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Week 4 IDP Hits

Should You Get to Know Ventrell Miller?

Wanna know how the Jaguars’ LB corps will work Sunday against the Texans?

So do I.

Jacksonville will go without lead LB Foye Oluokun for the first time since he joined the team as a 2022 free agent. But that’s merely the most obvious question among several …

Who Replaces Oluokun?

HC Doug Pederson said this week that Ventrell Miller will start in Oluokun’s place.

The 2023 fourth-round pick lost his rookie season to an August Achilles’ injury, but he has worked into this year’s LB rotation.

Through three weeks, Miller has played exactly one more snap than fellow LB Chad Muma, trailing Oluokun and Devin Lloyd.

Lloyd heads into Sunday questionable with a knee injury, but he’s reportedly expected to play. So what can we expect playing time to look like?

Rotation Clouds Picture

Week 4 snap shares will be tough to predict, because Jacksonville has rotated LBs much more than last year.

Lloyd has dipped from full playing time most weeks of 2023 to no more than 75% snap share in any of the first three games. Even Oluokun – who missed two total snaps last season – slipped to 85% and 82% before leaving Week 3 early with the injury.

If we can’t count on those guys for full playing time, then it’s tough to bet on more than 70% for Miller or Muma in the first post-Oluokun game. Of course, no Oluokun could mean more playing time for all three of the remaining LBs.

Feel free to stash Miller if you play in a deep enough league for it to make sense. But I’ve got the Jacksonville LBs projected conservatively in the Week 4 rankings.

Now let’s hit some other notes around the league …

Baltimore Ravens

Last week, I attributed Edge Kyle Van Noy’s 2-sacks in Week 2 to the Raiders matchup. So it’s only fair that I highlight another 2 sacks for Van Noy in Baltimore’s Week 3 victory at Dallas.

His playing time also climbed in that contest, from 41% (26 total snaps) to 50% (40 snaps).

It’s worth noting, however, that Van Noy hasn’t tallied much statistically outside of the 4 sacks. He defensed a pass against the Cowboys and has 2 solo tackles outside the sacks.

I still don’t expect big IDP impact going forward, but I’ll be watching.

Carolina Panthers

LB Josey Jewell oddly played just 69% of snaps in last week’s win over the Raiders.

That followed games of 94% and 100% to open the season. And the $6.25 million average annual salary Carolina paid Jewell on a three-year deal in free agency points to full-time duty.

I haven’t seen any reason this week to expect a diminished role going forward, nor any indication of injury.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys might be buying into the DeMarvion Overshown breakout now.

After his surprising Week 2 playing-time dip that Dallas attributed to more “base” package, the second-year LB has played 78% and 86% of snaps the past two weeks. He also gave us 8 tackles (6 solo) and a pass defensed in Thursday’s win over the Giants.

I’ll keep watching, but Overshown looks potentially usable in deeper leagues.

LB Eric Kendricks remains the leader in both playing time and production. He has followed 67% snap share in the opener with games of 95%, 100%, and 99%. And Kendricks is averaging 10.5 tackles per contest.

Denver Broncos

The Broncos lost LB Alex Singleton to an ACL tear in the win over the Bucs. That leaves a messy LB situation.

Free-agent addition Cody Barton has run second at the position but played just 53.7% of snaps so far. Kristian Welch (30 total snaps) has been the only other non-edge LB to see time.

That leaves Barton as the best playing time bet for this week. But he already played his way out of both Seattle and Washington. Barton proved especially poor in coverage across four seasons with the Seahawks, but PFF has graded him bad against the run the past two years.

Justin Strnad and Levelle Bailey are on the roster as well but have yet to play a defensive snap between them this year. Denver added veterans Kwon Alexander and Zach Cunningham to the practice squad this week.

Expect this to be a developing situation for at least a while. I can’t recommend investing much into anyone.

Detroit Lions

LB Jack Campbell finally played every snap in Sunday’s win over the Cardinals, a game that found Alex Anzalone inactive and Derrick Barnes leaving early.

