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Mitch Blatt's top IDP waiver wire adds and defensive streamers for Week 1 of the 2023 fantasy football season. These LB, DL, and DB have matchups worth exploiting.
Week 1 of the NFL season is here! Whether you had an unexpected injury on your defense after drafting early or focused on other positions at the expense of IDPs, you might need to make some lineup adjustments before the first kickoff at Arrowhead Stadium.
You are in luck. I have compiled a list of 11 players who are available in leagues of different sizes and who will be ready to produce starting this weekend. Some of them are streaming options with good matchups this week that also have season-long upside. Others are purely season-long plays.
Take a look at these eleven DLs, LBs, and DBs who could help fill your weak spots at IDP.
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IDP Waiver Wire Adds in Shallow Leagues
Emmanuel Forbes, CB, WAS
Emmanuel Forbes has been a highlight of the Washington Commanders' training camp. He's kept tight coverage on star receivers like Terry McLaurin. He also made an impressive tackle in the preseason games that bodes well for his IDP scoring prospects.
He only played in two games and was only targeted once on 31 snaps, so we didn't get to see much of his legendary ball skills. But this is the guy who led the SEC twice in interceptions and ranked in the top ten for pass defenses twice. He also set the record for most all-time interception return touchdowns and ranked second all-time in interception return yards. Interceptions translate smoothly from college to the NFL, so it is reasonable to expect more big plays from Forbes as a rookie.
Daron Payne, DT, WAS
Daron Payne is available in about half of the shallow (four to six starters) IDP leagues I am participating in, even though he finished as a middle-range DL1 last season and a low-end DL2 in 2019. He set a career-high with 11.5 sacks last season, 6.5 more than his previous high. He also made over 50 tackles in each of his five seasons and over 60 tackles in each of the past two.
The Commanders have the best defensive line matchup of the weekend as they take on the Arizona Cardinals, PFF's No. 31-ranked offensive line. Their center, Hjalte Froholdt, has only played about 350 snaps at center after playing tackle and guard. They moved rookie Paris Johnson Jr. from tackle to left guard. Cardinals projected starting quarterback Joshua Dobbs has attempted 68 passes in the past two years, and he was sacked six times.
Payne has a great matchup in Week 1, and he could continue to be a starting-caliber IDP beyond Week 1 if he keeps up his high-sack pace from last year.
Carl Granderson, DT, NO
Carl Granderson played 45% of the Saints' defensive snaps in 2021 and 2022, and he should be in for a heavy increase in playing time this season after the departure of Marcus Davenport. Granderson's pressure rate in two of the past three seasons surpassed 10%, higher than Maxx Crosby's pressure rate in his second year. If he can achieve a 10% pressure rate this season, he could end up with about 10 sacks.
His Week 1 matchup against the Titans is a good opportunity for him to start off his breakout season. The Titans have the worst offensive line, ranked No. 32 by PFF, Pro Football Network, and Sharp.
Za'Darius Smith, DE, CLE
Za'Darius Smith is being undervalued after joining the Browns this year. However, lining up on the opposite side of Myles Garrett is a great opportunity for the three-time Pro Bowler and ninth-place finisher in the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year voting. Garrett attracts a lot of attention from opposing offenses and forces quarterbacks to flee, which might cause them to end up in Smith's trajectory.
Sure, Smith is going to be 31 years old, and he joins a new team for the second straight year. However, he made double-digit sacks in each of his past three healthy seasons. He's showing no signs of aging, as he had a 15.8% pressure rate at age 30. At this point in a defensive lineman's career, they might lack the athleticism of their young days, but they make up for it in their understanding of the game and how to beat offensive linemen.
Devin Lloyd, LB, JAX
Rookies usually struggle to play off-ball linebacker, and it was no different for Devin Lloyd, the Jaguars' No. 27 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Lloyd missed 14.7% of his tackle attempts and allowed an 82.6% completion percentage in coverage. He played so poorly that he lost his starting job (briefly) in Week 12, but got it back in Week 14 after an injury to fellow rookie Chad Muma.
However, he still put up okay numbers for IDP purposes: 115 tackles, three interceptions, eight pass defenses, and two fumble recoveries (and zero sacks). He was regarded as one of the most well-rounded inside linebackers in the 2022 class. He was graded as the No. 2 best linebacker in the nation in PFF's database. While he has to compete with Foye Oluokun for tackles and playing time, he should at least put up better numbers than last season. He'll have the opportunity to step up his game and possibly play 90% of the defensive snaps rather than the 80% he played last season.
Kyzir White, LB, ARI
Kyzir White emerged as the every-down linebacker in Arizona after the Cardinals traded Isaiah Simmons. White made 110 combined tackles with the Eagles last season despite not having regular playing time. This season, he should play about 90% of the Cardinals' snaps. He's not an impact player, as he'll only make at most two interceptions and two sacks, but he could be a high-volume tackler.
IDP Waiver Wire Adds in Deep Leagues
Denico Autry, DT, TEN
Like Za'Darius Smith (and Justin Houston and Jerry Hughes), Denico Autry has perfected his craft and achieved some of the highest pressure rates late in his career. In his two seasons as a Titan, he pressured the quarterback on over 10% of his pass rush snaps. Last season, he set a career-high 13.9% pressure rate. He remains the starter on a team without much depth.
Michael Hoecht, DE, LAR
Michael Hoecht got significant playing time at right end beginning in Week 12 of last season, and he produced. He had five sacks in the final six weeks of the season and he pressured the passer on 11.7% of his pass rushes. He will be a starting outside linebacker this season on a team that is filling a lot of holes with rookies and already is suffering multiple injuries.
Christian Rozeboom, LB, LAR
Another Rams player who will start due to their depleted lineup is 26-year-old inside linebacker Christian Rozeboom. It will be his first year on an active roster all season long, let alone as a starter. He played special teams for the Chiefs in Week 7 of the 2021 season. Rozeboom set a South Dakota State record with 475 tackles over his five-year collegiate career. In deep leagues, he's worth keeping an eye on because of his volume.
Josh Woods, LB, ARI
Talk in the IDP community is that Josh Woods could start next to Kyzir White on the Cardinals. Woods started in the second preseason game. Woods entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and made five tackles in special teams work with the Bears in 2019. He's an intelligent player who maintained a 4.267 GPA in high school. However, you would be hard-pressed to find a spot for him except in the deepest of deep leagues. We're talking 32-team leagues with two or three linebacker spots.
Marlon Humphrey, CB, BAL
Marlon Humphrey could miss the first game of the season. His status is listed as "questionable," but the reports make it sound more severe than your average "questionable" when you read between the lines. If he does suit up in Week 1, he is a good streamer.
The Ravens face the Texans in what will be C.J. Stroud's first regular season game. Stroud had a poor preseason, going 11-of-20 for 89 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Humphrey and the Ravens' secondary will be a tough challenge for him, and they are all good options to take a swing on a pick or two. Cornerbacks Humphrey and Rock Ya-Sin, on the other side, are the most likely to be available in a deep league, while there is an outside chance safeties Kyle Hamilton or Marcus Williams might be available in extremely shallow leagues.
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