Plugging the Gaps: IDP Waiver Wire for Week 6
Donald Butler, Strong-Side Linebacker
With starting strong-side linebacker Koa Misi suffering what may be a career-threatening neck injury in Week 3, the Miami Dolphins have been scrambling to find a replacement in their ranks to help patch up an already ailing defensive unit.
Currently, Ourlads.com projects Spencer Paysinger as the next man up, but the snap counts in Weeks 4 and 5 tell a different story: Donald Butler is seeing the lion’s share of time on the field, earning 60 and 61 percent of the team’s snaps in Weeks 4 and 5, respectively. Since taking over the starting strong-side job, Butler has put up 9.0 total tackles and 2.0 tackles for a loss in two weeks -- a fairly solid amount for a part-time early-down player.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are his opponent in Week 6, and they have stayed balanced in terms of play calling (15th in pass-to-run ratio). This won’t be a big play week for Butler -- the Steelers rank in the bottom-10 of the league in both sack rate allowed and stuff rate allowed -- but with Pittsburgh almost certain to jump out to an early lead, they will likely hand the ball off to running back Le'Veon Bell 20 times, giving Butler and the Miami linebackers plenty of volume of tackle chances.
Butler is available in 99.9% of ESPN IDP leagues, and we project him for 6.43 tackles, 0.00 sacks, 0.16 passes defended, and a total score of 6.67 fantasy points in Week 6.