Barnes’ knee injury landed him on IR this week. So he’ll miss at least the next four games, and it appears the Lions don’t yet know just how long he’ll be out.

That obviously means continued opportunity for Campbell, who has opened his second season in disappointing fashion.

He collected just 4 total tackles against the Cardinals. Detroit tallied only 48 as a team, but that 8.3% share is still weak. We’ll see how the former first-round pick fares against Seattle on Monday.

The Other LB

LB Malcolm Rodriguez also came on for 86% playing time against Arizona. He figures to work as the No. 3 while Barnes is out.

That’s unlikely to be a fantasy-relevant amount of playing time. But I like Rodriguez as a player – and really liked him as a long-term fantasy asset before the team invested in Anzalone and Campbell.

We’ll see where this group goes.

Anzalone, by the way, is off the injury report this week after clearing the concussion protocol.

Green Bay Packers

S Javon Bullard posted a completely empty stat line for the Week 3 win over the Titans. But don’t take that as a signal of a diminishing role.

The rookie playing 91% of Green Bay’s defensive snaps, up in both share and total vs. the previous week. It was just a quirky game.

Bullard did spend his largest share of snaps to date at deep safety (69.4%), according to PFF. Combine that with the shortest single-game average target depth of Will Levis’ young career, and the goose egg makes more sense.

Las Vegas Raiders

LB Luke Masterson played just 70% of snaps in place of Divine Deablo in the loss to the Panthers. That’s not a big enough role to make Masterson worth IDP consideration with Deablo out again this week.

Los Angeles Chargers

Edge Tuli Tuipulotu played season highs in both snap share (71%) and total snaps (48) in Sunday’s loss to the Steelers.

His playing time has now benefited from Joey Bosa’s injury in two straight games. It was hard to notice in Week 2, when the Chargers’ defense only got 46 total plays. And Tulipulotu hasn’t turned it into numbers yet.

But he did register 2 tackles for loss among his 4 total tackles against Pittsburgh.

Unfortunately for him, this week’s Chiefs matchup doesn’t carry much upside. And then comes a Week 5 bye. But let’s keep Tulipulotu in mind in case Bosa’s physical woes continue.

Miami Dolphins

LB David Long is doubtful for Monday night’s game against the Titans with a hamstring injury. That’ll push former Browns LB Anthony Walker into starting duty.

Walker played 25% of the snaps in relief last week, after Long played 75%. Long played every snap of the first two games.

I haven’t quite projected that much playing time for Walker, but there’s upside beyond where he sits in our LB rankings.

New England Patriots

LB Raekwon McMillan tallied a game-high 10 tackles (6 solo) in the Thursday night loss to the Jets. That included edging fellow LB Jahlani Tavai by 1 solo tackle.

But Tavai was the clear playing time leader, as expected. He stayed on the field for every snap, compared with 73% for McMillan – a difference of 20 plays.

Tavai also quietly logged 20 pass-rush opportunities over the past two weeks. That aligns with how he was used last year, when Tavai tied for 19th among non-edge LBs in pass rushes while ranking 36th in total snaps played.

Tavai remains the top target among Patriots LBs.

New Orleans Saints

CB Alontae Taylor got another (half) sack in Sunday’s loss to the Eagles. But his playing time declined in CB Marshon Lattimore’s return game.

Taylor went from 78% and 94% snap shares the first two weeks to 67% vs. Philadelphia.

He finished last season at 85.8% for the year, with lots of week-to-week variation. Taylor did hit snap shares of 90% or more nine times. Seven of those came when either Lattimore or CB Paulson Adebo was inactive, though.

Expect playing-time fluctuations going forward. A Week 4 date with the Falcons could be good for Taylor’s usage. Atlanta has run its top 3 WRs on nearly 100% of plays over the past two games.

New York Giants

After starting and playing 82% of the opener, rookie LB Darius Muasau has barely seen the field since.

