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IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 9

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Mon, 30 Oct 2023 . 9:37 PM EDT

Target Matchups and Re-Emerging Players

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.

Kwity Paye, Edge, Indianapolis Colts

Paye opened the season with a sack in each of the first three games. He doesn’t have one since, and that includes a sack-less effort in Sunday’s loss to the Saints. 

But a Week 9 clash with the Panthers has a chance to turn that around. Bryce Young took 6 sacks in a victory over Houston. That marked his fourth game among the past five with at least 4 sacks taken.

Baron Browning, Edge, Denver Broncos

In just his second game back after spending the first six weeks on the PUP list, Browning nearly matched Jonathon Cooper for the playing-time lead among Denver edge players. More importantly, though, he clearly led the pass rush.

Browning racked up 2 of the team’s 3 sacks in the win over the Chiefs and totaled 3 QB hits. Cooper added a half-sack among 2 QB hits. Nik Bonitto led the team with 4 QB hits but posted 0 sacks, tallied just 1 tackle, and trailed in playing time.

Bonitto played 32 snaps to Browning’s 36 and Cooper’s 37.

We’ll see whether Browning stays at this level after the Week 8 bye or continues to ramp up further. But he’s worth grabbing either this week or post-bye.

The Week 10 matchup with Buffalo hasn’t been good for sack production … but neither has the Chiefs matchup.

Cameron Jordan, Edge, New Orleans Saints

Jordan entered Week 8 outside the top 80 fantasy D-linemen. Then he did nothing special in the win over the Colts. That should make him available in plenty of leagues. But why bother picking him up? 

As I mentioned in last week’s IDP Hits, Jordan entered the weekend tied for 16th-most pressures among edge players. That’s a lot better than the mere half-sack he has tallied to this point.

A Week 9 meeting with the Bears just might allow him to put more on the board. Chicago will be rolling with rookie Tyson Bagent for the third straight game. He has taken just 1 sack in each of his first two starts, but he also played the fifth- and sixth-worst defenses in pressure rate, according to Pro Football Reference.

Shaquille Leonard, LB, Indianapolis Colts

Leonard racked up a season-high 11 tackles in Sunday’s loss to the Saints. At least as importantly, he topped 80% playing time for the second time in three games. 

That makes just three times among his seven appearances for the season, and the proximity suggests role growth and/or improved health.

Leonard has also gone from averaging 6.0 tackles over the first three games to 8.3 over the past three. That doesn’t turn him into an IDP stud, but it makes Leonard more startable while we wait to see if he can get closer to his previous production level.

I mentioned back in the Week 6 IDP Hits that DC Gus Bradley had a plan to ramp Leonard up with a target of “sometime November.” Well, the month starts Wednesday.

Jahlani Tavai, LB, New England Patriots

Tavai played a season-high 94% snap share in Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins, thanks to LB Ja’Whaun Bentley leaving early with a hamstring injury.

That marked a big jump over Tavai’s 61% playing time in Week 7 and  beat his previous season high by 18 percentage points.

You wouldn’t know it by Tavai’s stat line. His 7 total tackles and 1 pass breakup made just his fourth-best fantasy score through eight games. 

But if Bentley misses further time – which seems likely, for at least one more game – Tavai would operate as the lead LB against a Washington offense supplying the 10th-most LB fantasy points per game. It’s the No. 1 matchup by our adjusted fantasy points allowed.

Kyle Dugger, S, New England Patriots

Dugger hit Sunday off a disappointing run of production, ranking just 40th among DBs in total fantasy points and just outside the top 80 in points per game.

But then came a big outing against the Dolphins: 

• 8 tackles (6 solo)
• 1 sack
• 1 INT

A Week 9 meeting with the Commanders presents opportunity to keep that rolling. No team has provided a better scoring matchup for DBs so far than Washington.

Keanu Neal, S, Pittsburgh Steelers

Neal got a big boost from S Minkah Fitzpatrick’s hamstring injury against the Jaguars.

Neal had already been significantly involved over the first six games, including five “starts.” But he hadn’t exceeded 70% playing time yet as the third safety – and had only reached that level once.

Neal played 69 of 71 defensive snaps against Jacksonville, though, and tallied a season-high 7 solo tackles. He should be a solid tackle bet again for Thursday night’s home date with the Titans.

More IDP Strategy

Check out this overview of IDP basics and strategy.