Week 7 IDP Hits

By Matt Schauf 11:25am EDT 10/23/22

The Texans and Giants each have edge questions to answer after placing key players on short-term IR this week.

First came Jonathan Greenard for Houston. He’s expected to miss 4-6 with a calf injury. That likely means significantly more playing time for veteran Mario Addison going forward. He made his season debut in Week 5 (before the bye) and played 64% of defensive snaps. Only Jerry Hughes played more among edge guys (1 more snap). Rasheem Green trailed them at 61%.

Green has gotten off to a nice start in his 1st year with Houston. The last game marked his largest snap share, but his playing time has been above 50% every week. And he delivered at least a half-sack in each of his 1st 3 games, with 5 total QB hits over that span.

Hughes has been boom/bust, with 2-sack games vs. the Colts and Bears but near-empty stat lines in the other 3 contests.

Addison hasn’t generally been a good bet for stats in his career, with limited tackles and sacks.

The Giants have also lost Azeez Ojulari to a calf injury for at least the next 4 games. That leaves Jihad Ward as likely a full-time player oppoosite Kayvon Thibodeaux today against the Jaguars. Oshane Ximines will factors in as well going forward, but he’s out today with a quad injury.

Thibodeaux – unsurprisingly – is the most intriguing player here. The 5th overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft has already climbed above 80% playing time the past 2 weeks. He notched his 1st NFL sack last time out and has 11 total pressures over the past 3 games.

Elsewhere on the Giants defense, Landon Collins will make his return. A career safety, Collins appears headed for more of a LB role in his return tour with the team that drafted him. We’ll see just how much playing time lies ahead. For now, try not to use any Giants LBs in IDP lineups.

Other notes:

LB Deion Jones will make his Browns debut today against the Ravens. I haven’t seen his role for this game specifically laid out. But LBs coach Jason Tarver said late in the week that Jones will likely take over calling the plays “soon.” I’ve gone ahead and replaced Jacob Phillips – who has been calling defensive signals … and playing poorly – with Jones in the Week 7 IDP rankings.
Falcons rookie LB Troy Andersen racked up 13 tackles last week and flashed the speed that got us going at NFL Draft time. But Mykal Walker is back this week, and HC Arthur Smith says don’t get carried away with the new toy:
- "I know everybody gets all excited and giddy inside because they haven't seen enough of a new young player and get all warm and fuzzy about a draft pick, what they could potentially be but we're happy with Troy's progress," Smith said. "But I've been very, very pleased with Mykal Walker, so we'll find ways to get good football players out there if they're going to help us. How that's going to look this week may be different from what we've shown in the past, but we'll find a way."
We’ll see whether Andersen cuts into the snaps of Walker or Rashaan Evans.
Cardinals LB/slot CB Isaiah Simmons reminded us all of his speed by claiming Andy Dalton’s 2nd pick-6 in Thursday night’s Arizona win. But beware Simmons’ fluctuating playing time as he potentially tempts you from the waiver wire this week. Here are his snap shares by game, starting with Week 1:
- 87%
- 22%
- 33%
- 83%
- 92%
- 63%
- 75%
Also beware of the effects of Dalton’s gifts on the matchup numbers for DBs and LBs against the Saints going forward. New Orleans did hit Week 7 as a top-5 scoring matchup for DBs, supplying solo tackles, defensed passes and INTs at rates well above league average. The Saints have been a middling matchup for LBs, though, providing solos at a below-average rate and assists right at the league median. It’s also worth noting here that Simmons has been playing more slot corner than anything else for Arizona. So his numbers from Thursday night would be better placed in the DB bucket (but they’ll go with LBs).
Seahawks LB Cody Barton fell to a season-low 39% playing time in the Week 6 win over the Cardinals. Seattle leaned more on nickel and dime packages, with Jordyn Brooks as the lone LB. Don’t be surprised if that becomes the norm for a struggling defense. Barton has also not played very well.
Chargers S Nasir Adderley reclaimed his starting job from Alohi Gilman last week, playing every snap against the Broncos.
We might just be able to count on the playing time for Dolphins S Brandon Jones. There are just 2 playing-time dips among his 6 games, with 1 the Week 4 contest he left early for a chest injury. Jones has played 97% and 92% of snaps the past 2 games and gone 90%+ in 4 of 6 contests.
In Baltimore’s 1st game after S Marcus Williams landed on IR, Chuck Clark was the only safety to play more than 75% of snaps. He played every snap. Behind him were: Geno Stone 75%, Kyle Hamilton 45%, Brandon Stephens 29% and Ar’Darius Washington 18%.