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Week 4 IDP Waiver Wire: Leave No Productive LB Behind

But First, a Correction

Unfortunately, I have to start by going back on a recommendation from last week.

I’ve talked up LB Payton Wilson plenty, so I have to acknowledge the negative. That has been his performance, and we saw it damage his Week 3 playing time.

Wilson drew near-full-time snaps over the first two weeks, but he earned poor grades from Pro Football Focus in both run defense and coverage.

He has allowed 10 catches, 150 yards, and a TD among 12 targets.

So Pittsburgh cut Wilson’s playing time way down in Week 3: from 87.5% and 86.2% the first wo games to just 47.3%. LB Cole Holcomb passed him (playing 50%) after playing zero snaps in the opener and 20% in Week 2.

Wilson lost work in both run D and coverage. And it’s tough to see why that would flip quickly back the other way.

So feel free to dump Wilson this week. And we’ll start the list of potential pickups with one of his teammates.

Week 4 IDP Waiver Wire Targets

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

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.

Cameron Heyward, DL, Pittsburgh Steelers

Heyward notched his first sack (and QB hit) of the season in last week’s win over the Patriots and has defensed a pass in each of the three contests.

The veteran spent a portion of the summer sitting out in pursuit of a contract enhancement, but he has gotten right back to his usual playing time -- including exceeding 70% snap shares each of the past two weeks.

Heyward hits the list this week, though, primarily because of a Week 4 matchup with the Vikings. Minnesota has supplied the third-most fantasy points to D-linemen so far and sits tied for most sacks allowed to the position group. QB Carson Wentz took three sacks among just 26 dropbacks in his first start Sunday.

Montez Sweat, Edge, Chicago Bears

Sweat tallied a mere 3 total pressures over the first two games this season. He doubled that number in Sunday’s victory over the Cowboys, including his first sack of the year.

Week 4 holds a visit to Vegas, where Sweat will face a QB tied for the second-most total pressures taken this season. Geno Smith has taken 12 sacks through three games, including a high of five last week against a modest Washington pass rush.

Although Sweat has just the 1 sack, he has tallied 3 tackles for loss and 3 QB hits. So he has been getting into opponent backfields.

Tyrel Dodson, LB, Miami Dolphins

I’m hoping you scoff at this one and say, “Uh, he hasn’t been available for weeks.”

Dodson opened the year in LB3 territory of the rankings. But he has been scoring LB1 numbers since then. And yet, he found himself rostered in just 13% of Sleeper IDP leagues as of Monday night.

We never got a full season of Dodson as starter before this season, so we could only guess at how he’d produce. But the sixth-year vet leads the league in solo tackles through three weeks. He has racked up 13, 9, and 11 total tackles, including 2 tackles for loss and a sack.

Dodson should have a home in every IDP league at this point.

Carson Schwesinger, LB, Cleveland Browns

Schwesinger sat even higher in our preseason rankings than Dodson, well ahead of consensus -- to the point that I’m sure he landed on many a Draft Sharks squad. Yet, similar to Dodson, the Cleveland rookie finished Week 3 rostered in just 18% of Sleeper IDP leagues.

I held off on mentioning Schwesinger in this space across a couple of unexciting scoring weeks to open the year, but he broke through statistically in Sunday’s surprising upset of Green Bay.

The second-round pick delivered 10 tackles (7 solo) and a sack. The game included his second tackle for loss and second QB hit of the year.

PFF has graded Schwesinger well in run defense and coverage so far, and solidly as a pass rusher, where he has already gotten 17 opportunities (tied for 18th most among all non-edge LBs).

Schwesinger should stay busy against the Lions and Vikings the next two weeks and just prove generally startable overall the rest of the way. There’s potential for his solid play across areas to start producing big plays, especially in the middle of what’s been a strong defense.

Ivan Pace Jr., LB, Minnesota Vikings

Pace followed 89% playing time in the first game without LB Blake Cashman by dipping a little to 77% in the beatdown of Cincinnati. But he also racked up a terrific stat line.

