Whether you’ve lost players to injury, are looking for a bye week fill in, or simply looking to upgrade your IDP’s, the IDP Waiver Wire is here to help you know who to look for in your leagues waiver claims.
DT Phil Taylor – Browns
I first wrote about Phil Taylor in week 3’s IDP Waiver Wire following a promising start to his NFL career. Since then, Taylor has continued to produce at a high level, ranking 10th among DT’s at rushing the passer (+3.6). Although his play at stopping the run (-2.4) currently prevents him from entering the upper echelons of DT’s, his play to this point has allowed him to consistently rank among the top 10 DT’s for fantasy purposes. Despite this, his ownership is as low as 8.7% in ESPN leagues, which for a solid top 10 option at the position is too low. Taylor’s consistency to this point makes him a solid starter at DT and should be picked up if he is a free agent in your leagues. With the Browns final 7 games including 2 each against the Steelers and Ravens, and one against the Jaguars, Taylor should have plenty of opportunities to pick up tackles against teams that like to run the ball.
DE Greg Hardy – Panthers
Greg Hardy is the second returning player for week 11’s Waiver Wire. He was first mentioned in Week 4, after an impressive opening to his 2011 campaign. Since then Hardy has continued in this strong vein of form, actually ranking above Johnson with an overall +9.2 grade to Johnson’s +8.9. Hardy has also outscored Johnson in fantasy, with his 66 points good for 7th, with Johnson 10th with 59, and leads him in QB sacks, hits and pressures combined with 29 to Johnson’s 27. Despite this, Hardy is owned in only 18.4% of ESPN leagues, compared to 59.2% for Johnson. Now I’m not advocating dropping Johnson for Hardy, as Johnson is the premier player of the two. Despite the lower overall PFF grade, Johnson received a -4.8 grade for penalties which hurts his overall grade (Hardy on the other hand posted a -0.4). However, as with Ray Edwards last for the Vikings the last couple of seasons, playing opposite a DE who is drawing much more attention does allow for players to put together solid fantasy seasons, and Hardy is no exception. Hardy has been consistently inside the top 10 DE’s in fantasy, and while I’d expect him to remain there until the end of the season. You may not get the flashy double digit single game scores you get from some DE’s, but Hardy will score you points every week from the position.
LB Karlos Dansby – Dolphins
Despite a billing as a solid LB3, Karlos Dansby failed to live up to this promise early in the season, posting only 21.5 points through the Dolphins opening 4 games. With his ownership dropping to a mere 10% in ESPN leagues, it seems a lot of owners gave up on Dansby following this slow start. Since the Dolphins week 5 bye however, Dansby has been performing at a very high level and following his 10 tackle, 1 interception and 1 sack (good for 23.5 fantasy points) game in week 10, Dansby has risen to 10th among LB’s. Although many will look at the big one off game as evidence of a “boom or bust” type player, since the bye, Dansby has actually looked remarkably consistent. Posting double digit tackles in 3 of his 5 games since then, Dansby has also come up with 2 sacks, a forced fumble and an interception. His lowest score in the last 5 games is 6.5 for his 6 solo tackles and 1 assist against the Giants in week 8, and is actually coming off back to back 20+ point games against the Chiefs and Redskins. In fact Dansby’s average score for the past 5 games of 14.4 would leave him 1st among LB’s, 2 points higher than current #1 Patrick Willis. If your lucky enough to find Dansby on the Waiver Wire, pick him up and enjoy the resurgence of the self-proclaimed best LB in the NFL.
CB Carlos Rogers – 49ers
Carlos Rogers is another player making his second appearance on 2011’s IDP Waiver Wire. Back in Week 4 I drew attention to the fact that Rogers was playing at a level much higher than in previous seasons with the Redskins, and that if this continued Rogers would be a good addition. Since week 4, Rogers has continued to play at an “elite” level, trailing only Darrelle Revis and Jonathon Joseph in PFF’s coverage ratings among CB’s with +7.9. His 5 interceptions are tied for first in the NFL, and currently rank him as the 10th best fantasy CB. Although his low tackle numbers have held him back from scoring consistently, his remaining schedule should give you reason to think twice about passing over him in this week’s waiver claims. Rogers is currently the 6th most targeted CB, and with divisional games against the Cardinals and Rams (who are likely to be playing from behind for much of the day), along with Baltimore to finish the regular fantasy season, I’d expect this to continue. That schedule then gets even more promising come the fantasy playoffs, with return fixtures against both the Rams and Cardinals, and another divisional game against the Seahawks, along with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He may be a “boom or bust” type player, but Rogers may just “boom” right when you need him too.
S Reggie Nelson – Bengals
Reggie Nelson made last week’s IDP Waiver Wire, and has since seen his ownership drop from 9.1% to 6.8% despite remaining a top 10 option at safety
S Kenny Phillips – Giants
If you have something against Reggie Nelson and are still looking for a safety this week, the Giants Kenny Phillips is playing at a very high level right now. His 46 solo tackles rank him 10th among safeties so far this season, and his overall grade of +7.0 leaves him as the 5th ranked safety in the NFL. Phillips is a great all around safety, posting +4.5 in coverage and +3.5 against the run and has been posting solid contributions all season, with only 2 double digit fantasy scores. Although his big plays have been lacking so far this season, with only 1 interception and 1 forced fumble (both in week 3’s contest with the Eagles), it does mean that his current level of production is seemingly his fantasy floor. If he can start adding the big plays that his level current level of play merits, you could see a lot more from him over the remaining 7 games.
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