One of the biggest things to think through when sizing up IDP options are the matchups one faces. In the case of Justin Durant, he has possibly the best matchup a coverage linebacker could ask for, with Dallas Cowboys’ starting quarterback Tony Romo out with a broken clavicle and no truly elite running back to wrangle. Brandon Weeden will be Romo’s fill-in, and if history is any indication, he could complete more passes to the opposing team than his own receivers. On top of that, there is no running back on the Dallas roster that has the pure talent to elude Durant’s fair athleticism.
Durant tore his bicep in Week 8 of the 2014 season, but he appears over his injury and has been contributing to the “Legion of Boom South” that Atlanta Falcons’ head coach Dan Quinn installed. He is currently the 23rd-best linebacker in balanced scoring, and put up 13.5 points last week alone.
Durant is available in 95.4% of ESPN IDP leagues, and we project him for around 7 tackles, strong potential for a pass defensed, and a total score of 7.65 balanced fantasy points in Week 3.