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IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 7

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Tue, 17 Oct 2023 . 2:12 PM EDT

Emerging LBs Ready to Help Your Lineup

This list of IDP waiver wire pickups is sorted by position, and then by priorty.

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.

It's the best fantasy football waiver wire assistant you'll find.

Kayvon Thibodeaux, Edge, New York Giants

If you read last week’s IDP Hits, then you shouldn’t have been surprised to see Thibodeaux go quiet in Sunday night’s Buffalo matchup. Josh Allen took just 9 total sacks through the first five games, and 5 of those came in the opening loss to the Jets.

Now comes Washington, though, the Make-A-Wish Foundation for opponent pass rushers.

QB Sam Howell’s record sack pace most recently allowed 5 sacks to an Atlanta defense that has just 5 other sacks through its other five games. Through six games, Washington opponents are averaging 5.67 sacks against them and just 2.03 vs. everyone else.

If Thibodeaux’s already rostered in your league, consider this a recommendation for teammates Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence as well.

Devin Lloyd, LB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Lloyd returned from his thumb injury for Sunday’s win over the Colts and delivered 9 tackles (7 solo). That trailed Foye Oluokun’s 15 but still accounted for 13% of the team’s total tackles and 16.7% of Jacksonville’s solos.

Lloyd also defensed a pair of passes on a day that included 55 Indy pass attempts. 

The most important takeaway from the performance was Lloyd reclaiming his full-time gig after allowing Chad Muma to fill in the previous two weeks.

Blake Cashman, LB, Houston Texans

We’ve previously included rookie LB Henry To’oTo’o in this space. Sunday confirmed that Cashman has joined To’oTo’o in the team’s new top 2 at the position. 

Denzel Perryman returned from his hand injury for limited playing time in Week 5. Then he was a healthy scratch for Sunday’s win over the Saints. 

Cashman, on the other hand, racked up a game-high 15 tackles, including two for loss. He also defensed a pair of passes. 

That aspect has likely been key to Cashman overtaking Perryman. We mentioned in the Week 6 IDP Hits that Cashman has graded much better than Perryman in coverage to date.

Dorian Williams, LB, Buffalo Bills

We pondered in IDP hits whether Tyrel Dodson or A.J. Klein would fill in for Matt Milano. Answer: Neither.

This rookie third-rounder started next to Terrel Bernard against the Giants and played 84% of the defensive snaps. Dodson played just 4 snaps. Klein was a healthy scratch.

Williams posted strong college numbers as a three-year starter at Tulane, including 27 career tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, and 13 passes defensed. Then he delivered a 92nd-percentile speed score in pre-draft testing.

The rookie notched a QB hit to go with 10 tackles against the Giants. He sports a little upside in that area, but logged just two total pass-rushing chances in his first start. So let’s watch that aspect but not yet factor it into his outlook.

Week 7 sports a New England offense that’s struggling as much as any in the league.

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Cleveland Browns

If you’ve been a DS Insider over the past few years, then you know I’ve been waiting for this guy to pop since he entered the league as a second-round pick in 2021. It hasn’t really happened yet – at least not with meaningful consistency.

That’s why JOK sits fourth among LBs in this list. But he makes the article for his latest glimmer of hope.

Increased Playing Time

Owusu-Koramoah has logged his two largest snap totals of the season the past two weeks, getting 79% playing time in each contest. That easily led Browns LBs this past Sunday, when Anthony Walker (71% the previous game) left with a concussion.

JOK took advantage, supplying a sack among 3 tackles for loss in the win over San Francisco. He also added a second QB hit and defensed a pass.

Through five games, he already has a career-high 8 tackles for loss. And Owusu-Koramoah is working on positive PFF grades in run defense, coverage, and overall play.

Devon Witherspoon, CB, Seattle Seahawks

Witherspoon has now delivered three straight quality outings in varied ways. 

Before the Week 5 bye, he tallied 11 tackles (8 solo) and defensed a pair of passes against Carolina. Then came a huge fantasy line against the Giants: 7 tackles (6 solo), 2 sacks, and a pick-6. That performance was easy to attribute to a terrible Giants offense. 

But Witherspoon defensed a season-high three passes in Sunday’s loss to the Bengals. He has at least one of those in every game so far and is averaging 1.75 per outing. 

Witherspoon leaped way up our Rest of Way rankings this week and should consistently show up higher in our weekly rankings.

Julius (JuJu) Brents, CB, Indianapolis Colts

Brents’ INT among 2 passes defensed in Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars highlighted what has been a helpful IDP profile through four weeks.

The second-round rookie didn’t open the season in the lineup but has stepped in after fellow rookie Dallis Flowers suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon.

Brents has tallied 24 tackles (20 solo) over the past four weeks, with 3 passes defensed, an INT, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

Since he entered the lineup in Week 3, only seven corners have seen more targets than Brents.

More Week 7 Waiver Wire Picks

Matt and Jared run through the top waiver wire targets on offense for Week 7 in this video, including streaming options at QB and defense.