DL Streaming 101: Week 1
Professor IDP looks at the best DE and DT streaming options in your IDP fantasy football leagues for Week 1.
Welcome to the Week 1 edition of DL Streaming 101! In future weeks, I’ll break down how things went for the week and season at the start of each lesson. Since we are (finally) in Week 1, let’s hop right in after just a few quick explainers.
My ratings are based on a combination of player metrics and ratings as well as opponent ratings (described here).
This is my third year breaking down DTs and my second year focusing on DEs. Past performance of my modeling can be found here.
Players are grouped by their availability in IDP leagues on MyFantasyLeague with all players being outside of the 50 most rostered DT + DE. If you play in shallow IDP leagues and have questions, paid subscribers to theidpshow.com have access to Mike Woellert’s weekly rankings which cover many higher-end options that don’t meet my streaming criteria.
I will continue to use tiers (and sort within tiers) as I have done in the past when covering the entirety of the DT landscape.
Ideal players are those who I would start in virtually any format. (🎓🎓🎓🎓)
Solid players are guys I would be comfortable playing in leagues where there are 16-24 starters at the position. (🎓🎓🎓)
Solid (deeper) players are better plays for your leagues with best ball elements or where there are 28+ starters at each position. (🎓🎓)
Dart throw players have significant red flags (usually due to usage) but also increased potential to boom due to pass rush ability and/or advantageous matchups. (🎓)
DL Available in 75% of Leagues
Baron Browning, DE, Denver Broncos 🎓🎓🎓🎓
Browning’s roots as an ILB are reflected in his stellar run defense grade last season of 80.7 and is paired with a pass rush grade of 74.7, offering talent that suggests a nice floor and upside. He played between 65% and 91% of snaps in the second half of last season with no significant competition added in the offseason. Combine all this with what was a slightly plus matchup for DEs last year in Seattle to start the year and you have a rare “Ideal” tier player who is still widely available.
Anfernee Jennings, DE, New England Patriots 🎓🎓🎓
Jennings just barely misses the cut for an ideal play due to some snap uncertainty in a revamped Patriots defensive line. With no Judon in the lineup last year, Jennings’ snap share varied from 55% up to 97%. The Bengals were a significantly advantageous matchup for DEs last season but brought in Orlando Brown (whom Jennings will likely lineup opposite) to address this deficiency. Jennings’ 2023 pass rush also left a lot to be desired at 55.3 but he was an elite run defender graded at 85.9. As of this writing, the Bengals are an 8.5-point favorite which could translate into an emphasis on the run game allowing Jennings to shine in leagues that reward DE tackles.
Arik Armstead, DT, Jacksonville Jaguars 🎓🎓🎓
Our first DT streaming option is a familiar face in a new place. Armstead moves from San Francisco to Jacksonville with a great opportunity for a massive snap count alongside one of the better young edge tandems in the league. Armstead boasted an 86.5 pass rush grade last season and although Miami was good at protecting Tua last year, Armstead looks to be lined up often against converted center Liam Eichenberg whose pass protection grade when he last played guard in 2022 was a paltry 39.6.
David Onyemata, DT, Atlanta Falcons 🎓🎓🎓
Onyemata was one of the top-graded DTs in all of football last season (9th overall) on his way to a high-end DT3 season hampered by injuries. The Falcons added several bodies to their D-Line this offseason (and lost a big one in Calais Campbell) but none of the new arrivals should hinder a snap share that was over 60% in 8 of 9 games last year before injuries limited his snaps. While the Steelers were not a great fantasy matchup for DTs last year, new QB Russell Wilson was sacked 45 times last year in just 15 games playing behind a better O-Line which makes this a sneaky good matchup to exploit for sack upside.
Osa Odighizuwa, DT, Dallas Cowboys 🎓🎓🎓
Odighizuwa is primarily here due to his anticipated snap share as he averaged a 69% snap share in the final 6 weeks of the 2023 season. Despite having a great O-Line, the Browns quietly gave up the 9th most fantasy points to DT last season which could allow Odighizuwa’s good but not elite talent set (65.1 run defense/78.7 pass rush grades) to translate into fantasy production in Week 1.
