Between the continuing onslaught of injuries and a slew of underperforming players, particularly at the linebacker position, week ten was a frustrating one for many of us. It's been a long season, though it's flown by. Keep your focus for another month and don't give up until you're mathematically eliminated or have the trophy in hand.
Guru's IDP Notes: Arizona Cardinals
With Mack Wilson Sr. inactive, rookie Cody Simon made the first start of his NFL career. Simon was not particularly flashy, and his 3-3 with a pass breakup will garner little attention from IDP managers this week. There are a couple of things we should keep in mind, though. Simon assumed the full role of the lead linebacker. He played every snap and called plays in the huddle, while Akeem Davis-Gaither continued in the LB2 role. The other thing that the numbers don't tell is that Simon's on-field performance was better than the stat sheet suggests. He may well be the future for the Cardinals.
Walter Nolen III was helped off the field in the 4th quarter of Sunday's game with what looked like a serious knee injury. The team received good news early in the week when the test results showed it was not as serious as initially thought. Nolen could even be available for week eleven.
Rookie corner Denzel Burke played 67 snaps in week two. His playing time dropped sharply over the next four games, and he played no defensive snaps in week seven. In the two games since the team's week eight bye, Burke is 10-2 with 2 interceptions on 100 plays, including a 92% share of the snaps last week. If he retains the job going forward, Burke will have a string of excellent matchups to help keep the streak going.
Guru's IDP Notes: Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons have seen their pass rush go from being the punchline of jokes for most of the last two decades to being tied for fifth in the league heading into week eleven. One of the big reasons, especially over the last two games, is rookie Jalon Walker. The 15th overall pick had one sack going into week nine and had some on the outside wondering if the team had missed on a pass rusher yet again. No one is thinking that now. Over the last two games, Walker is 8-3-3 with 2 forced fumbles, a recovery, and a batted pass. Atlanta's pass rushers have an ugly string of matchups during the fantasy playoffs, but their next three are against the Panthers, Saints, and Jets. Walker may not be the guy you want come playoff time, but he could help you get there.
Ronnie Harrison Jr. and JD Bertrand split time at the Falcons' number two linebacker spot. Harrison played 45% of the snaps, going 5-2-1, while Bertrand was 1-3 on 36%. The bottom line here is that you shouldn't get excited about Harrison's production, at least not until he starts getting at least 75% of the playing time.
Dee Alford left Sunday's contest with a concussion. With Mike Hughes inactive, Keith Taylor came off the bench to play 65 snaps. Taylor would be in line for the start if neither of the two starters is ready this week.
Guru's IDP Notes: Baltimore Ravens
Kyle Hamilton went 0-1 with 2 passes defended, Alohi Gilman was 1-1, and Malaki Starks finished 2-2 with an interception. This happened despite the Vikings throwing the ball 42 times and running for 120 yards. In other words, it was a fluke. All three players saw at least 97% of the snaps.
Still looking for a pass rush. Travis Jones was the lone highlight among the edge defenders, going 3-0-1 with a pair of batted passes. This comes after the team traded for Dre'Mont Jones, who tossed a doughnut on a 60% play share in his first game with the team. Oops!
Marlon Humphrey finished Sunday's game at 2-2 with an interception, but may miss a game or two with a finger injury.
Teddye Buchanan dropped under a 60% snap share for the first time since week 1. The good news is that no one could tell by looking at the box scores, where he was 5-1 with a fumble recovery. Don't let the low snap count scare you off. He should be back to a normal play share this week versus the Browns, who are currently the number one matchup for linebackers.
Guru's IDP Notes: Buffalo Bills
The numbers finally caught up with the on-field impact for Cole Bishop. At 6-1 with an interception, it was his most productive fantasy output to date. He has another solid match-up on tap this week when the Buccaneers come to town.
Guru's IDP Notes: Carolina Panthers
Christian Rozeboom joined the group of linebackers who seriously underperformed in week ten. He had no stat in the first half and finished at 2-2 despite handling his normal 75% role.
The bigger story here is Trevin Wallace leaving with a shoulder injury in the third quarter and not returning. Wallace had been stepping up on the stat sheet in recent weeks and was on his way to another solid outing at 3-1-1. Claudin Cherelus finished the game and would be in line to start if Wallace misses time.
Nic Scourton is quietly coming on. The rookie has 16 tackles and 3 sacks over the last four games.
Tershawn Wharton could be the answer for those in need of a late-season plug-in at tackle. Since returning to his full role after the injury, he has 14 tackles and a sack in the last two games and has seen at least 60% of the snaps in each of the last three.
Guru's IDP Notes: Chicago Bears
C.J. Gardner-Johnson had his foot looked at in the first half. He finished 7-2-2 with a forced fumble, so the foot must not be too bad. He's played two games with the Bears, taking over as the nickel safety after Kyler Gordon was placed on IR. In those two games, Gardner-Johnson is 12-3-3with a forced fumble. If he can stay healthy, this could be the 2025 version of that guy who comes along every year late in the season and wins championships for the managers who pick him up. Be that manager in your league.
