NFL Week 5: Fantasy IDP utilization report

• Potential pass-rushing star in Denver: Baron Browning set PFF records during his impressive Week 5 performance. If healthy, he could valut up IDP rankings.
• Positive shift for a Detroit Lions safety: DeShon Elliott has posted double-digit tackles in back-to-back games thanks to his IDP-friendly deployment.
• Plenty of injuries and bye weeks to now be concerned about: Waivers and player usage become all the more crucial as we reach this part of the season. Better team management is going to separate contenders from pretenders.

Estimated reading time: 40 minutes

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WEEK 5 TAKEAWAYS

Make sure to check out last week’s waiver targets. Some of the key players stood out as potential adds after Week 5 for leagues of all sizes:

Waiver Wire

• LB – Troy Andersen, ATL – Mykal Walker’s Week 6 status is currently questionable after leaving this past week’s game with a groin injury. Andersen would step into a large role if Walker misses any time.
• LB – Tyrel Dodson, BUF – With Tremaine Edmunds sidelined, Dodson replaced him and had a strong fantasy day. If Edmunds were to miss more time, then Dodson can be added in most leagues.
• LB – Cory Littleton, CAR – It’s unclear how long Frankie Luvu will be out, but Littleton stepped into an every-down role next to Shaq Thompson and can be considered a fill-in starter for teams in need.
• LB – Alex Singleton, DEN – Josey Jewell is considered week-to-week with his injury, so Singleton becomes a top waiver priority in a friendly scheme for linebacker tackle efficiency.
• EDGE – Samson Ebukam, SF – Arik Armstead is on injured reserve (IR), and Nick Bosa is dealing with a groin strain. Ebukam saw a big jump in snaps and can be a decent streaming option for those in need.
• EDGE – Charles Omenihu, SF – If Bosa misses any time, then Omenihu could also be a decent edge defender option along with Ebukam.
• EDGE – Dayo Odeyingbo, IND – Kwity Paye is expected to miss some time due to his injury, and former second-round pick Odeyingbo should be the next man up for those looking for a matchup-dependant streamer with bye weeks rolling in.
• DI – Logan Hall, TB – Hall received a playing time upgrade and was used as the team’s interior pass-rushing specialist in Week 5, which landed him a sack. Deeper DT-required leagues should be looking to Hall as a stronger option going forward.
• S – Geno Stone, BLT – With Marcus Williams being placed on IR, it appears that the Ravens plan to rely on Stone as their starter to fill in. Stone could have value in deeper leagues.
• S – Jayron Kearse, DAL – Kearse returned to the Cowboys’ lineup this week, and the team deployed plenty of three safety looks to keep him heavily involved. Kearse didn’t fully regain his full-time role, but his deployment remained IDP-friendly. Deeper leagues can consider him a starter next week.
• S – Terrell Burgess, LAR – The Rams are dealing with injuries at safety which opened up room for Burgess to play every down. Depending on how long Taylor Rapp is out, Burgess could have some fill-in value.
• S – Justin Evans, NO – Marcus Maye is still missing time, as is P.J. Williams, so Evans is a fill-in, for now.
• S – Ryan Neal, SEA – Neal could be one of the better safety adds of the week because he's taking over for Josh Jones in the former Jamal Adams role. Hopefully, Neal can be more efficient than Jones.
• S – Joshua Kalu, TEN – The Titans have a bye in Week 6, so it’s unclear if Kalu will still hold a starting role into Week 7 if Amani Hooker gets back, but super deep leagues can take a speculative shot if desperate.

NOTE: Certain team stats will now account for the entire season. This includes zone and man coverage rates, EPA% allowed, dime rate, and blitz rate.

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JUMP TO A TEAM:

ARZ | ATL | BLT | BUF | CAR | CIN | CHI | CLE | DEN | DAL | DET | GB | HOU | IND | JAX | KC | LVR | LAC | LAR | MIA | MIN | NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF | SEA | TB | TEN | WSH

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ARIZONA CARDINALS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 0.0% (T-27th)
• Blitz rate: 44.7% (2nd)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

• UPGRADE: Isaiah Simmons went back to a full-time role after Nick Vigil was placed on IR this week. Notably, 55% of Simmons’ snaps were spent in the slot, so there’s still some unorthodox usage happening with the former top-10 pick.
• UPGRADE: Ben Niemann took over Vigil’s part-time linebacker role as primarily early-down linebacker.

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

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ATLANTA FALCONS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 0.0% (T-27th)
• Blitz rate: 26.1% (17th)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

• INJURY: Mykal Walker left this game at the end of the first half due to a groin injury and did not return. He still managed 11 total tackles. He should be considered questionable for next week.
• WAIVER-WIRE: If Walker can’t play next week, then second-round rookie Troy Andersen figures to be his replacement in a near full-time role.

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

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BALTIMORE RAVENS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 30.8% (1st)
• Blitz rate: 24.8% (T-20th)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

SAFETY

• INJURY: Marcus Williams was placed on IR due to a wrist injury after leaving this game in the first half. He was replaced by Geno Stone.
• WAIVER-WIRE: Stone, not first-round rookie Kyle Hamilton, is expected to fill in as the starter in Williams’ absence.

CORNERBACK

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BUFFALO BILLS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 0.0% (T-27th)
• Blitz rate: 13.5% (32nd)

EDGE

• POINT OF INTEREST: Starters were used sparingly in this game once the score got out of hand.

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

• POINT OF INTEREST: Ed Oliver returned from injury this week after missing three straight games. He was eased back in but should see his snaps increase in the weeks ahead.

LINEBACKER

• WAIVER-WIRE: With Tremaine Edmunds inactive this week, Tyrel Dodson filled in as a starter. If Edmunds continues to miss time, then Dodson would be a startable linebacker for teams in need.
• POINT OF INTEREST: Matt Milano got to rest once this game entered garbage time, which is why Terrel Bernard played.

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

• POINT OF INTEREST: Taron Johnson also got to rest as the game entered garbage time. No cause for concern with his snaps.

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CAROLINA PANTHERS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 0.5% (24th)
• Blitz rate: 34.6% (8th)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

• HIDDEN GEM: Matt Ioannidis has posted some impressive pass-rush metrics two weeks in a row and despite just one sack on the year, he has the potential to be one of the better pass-rushers at his position.

LINEBACKER

• WAIVER-WIRE: Frankie Luvu was inactive for this game due to injury, so Cory Littleton played a full-time workload for the first time all season. He and Shaq Thompson — Thompson first — would be worth adding where available in case Luvu can’t go again next week.

SAFETY

• WAIVER-WIRE: Juston Burris played full-time safety snaps with both Jeremy Chinn and Xavier Woods out for this game. Chinn is on IR and Woods is questionable for Week 6, so Burris could be a usable option in deeper leagues.

CORNERBACK

• POINT OF INTEREST: Panthers nickel corner Myles Hartsfield played as the other starting safety this week with both Chinn and Woods inactive.

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CHICAGO BEARS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 0.3% (T-25th)
• Blitz rate: 17.7% (28th)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

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CINCINNATI BENGALS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 18.4% (7th)
• Blitz rate: 27.3% (15th)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

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CLEVELAND BROWNS

Team Ranks

• Dime personnel rate: 10.7% (16th)
• Blitz rate: 25.8% (T-18th)

EDGE

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

LINEBACKER

• DOWNGRADE: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah continues to play second fiddle to Jacob Phillips. The Browns also traded for Deion Jones this week, adding another wrinkle to the situation and making this group worth monitoring again next week.

SAFETY

CORNERBACK

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DALLAS COWBOYS