Fantasy Football Redraft

Print

IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 3

How to Handle the LB Injuries

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.

It's the best fantasy football waiver wire assistant you'll find.

Week 3 IDP Waiver Pickups

Keion White, DL, New England Patriots

I won’t repeat too many players week to week in this article, but White bears one more mention.

The second-year lineman followed a 2.5-sack opener at Cincinnati with another 1.5 sacks in Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks. White now has 5 QB hits and 11 total tackles through two games.

That’s enough to make him an IDP starter until something changes.

A Week 3 matchup with the Jets holds no special appeal. Normally a Week 4 date with the 49ers wouldn’t either, but San Francisco has allowed the league’s highest sack rate (12.2%) through two weeks. 

Andrew Van Ginkel, Edge, Minnesota Vikings

A pick-six in the opener inflated Van Ginkel’s value coming out of Week 1. But he now has two weeks of cross-category production in Minnesota. 

Sunday’s win over the 49ers found him delivering a sack for the second straight week. Van Ginkel also followed his 2 QB hits from the opener with 2 tackles for loss against San Francisco. And he has defensed a pass in each game. 

All that plus 4 total tackles in each game makes Van Ginkel attractive as a starting option going forward.

David Long, LB, Miami Dolphins

Long has yet to miss a snap through two games. And even though the Dolphins defense has spent limited time on the field, Long has turned that role into strong tackle production.

Through two weeks, NFL teams are averaging 60.3 plays per game. The Miami D, however, played 53 snaps in Week 1 and then just 45 in Thursday night’s loss to the Bills.

That makes Long’s 19 total tackles and 16 solos even more impressive. He racked up 11 total stops vs. Buffalo, including 9 solos and 2 for loss.

Long should not only find a home in any tackle-friendly scoring system, he looks like a fantasy starter until/unless something changes.

Jahlani Tavai, LB, New England Patriots

Tavai didn’t grab anyone’s attention with 4 tackles against the Seahawks in Week 2. But he gained significant playing time in the wake of LB Ja’Whaun Bentley’s first-quarter pectoral tear.

Tavai jumped from 73% snap share in Week 1 to 99% vs. Seattle. The former was right in line with his 2023 role, though his playing time fluctuated during that season.

The loss of Bentley leaves Tavai as the most likely full-timer at the position for New England. And Week 3 holds a Jets offense that supplied 8+ tackles to two Titans LBs in Week 2. After that comes a 49ers offense that has supplied the seventh-most points to opponent LBs so far.

Baylon Spector, LB, Buffalo Bills

The Bills lost LB Terrel Bernard for some amount of time in Thursday’s win over the Dolphins. Spector took over his spot and actually played more than Dorian Williams, who was already in the starting lineup. 

Spector also matched Williamd and S Damar Hamlin for the team lead with 10 total tackles. That included 7 solos, which beat Williams. 

Spector should not be a target for IDP leagues of all sizes, but he’s worth targeting for LB needs in leagues of at least modest depth.

Daiyan Henley, LB, Los Angeles Chargers

Henley ran just 5 snaps ahead of rookie Junior Colson for the Week 1 playing-time lead among Chargers non-edge LBs. That changed for Week 2.

Henley stayed on the field for 90% of plays, trailing only three teammates: S Elijah Molden (100%), CB Asante Samuel (92%), and S Derwin James (92%).

Denzel Perryman started next to Henley but trailed him in playing time (65%). Colson left early with a hamstring injury. Henley tallied a team-high 9 tackles, including 5 solos and 1 for a loss.

Those aren’t numbers to get excited about. And one game doesn’t affirm him as the corps leader. But Henley’s worth grabbing in deeper leagues in case he does maintain this lead.

The second-year former safety brings cross-category scoring potential. His final college season included:

• 106 tackles
• 12 tackles for loss
• 4 sacks
• 3 forced fumbles
• 2 fumble recoveries
• 1 INT (after 4 the previous year)

Alontae Taylor, CB, New Orleans Saints

Taylor’s 3-sack opener against the Panthers was big-time flukey. DBs don’t repeat games like that. Antoine Winfield Jr. was the only DB in the league to total more than 3 sacks last season. 

But Taylor followed that with a team-high 9 tackles in Sunday’s win over the Cowboys. That included a team-high 8 solos and 2 tackles for loss. 

Next comes a matchup with the Eagles, who have supplied the third-most fantasy points to opponent DBs through two weeks.

Christian Izien, S, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I highlighted Izien in last week’s IDP Hits and said “don’t be surprised if the Lions go after” the Tampa Bay secondary. What did surprise me was how poorly Detroit fared in that pursuit.

Izien, on the other hand, racked up 9 tackles and 2 passes defensed, including an INT.

Now he gets to reprise his Antoine Winfield Jr. fill-in role against a far worse Denver offense. That doesn’t guarantee fantasy production for Izien in Week 3, of course. But we know the upside is there.

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.