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Week 4 IDP Hits: Replacements Get Shots in Lots of Places

Texans Safety ‘Had to Go’?

C.J. Gardner-Johnson must be just as big a jerk as he seems on TV.

Houston’s release this week of the starting safety seemed like a shock. The team had just this offseason acquired him -- and the two remaining seasons on a $9 million-a-year contract -- from the Eagles.

But there’s a reason that a 27-year-old safety with 18 career INTs hasn’t spent more than one consecutive year with a team since 2021.

Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston called it a “chaotic, untenable situation where league sources characterized Gardner-Johnson’s approach as unwilling to conform to the team-first environment.”

HC Demeco Ryans declined to expound on the issue: “I’m not going to go into all the details of it. … It was the best for our team. That’s why I made the decision.”

An unnamed ex-teammate put it more bluntly: “C.J., yeah, he had to go. You have to embrace the team culture. If you can’t do that, you can’t be a part of this team. He obviously didn’t do that, so he’s gone. It was a lot.”

Who’s Next?

M.J. Stewart should take over Gardner-Johnson’s spot this week. Stewart has started just 10 games across eight years in the league, including just one over his four seasons (including 2025) in Houston.

He has flashed some ability to put up numbers in scant opportunities, but Stewart doesn’t belong in IDP lineups right now.

Jimmie Ward looks like a better bet over the longer term.

Ward opened the season on the commissioner’s exempt list because of a pending domestic-violence case. A grand jury recently decided not to indict him, though, which got the veteran safety off the list.

He’s also working back from a foot injury that landed Ward on the physically unable to perform list but could return as soon as Week 5.

I’d bet on Ward taking Stewart’s spot once he’s ready.

Now let’s hit some other IDP notes …

Post-Bosa Edge Group Full of Question Marks

The 49ers lost Edge Nick Bosa to an ACL tear, and the remaining group at the position lacks proven output.

Here’s what’s left (in order of Week 3 playing time):

• Mykel Williams (65%)
• Sam Okuayinonu (64%)
• Bryce Huff (55%)
• Yetur Gross-Matos (33%)

Williams is the first-round rookie. I remain skeptical of him long term after a college career marked by unfulfilled promise. But he did register 6 pressures last week, according to Pro Football Focus.

Okuayinonu hit the league as an undrafted free agent in 2022 who started three games for last year’s Niners. He tallied no QB hits across those games but contributed 7 hits and 3 sacks as a rotational player otherwise.

The upside looks limited there, though, for a guy who topped out at 6 sacks and 9 tackles for loss in his final college season.

Huff has disappointed since signing a huge contract with the Eagles ahead of last season. He racked up 10 pressures and 2 sacks over the past two games, though. He might prove helpful if your scoring format leans more heavily on sack scoring and awards other pressure-related categories.

Gross-Matos played just 53.6% of snaps over his 11 games for the 2024 Niners after arriving on a sizable free-agent contract. The former second-round pick hasn’t topped 4.5 sacks in a season since arriving in 2020.

We’ll see whether the 49ers add to the position.

Let’s See These Panthers Edge rookies

Injuries on the edge are quickly elevating the role for second-round pick Nic Scourton

He played just 27% of the snaps in the opener, then 40% in Game 2. That seemingly solid jump actually marked an increase of just four snaps.

But Patrick Jones II’s absence last Sunday allowed Scourton’s first career start and kept him on the field for 85% of the snaps. And now the Panthers hit their Week 4 visit to New England with Jones and D.J. Wonnum ruled out. That should leave Scourton and third-round pick Princely Umanmielen as the starters.

Umanmielen went from 12% Week 1 playing time to 24% and 51.5%. He sports the only sack between the rookies so far -- Week 2 at Arizona -- and leads Scourton 4-2 in total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.

New England presents an upside matchup, having yielded 12 sacks across the first three games. Eight of those have come from edge players.

Scourton and Umanmielen got boosts up our Week 4 DL rankings. But neither has proved himself enough to make sense for common-sized IDP lineups.

T.J. Edwards Replacement Delivering

Bears MLB T.J. Edwards has missed two full games and half of the other so far, and Noah Sewell’s numbers couldn’t be happier.

The third-year, former fifth-round pick started weeks 1 and 3 and delivered 9 and 11 tackles in those games, including 6+ solos in each.

Sewell’s a top-36 LB scorer in balanced formats so far and gets an upside matchup with the Raiders this Sunday, in what will be Edwards’ third miss. He has climbed out LB rankings this week.

We’ll see about Edwards’ status on the other side of the Week 5 bye.

Germaine Pratt’s Role Good?

Devin White remains the playing-time leader among Raiders LBs. Pratt appears set as the No. 2, though, and we’ll have to see where his snap share settles.

Pratt’s weak tackle production in Week 3 -- 1 solo, 5 total -- belied his largest snap share so far this season. He went from 91.5% in Week 1 to 76% in Week 2 and then 97% in the loss to Washington. Elandon Roberts followed at 53%.

The Week 2 low, of course, came with his most usable stat line so far. We’ll see whether Pratt can be more of an IDP factor going forward. The playing time’s there, at least.

Jourdan Lewis Might Be a Thing This Year

The Jaguars corner hasn’t missed a snap and sits in top-12 territory of the DB rankings so far.

I held off on including Lewis in this week’s waiver-wire article because the matchup with the 49ers looks just OK. And the Week 5 matchup with the Chiefs looks worse. On top of that, a pair of INTs have inflated his scoring so far.

But Lewis’ playing time sits well above any previous season. His 84% snap share across 16 games last year marked a career high before this year.

If your league includes CB-specific spots or more lineup depth, Lewis should be on a roster. He has added some outside snaps but remains primarily a slot corner. That’s a good spot for consistent action in general.

Downturn for Cedric Gray

I called attention previously to the second-year Titans LB’s strong playing time to open the season. So this week I need to point out the opposite.

Gray went from 82% and 93% playing time the first two weeks to just 56% in the Week 3 loss to the Colts. And he might just keep heading in that direction.

Veteran LB Kyzir White claimed 35% of the playing time in his first Tennessee action. He joined the practice squad just ahead of the regular season, and it looks like Titans coaches want to work him into the defense.

Don’t be surprised if White takes more from Gray this week.

Who’s Left at Safety in Washington?

The Commanders in Week 3 lost S Will Harris to a fibula fracture likely to end his season. Backup Percy Butler also went down with a hip injury that has him out for Week 4.

That means opportunity for veteran special-teams standout Jeremy Reaves.

Reaves wound up playing 70% of last week’s lopsided victory over the Raiders, contributing 4 tackles (2 solo) and a QB hit. That marked just the 11th time since he entered the league as a 2018 undrafted free agent that Reaves reached 50% playing time on defense.

That sample of games hasn’t revealed much statistical upside. Reaves reached 6 total tackles in five of those games, exceeding that number three times. He has tallied 4+ solo tackles just five times in his career. And he has defensed six career passes.

DC Joe Whitt Jr. seems excited for the veteran’s opportunity, at least: “We talked about Reavo during training camp. … Even before then during the spring. Man, he's deserved this time. He's a physical guy. He's a guy that I do feel like can produce the ball. He's smart. He communicates well. So, you know, he'll, his role would definitely pick up.”

We’ll see whether Reaves deserves IDP attention. The Commanders also signed S Darnell Savage this week to bolster the depth chart.

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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.