Week 11 IDP Waiver Wire: These LBs Should Not Be So Easy to Get

Need LB Help This Week?

This list of IDP waiver wire pickups is sorted by position, and then by priorty.

Of course, IDP leagues vary widely by depth, scoring rules, and lineup settings. So to get the best measure of who to pick up in your league, check your Free Agent Finder.

Week 11 IDP Waiver Wire Targets

Will McDonald, Edge, New York Jets

McDonald entered Week 10 with just 3 sacks on the season, one of those since the opener. But he more than doubled that season total in Sunday’s win over the Browns.

McDonald probably won’t match his 4 sacks or 5 QB hits from that contest in any game going forward. But he now gets a Thursday night shot at the Patriots, who have allowed 3.5 sacks per game for the year and yielded 6 sacks in two of the past three games.

That makes the Jets edge worth at least a one-week shot, and he finished Monday available in 92% of Sleeper IDP leagues.

Dre’Mont Jones, DL, Baltimore Ravens

I’ll admit, I got a little carried away with Jones’ projection for his Baltimore debut following the trade. He had plenty going for him, though:

• 4.5 sacks over his previous four games
• 9 QB hits over that span
• High-ceiling matchup with the Vikings, who have allowed the fifth-highest pressure rate

But I should have factored in more downside risk.

That said, Jones had a better outing than the stat sheet reveals. Jones notched 2 more QB hits among 4 total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, his second-most in a game this season.

The Ravens also fared better in the pass rush collectively than their 1 sack suggests. The team tallied 12 hits on J.J. McCarthy.

We’ll see whether Jones grows his playing time beyond the 60% at Minnesota. But that’s enough to make him useful, and the Ravens say they plan to deploy him inside and on the edge.

The next two weeks should help his numbers with upside sack matchups against the Browns and Jets.

Carson Schwesinger, LB, Cleveland Browns

Schwesinger looked like an iffy guy to trust in our IDP lineups for Week 10, coming off a Week 8 high ankle sprain that allowed him just one limited practice following the bye. 

But the rookie racked up 9 tackles -- four more than his nearest teammate -- including a half-sack and 2 tackles for loss. Schwesinger also notched a season-high 2 QB hits. 

Playing the Jets certainly helped, but the young LB gets another favorable LB scoring matchup against the Ravens in Week 11. And if Schwesinger can give us a good fantasy outing so close to suffering a high ankle sprain, he looks pretty attractive the rest of the way. 

The rookie sat available in 84% of Sleeper IDP leagues as of Monday night.

Devin Lloyd, LB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Lloyd generated unspectacular numbers in Sunday’s loss to the Texans. But he played season highs in both total snaps (72) and snap share (96%) in his return from a three-week calf injury (two missed games plus the Week 8 bye).

Lloyd was running hot on big plays in coverage before the injury. He snagged 4 INTs over four games, including a 2-INT outing at San Francisco and a 99-yard pick-6 in the Monday night win over the Chiefs.

Lloyd also tallied a pair of QB hits within that four-game span, and his 8.2 pass rushes per game across six healthy contests so far portends upside in that area as well.

He won’t be the most consistent scorer at the position, but there’s difference-making weekly upside to a guy available in 87% of Sleeper IDP leagues as of this writing.

This week brings a Chargers matchup that has supplied the seventh-most fantasy points per game to LBs.

Dre Greenlaw, LB, Denver Broncos

Greenlaw boosted his playing time significantly in last Thursday’s win over the Raiders and has collected tackles at a high rate across his three limited appearances this season.

He should get a further boost for Week 11, with Alex Singleton out following surgery to remove a cancerous tumor last Friday. It’s not yet clear how long Singleton will be out, but he figures to miss at least Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.

That should set Greenlaw up to lead the LB group in playing time against K.C. The Chiefs have provided a middling matchup for LB scoring, but four of the past five opponents have had at least one LB reach double-digit tackles.

And there’s room for Greenlaw to maintain higher-level playing time going forward, even after Singleton returns.

Tyrice Knight, LB, Seattle Seahawks

You don’t want to overpay for this one, because Knight might not prove to be a starting option by the weekend.

He got back into the lineup Sunday because of Ernest Jones’ knee injury and delivered one of the best LB stat lines for the week:

• 8 tackles (6 solo)
• 2 sacks
• 2 forced fumbles

Jones followed an odd practice schedule last week, putting in limited workouts Wednesday and Thursday before sitting out Friday and then missing the game.

I haven’t seen an update on his chances of returning this week yet. If Jones plays, Knight’s probably back out of the lineup. If Jones can’t go, Knight would probably settle in as a low LB2-level option in a Rams matchup that’s been unfriendly to LB scoring.

Nick Emmanwori, S, Seattle Seahawks

Seattle’s rookie safety delivered a big stat line in Sunday’s beatdown of the Cardinals. 

He tallied a team-high 9 tackles (5 solo), with a half-sack and 4 passes defensed. All that came with Devon Witherspoon in the lineup, just the second time they’ve shared the field in a game neither guy left early. That’s significant because both have seen time in the slot this year. 

We certainly can’t expect that kind of production every week, but Emmanwori flashed the cross-category potential that excited us about him as a prospect. This could mark the beginning of weekly-starter status the rest of the way.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson, DB, Chicago Bears

The Bears added Gardner-Johnson -- released by Houston earlier this season -- a few days ahead of the Week 9 visit to Cincinnati. The veteran has made an immediate impact.

Gardner-Johnson lined up almost exclusively in Kyler Gordon’s vacated slot role against the Bengals and tallied 6 tackles (5 solo) and a sack on just 59% playing time.

This past week found him jumping to 99% playing time and splitting between the slot and a box-safety role. Gardner-Johnson racked up 9 tackles and 2 sacks in the win over the Giants.

The sacks aren’t likely to keep coming, and the tackle rate figures to decline. But Gardner-Johnson’s playing a fantasy-friendly role and brings a history of big-play upside. That makes him worth some attention, especially ahead of another spot with loads of sack potential (at Minnesota).

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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.