Weekly Rankings: Ranking Each IDP Position For Week 10

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Week 10 Bye Weeks

Baltimore Ravens

Players to replace:

DL – Brent Urban

LB – C.J. Mosley, Terrell Suggs

DB – Eric Weddle, Tony Jefferson

Denver Broncos

Players to replace:

DL – Derek Wolf

LB – Von Miller, Bradley Chubb

DB – Justin Simmons, Chris Harris

Houston Texans

Players to replace:

DL – J.J. Watt

LB – Jadeveon Clowney, Benardrick McKinney, Whitney Mercilus

DB – Tyrann Mathieu

Minnesota Vikings

Players to replace:

DL – Linval Joseph, Sheldon Richardson

LB – Eric Kendricks, Anthony Barr

DB – Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes

Positive / Negative Home Stat Crews

Here is this week’s list of positive and negative matchups. We break down the top and bottom three matchups where home stat crews either hand out tackles and assists or are stingy with them. This metric is Tackles Per Opportunity or TPO and we can use these games to break ties for our lineups.

Note: the matchups are not favorable for fantasy owners this week. Think about getting some big-play defensive players in your lineups to make a difference.

Top 3 TPO Games at Home this week = NY Giants @ 49ers, Dolphins @ Packers, Patriots @ Titans

Bottom 3 TPO Games at Home this week = Bills @ NY Jets, Cardinals @ Chiefs, Falcons @ Browns

Week 10 Notes

• We are mid-way through the season and are going to take a look at the linebacker position where IDP owners have been surprised by the top of the leaderboard. Often we see the same core group of top fantasy linebackers but this season the top 4 are all names that are unexpected.
• At #1 is Indianapolis rookie LB Darius Leonard, who leads all IDP fantasy LBs despite missing a Week 5 matchup at New England. Leonard is a tackle monster that has added four sacks so far. He should cross the 100-tackle mark including a 17 and 19 tackle day. The Indy LB position has often been productive in spurts but Leonard has been a shot in the arm for the defense. And I don’t see him slowing down.
• At #2 is Miami LB Kiko Alonso. Alonso is top five in total tackles but what has separated him are the big plays he produced. Alonso has three interceptions, three forced fumbles and six passes defended. When we see big play numbers like this for an individual season, it’s usually a good sign that they will continue in-season even if they can be expected to regress the following. Stick with Kiko and he should reward you.
• At #3 is young speedy Rams LB Cory Littleton. When LB Alec Ogletree left in free agency many owners questioned who would lead the defense in LA. Littleton took the reins early in the pre-season, earning play-calling duties and so far he’s been a monster for one of the leagues best teams. Littleton has solid numbers across the board whether you are in a tackle heavy or big-play league. Littleton is top 10 in defensive snaps and he is part of the special team’s packages. Every bit helps and Littleton looks every bit like a top 5 guy in 2019.
• At #4 is Jets LB Avery Williamson. Williamson has scored in the double-digits in seven of nine games including an 11 tackle, one sack performance last week. With as bad as this Jets team is, Williamson will continue to get plenty of opportunities which often is better than superior talent for fantasy owners.
• Houston rookie safety Justin Reid had his second huge game in as many weeks Sunday, finishing with double-digit tackles for the first time. Reid has become a consistent fantasy starter for IDP owners and looks like a force in the Texans secondary. Still, less than 25% owned Reid should be owned in all formats as he is making his way towards a Top 10 finish at DB.
• In Carolina a different Reid is back in a big way, S Eric Reid is looking like the difference maker the 49ers let walk this off-season. Reid had an interception in Week 9, a week after his first sack. Reid is coming off his third straight week of ten plus points. Still just 26 years old, Reid has many years ahead of him if things work out from a social aspect for him.
• Don’t be fooled by 49ers DE Cassius Marsh huge game last week. His two and a half sacks were enough to best his career averages. Look elsewhere if you need a bye week fill-in.
• Bears LB Khalil Mack sat out his second straight game in Week 9 but he is expected back this week against Detroit. In his absence number eight overall pick, LB Roquan Smith made some noise in an effort to earn more playing time. He played in a career-high 86% of snaps last week and finished as an LB1 with 12 total tackles. Keep an eye on the Bears this weekend to see who they decide to line-up at linebacker.
• Panthers DE Mario Addison tormeted the Tampa Bay offensive line for three sacks last week. Addison’s most productive sack totals have come as he’s reached age 29 and beyond. Last year he finished with a career high 11 sacks and he’s on a pace for 16 this season. While I don’t see him getting close to that total this year he will again finish in the double-digits. This week we need to sit him as he goes up against Pittsburgh but he has upcoming matchups against Detroit, Tampa Bay and Cleveland that we will want to exploit.
• Denver rookie LB Bradley Chubb has a sack in four straight games. I have seen where others have criticized Chubb saying his sacks were coverage sacks, easy sacks. But I tell those people that sacking the quarterback is a skill and Chubb has that skill. It doesn’t matter how they come when a player has a knack for the sack they usually find ways to make them happen.
• We will finish off with several injury updates. Dallas LB Sean Lee again pulled his hamstring Monday night and he’s expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks. Lee’s future with the team is in doubt now that they have his replacement in LB Leighton Vander Esch. The team has struggled to find ways to get Vander Esch on the field with a healthy Lee but now he will be an every-down player. Cleveland placed LB Christian Kirksey on IR. That means LB Jamie Collins will be expected to pick up the pace on defense but we don’t know for sure if there is a young LB that may surprise. Something to watch for in Cleveland. In Kansas City, S Daniel Sorensen was activated off of IR and is nearing a return to the line-up. He shoudl be a big boost to the KC lineup and will help fantasy owners down the stretch. And in Denver, another S was activated off of IR Su’a Cravens. Cravens has battled injury throughout the past two years, including some scary reports of concussion issues. Keep an eye on him this weekend to see if he’s a player we can pickup off waivers in the coming weeks.

Below are the full IDP rankings for Week 10 thanks to this widget from FantasyPros: