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IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 16

Don't Overlook Recent Production

You'll find this week's list of IDP waiver wire pickups littered with players who have delivered numbers recently ... while remaining available at surprising rates.

If you play in a moderately deep league, then you might also not find anyone actually available to you. That's for good reason.

This isn't the time to second-guess what got you here. Don't overrate matchups in relation to steady producers.

Of course, IDP leagues vary widely by depth, scoring rules, and lineup settings. So to get the best measure of who to pick up in your league, check your Free Agent Finder.

Quinnen Williams, DT, New York Jets

If you play in a DT-required league, then you’re probably rolling your eyes right now. And you should be. This recommendation isn’t for you.

Williams looks good this week as a general DL target. He has delivered a pair of QB hits in three straight games and seen no decrease in playing time or production as this season has slipped away from his Jets.

Now Williams gets a Washington offense that has thrown the league’s most passes and allowed the third-most sacks.

Last week marked just the second time all year that the Commanders have held an opponent to fewer than 3 sacks.

Baron Browning, Edge, Denver Broncos

Browning supplied 3 sacks over his first three starts after missing the first six games on IR. He has gone quiet statistically since then, collecting just a half-sack over his past four outings. But the playing time and hidden production have still been there.

Browning played a season-high 60 snaps (91% of the team total) in Saturday’s loss to the Lions. He has topped 70% playing time in three straight, following three other games in the 65-67% range.

The third-year edge also has QB hits in five of his seven starts and generated 9 total pressures over just the past two games, according to Pro Football Focus.

This week finds a Patriots offense that has ramped up its sacks allowed over the past five weeks. After yielding 18 over the first nine games, New England has allowed another 18 over just the past five contests.

Browning carries multi-sack upside into Week 16. And it’s an upside spot for teammate Jonathon Cooper as well.

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Cleveland Browns

JOK sits on a roster in just 17% of Sleeper IDP leagues, which means a lot of teams have been missing out on his production over the past six weeks.

Owusu-Koramoah’s playing time rebounded from 50% in Week 9 to 81% in Week 10 and has stayed up since. Over that span, he ranks second only to Denver’s Alex Singleton in fantasy points among LBs (depending on your format).

This week’s opponent, Houston, has been up and down as a scoring matchup for the position. But JOK’s strong playing-time and cross-category scoring ability makes him a weekly play.

Jordan Hicks, LB, Minnesota Vikings

We’ll have to watch Hicks throughout the week before determining whether he’ll be usable in our Week 16 lineups.

The Minnesota LB is being designated to return from IR after four games down with a shin injury. HC Kevin O’Connell said Monday they’ll have to see how ready Hicks is through practice reps this week. But O’Connell also indicated he’s excited to get the defense’s “heart and soul” back.

If Hicks is physically ready, that description certainly points to him likely reclaiming playcalling duties in the huddle and a full-time role.

Before his injury, Hicks was scoring at a top-6 rate among LBs in balanced-scoring IDP formats.

Elandon Roberts, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Roberts finds himself rostered in just 24% of Sleeper IDP leagues, but he has been delivering steady LB2 production since teammate Cole Holcomb went down.

Since Week 10 – the first game without Holcomb – Roberts ranks 19th among LBs in scoring. And that’s despite leaving Week 13 less than a quarter of the way through with a groin injury.

Roberts rebounded from that to deliver 6 tackles, a sack, and a pass defensed the following Thursday night. And then he tallied 9 tackles (8 solo) and a QB hit in Saturday’s loss to the Colts.

He’s still merely on the LB2-3 fringe in our Week 16 rankings for a Bengals matchup that afforded Roberts just 6 tackles in the first meeting. But Cincinnati barely had the ball in that game, rushing 11 times and completing only 19 passes.

The three Bengals opponents since have totaled four LB lines of 9+ total tackles and 6+ solos.

About Last Week

Let's see who among our Week 15 IDP waiver suggestions still makes sense ...

• The past three weeks have seen Jonathan Greenard deliver 1, 2, and 2.5 sacks. If D-linemen make sense for your league, then Greenard should be starting for someone.
• Carl Granderson has a sack in two straight games and 4 QB hits over the past three. He's dealing with a shoulder injury this week but managed a "limited" designation on Monday's practice report. That suggests he'll be fine for Thursday's game.
• If you picked up Samson Ebukam or Kwity Paye last week, you did so with this week's Atlanta matchup in sight. Enjoy.
• Kaden Elliss isn't a high-level option and got LB Nate Landman back in the lineup last week. Landman, in fact, got a boost in playing time. Elliss remained ahead of him but has been a just-OK tackle producer all year. He's an OK option this week as well, if that's what you need.
• Ivan Pace Jr. racked up 9, 9, 13, and 9 tackles in the four games Jordan Hicks has spent on IR. Hicks might be ready to play this week, though, which casts doubt on Pace's role. That doesn't mean it's time to drop the rookie, and he might still be a pickup if you need LB help. But if Hicks is ready, Pace's Week 16 could include a significant playing-time decrease.

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.