IDP Stock Market Week 7

It is officially the point in the season where the grind starts to settle into the collective consciousness. Your place in the league is firmly cemented, whether that is a rebuild or a title run, and the smart play is to stick to those convictions and run through the outcome. There is a zen that can be reached here. For those thoroughly prepared, this is just another week on the IDP market. Others will desperately throw Hail Marys, nuking last-minute bids to salvage wins wherever they can. No matter the preparedness of fantasy managers, the market moves forward and time ticks on. Ring the bell.

Fortune 5

DT Jeffery Simmons: Simmons has long been the most consistent elite IDP option on the defensive line, and that status has not changed. At defensive tackle, the elite can separate themselves from a muddy pack of average producers, but Simmons sits far above even those producing well themselves. He sits at 34 tackles, six tackles for loss, and four sacks through six games, leading all defensive tackles in combined stops. Simmons is involved in nearly every defensive snap and rarely leaves fantasy managers with a true dud. That mix of volume and splash plays is rare at a position that is notoriously volatile week to week. He remains the measuring stick for elite defensive line production in IDP formats and figures to stay there for a long time. Managers who roster him know exactly what they are getting, and that kind of weekly floor is the entire market at interior defensive line.

LB Bobby Okereke: Some things are better left unsaid, but when it comes to what we are seeing from Bobby Okereke, shout them out loud. Okereke felt left for dead entering the season. He signed what felt like a last-minute, one-year deal with the Panthers that looked more like a mentorship role than true game-changing playing time. We now clearly see he has a real role in this defense, and as we have seen throughout his career, if Okereke has a role, the points will follow in bunches. He has played the most snaps among Panthers linebackers and has produced 34 tackles with four passes defended, plus intermittent big plays sprinkled throughout. He is safe, he is producing, and if he is not already locked into starting lineups, he needs to be a set-and-forget guy. Buy the role. Bank the volume. The rest of the market will catch up eventually.

LB Jamien Sherwood: Full disclosure, I have no idea how to rate what I am seeing from Jamien Sherwood, but the numbers are making it impossible not to sing his praises. Sherwood is coming off back-to-back 150-plus tackle seasons and already has 46 tackles just weeks before the halfway point of the year. As we have seen from him in the past, he is not a big-play linebacker, so the points come from snap counts and tackle volume. Sherwood is stable in both, and the results are in; he sits just outside the top 20 linebackers at 21. Not too shabby for a linebacker who may not get the shine of some others in the same area. He is safe, has a steady role alongside Demario Davis, and for that he must be a part of the Fortune 5. Buy the volume. Ignore the lack of splash.

S Budda Baker: Oh, would you look at that. Budda Baker is back to dominating the defensive back position again in IDP. There was a four-to-five-year stretch where Baker was the man. Safeties rarely combine the stability needed to be weekly starters with the big-play upside that can swing matchups. Baker had all of that and more, but he faded into the background during an up-and-down stretch of recent seasons. It appears the monster that lurked within him was still there. He has already eclipsed 40 tackles and has 3.5 sacks through six games. He remains the best player on the Arizona defense and is arguably the top safety in the league again. To those who held strong on Baker, congratulations. It is working out. Buy the return. The market is still catching up.

LB Sonny Styles: I have seen enough from Sonny Styles to know that he needs to be an every-week starter. Back in the days before true position IDP, when a player lined up on the edge but was listed as an outside linebacker, that designation could hurt the value. That was my initial concern with Styles, where he is playing on the field, but it appears that no matter where he is lined up, he produces when he is on the field, and we are seeing that production become more explosive each week. Styles has posted 13 tackles in back-to-back weeks and defended a pass in each of those games. He has done everything you can want and more from an IDP linebacker. If you drafted him for this role, the early returns show real promise for long-term dominance. Buy the snaps.

Falling 4