If you are that manager, or have either Jaquan Brisker or Kevin Byard III, be aware that the Vikings are a poor matchup for safeties (Gardner-Johnson is sort of a tweener as the slot guy). The position has averaged four tackles and four assists against them since week 5.
Guru's IDP Notes: Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals got good news coming out of the bye as Joe Burrow returned to practice. Unfortunately, Trey Hendrickson did not. He is already considered doubtful for the rematch with Pittsburgh.
Guru's IDP Notes: Cleveland Browns
Alex Wright has been playing very well on the field and making noise on the stat sheet. He was 13-6-2 with a forced fumble over the previous four games, and the Browns had grand expectations that he was emerging as a quality starting option opposite Myles Garrett. That could still be the case, but it might have to wait for a while. Wright left last week's game with a quad injury that could keep him on the sideline for a bit. While he is out, Isaiah McGuire and Cameron Thomas are expected to share time at the position.
Guru's IDP Notes: Dallas Cowboys
How much blind faith should we have in Logan Wilson and/or Quinnen Williams for this week? This is a tough call and largely dependent on what other options you might have. I fully expect both to be in the starting lineup and would not hesitate to play Wilson unless I had other strong options that are safer. When it comes to Williams, there is a little more concern in that the Cowboys are capable of destroying an anvil with a rubber mallet when it comes to their defensive line. If they turn him loose, he should be productive. If they insist on making Williams part of a big rotation as they have done with everyone else, we may not get much from him.
The Cowboys activated DeMarvion Overshown from IR on Tuesday. He is likely to see some action this week, but will probably be on a pitch count. By the end of November, this Cowboys defense could look a lot different with Wilson and Overshown lurking behind Williams.
Guru's IDP Notes: Denver Broncos
How good is the Broncos' pass rush, you say? Denver leads the league with 46 sacks. Pittsburgh is second with 32. The Chiefs are a tough matchup for pass rushers, allowing fewer than two sacks per game on the season. On the other hand, Denver has at least three sacks in eight of its ten games and has not been shut out of the sack column in a game yet. I'll be starting my Denver linemen in this one.
Dre Greenlaw has not yet given us breakout numbers, but he is getting closer every week. He managed a modest 2-3 with a forced fumble and a pass breakup in week ten, with the most important point being that his snap count continues to rise. He was up to a 62% share last week and could see his first full go of the season in this big game. With Alex Singleton likely to miss time due to an illness, there is added motivation for this to happen. The Chiefs are a plus matchup for linebackers, so Greenlaw should be a good play.
With Patrick Surtain II out last week, Riley Moss assumed the number one corner duties with Ja'Quan McMillian coming out of the nickel role to play virtually every snap and Kris Abrams-Draine filling the third corner role. The Chiefs have not been a good matchup for corners, unless one of them draws coverage on Travis Kelce. I expect the safeties will see most of that action in this one.
Guru's IDP Notes: Houston Texans
The Texans could be between a rock and a hard place at safety this week. Jalen Pitre has not yet cleared concussion protocol, and his replacement last week, M.J. Stewart, was carted off in an air cast. The immediate response was to go with a lot more three-linebacker packages against Jacksonville. That could be the best option for this week as well, if Pitre is not cleared. That would mean a much bigger role for E.J. Speed, who finished at 3-3 on an 82% play share last week.
This game will drive you mad. Sometimes you're the bug, like managers who started Liam Anderson last week when he was 1-0 with a batted pass, and sometimes you're the windshield, like those who played Danielle Hunter at 5-1-3 and a forced fumble. I like the chances of both being productive this week versus a Titans team that has allowed the fourth most points to the edge position.
Guru's IDP Notes: Indianapolis Colts
DeForest Buckner landed on IR with a sore neck ahead of last week's games. The team told us that Neville Gallimore would move into the starting lineup, and indeed he did. However, fantasy managers who are desperate for a replacement may want to look at Adetomiwa Adebawore instead. He produced a meager 1-4 in week ten, but that is four more tackles than Gallimore. Adebawore also logged 70% of the snaps to Gallimore's 51%.
Guru's IDP Notes: Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars have seen marginal production from their edge positions, so when Dennis Gardeck popped up with seven tackles, it might have made some people think they were shaking things up a bit. That is not the case at all. Travon Walker did return to his normal role of 80% plus on the snap count, while Gardeck simply made the most of his 21 snaps.
The production has not fully returned yet, but Devin Lloyd was back in the full-time role, logging 96% of the snaps against the Texans. This week's solid matchup with the Chargers should go a long way toward getting him back on track.
Guru's IDP Notes: Las Vegas Raiders
Charles Snowden's 5-1-1 with a pass breakup grabbed a lot of attention on game day, but there is nothing more than an outlier to see here. Maxx Crosby played every snap, leaving Snowden in a three-way rotation with Malcolm Koonce and Tyree Wilson.
Kyu Blu Kelly was back on the field after watching Darien Porter play in week nine. This time around, the two shared time. Kelly got the majority of the snaps at 57% with Porter seeing the other 43%. No help for us here.
Timeshare was the order of the day as Jamal Adams (48%) and Elandon Roberts (41%) split the linebacker duties as well. No help for us here either.
Guru's IDP Notes: Los Angeles Chargers
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