Reading the Defense, Week 3

Tripp Brebner III's Reading the Defense, Week 3 Tripp Brebner III Published 09/23/2022

Perhaps the biggest story in IDP fantasy football through two weeks has been the number of surprises among safeties. Sites like Footballguys published articles Monday and Tuesday of this week and last with a bevy of options at the position likely on waiver wires in fantasy football leagues of nearly all sizes.

The typical fantasy gamer couldn’t afford to roster all of the options. The astute gamer would want to know which breakout performances were sustainable. As the saying goes, “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.”

Safety in FAAB Investment

Tackles comprise the foundation of IDP fantasy football scoring. Through two weeks, 11 of the top 25 tacklers in the NFL are safeties. Houston Texans safety Jonathan Owens leads the league with 25 combined tackles. No safety finished higher than 18th in combined tackles in 2021 (Pittsburgh’s Minkah Fitzpatrick).

The top-six scoring safeties at Footballguys.com includes two holdovers and four players largely undrafted in all but the deepest of fantasy leagues, including Owens. (Of note, Footballguys scoring leans tackle-heavy by omitting any bonus for tackles for loss and crediting pass break-ups at the same rate as solo tackles {1.5 points}). Of these six, the first four have played most of their snaps deep, ten to twenty yards from the line of scrimmage at the snap.

Rank Player Team Games Tackles Assists Sacks FFs FRs PDs INTs TDs FP/G FanPts
1 Marcus Williams BAL 2 17 5 0 0 0 3 3 0 24.4 48.8
2 Minkah Fitzpatrick PIT 2 12 8 0 0 0 2 2 1 21.5 43.0
3 Harrison Smith MIN 2 18 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 17.5 35.0
4 Jonathan Owens HOU 2 17 8 0 0 0 1 0 0 16.5 33.0
5 Talanoa Hufanga SF 2 14 3 0 0 0 3 1 0 16.4 32.8
6 Darrick Forrest WAS 2 12 3 0 1 0 2 1 0 16.1 32.2

The four safeties atop the leaderboard defy conventional wisdom in IDP fantasy football that players lining up deep have low odds of collecting stats. The player farthest from the ball at its snap is less likely to be the first to the ball for a tackle.

Already a subscriber?

Continue reading this content with a ELITE subscription.

An ELITE subscription is required to access content for IDP (individual defensive players) leagues. If this league is not a IDP (individual defensive players) league, you can edit your leagues here.

Photos provided by Imagn Images
Share This Article

Featured Articles

 

Unlocking Fields By Grounding Jets; Hall Losing Ground? The Fantasy Notebook 

Bob Harris

Bob Harris brings you a big-picture look at fantasy-specific news and notes from around the NFL with the Fantasy Notebook.

07/12/25 Read More
 
 
 
Drafters Best Ball Report 2.0
James Brimacombe
07/11/25 Read More
 

More by Tripp Brebner III

 

Reading the New Defense: Jacksonville Jaguars

Tripp Brebner III

Jacksonville has a new defense for 2025. Our Tripp Brebner looks at the new IDP opportunities in Anthony Campanile's scheme.

07/11/25 Read More
 

Reading the New Defense: Dallas Cowboys

Tripp Brebner III

Dallas has a new defense for 2025. Our Tripp Brebner looks at the new IDP opportunities in Matt Eberflus's scheme.

07/03/25 Read More
 

Reading the New Defense: Chicago Bears

Tripp Brebner III

Chicago has a new defense for 2025. Our Tripp Brebner looks at the new IDP opportunities in Dennis Allen's scheme.

06/28/25 Read More
 

Reading the New Defense: New Orleans Saints

Tripp Brebner III

New Orleans has a new defense for 2025. Our Tripp Brebner looks at the new IDP opportunities in Brandon Staley's scheme.

06/19/25 Read More
 

Reading the New Defense: Atlanta Falcons

Tripp Brebner III

Atlanta has a new defense for 2025. Our Tripp Brebner looks at the new IDP opportunities in Jeff Ulbrich's scheme.

06/13/25 Read More
 

Reading the Defense: Week 18

Tripp Brebner III

Tripp Brebner reviews defensive backs' performance to date for lessons learned.

01/04/25 Read More