It seems like every down inside linebackers have been dropping like flies recently. A week ago it was Ray Lewis and D.J. Smith who landed on injured reserve, and this week it is Jon Beason and Sean Lee. On the other hand a number of players returned from injury or suspension. Add in a few players who saw a surprise role change, and you get a busy week for the IDP Snap Report.
Luke Kuechly/Thomas Davis/James Anderson
Now that Jon Beason is out for the year, the situation in Carolina has become clearer. Luke Kuechly has played every down over the last two games. He has played better in recent weeks than the beginning of the season, so he will be a quality fantasy player for the rest of this year and years to come. James Anderson and Thomas Davis will both play in the base defense and share time with the nickel defense. All three players are worth considering against run heavy teams.
Bruce Carter/Dan Connor
With Sean Lee out for the year, Bruce Carter now becomes an every down player. He typically came out for the dime defense, so with more snaps Carter should be making a few more tackles per game. Dan Connor will go from limited playing time to playing most snaps with the exception being the dime defense. Connor showed flashes of being a strong fantasy performer with Carolina, so it’s worth keeping an eye on.
Brad Jones/A.J. Hawk
When D.J. Smith exited the Texans game with an injury, A.J. Hawk became an every down player, while Brad Jones played with the base and nickel defense. However last week against the Rams, it was Jones who became the every down player. While he only had two tackles last week, Jones is bound to have a bigger fantasy impact now that he is an every down player. While this move should disappoint Hawk owners, I don’t think the Packers will use much if any dime defense against the Jaguars, and without Charles Woodson the Packers could also use less dime. This means Hawk will be close to playing every down anyway.
Pat Angerer/Kavell Conner/Moise Fokou
Angerer made his season debut, and played in 23 of a possible 62 snaps. He took playing time from Kavell Conner and Moise Fokou who both had been seeing time at inside linebacker. This basically means that all three Colts players basically have no fantasy value unless one player emerges as the clear starter and gets most of the playing time. The only one who benefits fantasy-wise from this is Jerrell Freeman who remains an every down player for the Colts.
Jasper Brinkley
After being an every down player for the last several weeks, Brinkley played in just 60 of 74 snaps this past game. The reason for that is late in the Cardinals game they used a dime defense to go against the Cardinals four receiver sets. Prior to this game the Vikings didn’t use a dime defense. If this was a one time thing, than Brinkley’s fantasy value is fine. If this becomes a bigger part of their defense, then Brinkley’s fantasy value will suffer. Either way, it’s something to keep an eye on for the future but for now I would proceed in starting Brinkley if you have been with caution.
Dont’a Hightower
After not playing since Week 4, Hightower returned and played in 36 of a possible 84 snaps. During that time he recorded six tackles, or a tackle every six plays. If he sees his snaps increase, then he is certainly worth a look at with how often he makes tackles. Not that Rob Ninkovich and Jermaine Cunningham were making much of a fantasy impact prior to this, but there value is even lower now.
Jonathan Vilma
Week 7 saw the return of Vilma from suspension. In that time he played in 18 of a possible 75 snaps, which isn’t enough time to give him much fantasy value. Scott Shanle and Jonathan Casillas also saw 18 snaps, while Will Herring had two. Like the last few weeks, the only Saints linebacker with much fantasy value is Curtis Lofton who remained an every down player even though Vilma returned. I wouldn’t expect Vilma to make much of a fantasy impact this season assuming he can play in more games unless he sees a big increase in playing time or if there is an injury to Lofton.
Demario Davis
This Jets rookie linebacker saw six tackles against the Patriots after seeing just two the previous five games. However it is too early to jump on the Davis bandwagon. He is seeing snaps mostly with the nickel and dime defense, which the Jets used basically the whole game against the Patriots. The only time he will likely see this playing time again is next time they play New England, so that will be the only game he has fantasy value again unless he starts taking playing time from Bart Scott.
Lorenzo Alexander
Once London Fletcher went down with an injury, Alexander took over his job at inside linebacker after playing outside linebacker on and off earlier on in the game. London Fletcher has a history of playing in every game, but if he does miss next week Lorenzo Alexander is a quick one week fix.
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