Week 14 IDP Hits: Saints Could March You to a Title

Stash These Potential Playoff Propellers

Are the Saints really about to matter in your run to a league championship?

Kevin first called attention to the upside -- and proven production -- of the Saints’ team defense in this week’s Expert Moves article. But there’s utility here for your IDP lineups as well.

As my colleague pointed out, New Orleans’ schedule for the fantasy playoffs (weeks 15-17) looks really good for defensive production:

• vs. Carolina
• vs. N.Y. Jets
• at Tennessee

That run not only ranks fourth-best for DST scoring by our adjusted fantasy points allowed. It sits in just the same spot for DL scoring, LBs, and DBs.

Choose Your New Orleans Fighter

Now that we’ve established the positive schedule, let’s dig into who might actually help you close out this title run.

Demario Davis Just Won’t Quit

There’s only one full-time Saints LB right now, and it’s a guy who should probably be retired.

I don’t mean that as a knock on Davis at all. It’s just that the guy is about a month away from turning 37. But instead of moving on to invest in a steakhouse or start his own podcast -- all retired NFL players do at least one of those, right? -- Davis remains New Orleans’ highest-graded run defender (per Pro Football Focus) and easiest bet for fantasy production.

That probably has Davis already rostered if you play in a league of at least moderate depth. But he’s available in 79% of Sleeper IDP leagues as of this writing.

So if Davis does sit available in your league that starts multiple LBs, give him a look for the final three weeks.

D-Line Presents Multiple Targets

Speaking of old dudes still getting it done, I would not have bet on a bounce back from Edge Cameron Jordan in his age-36 season. But the vet has racked up 4 sacks over just his past three games.

That span included just 5 total pressures, according to PFF, which suggests some inflation to those sack numbers. But Jordan also earned his two best pass-rushing grades of the season the past two weeks.

That’s not enough to make me want to tout him vs. the Bucs this week. Jordan didn’t do much against them in their Week 8 meeting and sits low in our Week 14 DL rankings.

But expect to find the vet significantly higher each of the next three weeks.

This Guy Sports the Highest Ceiling

Edge Chase Young sits second on the team in sacks, 1.5 behind Jordan for the season. But he has also played just seven of the team’s 12 games.

Young trails DT Bryan Bresee’s team lead in total pressures by just three for the season. His 3.3 pressures per contest, though, leads the team by a wide margin. He ranks ninth among all edge players in PFF pass-rushing grade, ahead of players such as:

• Maxx Crosby
• Jared Verse
• Nik Bonitto

Young remains a low-end tackle collector, which makes him a boom-bust play in any format and less attractive in systems that favor sack/pressure scoring less. But there’s difference-making upside to his final three games. 

One More Lineman Should Be a Better Play Than He Is

Edge Carl Granderson has sat highest among Saints in our weekly DL rankings all season and remains the most-rostered of the group on Sleeper. But he hasn’t been earning either of those designations recently.

The 28-year-old (29 on Dec. 18) opened the year hot, with 4.5 sacks and 6 tackles for loss over the first four games. But he has none of either since then and nary a QB hit since Week 5. And this is no story of hidden pressure, either.

Granderson tallied 3 pressures in each of the season’s first two games. He hasn’t exceeded 2 since then, while averaging a mere 1.2 per contest.

So I’ve lowered Granderson’s projection for Week 14 amid working on this article, and he’s obviously no lock to produce the rest of the way. But his playing time remains decent, and the matchup upside keeps him in play for deep-ish leagues.

Secondary Could Be Tricky

The matchups look good for New Orleans DBs as well, but the player group reveals no strong IDP bets.

S Justin Reid would be the top play … if he were healthy. But Reid injured a knee on the first play of Week 13. He tried to return, lasted just one snap, and then didn’t practice at all this week.

We’ll see about Reid’s status heading into Week 15, but he doesn’t look like a good bet to be ready.

Watch Reid’s Replacement

The Saints initially played Jordan Howden in Reid’s place, a guy who has given us solid production at fill-in spots in the past. But he played well enough in Week 13 to get yanked in favor of Terrell Burgess, a third-round pick of the Rams in 2020 who has logged just five NFL starts (across three other teams) since.

If New Orleans plays Burgess as a full-timer this week, he could become a sneaky-good option for IDP lineups in Week 15. We love DBs who do enough to stay on the field but bring questionable-enough ability to draw opponent targets.

Jonas Sanker remains locked into the other safety role and has actually seen a higher percentage of his snaps in the box or slot as opposed to deep over the past two weeks. That helps his chances of proving fantasy-viable over the playoff weeks.

There’s upside at the least.

Anything to Target at Corner?

Alontae Taylor’s the easiest bet among Saints CBs. His playing time has fluctuated in the past by virtue of his slot role. But Taylor has graduated to full-time play this season, while remaining the team’s primary slot corner.

He’s an attractive play for CB-specific roles over the season’s final three weeks.

