Individual Defensive Player (IDP) has to be my favorite format in fantasy football. If you’ve felt satisfaction at a job well done with just offensive players, there’s truly nothing else like getting to field a full team – offense and defense – on the virtual gridiron and watching them grind your best friends into dust. You may not realize, but IDP have been in the fantasy game since the original fantasy league was formed back in Oakland in 1962, with two defensive back/linebacker slots and two slots for defensive linemen. IDP are an institution in fantasy football, and we aim to treat them as such in this column.
Each week this season, in honor of the four-IDP requirement in the OG fantasy league, I will identify four targets widely available on waiver wires (15% or less rostership on Yahoo!) that you should be aiming for in your IDP leagues. These recommendations are based on a balanced 3:1 big play-to-tackle scoring ratio. We’ll examine their matchups and their snap count trends while helping you figure out the best fit for your IDP rosters.
It’s the Week 11 IDP waiver wire. Here are your four targets.
Daron Payne, DL, Washington Commanders
at Houston Texans
Roster Percentage: 12%
Washington Commanders defensive lineman Daron Payne is one of the every-down interior defenders currently thriving in the NFL. Not many of the Vince Wilfork-type big men have a place in the modern, pass-heavy league, but Payne (only one inch taller and five pounds lighter than Wilfork) still warps space around him in the trenches. Payne has played more than 85% of the Commanders’ defensive snaps while still playing a significant special-teams role too.
This has also paid off in terms of production considering Payne hasn’t had a game with fewer than three total tackles in 2022. He has a pressure in every game but one, and he is averaging a tackle for a loss per contest. At a position known for its fantasy flukiness, Payne is averaging 8.1 points per game as the DL15 and DT6.
Even better, this week pits him and the Commies against the Houston Texans, who are allowing the seventh-most fantasy points on average to defensive tackles. Over the last three weeks, interior stars Jeffery Simmons, Javon Hargrave, and Dexter Lawrence posted an average of 4.7 tackles, 2.0 tackles for a loss, and 1.7 sacks against the Houstonians. These kinds of numbers are well within reach for Payne in Week 11, whose 29 pressures tie for the 11th-highest among interior defensive linemen.
Our model projects Payne for 4.2 tackles and a 35% chance for a sack for 5.5 fantasy points and a high-end DL2 projection. Against such a run-focused team with a vulnerable interior offensive line, Payne makes for an excellent, high-floor stream-and-start option.
Jack Sanborn, LB, Chicago Bears
at Atlanta Falcons
Roster Percentage: 7%
I assumed that there would be points to be had in the Chicago Bears’ linebacking corps once Roquan Smith was traded at the deadline. I didn’t assume, however, that it would be undrafted rookie Jack Sanborn who would be doing the having of those points (the grammar there works, I promise) -- and I definitely didn’t assume he’d be doing it in this stylish of a fashion.
Through two weeks without Smith, Sanborn has averaged an 89% snap share in the Bears' defense. That has led to him racking up a whopping 19 tackles (17.9% tackle rate), as well as two sacks and two tackles for a loss in last week’s game alone. That’s right, an undrafted rookie is averaging 14.8 IDP fantasy points per start, and that guy is still available in most of your leagues. The ex-Wisconsin Badgers middle man is a one-man wrecking crew and proving why Chicago may have been smart to move their defensive star Smith.
Week 11 brings another choice matchup for Sanborn to make a case for a starting job in 2023, too. Chicago heads to visit the Atlanta Falcons, a team that ranks second-lowest in pass rate over expectation. The Falcons are pounding the ball with their backfield and quarterbacks, which means Sanborn should be able to play downhill and get even more big-play points in this contest. Just look to the Falcons’ recent opponents, who have averaged 10.3 tackles and 2.0 tackles for a loss per game over the last three weeks, and you’ll see why I’m so excited about the rookie’s potential in this game.
Our model projects Sanborn for 6.8 tackles, a 45% chance for a sack, and a 25% chance for a pass defended, leading to 8.7 fantasy points this week. Sanborn comes in as a low-end fantasy LB2 in Week 11, but his performance last week showed his high-end upside in a defense with few other playmakers.
Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Dallas Cowboys
at Minnesota Vikings
Roster Percentage: 8%
From a run-heavy opponent to one of the pass-happiest now, I’m recommending you play an off-ball linebacker against the Minnesota Vikings. I know, it’s not a good feeling; Minnesota allows the third-fewest points to the linebacker position in fantasy this season, and individual ‘backers have averaged about five tackles per game against the Vikings since their Week 7 bye.
The upside here, though, is that they have also accrued four tackles for a loss or sacks in that span, which does give some hope for a fantasy ceiling. In addition, only one of the six starting off-ball ‘backers in those three weeks had fewer than five tackles, which is a solid-enough floor, and that can rise in a context where the favored Vikings should be ahead and will run out clock on the ground.
Enter Leighton Vander Esch of the Dallas Cowboys.
LVE, as he is affectionately known, seemed like he was playing himself out of the lineup last year. He was brought back on a one-year “prove it” contract, and he has done so, playing 85% of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps as a nearly full-time player. His 12.1% tackle rate is nothing to sneeze at, either, as he is averaging 8.0 tackles per game over the last month. He’s not likely to blow anyone away with his big-play numbers, but he’s a high-floor option who should be in your lineup as a stabilizing force on most weeks.
Our model projects Vander Esch for 6.9 tackles, totaling in 7.7 fantasy points. He comes in as a low-end LB3 in fantasy this week, with his low-downside appeal largely a factor of consistent starter-level snaps and a likely negative game script.
Kerby Joseph, DB, Detroit Lions
at New York Giants
Roster Percentage: 2%
Every time we find an under-rostered defensive back who hits, it feels amazing. This position is so deep every season that you don’t have to invest a ton in it in order to get good results; just think of how many weekly successes we’ve had this year alone thanks to streaming.
Our next player targeted in this low-rent streaming process is Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph. Joseph is a third-round rookie out of Illinois who saw no defensive snaps before Week 4 until Tracy Walker went down for the season with injury. Since then, Joseph has averaged a 93% snap share per game while playing 29.2% of his snaps in the box, slot, or on the defensive line. That role isn’t perfect for our purposes, but Week 10 saw his close rate jump to 39.3% percent, which might be a sign of things to come.
Over his last four games, he has really taken off in production, averaging 7.0 tackles and 1.0 takeaway forced per game. As running-mate DeShon Elliott put it after Joseph’s 10-tackle, 2-interception Week 9: “He’s a big ass athletic freak kid.” The numbers concur.
This week, Joseph and the Lions will face the New York Giants. On the season, New York has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to the safety position. Over their past three weeks, opposing close safeties have averaged 8.7 tackles, 0.7 tackles for a loss, and 10.5 fantasy points per game against the Giants. New York is only favored by three points here, but if they get out in front and start running out the clock, Joseph could get a chance to creep up to the line more often and help staunch the bleeding.
Our model projects Joseph for 5.8 tackles, a 50% chance for a pass defended, and a 14% chance for an interception, totaling 7.0 fantasy points. He’s a strong fantasy DB2 in this matchup, but he has a lethal combination of snap share and matchup in Week 11. If his role shift sticks or improves, it could push his upside into no-doubt starter territory.