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IDP Hits: Week 10

New LB to Know in Indy

Did you start Shaquille Leonard or E.J. Speed last week, once we found out Colts LB Zaire Franklin (knee) wouldn’t go?

If you did, you probably weren’t very happy after the game. (I know I wasn’t after starting Leonard in one league.)

Neither took over the top LB spot in Franklin’s absence. Instead, Segun Olubi stepped in and led the group.

If you didn’t know who that was before Sunday … you’re not alone.

Who Are You?

Olubi is a second-year undrafted free agent who didn’t even put up impressive stats across two years at San Diego State – after spending time at three lower-level colleges.

He generated some slight buzz in training camp (I found out this week) after spending last year on the practice squad and then getting a futures contract.

Olubi played just 9 total snaps before Sunday’s game but took over play-calling duties in Franklin’s absence. He also stayed on the field for every defensive snap, while Leonard played just 55% and Speed 45%.

A week earlier, Leonard had played 83%; Speed 30%. (Olubi 3%.)

What About Week 10?

We’ll see about Franklin’s status for this Sunday. He’s officially questionable but finished the week with a full Friday practice. I’m betting he’ll play.

If he doesn’t, at least we’ll know who fills in this time around.

(And that we don’t need to hold Leonard or Speed on our rosters.)

Week 10 IDP Injuries to Watch

• Zaire Franklin, LB, Indianapolis Colts (knee)
• Jordyn Brooks, LB, Seattle Seahawks (hamstring)
• Ja’Whaun Bentley, LB, New England Patriots (hamstring)
• Terrel Bernard, LB, Buffalo Bills (concussion)
• Andre Cisco, S, Jacksonville Jaguars (hamstring)
• Rudy Ford, S, Green Bay Packers (calf)
• Tyson Campbell, CB, Jacksonville Jaguars (hamstring)
• Javon Hargrave, DT, San Francisco 49ers (knee)
• Marlon Humphrey, CB, Baltimore Ravens (hamstring)
• Kenny Clark, DT, Green Bay Packers (shoulder)
• David Onyemata, DT, Atlanta Falcons (ankle)
• Azeez Ojulari, Edge, New York Giants (ankle)
• Carlton Davis, CB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (toe)
• Jamel Dean, CB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (concussion)
• Calijah Kancey, DT, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (quad)
• Myles Bryant, CB, New England Patriots (chest)
• Jonathan Jones, CB, New England Patriots (knee)
• Marcus Peters, CB, Las Vegas Raiders (knee)
• Greg Newsome, CB, Cleveland Browns (groin)
• Steven Nelson, CB, Houston Texans (back, neck)
• Logan Hall, DE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (groin)

Team Notes

Atlanta Falcons

DT Kentavius Street got close to Grady Jarrett’s level of playing time in his first game since the trade from Philly. His 63% snap share against the Vikings trailed only David Onyemata among Falcons D-linemen.

Street contributed 5 tackles (2 solo), including 1 for a loss, but Atlanta also got an abnormally high 80 total tackles thanks to Minnesota’s high play rate.

Don’t expect Street to be more than a low-level IDP option for deep leagues.

Baltimore Ravens

Edge Kyle Van Noy has helped the Ravens since entering the mix at the beginning of October. The veteran has delivered 5 sacks over just the past four games, including a pair of 2-sack outings. But don’t expect him to spring up our IDP rankings going forward.

Van Noy has just 5 total tackles so far that weren’t sacks, across six games. He has fallen short of 50% playing time in four of six contests. To be fair there, two of those came in blowout wins among the past three weeks. 

Van Noy played more in closer contests on either side of those games, so perhaps the 55-58% range is truer to his role.

Either way, the 32-year-old is pacing as a complete boom/bust fantasy contributor only worth a look in deep, sack-friendly leagues.

Chicago Bears

Edge Montez Sweat has taken no time to get into the same range of usage he saw in Washington.

He played 65% of snaps in the Week 9 loss to the Saints, his first game after the trade. That bumped up a little to 73% Thursday night against the Panthers. We’ll see whether Sweat settles there – he played 69.2% with the Commanders this year, 70% last year – or keeps climbing.

Sweat’s stat line in a positive matchup with Carolina looked blank. But his 3 QB hits tied a season high (Week 2 at Denver). And his 4 total pressures tied his second-largest total of the season.

A Week 11 visit to Detroit doesn’t look awesome for sack upside. Matchups with Cleveland, Arizona, and Atlanta in weeks 15-17 look far more attractive, though.

Cincinnati Bengals

CB Mike Hilton came seemingly out of nowhere to deliver 10 solo tackles in Sunday night’s win over the Bills. But was it really out of nowhere?

Hilton serves as Cincinnati’s primary slot CB. That role tends to vary by opponent, depending both on formation usage and pass frequency. The Buffalo game marked the second-most pass attempts (38) and completions (26) the Bengals have faced this season. 

Hilton saw a season-high 8 targets in coverage – according to PFF – including routes against TE Dalton Kincaid, WR Khalil Shakir, and RB James Cook. He allowed 7 receptions, three more than in his next-busiest game. Hence the tackle spike.

