NFL Week 7: Fantasy IDP utilization report

• Phillips heating up in Miami: Jaelan Phillips has posted some excellent pass-rush production in back-to-back weeks, making a case for to be considered a weekly starter in most IDP leagues.
• The Browns’ linebacker room experiences another shakeup: Trying to sort out which linebackers to trust in Cleveland with Deion Jones joining the fray and Jacob Phillips suffering a season-ending injury.
• Houston’s linebacker room also gets an added wrinkle: Rookie Christian Harris entered into the fold this week, creating a potential case of subtraction by addition as a team because two full-time linebackers will move to just one full-timer with multiple part-timers.

Estimated reading time: 38 minutes

WEEK 7 TAKEAWAYS

Make sure to check out last week’s waiver targets. Some of the key players stood out as potential adds after Week 7 for leagues of all sizes:

Waiver Wire

• LB – Deion Jones, CLV – Jones made his season debut and played 52% of defensive snaps. Because his snap share will increase as the weeks continue, Jones should be added in most leagues.
• LB – Christian Harris, HST – The Texans rookie linebacker made his NFL debut and stepped right into the team’s secondary linebacker role. His play wasn’t overly encouraging but if the team had faith to play him this much in his first game, there’s a decent shot that his snap share increases going forward. Deeper leagues should focus on Harris as of right now.
• LB – Willie Gay Jr., KC – Gay returned from a four-game suspension and with the Chiefs entering a bye week, there shouldn’t be significant urgency to add Gay, as full-time snaps are not a guarantee going forward.
• LB – Kwon Alexander, NYJ – There may have been an injury to Quincy Williams that IDP managers should be monitoring this week. If he’s going to miss any time, Alexander can be a useful fill-in.
• LB – Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles/Oren Burks, SF – The real move on the waiver wire right now is neither, but there’s a chance either one of these two can fill in for an injured Dre Greenlaw if he misses time. At the very least, these are the names to be monitored as the week progresses if it seems Greenlaw will be out.
• EDGE – Jonathon Cooper, DEN – Cooper played the majority of edge snaps once Baron Browning left this week’s game. Browning is expected to miss multiple weeks and with Randy Gregory still on IR, Cooper is the next man up for those in deeper leagues looking for help.
• EDGE – James Smith-Williams, WAS – There still hasn’t been any significant news on Chase Young’s potential return this season, so Smith-Williams could be of use in a high-volume role in deeper leagues.
• EDGE – Bud Dupree, TEN – Dupree should be the priority add amongst this week’s edge targets on the waiver wire. Dupree missed the team’s Week 5 game but returned this week and landed a sack.
• S – Dean Marlowe, ATL – Jaylinn Hawkins suffered a concussion this week, which could open up a spot for Marlowe to be IDP-relevant in a somewhat fantasy-friendly role.
• S- Eric Rowe/Clayton Fejedelem, MIA – Brandon Jones is now on IR, vacating one of the most IDP-friendly safety roles in the league. This role may be split up amongst multiple players but similarly to the 49ers linebacker situation, if there’s word on one player over the other, they should certainly be worth an add in most leagues.
• S – Adrian Phillips (+ Jabrill Peppers), NE – Kyle Dugger suffered an ankle injury and may not be available next week. Phillips should have a clearer path to production if Dugger misses time. Peppers should also get an increase for a smaller role but in a box-heavy deployment for deeper leagues.
• S – Keanu Neal, TB – Neal is a repeat waiver target from last week but with another injury to a starting safety for the Bucs (Antoine Winfield), Neal can provide some fantasy value in most leagues this coming week.
• S – Andrew Adams, TEN – The Titans have leaned into their dime defense and Adams played enough this week to make a big impact. While Week 7 was almost certainly his best game of the season, if he’s going to play as much as he did this past week, he’ll have IDP value in deeper leagues.

