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PeriodRankOverallHighLowPercentile
Week 269.50%1 out of 2069.50%47.80%Top 5%
Week 162.7%8 out of 2072.6%42.7%Top 40%
201566.1%2 out of 1966.7%50.3%Top 5%
201457.0%3 out of 2058.4%48.1%Top 15%

Recycling nicknames can be a tricky endeavor. No matter how great the modern player is, people will always complain that a certain nickname is untouchable. Regardless of what 40-year old Giants fans say, LaDainian Tomlinson will always be known by LT to the majority of fans, and regardless of what die hard Wu-Tang fans say, Odell Beckham will probably go down as ODB. I bring this up because while watching Monday Night Football this week, I couldn’t help but call Colts rookie Henry Anderson by the nickname that will always belong to the immortal Henry Aaron. Now I’m not saying it’s going to stick, but given that it’s both cross-sports and cross-racial, I’m hoping that Hammerin’ Hank catches on with at least the Razzball IDP crowd, because this kid looks like he’s for real. In his first two games as an interior DL, Anderson has put up 14 tackles and a sack. The Colts aren’t exactly known for cranking out IDP options at DL, and Anderson was ranked highly by Pro Football Focus heading into the draft, so there is reason to be excited here. If Anderson is still available this week, I’d make a move on him as a DL3 with upside. Here are some other names to take a look it (for better or for worse) heading into Week 3:


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Jacquies Smith – He’s likely going to be among the most added players this week, but I’m here to rain on Smith’s parade. I won’t deny that 4 sacks in two games is impressive, but unless you’re in a big-play league, I would have trouble trusting Smith on a weekly basis. He only has one non-sack tackle this year, and that’s really his profile. In balanced leagues, I’m fine with rostering him and streaming him against some of the most pass-happy teams he faces in the second half of the year, but I wouldn’t expect another multiple sack day against Houston this week.

Cameron Wake – Much to his owners’ dismay, Wake has yet to score a single point this year. He tweaked his hamstring in against Washington in Week 1, and was on a much more severe pitch count than expected last week, which obviously limits his opportunities. Hamstrings can linger for multiple weeks, so I’m tempering my immediate expectations for Wake until we see him at 100%. The same goes for Olivier Vernon, though to a lesser extent due to the nature of his injury.

Eagles LBs – Both Kiko Alonso and Mychal Kendricks had major injuries in 2014, and unfortunately history has repeated itself this year. Both of them got injured last week, and while there have been conflicting stories coming out of Philadelphia, it’s not a good sign for either of them. As of Wednesday night, neither of them have been ruled out, however I wouldn’t be surprised to see that change for either of them, especially Alonso. Both DeMeco Ryans and Jordan Hicks (in that order) are worth pickups if Alonso and Kendricks miss any time.

Curtis Lofton – What a difference a week makes. Lofton, who had been confined to two-down duty since preseason, suddenly was out there for all three downs and racked up 13 tackles. It looks like he will take over for Ray-Ray Armstrong, who was less than stellar, opposite Malcolm Smith, and should be immediately picked up if he was dropped. I’m not super high on Lofton in general, but he has always been a tackling machine when on the field, so consider him an LB2 until the Raiders change their minds again.

Manti Te’o – Another LB who was left for dead, Te’o looks like the clear LB to own in San Diego. He’s always been solid in coverage for a middle linebacker, so now that he’s seeing the field for all three downs, he will have ample opportunities to rack up points. Like Lofton, I wouldn’t hinge my season on Te’o being an every week starter, but for this price you could do a lot worse. Call it the Catfish Special.

Eric Berry – I’ve been hitting on the Kansas City secondary for awhile now, but given the IDP talent there, and the relative scarcity of snaps to go around, it’s worth checking in weekly. In Week 2, Berry was the story. Not because of his stat line necessarily, though his 4 tackles was an improvement from Week 1, but because he played 97% of the snaps. Right now it looks like Berry and Ron Parker (not to mention rookie CB Marcus Peters) are the guys to own in KC. Hussain Abdullah and (unfortunately) Tyvon Branch are droppable at this point.

Malcolm Jenkins – He’s been ripped on for his coverage deficiencies for years, but when healthy, Jenkins has always been a playable DB in IDP leagues. He’s a solid tackler in run support, and his inability to keep up with receivers gives him even more tackles in coverage. With the aforementioned injuries in Philly, I would expect even more opportunities for Jenkins, who is a legit DB2 for the time being.

Kam Chancellor – IDP owners and Seattle fans rejoice, the hardest hitter in the Legion of Boom is back! Chancellor should get the majority of the snaps on Sunday against Jimmy Clausen and the Bears, but I would temper expectations for this week. There will likely be a considerable rust factor, and I’m staying away until I see how he looks. In fact, if you can capitalize on the fanfare surrounding his return, I would try to flip Kam for a guy like Calvin Pryor or Landon Collins, both of whom have a higher ceiling than Chancellor.

 

 

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