Week 6 IDP Hits: Do Broncos Even Need This Reinforcement?

Let’s Break Down Jonathon Cooper’s Return

Josh Jacobs wasn’t the only fantasy-relevant player to come off the commissioner’s exempt list Friday.

Broncos Edge Jonathon Cooper got the same treatment from the NFL, making him eligible to return for the Week 7 game at Arizona. And the particulars of his case might push any potential further discipline to next year.

Criminal-Case Delay Puts Onus on the League

Cooper’s facing five charges related to domestic violence, stemming from a pair of June incidents that involved his ex-girlfriend. That includes a charge of felony second-degree assault -- strangulation.

But a Colorado judge issued a continuance last Monday that pushes the next court date from Nov. 10 to Feb. 23, with his jury trial scheduled to begin in early March.

The NFL said it will “continue to investigate and monitor Cooper’s legal matter until it is resolved,” according to Mike Klis of 9News in Denver. We’ll see exactly what that means, but I wouldn’t expect any further league action until after the case gets tried in the offseason.

Unlike Jacobs’ case, there’s no lingering question over a potential video of the incident to complicate the league’s commonly shallow decision making (i.e. trying not to “look bad” over actually caring about the people involved).

Expect IDP Impact from Cooper

Barring further discipline from the NFL, we should expect Cooper to return to the field as soon as he’s physically ready. And there’s no reason he shouldn’t be at full strength.

The time away might leave the sixth-year edge needing some ramp-up time to his usual snap count, but we should be able to assume that he kept himself in shape unless we hear otherwise.

Cooper finished each of the past three seasons among the top 36 D-linemen in total fantasy points, posting 8+ sacks in each campaign with some fluctuation in the turnover categories.

Last year found his playing time dipping to 60.7% vs. snap shares of 74.0% and 71.0% the previous two years. His solo tackles decreased in turn, knocking him into DL3 territory after two straight seasons in the top 16.

That’s where we should set our expectations for 2026 Cooper, but there’s also a chance his playing time dips further.

Edge Jonah Elliss has climbed to a 57.6% snap share in his third season, up from 37.6% and 38.3% his first two years. He has primarily played from the left side, the way Denver deployed Cooper the past two years. Cooper has been the more effective rusher between them, but Pro Football Focus rated his pass-rush productivity narrowly ahead of Elliss’ last season (7.7 to 7.6).

We’ll see about the playing-time specifics as Cooper re-integrates. Elliss has supplied just 1 sack and 12 total tackles through six games, though, so he has yet to sport much IDP relevance.

Cooper’s an OK add in deeper leagues but not a must-grab.

Broncos D Likely to Get Boost

Denver’s defense has already looked healthy the past two weeks, racking up 5 sacks and 3 takeaways in two straight games while posting double-digit fantasy scores. And the unit’s about to gain strength.

The Broncos sit a decent 10th in the league in sack rate, but that 7.7% trails behind rates of 10.3% and 9.4% the past two years, each of which led the league. And here’s how the overall pressure rates have looked, according to Pro Football Reference:

• 2024: 27.7% (second in the league)
• 2025: 30.5% (second)
• 2026 24.2% (tied for 17th)

Cooper should only help that area. Combine that with the impending return of lead CB Pat Surtain II, and the Broncos look like a top-3 fantasy defense the rest of the way.

A Week 7 visit to Arizona looks nice, though more challenging spots vs. Kansas City and at Carolina sit beyond that.

Here’s Why Micah Parsons Won’t Face Cowboys

If you’re a fan of narratives, then you’re probably disappointed that we won’t get Packers Edge Micah Parsons on the field for this week’s clash with his old team. It sounds like he’s close, but we also don’t have clarity yet on when we’ll get a full Parsons.

Here’s what he said on his podcast earlier this week:

Parsons also indicated that WR Christian Watson has been “a good friend” during Parsons’ recovery. Watson tore an ACL in Week 18 of the 2024 season (Jan. 5) and then returned for Week 8 of the following season. He made it through the final 11 games of 2025 (including the playoff loss) without lower-body issues.

Parsons’ injury came a little earlier, Dec. 14 of last year (Week 15). No two injuries or player bodies are exactly the same, of course, but Watson’s timeline plus general ACL recovery timelines signal that we should be nearing a Parsons return.

How much playing time he’ll see upon that return will likely remain a mystery until the star edge takes the field.

If you’ve been holding Parsons in a redraft IDP league this long, try to stay patient. Now’s also a decent time to stash him, where he’s available and you have the room to reasonably do so.

Green Bay’s bye doesn’t come until Week 11. Upside sack matchups with the Patriots and Vikings precede that.

