Eyes of the Guru IDP Info: Week 4

There are many words to describe week three. I'll go with interesting to keep it clean. One thing is for sure: there are plenty of happenings to cover. Many of us lost key players to injuries. A few guys saw their roles evolve, some in less-than-positive ways. The point is, we all have prep work to do ahead of week four. Let's get to it.

Guru's IDP Notes: Arizona Cardinals

One of the biggest changes in the IDP game over the last couple of years is how defensive stats are kept. The days of players with triple-digit solo tackles are over, or at least they are going to be very rare. A glowing example of this comes from the Cardinals' trip to San Francisco, where the 49ers' home stat crew awarded 17 solos and 35 assists on 34 plays that ended with tackles. On the positive side, I think we are seeing more uniformity across the league than there was ten years ago. The negative is how it affects the balance of scoring in many leagues. This might be a discussion for the offseason and could lead to some scoring tweaks for those older established leagues. I was an Army guy, but I'll borrow an old Marine phrase to cover where we are as managers. We must adapt and overcome.

San Francisco didn't get the running game rolling in this one, at least not to the extent we have come to expect from them. The result was Budda Baker with a modest 1-3 and Andrew Wingard with a (sort of) solid 1-9. Wingard has produced better than expected, while the poor outing by Baker is almost sure to be an outlier. I'm not all that excited about either player this week in a matchup with a Giants offense that could struggle to move the ball with Jameis Winston under center.

The numbers weren't impressive, but it's noteworthy that Jack Gibbens led the team in solo tackles again at 4-4. He is quickly becoming a dependable third starter for us.

The Cardinals are still in search of a pass rush. They had no sacks against San Francisco. It might help if they kept their best players on the field and let them get into a rhythm. No Cardinals edge defender played more than 27 snaps in week three.

Guru's IDP Notes: Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta's defensive box score was lopsided, with C.J. Henderson's 8 solo tackles leading the team while Mike Hughes was second at 6-1. The only other defender with more than 2 solo stops was Xavier Woods at 3-2 with an interception. At least it's not hard to figure out what happened. Green Bay attempted a token run once in a while, but threw the ball 53 times compared to 8 rushes for 17 yards. Don't expect the Falcons to face anything like that over at least their next four games, starting with the Saints this week.

There was not much opportunity for the linebackers, so despite his pedestrian 1-1, don't discount Divine Deablo completely. At least not yet. He is still playing every snap. The interesting spin here is that Kendal Daniels started and went 2-1, but played just 38% of the snaps. Fellow rookie Harold Perkins Jr. went 2-2 on a 65% share.

Za'Darius Smith had plenty of chances to rush the passer. He did not take advantage of the opportunity, recording one assist on the day. Smith was not a starter in this game, but his snap count continued to grow slowly, getting up to a 50% share.  

Guru's IDP Notes: Baltimore Ravens

Kyle Hamilton missed a few snaps late in Sunday's game with a shoulder injury. He returned to finish, which is a good sign, but keep a close eye on his status as the week rolls along. Shoulder injuries tend to be worse a day or two after the fact when the soreness sets in.

There was no easing Nnamdi Madubuike back into action. Despite it being his first appearance of the season, his 64% play share was tops among the team's interior linemen. The box score was marginal at 1-2, but he appeared to come out healthy.

Teddye Buchanan saw his first game action of the season as well, though he logged only three snaps on defense. Keep in mind that he was the starter ahead of Trenton Simpson before the injury last year. Simpson is playing well and producing, going 5-2 with a fumble recovery on 62% of the snaps in week three. It's unclear who will start once Buchanan is ready for a bigger workload.

Guru's IDP Notes: Buffalo Bills

Managers have to ride the wave with Greg Rousseau, who has two sacks in each of the first three games. He even jumped back to an 81% play-share in week three. The thing about waves is that they eventually crash. When we notice that a guy has 6 sacks in a short stretch, you can bet offensive coordinators notice as well. Such streaks often come to an abrupt end when blocking schemes are tailored to stop them. Rousseau has a positive matchup with the Patriots this week. The two games after that are against the Raiders and Rams, who are tied for the seventh fewest sacks allowed.

