Who are some names to know in your IDP leagues after a wild Week 11? Let’s take a look at a list of players who make for potential waiver wire Week 12 additions to your IDP squads.
Week 11 brought us another action-packed week of football with plenty to digest. We still have one more game to cap it off, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the New York Giants on Monday night. The waiver wire Week 12 IDP article was written before the conclusion of that game, so unfortunately it doesn’t include those players. Now it’s time to dive into some potential waiver wire Week 12 IDP additions!
Disclaimer: All league sizes and formats are different. Meaning some of these players may or may not be available in your league. Each week I’ll be doing my best to cover a wide enough base of scenarios. If you ever have any league-specific questions, I’m always willing to help and so is our fantastic team here at IDP Guys.
Linebackers
Quincy Williams, LB, New York Jets
Week 11 Stats: 15 tackles (10 solos), 2 tackles for loss
Quincy Williams was a waiver wire darling to start the year before losing his starting job to Jarrad Davis a few weeks ago. Well, that all changed this week as Williams unseated Davis and took back his starting spot. Williams played 63 defensive snaps (88%) in Week 11, while Davis played a meager nine snaps. It seems a change is in order for that spot next to Mosley.
Back in his starting spot, Williams went right back to work and produced an impressive season-high 15 tackles (10 solos). It was quite the return to IDP relevance for Williams and hopefully, it was enough to hold on to the job. As long as he holds down that starting spot, Williams should be productive. If you’re looking for linebacker help, Williams is a solid add with the hope he has his job back for good.
Kyle Van Noy, LB, New England Patriots
Week 11 Stats: 8 tackles (5 solos), 2 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 QB hits, 1 interception for a TD, 1 pass defended
The New England Patriots put on quite a defensive performance this week as they shut out the Atlanta Falcons. Kyle Van Noy was one of the key cogs to the unit's success as he had a monster day (see stats above). In fact, Van Noy has had a fantastic two-game stretch recently as he’s produced 13 tackles (10 solos), three sacks, and a pick-six over that span.
While I’m not expecting that kind of stellar production to continue, Van Noy is playing well as of late. Van Noy holds a 77% snap share on the season and the Patriots deploy him both as an off-ball and outside linebacker in their scheme. Depending on your format, Van Noy may have LB and/or DL eligibility. As an LB, I’d view him as an LB4 type and is usable in deeper roster formats. Where he has DL eligibility, I’d definitely give him a bump in value.
Keanu Neal, LB, Dallas Cowboys
Week 11 Stats: 7 tackles (5 solos)
Keanu Neal’s playing time has been all over the place this season. Due to that unknown usage, he’s been unreliable from an IDP perspective. This week, he saw his highest usage of the year playing all 68 of Dallas’ defensive snaps. The reason is, Dallas chose to utilize Micah Parsons exclusively along the defensive line opening up linebacker snaps to be had.
Will this continue? I don’t know for sure, but until Dallas gets some of its pass rushers back from injury it might. It will be important to monitor Neal’s snaps week-to-week as we see how things transpire. That said if Neal continues to see a solid amount of snaps he could be worth a look with byes still hitting.
Alex Singleton, LB, Philadelphia Eagles
Week 11 Stats: 6 tackles (4 solos), 1 QB hit, 1 pass defended
Alex Singleton was a productive IDP player to start the year, but we were always worried he could be replaced. That ended up happening as Philadelphia chose to roll with T.J. Edwards and Davion Taylor as their starting linebackers. Singleton saw his role drastically decrease and so did his tackle outputs.
Unfortunately, Davion Taylor hurt his knee early in this week’s game and was unable to return. This opened the door for Singleton to step in and he ended up playing 58 defensive snaps (89%). Basically, Singleton is only an option if Taylor is forced to miss any time with his knee injury. That said, if Singleton is on your waiver wire and you have to room, he’s worth a look as we see how things shake out.
Defensive Line/Edge
Preston Smith, Edge, Green Bay Packers
Week 11 Stats: 6 tackles (4 solos), 2 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 3 QB hits, 1 forced fumble
With the Green Pay pass rush unit decimated, Preston Smith stepped up his play this week. Although it didn’t equate to a win, Smith had by far his most productive performance of the year on Sunday. Smith was the only Packer edge player to consistently get pressure against Minnesota and he ended up notching his first multi-sack game of the season. Green Bay is going to be continuing to rely on Smith with Za'Darius Smith, Rashan Gary, and Whitney Mercilus all unavailable.
