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IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 8

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Mon, 23 Oct 2023 . 5:01 PM EDT

Injuries and Matchups Present Opportunity

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.

Josh Sweat, Edge, Philadelphia Eagles

Sam Howell looks determined to shatter the NFL sack record. He took another six of them in Sunday’s loss to the Giants. 

Next comes a Philly pass rush that’s capable of creating problems even for less-generous offenses – like the Dolphins on Sunday night.

Haason Reddick should already be on a roster in just about any league where it makes sense. Sweat entered Week 7 outside the top 40 in fantasy points per game, though, which should make him more available. 

His 2 sacks against Miami marked his best fantasy outing so far this season. But Sweat collected 4+ pressures in three straight contests before that one.

Rashan Gary, Edge, Green Bay Packers

Gary’s 4.5 sacks through six games has been pretty good, considering he’s coming off a November ACL tear. But 66.7% of those sacks came in the Week 3 victory over the Saints. Gary doesn’t have more than 1 QB hit in any other contest.

Sunday, however, marked a potential turning point. After slowly building from a season-opening 16% snap share to a season-high 47% in Week 5, Gary came out of the bye to play 68% at Denver.

That jumps him back into the range of last year (61-88% over his eight healthy games). Even before that, Gary was working on a career-best 25.6% pass-rush productivity (pressures per pass-rush snap), according to Pro Football Focus.

If your league favors sack and pressure scoring over tackles, Gary could be ready to make a significant second-half impact. If your scoring is more balanced, though, expect him to be boom/bust. (Tackle-leaning scoring? He’s not worth it.)

Drue Tranquill, LB, Kansas City Chiefs

Nick Bolton’s expected to miss the next two months after dislocating his right wrist Sunday against the Chargers. That should make Tranquill a full-timer for the same span.

Tranquill garnered full-time duty for the previous three games Bolton missed after spraining an ankle. After 82% playing time in the blowout win over Chicago, he played every snap of the next two contests.

NFL Network’s James Palmer said Tranquill impressed Chiefs coaches “to the point they’ve been trying to find ways to get him on the field after Bolton returned.”

Tranquill had QB hits in four of the past five games, including two games he didn’t start. Interestingly, the only time he didn’t register a hit in that span came against Minnesota, when he spiked to 13 pass-rush opportunities. 

According to Pro Football Focus, Tranquill hasn’t seen more than four in any other contest. His usual 3-4 pass rushes have been enough to add some upsidce, but that would increase further if K.C. lets him blitz more often.

Nate Landman, LB, Atlanta Falcons

Landman tallied a season-high 12 tackles in Sunday’s win over the Buccaneers, nearly 19% of the team’s total. Just five of those were solos, and that’s how Troy Andersen’s fill-in has leaned so far. 

Landman now sports 24 solos and 20 assists for the season. He’s an option only for leagues that favor tackle scoring. 

Week 8 opponent Tennessee hasn’t been a positive scoring matchup for LBs overall. But the Titans have allowed five LB lines of 9+ tackles through six games. That included three such totals among just the past two games.

One more caution: Landman’s 76% and 77% snap shares the past two games mark his lowest among five starts this season. If that drops any further, he’ll be tough to play in IDP lineups.

Jamin Davis, Washington Commanders

Davis had already seen his playing time climb to 80% and then 90% over the previous three weeks. Sunday’s loss to the Giants saw his role grow further.

Davis played all but 1 snap in a game LB Cody Barton left in the first quarter. Barton sported a walking boot afterward on the left ankle he hurt.

If Barton misses further time, Davis should see full duty. He hasn’t been a safe bet for tackle production but did see a season-high eight pass-rushing opportunities in the first meeting with Philadelphia.

Kenny Moore, CB, Indianapolis Colts

Moore isn’t likely to repeat his stat line from Sunday’s loss to the Browns: 

• 10 tackles (7 solo)
• 1.5 sacks
• 3 tackles for loss

But that actually marked his second straight game with 3 TFLs and his fourth straight with at least 5 solos. Next comes a matchup with the Saints, which should at least mean plenty more opportunities.

The Colts and Saints entered Week 7 ranked fourth and fifth – respectively – in situation-neutral play pace.

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