Kool-Aid McKinstry presents more of a boom/bust profile. But he has defensed passes in two straight appearances and leads the team in that category (with 9) for the season.

Keep These Schedule Boosts in Mind As Well

The Saints defense just might present the best combo of favorable schedule and available IDP options. But it’s certainly not the only defense getting a noteworthy bump from upcoming matchups.

Take note of the matchups for these defenses, and their players worth considering …

Giants More Attractive for IDP Use Than Team D

The Giants lead our schedule ranks from Week 15 through Week 17 across defensive positions -- including team defense.

I’m honestly not sure I’d feel comfy starting the Giants DST any of those weeks in a league of 12 teams or fewer, but there are plenty of individual opportunities.

Play the Linemen

Giants D-linemen are too widely rostered in general to qualify as “pickups,” but all the big names will be well worth considering for your starting lineup for at least the Week 16 home date with Minnesota and the Week 17 visit to the Raiders.

LB2 a Definite Maybe

Bobby Okereke will be an easy start, even if he’s no lock to lead Giants LBs in fantasy scoring. That was Zaire Barnes last week, with a huge outing vs. the Patriots. But it was his first start of the season, filling in for Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, who was filling in for Darius Muasau, who was filling in for Micah McFadden. Let’s see who takes that upside role coming out of the Week 14 bye.

Is Tyler Nubin Available?

The safety missed two games with a neck injury before returning to post a nice stat line against the Pats. He sits available in 86% of Sleeper IDP leagues as the Giants hit their bye. If that includes your league (on any platform), consider grabbing a guy with top-10 potential anytime he’s healthy.

Texans Might Not Need Help, But They’re Getting It

The key players should already be rostered here. But be aware of their high-level matchups the rest of the way. That could also elevate LB Azeez Al-Shaair and Houston’s DBs for use in shallower IDP leagues.

Strong Finish for the Cowboys D?

The Dallas defense has played better since the Week 10 bye, thanks primarily to DT Quinnen Williams’ arrival and some key injury returns.

That didn’t prove true Thursday night in Detroit, but those Lions make plenty of defenses look bad. The next three games feature home dates with the Vikings and Chargers, and then a trip to Washington.

So who might that help?

D-Linemen Worth a Look

DT Quinnen Williams has followed a loud first Cowboys appearance (Week 11) with three quiet ones, but he has supplied 5+ pressures in each of those four outings. That makes him worth considering the next two weeks. Same for DT Osa Odighizuwa, who has notched 3+ QB hits in four of his past five contests.

Edge Donovan Ezeiruaku has gone a little quiet lately, with 2 pressures or fewer in three of his past four. But his 5 pressures in the Week 13 win over Kansas reveals that upside remains. Expect to see a projection boost for his Week 15 matchup. Then we’ll go from there. We’ll also see about the health status of Jadeveon Clowney after he missed Thursday night’s game.

There’s an Upside LB -- with Risk

DeMarvion Overshown has quickly jumped to the LB lead, increasing his snap share in every game. Thursday night’s 76% included just one more snap than the previous game’s 70%, though. So there’s a chance Dallas has reached its peak for the ACL returnee. He’s potentially usable in deeper leagues, but don’t overrate that utility.

Looking for a Boom/Bust DB?

By our default scoring, CB Daron Bland has three games of double-digit fantasy points and four games of fewer than 4 fantasy points. All five of his passes defensed have come among his past seven games.

That said, the next three Dallas opponents present volume issues. The Vikings rank 23rd in pass attempts for the season; the Commanders rank 26th. The Chargers sit a much friendlier 12th, but that passing volume has dipped lately. Over the past five weeks, they’ve provided the second-fewest points to DBs. That bodes ill for Bland.

S Donovan Wilson, though, might be worth playing through the risk. He has seen a bit more of his playing time deep vs. in the box lately, with the Cowboys shuffling the rest of the safety rotation. But there are still box and slot snaps involved, giving him some LB-type bump. That helps the matchup upside for all three opponents, who all rank among the top 13 in LB points allowed over the past three weeks.

Your Weekly Payton Wilson Update

This doesn’t necessarily align with the fantasy-playoffs theme. But I said I’d hit Wilson every week, and we certainly can’t stop after he matched his season high in total tackles.

Here are Wilson’s weekly snap shares:

• 87.5%
• 86.2%
• 47.3%
• 86.8%
• 65.9%
• 43.4%
• 67.2%
• 84.6%
• 56.2%
• 75.8%
• 61.5%
• 71.6%

He led Pittsburgh LBs last week, thanks to Patrick Queen leaving early with a glute injury. But he’s off the final injury report and ready to return.

We’ve still got Wilson ahead of Queen in this week’s LB rankings, though. Fingers crossed the the playing time holds up.

Next Up

Week 14 IDP Waiver Wire: Are You Really Breaking Out?

Next Article  

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.