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Week 13 IDP Hits

Mack Might Be Back

It’s been a while since we saw full-strength Khalil Mack.

The Week 8 win over the Saints, in fact, marked the last time that he reached 50% playing time in a game. He tallied a sack among 2 QB hits in that game.

Mack added another sack – giving him just 4.5 for the season – among 2 tackles for loss and forced a fumble in the following week’s victory over Cleveland. But Mack also came away from that game with a groin injury that significantly altered his past three weeks.

Injury Past?

Mack didn’t practice at all ahead of Week 10 and then made it through just 4 snaps. He then sat out Week 11 altogether.

Week 12 found some rebound: limited practices all week and then 43% playing time in the loss to the Ravens. Mack did manage 4 tackles (season-high 3 solos) and a QB hit in that contest.

This week, though, has found his groin issue not even listed. Mack sat out of Wednesday’s workout for “rest.” Then he put in two full practices and got no game designation.

Good Outlook

That should mean at least a near-full Mack against a Falcons team that yielded 3 sacks each of its past two games.

Then comes a Chiefs offense that has struggled in protection recently. Patrick Mahomes has taken 5 sacks in consecutive outings against the Panthers and Raiders; 4+ sacks in four of his past five games.

A healthy Mack, of course, makes for a weekly starting candidate in most formats that group him with other edge players and D-linemen (and include at least balanced sack-tackle scoring).

Strong Finish for Team D?

This will also mark the first time since Week 1 that the Chargers get full-strength Mack and full-strength Joey Bosa together.

Bosa finally returned to stronger playing time the past two weeks after battling injuries from Week 2 through Week 10.

Getting that duo healthy can obviously only help what’s been one of the league’s best defenses this year. The remaining schedule looks tough for DST scoring, though:

The Chargers can be playable for home dates with the Bucs and Broncos. That Week 17 trip to New England looks most attractive, though – for the team defense and its primary sackers.

Arizona Cardinals

Edge Baron Browning climbed from 31% playing time in his Week 10 Cardinals debut to 53% in Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks.

The former Bronco has managed just 2 total tackles since arriving via trade but did post his first QB hit of the season Sunday. 

Pro Football Focus has credited him with a mere 3 pressures through two games, though. There’s probably not much IDP impact coming here.

Jalen Thompson Trending Toward Return

The Arizona secondary, on the other hand, carries impact potential. We’ll still have to wait until Sunday to see if that’ll include S Jalen Thompson this week, though.

Thompson remained limited this week after missing the past two games with an ankle sprain. He’s questionable vs. Minnesota. 

HC Jonathan Gannon said early Friday that Thompson had looked good and that they hoped to get him back. But we’ll have to see.

Carolina Panthers

Edge Jadeveon Clowney racked up 1.5 sacks among 3 total QB hits in the Panthers’ surprisingly close Week 12 loss to the Chiefs.

That more than doubled Clowney’s season totals for both sacks (now 2.5) and QB hits (5).

Clowney has seen a playing-time boost over the past four contests, though, after missing two games with a shoulder injury.

He’s now questionable for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers, though, with a knee issue that allowed just a single limited practice Friday.

Clowney carried the same issue into Week 12 but went no practice, limited, full before that “questionable” designation.

Denver Broncos

It looks like the Broncos tried to replace LB Justin Strnad in the lineup but realized they didn’t have a better option.

Here’s how Strnad’s weekly playing time has developed as the No. 2 LB since he got elevated in Week 4: 

• 77%
• 73%
• 76%
• 60%
• 61%
• 25%
• 62%
• 47%
• 82%

Denver tried and quickly quit on Kwon Alexander. Zach Cunningham played just 2 snaps as the No. 3 non-edge LB against the Raiders last time out.

Strnad began his starting run well, with sacks in three of his first four appearances and a string of four straight games with 5+ solo tackles. But he has now gone four straight without exceeded 2 solos or 4 total tackles.

There’s not much value available here.

Detroit Lions

Consecutive weeks have found the Lions losing LB Alex Anzalone and LB Malcolm Rodriguez for the season. They join LBs Derrick Barnes and Jalen Reeves-Maybin on IR.

