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Week 6 IDP Hits

What's Up with Bengals Edge Players?

I had no idea that Bengals Edge Sam Hubbard read this article. And I’m flattered …

In reference to a quiet hamstring injury he has been playing though, I wrote last week: “I guess we’ll have to wait for Hubbard to deliver stats in a game. Until then, I’m downgrading expectations.”

He rose to that challenge against the Ravens:

• 9 total tackles
• team-high 7 solos
• 2 tackles for loss
• 2 QB hits
• 1 sack (Cincinnati’s only one for the game)

All that came despite a season-low snap share (65%).

But the snap total (51) was Hubbard’s second-largest of the season so far. And that followed season highs in both total snaps (56) and rate (80%) vs. Carolina. So it’s tough to say whether Cincinnati purposely decreased his role vs. Baltimore. But it also probably doesn’t matter.

What to Expect

Hubbard said ahead of Week 4 that the hamstring injury is likely to linger all season – but also that it’s getting better each week.

(Is it possible for news to be both alarming and encouraging at the same time?)

I’m honestly not sure how to treat that for the entire season. But Hubbard gets a terrific run of sack upside over the next month:

• at Giants
• at Browns
• vs. Eagles
• vs. Raiders

So let’s plan to start him over that span and then see where we’re at.

Keep watch for sell-high opportunities, if you’re in a deep enough league for that to be possible.

What About the Other Edge?

Hubbard’s not the only questionable edge player in Cincinnati right now.

Trey Hendrickson opened the season well, with a pair of QB hits in the opener, three more (including 2 sacks) in Week 2, and then another sack in Week 3.

But he has totaled just 2 QB hits across the past three games. And even though he tallied a season-high 7 pressures against the Ravens last week, Hendrickson has earned three straight poor pass-rushing grades from Pro Football Focus.

He did sustain a neck stinger in the second half of the Week 4 win over Carolina. That can partially explain his performance for that game and likely affected him to some degree vs. Baltimore.

Cincinnati left Trey Hendrickson off the injury report this week after he was limited the first two days last week. I’ll be curious to see if his performance rebounds vs. the Giants. The matchup makes it easier to keep using him.

Let's run through some other notes from around the league ...

Buffalo Bills

LB Terrel Bernard tallied just 5 tackles (2 solos) in Sunday’s return from the pectoral injury. He boosted his fantasy line with an INT, but that tackle total tied or just fifth on the team – well behind leader LB Dorian Williams (11).

But Bernard got right back to his normal role, playing every snap at Houston. Williams played 78%.

Williams also delivered his fourth straight game of 10+ tackles. He has tallied at least 9 in every game and sits tied for third in the league in total tackles.

So there’s room for Williams to continue producing. But Bernard carries more role certainty and cross-category upside the rest of the way.

Chicago Bears

Remember the big Week 1 that Edge Darrell Taylor had in his Bears debut: 8 tackles, 2 sacks, forced fumble vs. Tennessee?

Let’s check on how he has done since:

• 5 total tackles in four games, including just 3 solos
• 44% playing time or less in three straight; 50% vs. Carolina in Week 5
• 0 sacks
• 4 QB hits, including 2 vs. the Panthers

That fits Taylor’s profile with the Seahawks as well: limited playing time, a quality game every once in a while, but mostly a low-impact producer.

He’s still just 27 and landed in a pretty good Bears defense. So there might be a couple more strong outings this year. Just don’t overrate Taylor at any point.

Green Bay Packers

With Jaire Alexander out last week, slot CB Keisean Nixon shifted to primarily playing outside and rookie S Javon Bullard worked as the lead slot corner.

Alexander is questionable for this week, though he said Friday there’s a “good possibility” he returns after missing the last two games.

Bullard played a larger snap share in each of the previous four games, in his normal safety role. Week 5, though, marked just his second game with more than 5 total tackles so far.

Houston Texans

Texans DB Jalen Pitre has seen his role change quite a bit this season.

Pitre spent 57% of his defensive snaps at a deep-safety position in 2022, according to Pro Football Focus, and then 60% in 2023. This year has found him play just 2 total snaps in that spot.

Instead, Pitre’s running as the team’s lead slot corner. He has played 64% of his snaps there, with nearly all of the rest in the box.

That type of role should be friendly to fantasy production. Pitre sits outside the top 50 among fantasy DBs so far, though. His points per game line up with last year’s but fall short of the rookie-year production that put him on all our radars in the first place.

Pitre has lost tackle and INT production vs. that season. INTs are unpredictable, but Pitre’s PFF coverage grade has declined each of the past two years. That probably doesn’t bode well … but could also encourage passes in his direction.

Another issue is the Houston defense playing the league’s sixth-fewest snaps so far – and tying for the 10th-fewest pass attempts faced.

In 2022 – his rookie year – Houston led the league in defensive snaps.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Devin Lloyd returned last week after missing Week 4 with a knee injury. Here’s how LB playing time looked:

• Lloyd 97%
• Ventrell Miller 59%
• Chad Muma 46%

That’s a playing-time boost for Lloyd vs. his role through the first three games (with Foye Oluokun around) and makes him more playable for the next two games without Oluokun.

Miller and Muma, of course, are not playable at those playing-time levels.

Las Vegas Raiders

LB Divine Deablo practiced in full all week and is ready to return after missing the past three games. He needs to rebound his playing time vs. Week 1 to be usable in most IDP leagues, though.

Deablo played just 74% of defensive snaps in the opener. That was well down vs. last year.

He played 80% or more in 10 of 15 appearances, with three of the other five surrounding an injury that cost him two games.

Minnesota Vikings

Wanna get ahead and got a roster spot to play with? Go ahead and pick up Edge Jonathan Greenard.

He opened the week available in 87% of Sleeper leagues despite 4 sacks in five games.

Greenard tallied three of those in a Week 3 meeting with Houston before going sack-less the past two games. But he registered 3 QB hits in the Week 5 win over the Jets in London.

Minnesota gets a bye this week, and a Week 7 meeting with the Lions isn’t sack-friendly. But after that comes seven positive sack matchups among the remaining 10 games.

New England Patriots

Jabrill Peppers landed on the commissioner’s exempt list this week after his arrest last weekend on assault charges.

The speed of that move was noteworthy for a league that loves to hold off on disciplining players until legal action or public pressure forces the move. Patriots owner Robert Kraft added Friday that Peppers would be “gone” if the accusations prove true.

All of that makes it OK to dump Peppers in most IDP formats where he’s rostered. But who replaces him? That’s not yet clear.

Jaylinn Hawkins and Marte Mapu each played every defensive snap last week, with Peppers and Kyle Dugger inactive. Dugger is questionable this week after putting in limited practices Thursday and Friday.

We’ll see who loses out if Dugger plays.

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.