This is it, the final week of the regular season. Some of you may be competing for a fantasy championship, so despite a general distaste for Week 17 fantasy championship playoffs (seriously, just end the season with Week 16 in the future), here is the final IDP Report for the 2018 season. Good luck in all your fantasy sport efforts, and remember, keep coming back to our site for advice for all your fantasy sports needs.
Elevator Going Up
Linebackers
Patrick Onwuasor BAL
Onwuasor is coming off a huge day against the host Chargers, collecting a pair of sacks to go with his nine total tackles (TT), eight of those being of the solo variety. He has a good matchup in Week 17 with the Browns coming to visit, and he has racked up 3.5 of his 5.5 sacks on the season over the last four games.
Eric Wilson MIN
Wilson started in place of Eric Kendricks in Week 16 against the Lions, and had nine TT (eight solo) with three of those being for a loss of yards (TFL). Kendricks is listed as questionable for Week 17’s tilt against the visiting Bears, so Wilson should see significant snaps on defense for another game.
Genard Avery CLE
Avery has a good matchup against the Ravens this upcoming week, and did collect a sack in Week 16. He is the starting weakside LB on an up and coming team, and looks to be on the field a ton for Week 17 against Baltimore.
Defensive Linemen
Darius Philon DE LAC
The Chargers are playing for a division title, and while they could be sitting starters, it seems likely that their defensive linesmen will see their usual slate of snaps. Philon picked up a sack last week, to go with his five TT (three solo), and while the Broncos are not a great matchup, expect the possibility of playoff advantage with a victory to spur the Charger IDPs on to strong play.
Chris Long DE PHI
Long has a chance to start at right DE for the Eagles in our nation’s capital in Week 17, and is coming off a two sack effort against the Texans this past weekend, and also forced a fumble (FF) in that contest. The Eagles are playing for their playoff life, and should take it to the host Washington offense.
Davon Godchaux DT MIA
While the Dolphins have no playoff expectations, look for them to plug their starters in for the bulk of the snaps on defense in Buffalo. He had a big effort against the Jags in Week 16 with six TT (four solo). He has had the occasional big tackle game this season, although it is his playing time that makes him a possible plug-in in DT-mandatory leagues.
Defensive Backs
Darqueze Dennard CB CIN
Starting left cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick is questionable for Week 17 with a shoulder issue, leaving Dennard in place to continue his strong play in the defensive backfield for the Bengals. This week’s opponent, Pittsburgh, is a great matchup, and Dennard projects as a fine tackle-producing DB for the regular season finale.
Kevin Byard S TEN
Byard has a great matchup, facing the Colts who rank second in terms of allowing points to opposing safeties on the season. He has been putting up good tackle numbers all season, and has increased his big-play production of late, with four pass deflections (PD) and two INT over the past two weeks.
Marlon Humphrey CB BAL
The Ravens are at home and playing for a victory that will allow them to clinch a division title. The Browns are a top-10 team with regard to allowing fantasy points to opposing cornerbacks in 2018. Baker Mayfield , helming the Browns, is a good bet to put up an INT and Humphrey has shown an affinity to pick off the errant pass with an INT in each of the past two games.
Escalator Going Down
We will take a different approach in Week 17. Instead of suggesting IDP to avoid plugging in, instead the approach is to avoid playing those defensive players on teams that have nothing to gain by playing their starters. This week, that means the Panthers, Cowboys and Saints (even with Jerry Jones promising that Dallas will play to win). Also, be wary of relying on any IDP on the Chiefs, Texans, Chargers, Rams, Bears and Seahawks, all of whom could pull their starters early depending on game flow.
Matchups to Exploit
Remember, the first team listed is the one to use your IDPs against. Do not go crazy, and play a LB5 against the Bills, but certainly you will do well if you own a top CB on either the Falcons or Buccaneers or a LB, DL or S against the 49ers that you can plug in this week, for the most part.
Linebackers
Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo
Los Angeles Rams vs San Francisco
Houston Texans vs Jacksonville
Defensive Ends
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Houston
Kansas City Chiefs vs Oakland
Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay
Defensive Tackles
New York Giants vs Dallas
Arizona Cardinals @ Seattle
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Houston
Los Angeles Rams vs San Francisco
Safeties
Los Angeles Chargers @ Denver
Tennessee Titans vs Indianapolis
Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington
Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh
Los Angeles Rams vs San Francisco
Cornerbacks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Atlanta
Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh
Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay
Waiver Wire Targets
This section is intended to serve as a shortened cheat sheet listing those waiver wire targets you should be considering if you need to plug a hole in your starting lineup. All these players are spotlighted above, and you can read my comments about them in the "Elevator Going Up" section of this article. Not all the players commented on are here, however, as there is no need to waste your time searching for players that are heavily owned. This group consists of those that you may have a chance of locating on your league's waiver wire in that they are owned in significantly less than 50% of leagues. Happy claiming for your weekly matchups.
