IDP Waiver Wire Targets – Week 5

Hard to believe we are already one third of the way through the regular season in most of our fantasy leagues. By now, you can really start to see which leagues you have a legitimate chance to win, and those in which you’ve donated your entry fee to someone in the accounting department who doesn’t even watch football. It’s ok, it happens to the best of us. Regardless where you are in the standings though, never stop trying. Work the waiver wire, continue to make trades, etc. because you just never know what could happen. Read on to see my favorite waiver add at each position for IDP.

To qualify for this article, player must be under 50% rostered on Fantrax. 

Defensive Line/EDGE

Matt Judon, New England Patriots

The New England Patriots missed the playoff last season for the first time since 2008 when Matt Cassel led them to an 11-5 record. The last losing season prior to 2020’s 7-9 mark was way back in 2000, a full season before Tom Brady would take over for Drew Bledsoe. Needless to say, the Patriots organization is not used to losing, and in an attempt to right the ship, Bill Belichick set out on a spending spree this past off season. Most of the big name additions were on an offense that struggled mightily last year. The Pats added TEs Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry as well as WRs Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne, and brought back Trent Brown to fortify the offensive line. These moves garnered the biggest headlines last spring, but the also made some moves on the defensive side of the ball, the biggest of which was Matt Judon.

In Judon’s first five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, he became a highly productive pass rusher, notching 34.5 sacks in that span, with 54 tackles for loss. New England was in need of reinforcements rushing the passer, so they brought in the former Raven on a 4-year, $56 million deal. Thus far, its been money well-spent. Judon has played 81% of the Patirots’ defensive snaps in 2021, and has at least one sack in 3 of the first 4 games. His 4.5 sacks is tied for 6th most in the league to this point. Money? Check. Playing time? Check. Production? Check. What more could you want? At only 33% rostered, he’s readily available in most leagues.

Linebacker

Quincy Williams, New York Jets

There is some brotherly love going on in the NFL, but it’s not in Philadelphia. Quincy and Quinnen Williams both entered the league as rookies in 2019, but under vastly different circumstances. Quinnen played for Nick Saban’s powerhouse at Alabama, while Quincy spent four years at Murray State, an FCS program in the Ohio Valley Conference. It was no surprise to see Quinnen drafted with the 3rd overall pick in the draft. Meanwhile, many considered it a reach when Quincy was selected in the 3rd Round by Jacksonville. Two years later, the brothers are playing together as starters in New York, with Quinnen at defensive tackle and Quincy at linebacker. 

When Telvin Smith retired in 2019, Quincy was named the starter. While he was a stellar athlete, he was still very raw, as he attempted to make the jump from FCS to NFL starting linebacker. In Week 5 of his rookie year, he met his match in the form of Christian McCaffrey. Obviously CMC is troublesome for many defenders, but he made Quincy look silly multiple times that day. Doug Marrone chose to roll with veteran Najee Goode over Williams for the remainder of the year, and with the signing of Joe Schobert in 2020, Williams never got the opportunity again in Jacksonville. With a new GM and Head Coach in 2021, his days were numbered, and he was ultimately released on August 31. The Jets, who had lost presumed starter Jarrad Davis to injury, put in a claim, and Quincy officially joined his brother on September 1

The linebacker got his first game action in Week 2, and he immediately handled a heavy workload, playing 92% of the defensive snaps. Since then, he’s played 94% in Week 3, and 97% in Week 4. In last week’s overtime win against the Titans, the Jets played 100 snaps, and Quincy played 97 of them. That kind of snap share cannot be overlooks for IDP purposes. He has increased his tackle numbers each week, going from 5 to 6 to 12 last week. For good measure, he and Quinnen made a little history, becoming the first brothers who recorded sacks in the same game as teammates. Quincy is a must add at this point, and he’s someone I am comfortable inserting into my starting lineup, especially as bye weeks start to kick in. The great story is just icing on the cake.

Defensive Back

Daniel Sorensen, Kansas City Chiefs

Daniel Sorensen enjoyed career year last season at 30 years old, when he recorded 91 combined tackles and 3 interceptions. That was totally a fluke though, right? There’s no way he can repeat that, right? RIGHT??? I hate to break it to you, but he’s actually on pace for a better statistical season this year than last. He’s playing every snap for the Chiefs’ defense, and finding IDPs who never leave the field is becoming harder and harder to do. 

Over the first four weeks, Sorensen has 30 combined tackles, ranking 6th among all defensive backs. If he continues at his pace of 7.5 tackles per game, he’ll finish a 17 game season with 127.5, surpassing 2020’s output by 36.5 stops. I expect the Chiefs will be in a lot of shootouts this year, and Sorensen will continue to have ample tackle opportunities.

At this point, there’s really no reason he should be out there on waivers, but he’s still available in 68% of leagues. If you need some help at DB, you could do much worse than Sorensen. 

Thanks for checking in, and as always you can find me on Twitter @CantALoupe_FF. Good luck in Week 5!