Adjusting to the weekly lineup management as you travel the fantasy football trail in 2022? It is difficult dealing with bye week absences, to go with the usual injury departures of trusted IDP. If it was easy to win at this challenge, it would not mean quite so much when you host the trophy at the end of the season, though, would it? Keep plugging away and striving for the championship, and consider some of the players profiled below to shore up your rosters.

 

 

 

Bye Weeks Coming Up:

  • Week 7 - Buffalo, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota, Philadelphia
  • Week 8 - Kansas City, Los Angeles Chargers
  • Week 9 - Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, New York Giants, Pittsburgh, San Francisco (six teams — YIKES!)

 

NFL IDP Report - Week 7

Elevator Going Up - Linebackers

Kayvon Thibodeaux, New York Giants (DE only on ESPN, DE/LB on Yahoo)

Coming off a preseason injury, his playing time (PT) has been increasing and so has his production off the edge. He had a strip sack last week to go with his three total tackles (TT), all solos. He contributed a forced fumble (FF), too and should not be sitting on your league’s waiver wire any longer.

 

Troy Andersen, Atlanta Falcons

Picking up 13 TT (seven solo) while playing 100% of the snaps on defense in Week 5 should help increase his ownership. The rookie made the most of his time filling in for the injured Mykal Walker in Week 6 against the visiting 49ers, and the trade of Deion Jones should help keep the youngster on the field

 

Elandon Roberts, Miami Dolphins

Roberts is a steady performer, who surprised with 1.5 sacks against the Vikings. It is more his solid tackle numbers that recommend him as an IDP asset, however, and he collected seven TT (three solo) last week, with one for a loss of yard (TFL), and a couple of QB hits/hurries (QH) to add to his one-week big play production.

 

Willie Gay, Kansas City Chiefs

Gay is back in uniform after serving his four-game suspension, and has a good matchup on the road in San Francisco in Week 7. He is a solid tackler and offer some big play potential, too, having accumulated two PD over his first two games this season.

 

Elevator Going Up - Defensive Linemen

Charles Omenihu, DE San Francisco 49ers

Despite the return of Nick Bosa, Omenihu should continue to see significant time on the field, and is working on a three-game sack streak. Facing the Chiefs at home is a decent matchup.

 

Efe Obada, DE Washington Commanders

Obada had a nice stat line in Week 6, picking up a sack, a trio of QH, a PD and four TT (two solo, one TFL). He should continue to see PT with Chase Young’s return up in the air for the present.

 

Quinnen Williams, DT New York Jets

Williams is working on a five-game streak where he has collected at least a partial sack, and had two to his credit in Week 6 against the Packers. Five TT (four solo, two TFL), three QH and a FF demonstrate what sore of value he has a DL, let alone as a DT in leagues that mandate that position in your starting lineup.

 

Derrick Brown, DT Carolina Panthers

The Carolina offense is not exactly a juggernaut this season, especially with the recent trade of Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers, so the defense is going to be tested a whole lot this season. Brown appears up the task, having collected six PDs on the season so far, and is coming off a seven TT effort (three solo), with a half sack tacked on for good measure in Week 6. 

 

Elevator Going Up - Defensive Backs

Malik Hooker, S Dallas Cowboys

The upcoming matchup against the visiting (and struggling) Lions is promising, and he is coming off a double-digit solo tackle effort (10 solos on 12 TT to be exact).

 

Ryan Neal, S Seattle Seahawks

He has stepped into the starting role for the injured Jamal Adams on the Seahawk defense, and collected seven TT in Week 6 (six solo, one TFL). He was also putting up big play production with a QH, a PD and a FF. 

 

Rayshawn Jenkins, S Jacksonville Jaguars

Jenkins is putting in more time on the field of late, and is coming off an eight TT game (seven solo). He is playing primarily in the box/slot area on defense, which should allow him to continue to produce for those who are in need of a tackle-producing safety.

 

Justin Simmons, S Denver Broncos

Simmons is back in active mode for the Bronco defensive backfield, and he collected nine TT in his first game back (five solo). He is a prime under-owned safety to snatch up before his production wakes up your competition to his value. 

 

Tariq Woolen, CB Seattle Seahawks

Woolen snagged yet another INT in Week 6, the consecutive game he has managed that feat. He also had seven TT (five solo) and tossed in a PD and recovered a fumble (FR) against the visiting Cardinal offense while playing all the snaps on defense.

 

Coby Bryant, CB Seattle Seahawks

The upcoming matchup against the Chargers looks positive for the Seahawk CBs (including Woolen profiled immediately above). Bryant is not being used as an every down player in the backfield, but is contributing big plays, with four FF over the previous five contests, and also has a sack on the season. 

 

 

 

Escalator Going Down - Linebackers

Darius Harris, Kansas City Chiefs

Harris saw time on the field with Willie Gay serving his suspension, but that is now over and done with, and thus, his PT is likely to take a hit. He was a good fill in, but now is time to move on.

 

Damien Wilson, Carolina Panthers

Another player who was an effective stopgap, but with the Frankie Luvu potentially returning to action, now is going to see a reduction in PT and fantasy value. 

 

Escalator Going Down - Defensive Linemen

Trevis Gipson, DE Chicago Bears (LB/DE on Yahoo)

After another unsatisfactory effort in Week 6, where he put up a goose egg in the tackle column, he has lost all IDP utility, despite the dual position eligibility on Yahoo.

 

Escalator Going Down - Defensive Backs

Marlon Humphrey, CB Baltimore Ravens

Once an IDP fixture, the Ravens corner is providing only minimal production these days, with just five TT over the past three weeks. That is not sufficient to justify a roster slot on your team.

 

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 Chargers or Bengals but certainly you will do well if you own a top DB on the Titans you can plug in this week, for the most part.

 

Inside Linebackers

  • Los Angeles Chargers vs Seattle Seahawks
  • Indianapolis Colts @ Tennessee Titans
  • Las Vegas Raiders vs Houston Texans
  • San Francisco 49ers vs Kansas City Chiefs

 

Outside Linebackers

  • Cincinnati Bengals vs Atlanta Falcons
  • New England Patriots vs Chicago Bears
  • Las Vegas Raiders vs Houston Texans
  • Jacksonville Jaguars vs New York Giants

 

Defensive Ends

  • Tennessee Titans vs Indianapolis Colts
  • Atlanta Falcons @ Cincinnati Bengals
  • Carolina Panthers vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • New York Jets @ Denver Broncos

 

Defensive Tackles 

  • Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens
  • Green Bay Packers @ Washington Commanders
  • Washington Commanders vs Green Bay Packers
  • Jacksonville Jaguars vs New York Giants
  • New York Giants @ Jacksonville Jaguars

 

Safeties

  • Green Bay Packers @ Washington Commanders
  • Miami Dolphins vs Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Indianapolis Colts @ Tennessee Titans
  • Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens

 

Cornerbacks

  • Detroit Lions @ Dallas Cowboys
  • Indianapolis Colts @ Tennessee Titans
  • Pittsburgh Steelers @ Miami Dolphins

 

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. 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

 

Defensive Linemen

 

Defensive Backs

 

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

 

Defensive Linemen - DE

 

Defensive Linemen - DT

 

Defensive Backs - S

 

Defensive Backs - CB

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. If you have any fantasy football questions, especially about IDP leagues, you can also send a message to ia@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.

 

 

 

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