Pace delivered game highs in total tackles (12) and solo tackles (9) and led all players with 3 QB hits. The third-year player has rushed 22 times through three games, tied for seventh-most among off-ball LBs, according to PFF. And his 7 total pressures tie for the position lead.

Pace now gets upside matchups with the Steelers and Browns ahead of a Week 6 bye. Cashman will be eligible to return from IR after that, so we’ll re-assess come Week 7.

Alex Singleton, LB, Denver Broncos

Singleton was more widely rostered than the first two linebackers on this list as of Monday (32% on Sleeper), but I still think he should be more widely held.

The 32-year-old has started a bit slowly statistically vs. his prior production. But the sheer fact that he has played every snap through three weeks coming off last season’s ACL tear marks a significant victory.

According to his PFF grades, Singleton’s performance has lagged vs. previous seasons -- especially in run defense. But the Broncos just placed LB Dre Greenlaw on IR as he continues to work back from a nagging quad injury. That means at least three more games without him and no risk of Singleton losing playing time over that span.

Coming off a 12-tackle outing (though just 4 solos), Singleton gets an upside matchup this week against the Bengals, who sit tied for third-most fantasy points supplied to LBs.

Christian Rozeboom, LB, Carolina Panthers

I still don’t believe Rozeboom is good at football … you know, relative to other professional football players. (He’s probably quite a bit better than I am.)

After starting 16 total games across his first four seasons, the 28-year-old managed just a one-year, $2.5 million contract in his first shot at the open market. And now he ranks 56th in overall PFF defensive grade among 61 LBs with 100+ snaps this season. Rozeboom also ranks just 56th in coverage grade at the position, and 59th in tackling.

So what the heck’s he doing here? Well, he also hasn’t missed a snap through three games with the Panthers -- which tells you something about the state of this LB corps. And No. 2 Trevin Wallace? He’s actually losing playing time. Check out his snap shares through three games:

• 86%
• 76%
• 58%

Rozeboom has converted the playing time into solid production for tackle-friendly leagues, including 6+ solos in two of his three games. And this week brings a positive matchup with the Patriots.

New England sits tied for third-most fantasy points supplied to LBs, and also ranks top-5 in providing for D-linemen. So there should be numbers available for a thin Carolina front seven.

Zyon McCollum, CB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

McCollum’s 9 solo tackles in Sunday’s win over the Jets now has him tied for third among all defenders in solos for the season. He’s also tied for seventh among DBs in total tackles. 

That’s driving mid-DB2 range fantasy production so far, even without any big plays at a position that tends to swing heavily on those. (Lookin’ at you, Isaiah Rodgers.)

It’s actually a little surprising that McCollum has yet to defense a pass this year. According to PFF, he sits tied for seventh-most targets in coverage. And the 118.3 passer rating he’s allowing should keep the ball coming his way, especially with CB Jamel Dean sporting a 23.8 passer rating on the opposite side.

No need to worry about that disparity taking McCollum off the field, though. The Bucs extended him at $16 million a year just before this season started.

Next up on the schedule: A Philly pass offense that enjoyed a Week 3 resurgence and relies heavily on its top two wideouts (when it throws).

Christian Benford, CB, Buffalo Bills

Benford’s more of a short-term target than other guys on this list. Buffalo’s lead corner has presented modest production (amid good play) across his first three seasons (plus three weeks).

This Sunday, though, should find him tailing Saints WR Chris Olave plenty. The Saints supported two 9+ tackle DBs in the Seahawks secondary in Week 3, including 11 tackles (9 solo) by CB Josh Jobe.

New Orleans also yielded six passes defensed to Seattle DBs, and seven to Cardinals DBs back in the opener. Overall, only the Raiders and Bengals have supplied more PDs to opponent defensive backs.

Expect Benford to stay busy in a home date that finds the visitor as an underdog by more than two TDs. That likely trailing game script should motivate pass volume for the Saints and create big-play opportunities for the Buffalo secondary.

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Week 3 IDP Hits: Get to Know This New LB and More Risers

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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.