Dorance Armstrong, DE, Washington Commanders 🎓🎓
Armstrong lands in the Solid (Deeper) tier due to uncertainty about the situation in Washington. I think Armstrong will play 70-80% of snaps since the cupboard is bare behind him but that snap share with his talent would be much more appealing if he weren’t likely to be lining up across from one of the best OTs in the NFL in Tristan Wirfs. I would like to see his usage and how he plays with one of the best interior groups in the league in Allen/Payne before I have too much confidence in recommending him, but if you are looking for a stream in deeper leagues, he is a solid option.
DL Available in 90% of Leagues
Alim McNeil, DT, Detroit Lions 🎓🎓🎓🎓
I know that professors aren’t supposed to play favorites but it is hard not to like McNeil for a big year starting with a big opening week. McNeil was the 7th rated DT by PFF in 2023 and one of only a handful with run defense and pass rush grades both exceeding 75. With the additions of Marcus Davenport and D.J. Reader, the Detroit D-Line has the potential to be the most improved in the NFL allowing for McNeil’s elite talent and snap rate (9 games in 2023 over 70%) to translate into DT1 performance. While the Rams were a bad fantasy matchup for DTs last year, the versatile McNeil is likely to spend some time lined up across on the poorly graded left side of the O-Line as well as against the strongly graded right.
DeMarcus Walker, DE, Chicago Bears 🎓🎓
I recently wrote up Walker as a player I liked as a good speculative pre-season DL waiver addition. As I mentioned in that article, Walker’s 2023 on-field performance was much better than his stat lines. Specifically, his 47 pressures last year were a significant improvement from the 35 he boasted in 2022 on his way to 8 sacks. An 8-10 sack outing for Walker may start in Week 1 against a Titans team that was among the most fantasy-friendly in the league to DEs last season (although that line should be among, if not, the most improved in the NFL). Austin Booker might make a run for Walker’s job at some point, but a 70%+ snap share is likely his for the foreseeable future creating ample fantasy opportunities.
Arden Key, DE, Tennessee Titans 🎓🎓
If Arden Key can beat a PED suspension, he can definitely beat Braxton Jones a few times this week. Key’s average snaps in 2023 were less than ideal with an average of 63% per game but he remains worth a speculative play against a Bears team that gave up the 3rd most fantasy points to DE last season. Key’s 73 pass rush grade shows he has sack upside which is what we look for in most streamer plays (particularly early in the season).
Sheldon Rankins, DT, Cincinnati Bengals 🎓🎓
Rankins is a step down from D.J. Reader in the Bengals lineup this season but is primed to play significant snaps in the 65-75% range starting in Week 1 against the Patriots. Rankins is a solid pass rusher with a 2023 PFF grade of 74.7. As I previously mentioned, the Bengals-Patriots game has one of the widest spreads this season which favors the Patriots to be passing early and often from a deficit. Should this come to pass, Rankins should be primed for a good game but given he is a liability against the run, an unexpected game script could lead to a boom or bust situation.
John Franklin-Myers, DT, Denver Broncos 🎓🎓
Franklin-Myers joins Zach Allen on the Broncos D-Line after some underwhelming fantasy years with the Jets. JFM looks to see more stability in 2024 with the Broncos after playing between 23-66% snap shares each of the last two seasons in New York. He has plenty of 70%+ snap share games in his history and very little competition with his new team which should create a positive opportunity structure. JFM has a solid, but not ideal, grades against the run and pass (both over 64) which should help to raise his floor.
Kyle Van Noy, DE, Baltimore Ravens 🎓🎓
Lastly, we have Kyle Van Noy who is inexplicably listed as a LB on MFL but his ownership level is still extremely low and so he represents a good DL stream on Sleeper or other platforms where he has DL eligibility. Van Noy is the last player listed primarily due to uncertainty around who will be on the field for the Ravens in 2024. Carrying forward his average snap share from 2023 at 52% puts him at the very end of tier 2 but if he bumps to a 65%+ snap share (feasible with Clowney’s departure) he would jump all the way to the Solid tier above several of the other options listed above. Add in a plus matchup against Jawaan Taylor (PFF’s 71st graded tackle out of 82 eligible players) and Van Noy is positioned for streaming success.
Good luck and if you have any questions about deep DL plays, my office is always open on Twitter (@ProfessorIDP). While this article is a freebie, please consider supporting me, the show, and the broader IDP community by adding your league(s) to the 2024 State of IDP Survey!
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