This article is part of our IDP Analysis series.
With rosters of all shapes and sizes, IDP advice can be a bit tricky, so the purpose of this article is to point out players whose values are elevated for the upcoming week. Some of these players will be superstars, while others will be players found on many waiver wires. We'll look at team positional groupings, based on the potential for a favorable game script. Whether you're streaming IDPs each week or have a stocked roster, this "one size fits" all approach will hopefully help most everyone find a weekly edge.
Linebackers
Giants (vs. Bills) – Lorenzo Carter, Alec Ogletree, Tae Davis and Kareem Martin (questionable)
With both of the offenses in this game perfectly content to run the football and play in a low-scoring game, the Bills will be able to turn to their trio of Devin Singletary, Frank Gore and T.J. Yeldon. Since the Giants will likely have difficulty putting up points against the stout Bills defense, it wouldn't be a surprise if Buffalo ran the ball nearly 40 times, making this a potentially big day for the New York LBs.
Bills (vs. Giants) – Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milano and Lorenzo Alexander
As mentioned above, this contest has the makings of a very conservative battle, and the Giants should have no issues taking the ball out of Eli Manning's hands and giving the Bills a heavy dose of Saquon Barkley. New York should be able to keep this game from getting
With rosters of all shapes and sizes, IDP advice can be a bit tricky, so the purpose of this article is to point out players whose values are elevated for the upcoming week. Some of these players will be superstars, while others will be players found on many waiver wires. We'll look at team positional groupings, based on the potential for a favorable game script. Whether you're streaming IDPs each week or have a stocked roster, this "one size fits" all approach will hopefully help most everyone find a weekly edge.
Linebackers
Giants (vs. Bills) – Lorenzo Carter, Alec Ogletree, Tae Davis and Kareem Martin (questionable)
With both of the offenses in this game perfectly content to run the football and play in a low-scoring game, the Bills will be able to turn to their trio of Devin Singletary, Frank Gore and T.J. Yeldon. Since the Giants will likely have difficulty putting up points against the stout Bills defense, it wouldn't be a surprise if Buffalo ran the ball nearly 40 times, making this a potentially big day for the New York LBs.
Bills (vs. Giants) – Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milano and Lorenzo Alexander
As mentioned above, this contest has the makings of a very conservative battle, and the Giants should have no issues taking the ball out of Eli Manning's hands and giving the Bills a heavy dose of Saquon Barkley. New York should be able to keep this game from getting out of hand, and that should allow the Bills LBs to be quite busy.
Dolphins (vs. Patriots) – Raekwon McMillan, Jerome Baker, Charles Harris and Sam Eguavoen
It seems pretty obvious that Miami is tanking this season, especially after giving up more than 50 points to the Ravens last week. There aren't many scenarios in which the Pats don't have this game well in hand by halftime, and even though this is a divisional contest, Miami simply lacks the horses to keep up with the potent Pats offense. Expect New England to give each of their RBs plenty of carries in what should be a blowout win, and the Miami LBs should be pretty tired after the final whistle from chasing around RBs.
Pass rushers
Ravens (vs. Cardinals) – Pernell McPhee, Matt Judon and Patrick Onwuasor
After the Lions were able to sack Kyler Murray five times in a road game in Week 1, the Cardinals will bring their struggling OL, which will be without RT Marcus Gilbert again this week, to Baltimore. The Ravens should be able to score enough points to give them a lead, which should in turn allow the pass rush to get turned loose for a big day.
Panthers (vs. Buccaneers) – Mario Addison, Bruce Irvin (questionable), Brian Burns and Kawann Short
Another team that has a struggling OL is the Bucs, and with Bruce Arians looking to attack defenses vertically, there'll be plenty of opportunities to get after Jameis Winston. In a game that could easily shoot out, there's a strong likelihood Winston has to drop back more than 40 times, which bodes well for the Carolina pass rush.
Cowboys (at Washington) – DeMarcus Lawrence, Tyrone Crawford and Maliek Collins
Yes, the theme this week is attacking the weak OLs of teams that also have a good chance of trailing on the scoreboard, and that's exactly what we can expect in Washington. Once Case Keenum finds himself playing from behind, the Dallas pass rush is sure to have him on his heels, as Keenum's likely about to get sacked quite often by the strong Dallas pass rush.
Defensive backs
Eagles (at Falcons) – Ronald Darby, Avonte Maddox, Sidney Jones and Rodney McLeod
After the Falcons laid an egg in a tough spot at Minnesota last week, they come home to face a Philly defense that has a rock-solid front seven but a marginal secondary. With Devonta Freeman likely to have his hands full again this week, this is a great spot to get Matt Ryan going as Atlanta tries to avoid going 0-2. Don't be surprised to see Ryan fire up at least 40 passes and repeatedly test the Philly secondary.
Vikings (at Packers) – Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, Mike Hughes (questionable) and Anthony Harris
With Aaron Rodgers looking quite rusty in the season opener, the PacJersey will have had about 10 days to get ready for the Vikings. Even though Aaron Jones is a solid RB, the stout Minnesota defense will likely force the Packers into more passing situations than they'd prefer. But not to worry, Rodgers will be more than willing to take his shots and go after this tough secondary, which should allow these DBs to have a productive day.
Falcons (vs. Eagles) – Desmond Trufant, Isaiah Oliver, Damontae Kazee and Ricardo Allen
Since it seems probable that the Falcons will attack the Eagles' secondary, this game could easily turn into a major shootout. Even though the Philly rushing attack is good, their bread and butter is the passing attack, so look for Carson Wentz to go toe-to-toe with Matt Ryan and fill the air with footballs. That should result in the Falcons pass defense to be chasing down WRs and TEs all day.
