Fantasy Football Redraft

Print

Week 2 IDP Waiver Wire: This Bucs LB Looks Ready to Explode

Players to Target

You probably already know that it's important not to overreact to Week 1 results. That's especially tough on the defensive side.

It's the first week of real, actual-game data we get for the season. So some of that's bound to actually signal the start of what will be a surprising trend. And plenty of it's just noise.

What makes IDPs even more challenging is that it's tougher to get info on this side of the ball. Injuries, playing time, position battles ... none of it gets near the coverage that the offensive guys do.

One thing we do get when the season starts, though, is snap counts. Between this article and my late-week IDP Hits, I'll be sorting through those to let you know who's fluky and who you should believe in.

Here's a set of waiver targets for this week, players who should be available in at least a decent swath of IDP leagues ...

Week 2 IDP Waiver Targets

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.

Jeffery Simmons, DT, Tennessee Titans

It’s generally a good idea to roll your eyes and not adjust your rankings for “best shape of his life” summer reports. But that kind of buzz gets more interesting when a player has already proved he’s good.

Simmons carried that buzz over into a strong Week 1, including a second-quarter strip-sack of Broncos QB Bo Nix. That was just one of Simmons’ 4 QB hits, 80% of the team’s total for the game. 

Next comes a Week 2 date with Matthew Stafford, who took three sacks in his team’s Week 1 win over the Texans.

Byron Young, Edge, Los Angeles Rams

The Rams’ defense sports so many pass-rushing options that it can be tough to guess who will deliver the pressure in a given week.

Well, Young’s 3 total pressures in Sunday’s win trailed only Jared Verse (4). NFL stats credited Young as the only Ram with more than 1 QB hit.

Young won’t lead the team very week, but this Sunday brings a high-upside matchup for the whole group. Titans rookie QB Cam Ward took pressure on a league-high 52.9% of his dropbacks in Week 1, according to Pro Football Focus.

Young’s a high-upside Week 2 option where he qualifies as a D-lineman.

SirVocea Dennis, LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Dennis landed in the deep section of my IDP sleepers this summer, but it turns out I undersold him.

The third-year LB played 95% of the snaps in Sunday’s win over the Falcons and racked up 10 tackles. That included tying for the team high with 7 solos. It also included a team-leading 2 tackles for loss. And Dennis defensed a pass. That last aspect lines up with the praise he has drawn as the team’s best coverage LB. 

Now that we’ve confirmed his full-time status, there’s real breakout potential here.

Devin White, LB, Las Vegas Raiders

We entered the season not knowing how the Raiders were going to spread snaps among their new but previously owned LBs. But Sunday’s game delivered (at least the initial) answer.

White played every snap of the loss at New England. That likely means he was headed for such a role even if the defense hadn’t lost LB Elandon Roberts in the first quarter.

White also supplied team highs in solo (8) and total tackles (11), including one tackle for loss. Germaine Pratt trailed in playing time (92%) and further behind in solos (1).

It’s tough to expect White to hold down the job all season after he couldn’t coax the Eagles or Texans into even keeping him on the roster last season. But we might as well ride this train while it’s chugging.

Even if White’s on-field performance has been overrated for most of his career, we know he can collect numbers.

Payton Wilson, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers

This second-year LB quietly had one of my favorite games of Week 1. 

The 5 tackles (3 solo) were fine, especially with a tackle for loss and a QB hit in included. But the exciting number was 88%. That was Wilson’s snap share in the win over the Jets. And it trailed just four other Steelers:

• CB Jalen Ramsey 100%
• LB Patrick Queen 100%
• CB Darius Slay 100%
• Edge Alex Highsmith 89% (one snap more than Wilson)

As I’ve highlighted multiple times in the past, Wilson racked up big numbers in college, including 50 career tackles for loss, 15 sacks, and 7 INTs. He then lit up the 2024 Scouting Combine with a 99th-percentile 40 time and 98th-percentile speed score.

He slid to Round 3 because of multiple ACL tears that kept him in college for six years. (Wilson’s already 25.)

That dings his long-term outlook, but it won’t stop him from presenting upside this season. Grab Wilson in deeper IDP leagues before his stat lines catch up to the playing time.

Chamarri Conner, S, Kansas City Chiefs

Conner also made the summer sleepers article, and also delivered right away. He led all Chiefs in solo tackles (7) and total tackles (9) and forced a fumble in Friday night’s loss to the Chargers. 

Conner’s not likely to keep leading the team in tackles, but he is well set up to keep delivering in that category. Conner spent 51 of his 64 snaps lined up either in the box or at slot corner. 

With full-time snaps now, he could be a weekly IDP starter.

Want Some Waiver Targets on Offense?

Jared and I talked through some top offensive Week 2 waiver wire pickups in this video ...

Next Up

Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups: Marquise Brown's Volume Reigns Supreme

Next Article  

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.