Reading the Defense, Week 8

Tripp Brebner III's Reading the Defense, Week 8 Tripp Brebner III Published 10/27/2023

Two months have passed since the last preseason game. Fantasy drafts are a distant memory. Gamers who play to win in September have begun to take their lumps. Injuries and bye weeks are the great equalizers of fantasy football.

Footballguys' "Rate My Team" app offers drafters in-depth assessments of their August hauls and forecasts each team's likelihood of a playoff berth. The app always offers the caveat of "great," "good," or "average" in-season management as a modifier of a team's likelihood of success.

Line-up decisions, waiver wire management, and trading constitute the bulk of in-season management decisions. Trading might be the most difficult to navigate, but it also might add the biggest advantage.

With the advent of the 18-week season, most fantasy leagues deploy a 14-week regular season. Fantasy gamers' midseason adjustments could differentiate between an also-ran season and momentum into Week 15 and the fantasy playoffs.

This midseason edition of Reading the Defense forecasts an All-Second-Half Team. The following players are trending upward and could serve fantasy gamers as key starters down the stretch. Their accrual of fantasy points to date just might make them expendable to their current fantasy managers in medium-sized fantasy leagues.

Defensive Line

Jalen Carter, Philadelphia Eagles

Paul Perdichizzi of Saturday-2-Sunday Football named Falcons running back Bijan Robinson and Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter the two blue-chip prospects of the 2023 draft. Character concerns caused Carter to slide to Pick 9 on the draft's opening night.

Carter is enjoying an extraordinary start to his career. Playing in rotation with perennial Pro-Bowler Fletcher Cox, Carter has 3.5 quarterback sacks and 2 forced fumbles to his credit despite missing a game and a half. More impressively, he comfortably leads all tackles in pass-rush win rate. In 90 pass-rush attempts, Carter has beaten the block within 2.5 seconds 23 times (26%), as reported by ESPN using NFL NextGen Stats.

Jalen Carter stands 20th among fantasy defensive tackles on the Footballguys' leaderboard. He easily has upside into the top 10 and should be considered a top-5 commodity at the position in dynasty leagues.

Boye Mafe, Seattle Seahawks

The son of Nigerian immigrants was deemed a project coming out of the University of Minnesota. NFL.com scouts comped him to Green Bay's Rashan Gary. Dynasty gamers have not shown the necessary patience with the 2022 second-rounder. Redraft gamers ignored him outside the deepest of 2023 drafts.

Boye Mafe has scored a sack in four straight games since missing Week 2 and leads NFL linemen in pass-rush win rate. With Seattle's leading edge-rusher, Uchenna Nwosu, placed on IR, Mafe steps into a high-volume role for a team with a strong secondary behind him. The proactive fantasy gamer might easily trade an aging star like Khalil Mack or a flash in the pan like Michael Hoecht of the Rams for Mafe.

Will Anderson Jr., Houston Texans

The third overall pick of the 2023 draft won't be a target for dynasty gamers; he's already a consensus DE1. Impatient redraft players, however, might be willing to part with him. Will Anderson Jr. has just one sack to his credit and slumbers at 46th in Footballguys' scoring among edge rushers. His bookend, Jonathan Greenard, has 3.5 sacks. Anderson is the one winning at an elite rate of 30 percent, a pass-rush win rate that ranks third in the NFL through seven weeks.

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

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