Linebackers
Patrick Onwuasor BAL
Eric Wilson MIN
Genard Avery CLE
Defensive Linemen
Darius Philon DE LAC
Chris Long DE PHI
Davon Godchaux DT MIA
Defensive Backs
Kevin Byard S TEN
Marlon Humphrey CB BAL
Darqueze Dennard CB CIN
Ouch (My Aching Roster)
All the injury reports below need evaluation prior to kickoff. Teams are notoriously sketchy about injury reports, and we often do not know a player's status until just before game time. Consider the list below as a "heads up" as to what is going on early in the week, and should not be considered definitive.
Linebackers
Deion Jones ATL foot
Terrell Suggs BAL hamstring
Julian Stanford BUF ankle
Shaq Green-Thompson CAR shoulder (IR)
Aaron Lynch CHI elbow
Jordan Evans CIN ankle
Vontaze Burfict CIN concussion
Xavier Woods on-Luster CLE neck
Tanner Vallejo CLE hamstring
Sean Lee DAL hamstring
Shane Ray DEN illness
Clay Matthews GB back
Benardrick McKinney HOU foot
Brian Peters HOU undisclosed
Matthew Adams IND groin
Anthony Walker IND shoulder
Dee Ford KC knee
Matt Longacre LAR illness
Kiko Alonso MIA knee
Eric Kendricks MIN hamstring
Brandon King NE knee
B.J. Goodson NYG foot
Alec Ogletree NYG concussion
Josh Martin NYJ concussion (IR)
Jordan Jenkins NYJ ankle
Kevin Pierre-Louis NYJ shoulder
Jeremiah Attaochu NYJ concussion (IR)
D.J. Alexander PHI hamstring
Vince Williams PIT toe
Mark Nzeocha SF groin
Malcolm Smith SF Achilles
K.J. Wright SEA knee
Brian Orakpo TEN elbow
Ryan Anderson WAS hamstring
Defensive Linemen
DE
Benson Mayowa ARI back
Markus Golden ARI ankle
Fadol Brown GB toe
Christian Covington HOU knee
J.J. Watt HOU knee
Jabaal Sheard IND teeth
Andre Branch MIA knee
Mario Edwards NYG calf
Michael Bennett PHI foot
Frank Clark SEA elbow
Dion Jordan SEA knee
Carl Nassib TB shoulder
Jason Pierre-Paul TB knee
Jurrell Casey TEN knee-MCL (IR)
Matthew Ioannidis WAS hamstring
DT
Kawann Short CAR calf
Bilal Nichols CHI knee
Larry Ogunjobi CLE biceps
David Irving DAL ankle
Tyrone Crawford DAL neck
Damon Harrison DET ankle
A’Shawn Robinson DET knee
Ziggy Hood MIA hamstring
Linval Joseph MIN knee
Mike Pennel NYJ teeth
Maurice Hurst OAK ankle
Fletcher Cox PHI hip
Shamar Stephen SEA foot
Jarran Reed SEA oblique
Gerald McCoy TB shoulder
Defensive Backs
S
Budda Baker ARI knee
Anthony Levine BAL toe
Eddie Jackson CHI ankle
Quandre Diggs DET back
DeShawn Shead DET knee
Charles Washington DET hamstring (IR)
Kentrell Brice GB ankle
Andre Hal HOU ankle
Mike Tyson HOU concussion
Kayvon Webster HOU thigh (IR)
Kareem Jackson HOU knee
Malik Hooker IND hip
Clayton Geathers IND knee
Lamarcus Joyner LAR ankle
T.J. McDonald MIA ankle
Walt Aikens MIA hand
Marcus Sherels MIN foot
Vonn Bell NO quadriceps
Corey Graham PHI illness
Sean Davis PIT quadriceps
K’Waun Williams SF knee
Bradley McDougald SEA knee
Tedric Thompson SEA ankle
CB
Tavon Young BAL groin
Ryan Lewis BUF concussion
Tony McRae CIN hamstring
Dre Kirkpatrick CIN shoulder
Denzel Ward CLE concussion
Anthony Brown DAL back
Brandon Langley DEN concussion
Jamal Agnew DET knee
Jaire Alexander GB groin
Will Redmond GB shoulder (IR)
Johnathan Joseph HOU neck
Quincy Wilson IND calf
A.J. Bouye JAX toe
Xavien Howard MIA knee-meniscus
Xavier Rhodes MIN groin
Trumaine Johnson NYJ undisclosed
Morris Claiborne NYJ shoulder
Gareon Conley OAK concussion
Daryl Worley OAK shoulder (IR)
Sidney Jones PHI hamstring
As ever, good luck and Godspeed in your fantasy efforts. Make sure to read all of our great articles to help you win your fantasy match ups every week and ultimately bask in championship glory.FANation Chat is now live on the site, to help you work through your fantasy football dilemmas. Or if you have any fantasy football questions, especially about IDP leagues, you can also send a message toia@fantasyalarm.com for a personal response from the writer of this article. Naturally, the more detail you can send about your league, such as number of teams, platform you play in (Yahoo, ESPN, etc.), scoring and roster system, the better the ability to provide accurate advice.