He lost Week 2 to a knee injury and then entered Week 3 questionable before playing just three snaps. But Muasau was off the injury report for Thursday night’s loss to the Cowboys and didn’t play a snap.

LB Micah McFadden, meanwhile, has tallied 27 tackles, 4 QB hits, 2 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. His playing time has hovered in the 72-79% range.

That all makes McFadden an option for deeper leagues but not applicable everywhere.

New York Jets

With LB C.J. Mosley doubtful for a toe injury, expect LB Jamien Sherwood to get a second straight start next to Quincy Williams.

Sherwood tallied just 5 tackles (4 solo), but the Patriots managed only 15 rushing attempts and 16 completed passes for the game.

Sherwood got strong playing time (98%) and looks like a decent LB3 for Week 4.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Did Edge Nick Herbig just reveal himself to be an IDP starting option when Alex Highsmith is out? Maybe.

HC Mike Tomlin: “Sucks for Alex Highsmith. Excited for Nick Herbig. And none of us are surprised with the quality of work that he gave us.”

DL Cameron Heyward: “Just because you’re not starting doesn’t mean you’re not ready to play. Herbig’s been ready for it. He had a great preseason. With Alex down, I think Herbig’s ready to step up.”

Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Alex Highsmith, I saw him after the game. I mean, he told me he’s gonna be OK. They all kind of say that after a game, and we shall see.”

Consider Herbig a sleeper for pressure/sack-friendly IDP leagues this week.

San Francisco 49ers

S Talanoa Hufanga played 91% of snaps against the Rams, in his 2024 debut.

Hufanga went inactive the first two weeks, coming off last season’s ACL tear. So it was good to see him return at nearly full playing time.

His 7 tackles (and 4 solos) ranked second on the team.

I’m not expecting a huge IDP impact here. Hufanga ranked outside the top 50 DBs in fantasy points per game last season.

But his status is worth noting. And it’s also already in jeopardy again.

Hufanga hurt an ankle in Thursday’s practice, missed Friday’s workout, and is questionable for Sunday’s game.

Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks Edge Derick Hall might just be feasting on positive matchups so far. But his strong start is worth a look.

The 2023 second-round pick notched a sack among 2 QB hits in the opening win over Denver. His playing time increased from 45% in that contest to 66% each of the past two weeks. And Hall delivered a pair of sacks among 4 hits in Sunday’s easy victory over Miami.

That gives him 3 sacks and 7 QB hits across games started by Bo Nix (his first in the NFL), Jacoby Brissett, and Skylar Thompson.

You can only sack the QB who’s in front of you, but we probably need to see more to fully evaluate Hall. Further, his playing time is benefitting from Uchenna Nwosu missing all three games.

Seattle didn’t place Nwosu on IR for the MCL sprain he suffered on Aug. 24. HC Mike Macdonald said ahead of the Week 3 game that he was optimistic Nwosu would return for Week 4. But the team ruled him out Saturday.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

We hit on the Bucs’ LBs not named Lavonte David in this space last week. So let’s check on their playing time from Sunday’s loss to the Broncos:

• K.J. Britt: 35 snaps (51%)
• SirVocea Dennis: 34 snaps (50%)

Cool. Looks pretty useless for most IDP situations.

At least CB Zyon McCollum now has 6 passes defensed over just the past 2 games. We’ll see whether the Eagles can scrape together enough WRs to get McCollum some opportunities to add to that this week.

Tennessee Titans

I pointed out after Week 1 that LB Ernest Jones played just 46% of snaps in the opener. But I neglected to update that in this space last week. (Even though I did account for the change in his Week 3 projection.)

Jones has now played every defensive snap in two straight games. So chalk up his limited opener to his being new.

Even though they didn’t have to pay much in trade to get him, it seems pretty clear the Titans picked him up to play full time.

And Jones has registered 9 and 13 tackles in those two full contests.

Who Belongs in Your IDP Lineup?

Have trouble figuring out which IDPs to get into your lineup each week? The Team Intel page combines our 3D Projections with the specifics of your situation to give you a clear picture every week.

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.