impact

Avril is part of Seattle's outstanding defensive line rotation. Unfortunately, that means that he is likely to struggle to maintain consistent fantasy value through the year as the group's overall effectiveness caps individuals ceilings. Outside of Michael Bennett you will struggle to find starting value on this line. The overall strength of the entire unit and the fact that they rotate so frequently makes it tough to count on any of them for stats on a weekly basis.

Cliff Avril recorded 1 assisted tackle in the Week 5 victory over Washington.

Fantasy Impact

Avril was much more of a force on-field than he was in the box-score. Avril consistently got pressure and forced Kirk Cousins to step up in the pocket. Avril remains a decent DE2 in deep IDP leagues.

Defensive End Cliff Avril drew praise from Pete Carroll, as he stated that Avirl was"way ahead of where he was last year at this time, '' He also stated that Avril was healthy during the off-season and that gave him a chance to come in ready to contribute.

Fantasy Impact

Avril is in position to play more snaps in his contract year due to the departure of Chris Clemons and Red Bryant. Despite being part of a deep rotation last year, Avril was extremely productive, posting 8 sacks and 5 forced fumbles in only 15 games played. While he does not offer consistent tackle stats, Avril is a play-maker on passing downs and is a solid choice as a DE2 in deeper IDP leagues.

Avril heads into this season figuring to see an increase in snaps due to the departure of three members of the Seahawks defensive line rotation this past offseason.

Fantasy Impact

Avril played in only 52.8% of the Seahawks' defensive snaps in 2013 and still managed to pick up 8 sacks and force 5 fumbles. The team lost 1581 snaps taken in free agency with the departures of Red Bryant, Chris Clemons, and Clinton McDonald. Given that Avril is in a contract year and is expected to see a generous portion of those snaps, especially in pass rushing situations, double digit sacks seem well within reach of this under-valued DE. IDP players should take note of this expected increase in opportunity and look for him to end up as a mid to low end DE2 with tremendous upside.