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Week 1 IDP Hits

Let's Get Some Answers

You know what I like best about Week 1 of the NFL season? We start getting answers.

I find that’s especially needed on the IDP front.

We had 17 reporters telling us what shoes Ja’Marr Chase was wearing and how slowly he was walking out to not practice all summer.

But updates on Will Anderson Jr.’s injured ankle?
Details on Washington’s renovated safety position?
Insight into Rams LB playing time after Ernest Jones left?

Tough to find.

Now that the games have started, though, we won’t have to hunt so much for the details. They’ll be right there in the weekly snap shares.

And I’ll be combing through all of them – every week – to decipher what we should expect going forward.

Let’s run through some key situations by team, starting with the first four to play …

Baltimore Ravens

LB Trenton Simpson takes over the role vacated by Patrick Queen’s free-agent departure, but he didn’t match Queen’s playing time in Week 1.

The second-year man played 70% of Baltimore defensive snaps in the loss to the Chiefs. Queen’s lowest season share across four seasons was 75.9% in 2021. He played 96.9% of the snaps last year, despite sharing the field with Roquan smith all season.

We’ll see if the Ravens ramp that up for the newbie or alter the playing time depending on the matchup. But that level won’t be enough to put Simpson in starter consideration for most IDP leagues. 

He tallied just 5 total tackles against the Chiefs, including a mere 2 solos. Simpson did show some cross-category potential, though, with a half-sack and a pass breakup.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs showed why they gave LB Drue Tranquill a three-year, $19 million extension this offseason by playing him much more against the Ravens than they did Willie Gay Jr.

Tranquill played 84% of snaps alongside a healthy Nick Bolton (100%) on Thursday night. Gay reached that level just five times in 66 appearances across his four seasons with K.C. (including the playoffs).

Don’t worry too much about Tranquill’s mere 4 tackles (3 solo) in an oddly pass-heavy approach for the Ravens. He’ll carry decent scoring potential for deeper IDP leagues.

Position Shift for Chris Jones?

DL Chris Jones played a surprising amount of his snaps on the edge vs. Baltimore.

According to Pro Football Focus numbers, he spent 63.2% of his Thursday night snaps at a DE or edge spot. Here are his rates over five seasons with Steve Spagnuolo as DC:

• 2023: 50.3%
• 2022: 40.4%
• 2021: 54.3%
• 2020: 32.0%
• 2019: 36.4%

It’s especially worth watching because Spags tinkered with playing Jones primarily on the edge at the beginning of 2021 – only to shift him back inside before midseason.

There’s no reason to worry here. Jones is a terrific player the Chiefs have heavily invested in. And Spagnuolo’s been a DC or HC in the NFL for 15 years.

But I’ll be watching.

Philadelphia Eagles

Rookie CB Quinyon Mitchell started the opener – as many expected. He played 63 of 67 snaps and defensed a pair of passes. The bigger question was where he’d go in sub packages. Answer: Nowhere.

Mitchell spent 56 of his snaps on the outside (all on the right). Shifting to the slot more would likely help his numbers. We’ll see how he produces.

Playing opposite CB Darius Slay Jr. can’t hurt.

Instant Stud?

LB Zack Baun reached 50% playing time in a game just three times across four seasons in New Orleans.

His Eagles debut found him playing every snap and delivering a HUGE stat line:

• 11 solos
• 4 assists
• 2 sacks

Expect to find Baun inside the top 15 of the updated rest-of-season rankings next week – and the Week 2 rankings.

Fellow LB Nakobe Dean played nearly every snap (64) and was fine.

He posted just 4 tackles on a night that saw just two Eagles exceed 5. Dean also presented a mixed performance, showing speed and recognition at times but also getting lost in coverage a time or two.

We’ll see whether his role changes when Devin White returns to health.

Green Bay Packers

Quay Walker predictably led the LB corps in the first game since De’Vondre Campbell’s offseason departure.

Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson joined him in the starting lineup. But McDuffie played 97% of snaps to just 20% for Wilson.

He tallied a fairly quiet 6 tackles (3 solo) and a QB hit, but there’s room for McDuffie to reach fantasy relevance.

Nixon Produces but Carries Risk

CB Keisean Nixon delivered a strong fantasy line in Brazil:

• 7 total tackles
• 6 solos
• 1 sack
• 2 tackles for loss
• 2 QB hits
• 1 pass defensed

Looks like an automatic start for Week 2, right? Be careful.

Nixon played just 68% of snaps as Green Bay’s third CB. That was in line with his playing-time range in the same role last season. And he’ll likely see more time against teams that run their third WR more (42% for Philly on Friday night).

So Nixon can be in lineups. Just don’t overrate his usability on the strength of his Week 1 stat line.

Buffalo Bills

Does LB Dorian Williams play starter-level snaps in Matt Milano’s place? If he does, there’s room for the speedy Tulane alum to deliver sleeper-level production – like Terrel Bernard did last year.

Williams racked up 132 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 INTs, and 2 forced fumbles in his final college season. He tallied 10.5 sacks and 28 tackles for loss across his three seasons as a starter there.

We just need to know whether he’ll be on the field enough this season.

Los Angeles Chargers

Spring practices opened with rookie LB Junior Colson drawing buzz and looking like a potential starter next to veteran Denzel Perryman. But an injury tripped that up, and Colson never seemed to catch up.

Now we hit the season with second-year LB Daiyan Henley starting next to Perryman, who has spent much more of his career in part-time duty than full-time.

If Henley goes full time, he could easily present top-24 scoring potential. The former third-round pick hit college as a WR, moved to DB, and then LB. And he progressed to this final-season line:

• 106 tackles
• 12 tackles for loss
• 4 sacks
• 1 INT (after 4 the year before)
• 3 forced fumbles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Does rookie LB Payton Wilson fight Elandon Roberts for playing time next to Patrick Queen?

I’m excited about the long-term upside of Wilson, who posted huge stats at N.C. State …

• 402 tackles
• 48 tackles for loss
• 15 sacks
• 7 INTs

… and then ran a 97th-percentile 40 time at the Scouting Combine.

Wilson slid to late Round 3 (sixth non-edge LB drafted) because he has already gone through two ACL tears (one knee no longer has that ligament) and already turned 24 in May.

But the on-field ability is intriguing.

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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.