While the matchup against the Rams this week isn’t ideal, it’s the stretch after this week that’s inviting. After Green Bay’s Week 13 bye, Smith has winnable matchups against bottom pass protecting offensive lines in Chicago, Baltimore, and Cleveland. Where Smith has Edge/DL eligibility, he’s a solid waiver wire add.
Trevis Gipson, DE, Chicago Bears
Week 11 Stats: 5 tackles (4 solos), 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 QB hit
The Chicago Bears lost a key piece this week as Khalil Mack is set to have season-ending foot surgery. Sliding into the starting lineup was second-year man Trevis Gipson. Gipson made his third start of the year this week and had a very productive day compiling five tackles (4 solos), two tackles for loss, and a sack.
Gipson played 52 defensive snaps (64%) this week and generated a season-high five pressures, per PFF. With Mack now done for the year, Gipson should continue to see plenty of opportunity going forward. If you’re looking for DL/Edge help, Gipson is definitely worth a look off the waiver wire in deeper leagues.
James Smith-Williams, DE, Washington
Week 11 Stats: 6 tackles (1 solo), 1 tackle for loss, ½ sack, 1 QB hit
The Washington defensive line has suffered two monumental losses recently with Chase Young (ACL) and Montez Sweat (broken jaw) both on IR. Sweat might return later in the year, but Young’s season is over, ugh. Second-year man James Smith-Williams is one player who has been tasked with filling those big shoes.
Smith-Williams has started the last two games and played 79% and 86% snap shares in Week 10 and Week 11, respectively. While he’s by no means on Young’s or Sweat’s level, Smith-Williams should at least see plenty of opportunity going forward. He also has a solid matchup this week against Seattle’s offensive line who have surrendered 33 sacks on the year. If you’re looking for a spot start or depth guy in deeper leagues, Smith-Williams is a name to consider.
Defensive Backs
Eric Murray, S, Houston Texans
Week 11 Stats: 11 tackles (6 solos), 1 pass defended
After taking over the starting safety spot next to Justin Reid in Week 9, Eric Murray was once again in the starting lineup this week coming out of Houston’s bye. Murray has played hefty snap shares in his two starts seeing 96% of the defensive snaps in Week 9 and 94% in Week 10. The way Houston is deploying Murray is also encouraging as he played 50 of his 76 snaps up in the box, slot, and DL this week, per PFF.
Murray has been very productive over the past two weeks amassing 19 tackles (11 solos) and an interception in his two starts. It seems Houston is liking the Murray/Reid duo, which could mean some nice IDP production for Murray down the stretch. If you’re looking for safety help Murray makes for a fine waiver wire pickup.
Will Harris, S, Detroit Lions
Week 11 Stats: 8 tackles (6 solos), ½ sack, 1 QB hit
After seeing a season-low 33 defensive snaps (51%) in Week 8, Will Harris saw his usage jump after Detroit’s bye. In Week 9, Harris played a season-high 81 defensive snaps (93%) and followed that up with 69 snaps (93%) this week. Harris also had his biggest IDP output of the season this week producing a season-high eight tackles and a half-sack.
Harris’ usage lately has also been promising as he’s seen 99 of his 149 defensive snaps up in the box, slot, and DL over his last two games. While his weekly scoring has been up and down this season, hopefully, Harris can string together a productive stretch here. In deeper roster leagues, Harris is worth a look if you need some safety help/depth.
Cameron Sutton, CB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 11 Stats: 10 tackles (7 solos), 1 tackle for loss, 1 interception, 1 pass defended
Cameron Sutton had himself a day IDP-wise this week in the Sunday night shootout against the Chargers. Sutton’s 10 tackles (7 solos) were a team-high and he also added a key late interception. In Week 11, Sutton has another enticing matchup against the pass-happy Cincinnati Bengals. Coming off a big week and with a plus matchup coming up, Sutton is a real solid option in those cornerback required leagues.
Conclusion
First off, I want to give a big thanks to my good friend @JoeyTheToothIDP for filling in for me last week while I was on vacation. Joey crushed it as he always does and gave some fantastic insight. With Injuries and byes continuing to hit, hopefully, we gave you plenty of options to consider the past couple of weeks. Thanks for tuning in and I hope you all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!
To get the low-down on everything IDP relevant from Week 11, make sure you check out Johny The Greek’s “The Monster”!
Thanks for taking the time to read my article, I hope you enjoyed it and found it helpful. You can find my work here at idpguys.org and follow me on Twitter @KBellf54. I’m always available for any questions or feedback you may have and my DMs are always open.
