Denver Broncos linebacker Todd Davis is nowhere near the household name that his colleagues Brandon Marshall or Von Miller are, but we need to be aware of him this week for sure. Davis is playing only 64 percent of the Broncos’ defensive snaps, as he’s getting subbed off the field in passing-down situations. Still, he’s making a solid impact with his limited playing time: he ranks 53rd in tackle rate among the 121 linebackers playing at least 30 snaps per game (just 40th among 57 inside linebackers). That said, he’s averaging 5.1 total tackles per game, which is enough of a floor for us to consider him in a plus matchup.
This should be a fun test of our theory. The New Orleans Saints are one of the most prolific offenses in the league, running the most offensive plays per game (76.9) of any team in the league. That means there will be plenty of opportunities for our Denver IDP players to rack up points, especially in defending the run. Over their last two games, the Saints have run the ball an average 39 times per game, and over the last month that number only drops to 30 rushes per game. The Saints are allowing the lowest stuff rate to opposing defenses, though, so this won’t be a big-play game. Mark Ingram and Tim Hightower rank 38th and 42nd respectively in stuffed rate on their rushes.
Davis is available in 98.6% of ESPN IDP leagues, and we project him for 6.33 tackles, 0.11 sacks, 0.26 passes defended, and a total score of 7.32 fantasy points in Week 10.