Ed Oliver played in week three but was on a pitch count, seeing 28 snaps. He appears to have come through no worse for wear, and should get back to his normal workload in week four. The Patriots have allowed at least 1 sack to an interior lineman in each game.

Guru's IDP Notes: Carolina Panthers

Devin Lloyd missed week three with a calf injury. It is unclear at this time if he will miss additional games. Many managers jumped on Tyrel Dodson when he was activated late in the week. Dodson was in the starting lineup but was far from an every-down contributor. Instead, the Panthers went with a third safety 71% of the time, limiting Dodson to just over half of the reps.  Bobby Okereke moved into the lead role, playing every snap.

When he plays, Lathan Ransom produces. With Nick Scott nursing an abdominal injury, Ransom moved up from his part-time third safety role to full-time against Cleveland. He turned in 8 tackles and a pass breakup on 100% participation. The Panthers have been quiet on the specifics of Scott's injury, but they have a bye in week five, which would give him a chance to heal up. Meanwhile, whoever is in the lineup this week should be productive. For all their struggles, the Lions are a strong matchup. Zakee Wheatley was the third safety in the big nickel.

Carolina's secondary took a beating in week three. Corner Jaycee Horn will be out a while with a torn quad and is likely to land on IR by the time this is posted. They also lost Mike Jackson to a groin injury. That makes rookie Will Lee III a full-time starter and possibly the number one corner, just in time to match up with Amon-Ra St.Brown. That would be the rookie corner rule on steroids.

Guru's IDP Notes: Chicago Bears

Chicago rode their third-string quarterback and a stout defense to a win in the Monday Night spotlight, but it came at a price. Tyrique Stevenson Sr. nursed a sore hamstring last week and was questionable entering the game. He lasted four plays before aggravating the injury. We will have to see if he is worse after leaving or the hamstring just tightened up. If Stevenson is out, rookie Malik Muhammad II would start opposite Jaylon Johnson against a much improved Jets offense.

Stevenson was not the only loss in the secondary. Safety Cam Lewis left the game with a leg injury. That could spell a larger role for Elijah Hicks.

Guru's IDP Notes: Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals allowed 30 points to a previously stagnant Steelers offense. This, however, was not a case of the unit reverting to the sieve they were in 2025. Rather, it was a case of the offense and special teams shooting themselves in the foot.

Injuries didn't help the cause. Bryan Cook was knocked out early with an ankle injury, and his replacement, Kyle Dugger, was limping around at the end of the game, though he managed to finish. Dugger recorded a solid 4-4 on 66% of the action. This is one to keep an eye on later in the week. The last healthy backup on the roster is PJ Jules.

Dexter Lawrence II has made his presence felt on the field since the first snap of the season. He finally showed up on the stat sheet in week three, going 3-1-2 on a 79% share of the action. Both Lawrence and Jonathan Allen (76%) are seeing plenty of playing time. One of them has given us good numbers in each game, but think twice about playing them this week against a Jacksonville squad that is allowing 1.3 sacks per game thus far.

The matchup is a good reason to sit Boye Mafe and Myles Murphy as well. Especially after they couldn't catch a 42-year-old guy in week three, recording one assist between them.

Guru's IDP Notes: Cleveland Browns

With 8 tackles, 7 assists, and 4 sacks on the season, including a sack in each game and 2 in week three, Mason Graham is trending toward elite status. He is a big part of the reason Cleveland is a shocking 2-1. Now, if they can just get Jared Verse going. The team's edge position has one total sack on the season, and it didn't come from Verse.

Safety Ronnie Hickman has double-digit points in all three games. That looks good at a glance, but I'm concerned about how he got there. He has seven solo stops and 12 assists, with a sack and an interception boosting his overall point totals. I don't mind rolling the dice on corners and hoping for big plays, but I'd like more consistent tackling from my safeties.

