NFL
Plugging the Gaps: IDP Waiver Wire for Week 16
A.J. Klein is ready to help you put it all on the line in fantasy championship week.

Robert Ayers, Defensive End

He’s back, baby! I’ve been personally excited for the young pass-rusher in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ rotation -- Noah Spence -- for quite some time, but he is merely the heir apparent to current showstopper Robert Ayers. Ayers was injured for a handful of games, but now that he's back he’ll resume the lion’s share of work.

That’s a good thing for fantasy teams. Ayers’ fantasy points per snap rate is in the top-10 among the 65 defensive ends playing at least 30 snaps per game, thanks to a sack rate that ranks ninth and a second-best quarterback hit rate. His tackle rate is also no slouch, as he’s wrapped up on six percent of his plays, the 27th-best rate. He even has 6.5 stuffs this season. The only downside with Ayers is that he’s been in on 75 percent of the team’s snaps in a game five times in 10 games played. He’s a high-upside situational pass-rusher, but he carries some risk

This week isn’t a pleasant matchup for him, as the New Orleans Saints have allowed a sack rate of 3.8 percent and stuff rate of 6.3 percent -- fourth- and third-lowest in the NFL, respectively. Still, in a matchup where the Saints’ offense is likely to be on the field a ton to keep pace with the Tampa Bay aerial attack, Ayers should have plenty of chances to make a big play or two.

Ayers is available in 95.8% of ESPN IDP leagues, and we project him for 2.20 tackles, 0.43 sacks, and a total score of 3.57 fantasy points in Week 16.

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