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JUMP TO A TEAM:

ARZ | ATL | BLT | CAR | CIN | CHI | CLE | DEN | DAL | DET | GB | HOU | IND | JAX | KC | LVR | LAC | MIA | NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PIT | SF | SEA | TB | TEN | WSH

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ARIZONA CARDINALS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 0.0% (T-28th)
• Blitz rate: 40.9% (3rd)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

• POINT OF INTEREST: Isaiah Simmons’ snap share continues to fluctuate wildly from week to week, but his time spent in the slot remains about the same, once again lining up in the slot for 44% of his snaps this week. He may not be an every-down player again this season, but he’ll have some usefulness in deeper leagues during bye weeks or in place of an injured starter in fantasy lineups.

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

• FOOL’S GOLD: Antonio Hamilton finished second on the team in total tackles this week with six but played less than 50% of the team's defensive snaps. He was also targeted 10 times in coverage. Hamilton is not a full-time player, playing less than 30% last week, and shouldn’t be trusted in the large majority of IDP leagues.

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ATLANTA FALCONS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 0.0% (T-28th)
• Blitz rate: 23.9% (21st)

EDGE

• ROOKIE WATCH: After playing over 80% of snaps last week, Arnold Ebiketie dipped back down below 55%, leading to a goose egg in the box score.

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

• ROOKIE WATCH: Troy Andersen started in a full-time role in Week 6 but with Mykal Walker back in the lineup, he was relegated to the team’s base package only. Andersen did play significantly more snaps than the team’s third linebacker has played all season, but it’s not quite enough to be relevant week to week in most IDP leagues.

SAFETY

• INJURY: Jaylinn Hawkins suffered a concussion in this game and did not return. He is expected to miss Week 8.
• WAIVER-WIRE: Dean Marlowe was the next man up for the Falcons, and with Richie Grant playing less in the box in recent weeks, Marlowe could be useful for teams in a pinch.

CORNERBACK

• INJURY: A.J. Terrell suffered a knee injury in the first quarter and did not return. He is currently considered “week to week”.

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BALTIMORE RAVENS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 27.4% (1st)
• Blitz rate: 27.7% (17th)

EDGE

• HIDDEN GEM: Odafe Oweh was left out of the sack parade on Jacoby Brissett this week, but he was arguably the team’s most effective pass rusher, earning a 90.2 pass-rush grade while leading the team with five pressures.

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

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CAROLINA PANTHERS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 0.4% (T-24th)
• Blitz rate: 33.6% (T-9th)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

• POINT OF INTEREST: Frankie Luvu returned to the lineup this week but did not return to the full-time role that he had before his injury. There’s likely a chance that Carolina was easing him back in his first game back from injury. His playing time will be worth monitoring in Week 8 because playing under 70% of the team's defensive snaps isn’t going to cut it in most IDP leagues.

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

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CHICAGO BEARS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 0.4% (T-24th)
• Blitz rate: 16.3% (29th)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

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CINCINNATI BENGALS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 17.6% (6th)
• Blitz rate: 25.1% (19th)

EDGE

• INJURY: Trey Hendrickson suffered a “stinger” in the third quarter of this game and did not return. He is expected to be OK for Week 8.

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

• POINT OF INTEREST: Germaine Pratt stepped into an every-down role in Logan Wilson’s absence. Wilson has a shot to return in Week 8, but the Bengals play on Monday night, so IDP managers might not know for sure until late in the week.

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

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CLEVELAND BROWNS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 9.7% (17th)
• Blitz rate: 29.9% (12th)

EDGE

• POINT OF INTEREST: Jadeveon Clowney returned to the lineup this week but played behind Alex Wright on early downs. This could be another case of a player being eased back in coming off an injury.

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

• POINT OF INTEREST: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah led the Browns’ linebacker in snaps this week after finishing third on the team last week. The Browns may still use him situationally, which makes him a risky play because those situations are difficult to predict.
• INJURY: Jacob Phillips tore a pectoral muscle and is now out for the season.
• WAIVER-WIRE: Deion Jones played his first game with the Browns this week, and his role should be expected to increase going forward, especially with Phillips done for the year. The Phillips injury could also be a benefit for Owusu-Koramoah due to the risk that he and Sione Takitaki could rotate situationally.

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

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DALLAS COWBOYS