Week 7 against Seattle marked the only game in which the Bengals have faced more attempts and yielded more completions. It was also Hilton’s second-best fantasy outing to date.

Looking ahead, you shouldn’t expect too many more strong fantasy lines for Hilton. But there’s upside to a Week 10 matchup with Houston, which holds some shootout potential. Week 13 at Jacksonville might be a fantasy-starter spot for him as well, with WR Christian Kirk and TE Evan Engram in play. 

Houston Texans

CB Shaquill Griffin’s mere 1-assist stat line was a little weird in a Week 9 win over the Buccaneers that included 76 points. But his role didn’t change.

He actually played every defensive snap for the first time this season, his fifth straight start with at least 95% playing time.

The Bucs simply didn’t complete a lot of outside passes. Griffin saw just 4 targets in coverage; one got completed.

He’ll remain usable in CB-required IDP leagues and could see a lot more tackle chances in a Week 10 matchup with Cincinnati.

Unsettled LBs

Houston is clearly still screwing with its LB group, trying to find something that works.

Blake Cashman remained the leader in Sunday’s win over the Bucs, at 82% playing time. But Christian Harris came basically out of nowhere for 62% playing time. He had played just 16% and 11% the previous two games after being a healthy scratch in Week 5.

That put Harris just 2 snaps short of No. 2 Denzel Perryman (65%), with rookie Henry To’oTo’o sinking to irrelevance (20%).

Cashman is the only guy we can use in IDP lineups right now. And we’ll see what Week 10 brings.

Miami Dolphins

Looks like it’s officially time to stop considering Andrew Van Ginkel for IDP lineups. Here’s his weekly playing time this year:

• 63%
• 88%
• 49%
• 76%
• 82%
• 61%
• 60%
• 26%
• 45%

Week 9 marked season highs in total special teams snaps (16) and ST snap share (64%). That’s not the sign of someone about to rebound his defensive role.

Van Ginkel’s droppable in plenty of formats.

New Orleans Saints

CB Alontae Taylor hit a useful stretch of games for us earlier this season, with CB Paulson Adebo battling injury. But Taylor’s back to slot-only and variable playing time now.

He played every snap in weeks 3 and 4. Since then, Taylor’s weekly snap shares have gone:

• 76% vs. Patriots
• 60% vs. Texans
• 75% vs. Jaguars
• 94% vs. Colts
• 69% vs. Bears

There’s potential for him to deliver a usable week against a pass-heavy opponent with a busy slot WR going forward. But Taylor also might not offer any more useful weeks.

He’s certainly not a player you need to be aware of the rest of the way.

New York Giants

If your league scores tackles for loss, then LB Micah McFadden might have popped in Week 9. He racked up three of them in the loss to the Raiders – his first three since Week 3, when McFadden tallied four against the 49ers.

His playing time climbed to 80% against Las Vegas, after dipping the 62% and 58% the previous two weeks. Perhaps that was a specific game plan for workhorse Josh Jacobs and a rookie Raiders QB.

This week against the Cowboys wouldn’t seem to favor the same kind of approach. But we’ll see. The role fluctuation over the past four weeks makes McFadden tough to use.

Philadelphia Eagles

LB Nakobe Dean is undoubtedly heading to IR for the second time this season after suffering a Lisfranc sprain in his left foot in last week’s win over Dallas.

It’s not yet clear how long he’ll be out, but the injury could end his season. What is clear is that you should go ahead and drop Dean from any redraft IDP roster.

The second-year LB returned from his Week 1 right-foot injury to find only shared playing time. He topped out at 69% snap share before this latest injury.

Dean’s absence should elevate Nicholas Morrow back to full playing time. Morrow played nearly every snap of the previous four games Dean missed but made little fantasy impact. 

One huge stat line against Washington – 11 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble – inflated the overall numbers. But even with that, Morrow averaged just 5.0 solos and 0.3 assists per game over that stretch.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. officially supplanted CB Levi Wallace in the starting lineup last Thursday night against the Titans.

Wallace returned from missing Week 8 to play a season-low 51% of snaps. He had played at least 90% of snaps in each of the first five games before going down in Week 5.

Porter, meanwhile, didn’t exceed 40% until the sixth game (Week 7). That included playing 16% or less in three of the first five contests. But he has seen 78%, 83%, and 95% playing time the past three games.

The stat production has yet to reach meaningful IDP value for most fantasy formats.

Tennessee Titans

LB Jack Gibbens posted his lightest fantasy line since Week 2 in Thursday night’s loss to the Steelers. But his 82% snap share marked a season high.

Five of his past six games have finished in the range of 75-82% playing time, including four games of 51+ snaps.

He won’t be a high-ceiling option at any point this season but should remain a solid tackle source.

New Safety Starter

S Terrell Edmunds played just 25% of snaps in his first game after the trade from Philadelphia. Eric Garror played ahead of him, with Elijah Molden increasing his safety snaps.

That changed against Pittsburgh. Edmunds jumped to 85% playing time. Molden spent the bulk of his snaps in the slot. And Garror returned to a reserve role.

Edmunds has rarely been much of an IDP factor and isn’t worth getting excited about here.

Week 10 Fantasy Football Preview

Dig into the offensive side of Week 10 fantasy football with this video.

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.