NFL Week 8: Fantasy IDP utilization report

• Trade alert: The fantasy implications in Baltimore and the fallout in Chicago from the Roquan Smith trade.
• Leonard returns to Indianapolis: What does Shaquille Leonard’s return to the lineup mean for the rest of the Colts’ linebackers?
• Safety upgrade in Miami: Jevon Holland led the team in tackles this week for the first time all season, which was no mistake and could potentially continue.

Estimated reading time: 40 minutes

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WEEK 8 TAKEAWAYS

Make sure to check out last week’s waiver targets. Some of the key players stood out as potential adds after Week 8 for leagues of all sizes:

Waiver Wire

• LB – Jack Sanborn/Joe Thomas, CHI – Roquan Smith‘s primary replacement should be Sanborn after playing more than Thomas this past week. Thomas can be added in deeper leagues.
• LB – Quay Walker/Isaiah McDuffie, GB – De’Vondre Campbell’s injury could cause him to miss time. Walker should step into his full-time role (barring suspension) and McDuffie would slide into Walker’s secondary linebacker role that averages around 75% of Green Bay's defensive snaps, making him a target in slightly deeper leagues.
• LB – Zach Cunningham, TEN – While Cunningham’s isn’t an every-down linebacker, he’ll have relevance in deeper leagues now that he’s returned from his three-game absence.
• LB – Jamin Davis, WAS – It’s unclear how long Cole Holcomb’s foot injury will keep him out, but Davis is the only Washington linebacker worth rostering for as long as Holcomb is sidelined.
• EDGE – Josh Paschal, DET – The rookie second-rounder has now played over 80% of Detroit's defensive snaps in each of the past two weeks. With Charles Harris sidelined, Paschal is playing enough snaps to fall into some production for fantasy managers in deeper league.
• EDGE – Payton Turner, NO – Turner out-snapped Marcus Davenport for the first time this season and posted a big game as a result. It would be wise to add Turner at a low cost in case this trend continues or Davenport potentially gets traded at the deadline.
• EDGE – Anthony Nelson, TB – With Shaquil Barrett suffering an Achilles injury, Nelson will probably be his replacement. Unfortunately, Barrett’s production is not likely expected to be replicated by Nelson or anyone else on the Bucs’ roster.
• S – Jaquan Johnson, BUF – Jordan Poyer could potentially miss some time due to an elbow injury. Johnson shold step into a full-time role in his stead.
• S – Verone McKinley, MIA – Mckinley moved into Jevon Holland’s deep safety role while Holland moved into Brandon Jones’ vacated box role this week. McKinley would be a deep league add only.
• S – Andrew Adams, TEN – Amani Hooker left this past week’s game due to a shoulder injury, making Adams a back-to-back weekly waiver target.

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JUMP TO A TEAM:

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

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ARIZONA CARDINALS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 0.0% (T-29th)
• Blitz rate: 41.5% (2nd)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

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ATLANTA FALCONS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 0.0% (T-29th)
• Blitz rate: 22.8% (22nd)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

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BALTIMORE RAVENS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 29.7% (1st)
• Blitz rate: 26.2% (18th)

EDGE

• FOOL’S GOLD: Justin Houston landed two sacks this week but isn’t playing nearly enough snaps to be trusted in most leagues. He played 27% of Baltimore's defensive snaps last week and just 35% this week. He can safely remain on waivers in the majority of IDP leagues.

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

• POINT OF INTEREST: This could be the last week of Patrick Queen filling a full-time linebacker due to the Ravens trading for Roquan Smith this week. It’s possible that IDP managers will be able to squeeze another week of usefulness out of Queen while Smith acclimates to his new team, but it’s unlikely to carry on much longer than that. The Ravens are the most dime-heavy team in the league, so there just aren’t many snaps left over for Queen to sustain much fantasy value.

• POINT OF INTEREST: For Smith, he’ll continue to be a volume tackler. The Ravens have been slightly more zone-heavy than the Bears this season, which can help boost Smith’s tackle efficiency on low-opportunity games, but there isn’t a big value swing for Smith in one direction or the other. Barring a massive role change in Baltimore, which isn’t expected, he’ll start every week in IDP leagues.

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

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BUFFALO BILLS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 2.7% (22nd)
• Blitz rate: 13.4% (32nd)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

SAFETY

• INJURY: Jordan Poyer suffered an elbow injury early in the fourth quarter and did not return.
• WAIVER-WIRE: Jaquan Johnson would serve as Poyer's replacement as a full-time safety. Johnson has started two games this season (Weeks 3 and 5), totaling 13 tackles on 118 defensive snaps.

CORNERBACK

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CAROLINA PANTHERS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 0.4% (T-24th)
• Blitz rate: 35.6% (6th)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

• POINT OF INTEREST: Frankie Luvu continued as a part-time player for the second straight week while Shaq Thompson played an every-down role. While Luvu did see an increase in snap share from last week’s 66%, it’s not quite the 90%-plus that he was getting in the three weeks before his injury, which will limit his potential for production.

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

• INJURY: Donte Jackson left this game in the fourth quarter due to an ankle injury and did not return.

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CHICAGO BEARS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 0.4% (T-24th)
• Blitz rate: 16.5% (30th)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

• WAIVER-WIRE: With Roquan Smith getting traded, there’s room for one more full-time linebacker in Chicago next to Nicholas Morrow. Jack Sanborn played the majority of Chicago's defensive snaps in the team’s base package over Joe Thomas, who got into the game earlier — albeit just for one snap. Sanborn is looking like the most likely replacement for Smith but for fantasy teams that have the roster space, Thomas can be added speculatively.
• POINT OF INTEREST: Fantasy managers can trust two full-time linebackers each week on the Bears defense but ranking inside the top 10 in man coverage rate this season has created weeks where their linebackers' tackle efficiency ranks well below average. Smith is the kind of linebacker IDP managers could expect to overcome the defensive scheme, but Morrow, Sanborn and/or Thomas could struggle to produce each week.

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

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CINCINNATI BENGALS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 16.7% (T-7th)
• Blitz rate: 25.9% (19th)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

• DROPPABLE: Akeem Davis-Gaither moved back to third on the depth chart with Logan Wilson back in the lineup. Davis-Gaither was able to fill in while Wilson was out in deeper leagues, but now, his usage will keep him from being fantasy-relevant in most leagues.

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

• INJURIES: Both Chidobe Awuzie (knee) and Tre Flowers (hamstring) left this game due to injuries and did not return. Awuzie has been the Bengals' top corner, and his injury appears to be a significant one. Rookie safety Daxton Hill ended up playing more outside corner in this game due to the injuries.

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CLEVELAND BROWNS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 10.7% (15th)
• Blitz rate: 27.2% (16th)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

• POINT OF INTEREST: Sione Takitaki saw a nice snap increase with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah out for this game. Takitaki had a productive game due to getting the bulk of early down work and defending the run while Deion Jones played most of the crucial passing down work this week. The Browns are entering a bye week, so Takitaki won’t be a waiver priority unless there is news that Owusu-Koramoah is in danger of missing more time.

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

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DALLAS COWBOYS