Photo: USA Today Sports

Sometimes, in the unpredictable game that is IDP Fantasy Football, the biggest moves happen at the expense of someone else’s sorrow. The theme this week you will see is injuries and their dramatic effects on your waiver wire and rosters. Some people will capitalize on these opportunities and hop on the wire fast, effectively adding players who could be potential league winners. Others will wait and savor those FAAB dollars for more notable prospects and wait till the dog days of this season. Whatever your strategy may be, you must watch how the market ebbs and flows. Even if you choose to wait it out, it is important to see the heavy hitters and the players who are giving the analysts and team managers headaches trying to understand their value. It’s here, and it’s time! Ring the bell and get ready for Week 3 of the IDP Stock Market.

The Fortune 5

Micah Parsons: As of this writing, Micah Parsons is having the most dominant season of any player in the NFL. He has been an absolute menace to opposing team’s offenses and is quite literally unlockable. Even with his notoriety, teams can’t seem to stop him or the Dallas Cowboys pass rush. He is elevating players around him as well. The Cowboys have an NFL-best 10 sacks through two games. Through the first two games, Parsons has 3 sacks, pacing him for an NFL record 25.5! Now, it is early to start predicting NFL records, but he is absolutely the NFL’s best pass rusher and deserves to be the #1 player in this week’s market. Hopefully, you believed the hype, unlike this writer in the preseason…

Danielle Hunter: Hunter is back and is having arguably the best start to a season of his career. Not only is he getting to the opposing quarterback at a high rate, but he is also compiling tackles. His career high in sacks is 14, which he did in back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019. This season, in two games, he has four. He is on pace to shatter his career-high in sacks and tackles! He is the best defensive player on the Vikings and is challenging our top man for the sack crown early. If he wasn’t highly coveted in IDP, he should be now. Sit back and watch Hunter remind people why he is much more fun to watch being coded a DE!

T.J. Watt: Another year, another reason to love the explosive play of T.J. Watt. In standard-scoring PPR leagues that included standard IDP stats, Watt is currently the #1 player in fantasy football. Over the likes of Tyreek Hill and the darling of the year, Puka Nacua. There aren’t often players that can immediately change a game like Watt can so maximize the window you have him in. If you are a team in a rebuild, he is arguably the best defensive asset you’ll ever have. He will fetch a high capital, so I would look to move him at his current peak. If you’re in a win-now, have fun watching, friend!

Harrison Phillips: It’s not often that we show love to interior defensive linemen in standard IDP, but what we are seeing out of Phillips needs to be recognized. Through the first two games, he has 21 tackles and a half a sack. It’s a little early to crown him king of the defensive tackles, but this performance level must be documented. His career-high tackle total - set last season - is 59. He is pacing to shatter that and his career sack totals as well. In most leagues, he was likely a waiver-wire guy, but after Week 1, that probably changed. If he is somehow still available in your leagues, spick him up and start him immediately. You’ll be happy that you did.

Quay Walker: Is it fair to say that last season, Quay Walker was seemingly under the radar? He quietly accumulated 121 total tackles and forced three fumbles. He has picked up right where he left off and, through two weeks, has not only shown us his explosive playing ability in Week 1, where he scored a touchdown on a pick-six, but also had a 17-tackle performance in the very next game! So not only are you getting that consistent floor we all want from an inside linebacker, but he has that big play ability that can truly win a week. It’s safe to say that he is the best linebacker in Green Bay, and that is a lofty statement, considering his running mate is De’Vondre Campbell.