Here’s Why You Can Already Dump a Certain Packers LB

I already addressed Isaiah McDuffie in the Week 6 waiver wire article, but he’s worth a recap here in case you missed that one.

McDuffie looked like the fill-in after Edgerrin Cooper tore an Achilles’ tendon in Week 4, but the next game instead found third-year LB Ty’Ron Hopper coming kinda out of nowhere.

The former third-round pick played just six total snaps through this season’s first four games, 28 fewer than McDuffie, who had operated as the No. 3 LB. That wasn’t shocking after Hopper played just 18 total snaps in his rookie season and 11.3% of the defensive snaps in his second year, less than a quarter of McDuffie’s playing time.

But Week 5 gave us Hopper beating McDuffie 39-32 in total snaps and earning a better PFF coverage grade. HC Matt LaFleur and DC Jonathan Gannon have each indicated over the past couple of weeks that Hopper has improved in all areas.

So expect this split to continue, perhaps even leaning more toward Hopper if the younger guy continues to impress.

I wouldn’t plan to start either Green Bay LB in IDP lineups this week, but I would feel comfy dumping McDuffie for someone else.

To’oTo’o Ready to Go’o

Houston LB Henry To’oTo’o is officially questionable for Sunday morning’s international game against the Jaguars. But Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston says he’s “set to play.”

To’oTo’o has been out since suffering a shoulder injury in the Week 1 loss to Buffalo, but the team designated him to return this week. To’oTo’o remained limited Wednesday but put in full workouts Thursday and Friday.

It appears we should expect the fourth-year LB to get back to his near full-time role and re-enter the LB3 mix for IDP lineups. Check the Week 6 LB rankings to see how high he climbed.

More Week 6 LB Injury Questions to Watch

Let’s run through some other noteworthy “questionable” LBs and try to plan their usage:

• Browns LB Carson Schwesinger looks iffier than To’oTo’o after managing just one practice following his Week 5 ankle sprain. But I can’t count him out after he played through almost the exact same situation last year. In that case, he sustained a high-ankle sprain in Week 8, got a Week 9 bye, and then missed practice Wednesday and Thursday. But Schwesinger played Week 10 in full and didn’t miss a game until the season finale. He’ll carry some risk if active this Sunday, but I can’t tell you to fully bench him. Some dudes just care more about football than their own well-being. He’s got less recovery time in this case, but it’s also a less-severe (Grade 1) sprain. Schwesinger’s elevated risk helps the tackle upside for LB Quincy Williams.
• Buccaneers LB Josiah Trotter popped up on the injury report after apparently hurting a knee in Friday’s practice. I’m not seeing any details beyond that, but it’s especially worth watching because Trotter sat out Week 3 with a knee injury. We’ll see about his status ahead of the first set of Sunday afternoon games.
• Chargers LB Daiyan Henley’s officially questionable for Sunday’s late-afternoon visit to the Chiefs after going limited throughout the practice week on his own knee issue. As is usually the case with defenders, there’s not much detail available on his outlook. But Henley played 95% of the snaps last week, a season-high rate and his second-largest snap total (59) so far this season. I’m guessing he’ll be ready.

Falcons Present a Pair of Young LBs Worth Watching

The Falcons sport a pair of intriguing rookie LBs … though it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to use either one in our fantasy lineups this season.

Fourth-round pick Kendal Daniels registered 8 tackles (7 solo), a sack, and a pass defensed in Sunday night’s OT loss to the Ravens. That doubled his previous tackle high for the season and more than doubled his previous top fantasy output. But it came on just a 66% snap share. Worse, here’s how his first five weeks have gone in that category:

• 67%
• 62%
• 38%
• 39%
• 66%

I’d rather he settle at either of those rates instead of vacillating, especially with no clear catalyst for the fluctuations (other than potentially the specific matchups).

Sixth-rounder Harold Perkins, meanwhile, delivered a strong Week 4 line: 10 tackles (7 solo), a QB hit, and a pass defensed. His weekly snap shares:

• 34%
• 39%
• 65%
• 70%
• 33%

Clearly, the two rookies are tied together in their deployment. But it’ll be tough to know exactly how that will look week to week. And even if we gained clarity on that, the 65-70% range that looks like the high point when both are healthy isn’t a trustworthy range for most IDP formats.

So let’s watch for any injury that might alter the playing time for either guy. And keep both Perkins and Daniels in mind as upside LBs for 2027 and beyond.

Who Belongs in Your IDP Lineup?

Have trouble figuring out which IDPs to get into your lineup each week? The Team Intel page combines our 3D Projections with the specifics of your situation to give you a clear picture every week.