There is nothing to see with Carson Schwesinger. His dismal 1-5 against Carolina was a case of the ball bouncing in an odd direction. He played every snap while Quincy Williams had the better day at 5-4 on a 96% share.

Guru's IDP Notes: Dallas Cowboys

Jaishawn Barham and Dee Winter each finished at 4-3 against the Ravens. Barham led the way with 78% of the snaps while Winters logged 69%. Between part-time roles and a matchup with the Texans, who have been disappointing for linebackers so far, it might be a good idea to sit them both.

The Cowboys' already thin secondary took a hit with Jalen Thompson's hamstring injury. The safety appears headed to IR, opening the door for Markquese Bell and Alijah Clark to move up the ladder. Bell went 5-1 in week two as the third safety and 5-3 on a 66% share of the action in week three. He's a physical box safety who served as a nickel linebacker for much of the 2024 season. He could be a solid and consistent addition for the next several weeks.

Guru's IDP Notes: Denver Broncos

With 5 tackles, a sack, 2 picks, and a score, Talanoa Hufanga is a candidate for IDP defensive player of the week. He might end up a candidate for NFL defensive player of the year if he keeps it up. That said, he has a tough matchup with the 49ers this week. His tackle totals should be fine, but San Francisco has turned the ball over once and is the only team to not allow a sack in the first three games.

Brandon Jones stepped up with a huge 10-2 against Los Angeles. Don't chase the points. Jones plays deep most of the time, and the 49ers have no Davante Adams to feed on slants underneath.

Even though they came up with 3 sacks last week, sit your Denver pass rushers in this one for the reason mentioned above.

Guru's IDP Notes: Detroit Lions

Derrick Barnes outproduced Jack Campbell yet again. Neither of them put up big numbers, but they both played every snap. The interesting twist for week three was Devin White being a coach's decision inactive. Malcolm Rodriguez picked up 30% of the snaps at strong-side linebacker, with Trevor Nowaske seeing much of his 52% at the position as well.

The injury-riddled Detroit secondary is trying desperately to hold the line until reinforcements arrive. Hopefully that will happen in a couple of weeks, though it's far from a sure thing. Meanwhile, Christian Izien and Chuck Clark were the safeties versus the Jets. Both players were productive for us, with Izien stacking the tackle columns at 9-2 with a pass breakup and Clark going 3-4-1 with a forced fumble. Carolina has been a decent matchup for safeties, so don't hesitate to start either of these guys.

We still don't know why D.J. Wonnum's snap count was down in week two, but he bounced back with a 70% share against the Jets. With Aidan Hutchinson the focus of New York's blocking scheme, Wonnum came through with a pair of sacks. That's good news for both pass rushers. It will keep opponents honest in how they address Hutchinson, and Wonnum still has the advantage of playing opposite one of the game's elite. I like them both versus Carolina this week.

Roger McCreary moved ahead of Rock Ya-Sin on the depth chart and played every snap in week three.

Guru's IDP Notes: Green Bay Packers

Edgerrin Cooper was 2-4 before being checked for a concussion in the third quarter. He did not return to the game. There has been no update from the team other than to say that Cooper is in concussion protocol.  Isaiah McDuffie took over, going 1-3 on 18 snaps, and is in line for the start if Cooper is sidelined.

After my comments last week, of course Xavier McKinney had a good game. Yes, that stuff happens to all of us. Don't count on any improvement in the tackle columns this week, but a struggling Tampa Bay offense with an inexperienced backup quarterback provides prime potential for more big plays.

While Lukas Van Ness failed to land another sack in week three, he came very close a couple of times. I was skeptical after his week one production, open-minded after his solid week two. Having the chance to watch him more closely in week three, even without the big numbers, he looks like a different player than the guy who had four sacks over the last two seasons. Call me optimistic going forward.

Guru's IDP Notes: Houston Texans