Detroit quickly moved to claim Kwon Alexander off Denver’s practice squad the day after losing Rodriguez. That means the Lions will need to keep him on the active roster, which obviously boosts Alexander’s chances of seeing meaningful snaps.

Trevor Nowaske looks like the next LB up among incumbents. We’ll see whether Alexander quickly moves past him.

You probably shouldn’t bother with any Lions LB beyond Jack Campbell for IDP purposes.

Houston Texans

Houston didn’t take long to realize what LB Devin White’s past two employers found out: You don’t want this guy heavily involved on your defense.

White played 50% of the snaps back in Week 8, his first appearance with the Texans. He dipped to just 22 combined snaps over the next two games before jumping to 60% playing time (50 snaps) at Dallas in Week 11.

That came at the expense of Henry To’oTo’o, who fell to a 31% snap share. But last week found To’oTo’o back up to 94% and White playing just 25%.

We’ll see whether there’s further play-time shuffling. But To’oTo’o should remain the better bet. And info remains scarce on when LB Christian Harris (calf injury) might be ready.

Anderson Produces on Less Time

Edge Will Anderson Jr. returned last week after missing two games with an ankle injury. He racked up 2 sacks in a positive matchup with the Titans. But he also fell short of his pre-injury role.

Anderson played 51% of the snaps against Tennessee. Just one of his first eight games this season fell short of 71%.

He’ll obviously be in better shape if that rebounds further. Anderson followed a similar practice schedule this week vs. Week 12, though, from no practice Wednesday to a limited Thursday and full Friday.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders this week placed CB Jakorian Bennett on IR with the shoulder injury that had already cost him Week 12 and knocked him out for most of Week 11 (after 2 snaps).

The earliest he’ll be eligible to return is Week 17, so Bennett shouldn’t be held in IDP leagues. Decamerion Richardson has emerged as a full-timer in Bennett’s absence.

Friday’s loss to the Chiefs marked his second straight game with 5 solo tackles. Only one starting CB in the league has averaged 5+ solos per game to date (Saints Paulson Adebo, who went on IR after seven games).

Miami Dolphins

Edge Chop Robinson, Miami’s first-round pick, had turned it on before Thursday night’s silent stat line at Green Bay.

After tallying just 1 QB hit through Week 8, he delivered 2+ in three of four games heading into Week 13. That included 1+ sacks in each of those three games. And the rookie added his first 2 pass deflections against the Patriots in Week 12.

The Packers matchup was predictably tough. Jordan Love had taken just 1.1 sacks per game across his nine appearances entering the week. But there’s sack upside to upcoming matchups with the Jets and Texans.

Robinson also presents a low fantasy floor, though, with little tackle production. So he’s only an option for leagues with sack/pressure-heavy scoring.

Minnesota Vikings

The 2-sack, 5-hit game for Edge Patrick Jones II at Tennessee in Week 11 was a pretty big outlier.

It followed five straight games without a single QB hit for Jones. And his 75% playing time in that contest is surrounded by three other weeks of snap shares smaller than 40%.

That Titans game actually marked the third 2-sack game of the season for Jones. But his previous two came back in the first and second weeks of the season.

Jones gets no other matchups the rest of the way as favorable for sack collection as Will Levis has been.

Seattle Seahawks

Seattle got starting S Rayshawn Jenkins back from IR for Sunday’s win over the Cardinals. But that changed nothing for Coby Bryant.

The guy who took over Jenkins’ spot kept it vs. Arizona, playing every defensive snap and spending most of that in a deep-safety role, according to PFF.

Jenkins played 50% and spent more than half his time in the box. That’s in line with how Jenkins spent his snaps before the injury, but the halved playing time isn’t likely to support fantasy usefulness.

Clearly, Seattle coaches have liked what they’ve seen since moving Bryant from his slot role to safety.

Who Belongs in Your IDP Lineup?

Have trouble figuring out which IDPs to get into your lineup each week? The Team Intel page combines our 3D Projections with the specifics of your situation to give you a clear picture every week.

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.