Plugging the Gaps: IDP Waiver Wire for Week 8

​Corey Liuget, Defensive End

There is no love for the 3-4 defensive end in IDP leagues, and that bias is something we need to get over in our leagues today. I know, a few years ago we were supposed to avoid them at all costs -- they mostly worked in two-gap fronts, meaning they were dedicated to protecting two holes between offensive linemen to keep the running game at bay. This kind of prevention usage kept their big-play stats down; if they were holding the line of scrimmage, they weren’t getting into the backfield and tackling for a loss or sacking the quarterback. The San Diego Chargers, fortunately, are not forcing their defensive ends into a ridiculously antiquated system, allowing rookie Joey Bosa to terrorize the pocket weekly.

That means his bookend, defensive end Corey Liuget, also gets to blitz, but the fact that he’s playing opposite a pass-rushing force in Bosa means that teams will double-team Bosa and allow Liuget to stay off of extra blocking attention. He isn’t a big-play maven, with no sacks and three stuffs this season so far, but he has three quarterback hits in the last four weeks and could see one of those sacks get home sooner or later. If nothing else, teams will start adjusting to the Chargers’ new, threatening presence on the line in Bosa and shift Liuget’s way on runs, allowing more tackle chances.

This is as good a week as any for both tackle volume and a chance for a sack. The Denver Broncos are allowing the 10th-highest sack rate in the league, though they stymied the Chargers’ pass-rush when they last played in Week 6. They should also be relying on the run a ton in this matchup, as they passed 25 times in Week 7, but ran it 34 times. These are both good opportunities for points for Liuget.

Liuget is available in 95.8% of ESPN IDP leagues, and we project him for 3.08 tackles, 0.07 sacks, and a total score of 3.97 fantasy points in Week 8.