DL Streaming 101: Week 10
Professor IDP looks at the best DE and DT streaming options in your IDP fantasy football leagues for Week 10.
Welcome to the Week 10 edition of DL Streaming 101! After a lighter bye week, four teams are off in Week 10, making this a great time to stream. Before we dive into this week’s picks, a quick look back at Week 9 and DL streaming results across the 2024 season.
The 10-point-per-game average streak continues for a seventh week, thanks in large part to a few huge successes. Grover Stewart, Tuli Tuipulotu, and Dalvin Tomlinson all put up DL1 numbers helping us hit a season-high weekly average of 14.65. Davon Godchaux, Chauncey Golston, and Osa Odighizuwa were all viable starters in Week 9 but that still leaves five players who were fantasy disappointments (not counting B.J. Hill, who was injured early in the Bengals’ win over the Raiders).
For the season, we are now over 11 points per game overall and within each of the three top tiers. As the market catches up to some of our past successes, the talent pool shrinks but there are still plenty of great steaming options at DL for Week 10!
DL Available in 75% of IDP Leagues
Alim McNeill, DT, DET (🎓🎓🎓🎓)
McNeil is the first Ideal-tier play we have had in weeks and earns this rating by checking nearly every box in my model. His snap share is phenomenal for a DT, playing 83% in Week 9. His PFF pass rush grade of 77.6 ranks him near the top of the league for an interior defensive lineman. The Lions face the Texans this week in one of the most DT-fantasy-friendly matchups out there with the Texans averaging 43.59 NPLB points per game to the position.
Arden Key, DE, TEN (🎓🎓🎓)
Key makes another appearance in the DL streaming article this season and just misses the Ideal tier making him a solid play in Week 10. Key played 87% of snaps in Week 9 and there are no signs of this diminishing soon. Key has an identical grade in my model this week to teammate Harold Landry as both play great snap shares but while Landry is a better run defender, Key has been a better-graded pass-rusher on the season. The Chargers have been giving up points in bunches to opposing DTs recently but are also slightly above average in fantasy points allowed to opposing DEs making this a slight plus matchup.
Osa Odighizuwa, DT, DAL (🎓🎓🎓)
Odighizuwa has been highly reliable from a snap share perspective, only dipping below 60% once and this has led to nice consistency from a fantasy perspective. Odighizuwa is averaging nearly 10 ppg this season and while that is the floor that we look for and not the ceiling, that consistency and pass rush upside (a 70.2 grade per PFF) suggests we likely have not seen the best from him yet from a fantasy perspective. Only the Chargers and Patriots have given up a higher fantasy average to opposing DTs this season than the Eagles. Pair that with the expected return of all-world edge Micah Parsons and this could be the week that we get a boom week from Odighizuwa.
Maliek Collins, DT, SF (🎓🎓🎓)
Back from a bye and straight into the DL streaming conversation, Collins has been uncharacteristically poor as a run defender in 2024 but his snap share and pass rush grade keep him in the streaming conversation. Collins played 76% of snaps in the 49ers last outing and boasts a PFF pass rush grade of 70 on the season. The matchup is concerning as Tampa Bay has only allowed 24.46 fantasy points per game to opposing DTs in 2024 placing them near the worst matchups. Still, the combination of talent and opportunity keeps Collins viable to stream in Week 10.
Arnold Ebiketie, DE, ATL (🎓🎓🎓)
I had high hopes for Ebiketie coming into the season in large part due to the lack of options at pass rusher for Atlanta. When Matt Judon entered the picture, things got cloudier for the Penn State product but Ebiketie has been outplaying his more highly touted teammate in terms of PFF overall, run defense, and pass rush grade and, in Week 9, Ebiketie also outsnapped Judon 70% to 52%. My inclusion of him this week is not just due to his play relative to Judon but also his play overall as his key PFF grades are all over 65. The matchup against the Saints is far from ideal but he remains a viable streaming option.
Tuli Tuipulotu, DE, LAC (🎓🎓)
In proof that I don’t chase points, Tuipulotu moves down a tier from last week despite posting a monster game that made him a top 12 DE in most IDP scoring systems. While his play has improved and this has translated into the stat box, two things hurt his stock this week. First, he was incredibly efficient last week (three sacks on four pressures) at a rate that is likely unsustainable. Second, in the one game this season when teammate Joey Bosa was “healthy”, his snap share was problematic at 45%. Bosa played sparingly last week but if/when his snap shares ramp up, it is unclear whether Tuipulotu or Bud Dupree’s snap share will take a hit. The Titans are a good matchup and I will be starting Tuipulotu in one of my leagues this week, but I’m also tempering expectations a bit.
DL Available in 90% of IDP Leagues
Levi Onwuzurike, DT, DET (🎓🎓🎓)
Did you know that Onwuzurike has 23 QB pressures on the season which ranks him 13th among all interior defenders? He has clearly shown his talent this season and is being rewarded with increased opportunities, playing a season-high 75% of snaps in Week 9. As was previously mentioned, the Texans are a great matchup for opposing fantasy DTs ranking sixth for the season in average fantasy points allowed. Other than Weeks 1 and 7, the Texans have allowed at least two viable fantasy DTs in every matchup in 2024 which should allow Onwuzurike and McNeil to act as great streaming options in Week 10.
Da'Shawn Hand, DT, MIA (🎓🎓🎓)
After starting the season as a rotational piece, Hand has played over 80% of snaps in each of the past two games. Downgrade Hand (and maybe plug in teammate Emmanuel Ogbah) if Zach Sieler plays this week but he has been playing well of late from both a PFF perspective (all grades over 60) and a fantasy perspective (three straight weeks over 10 fantasy points). The Dolphins play the Rams this week who have been a middle-of-the-road matchup for opposing DTs but have allowed good performances to the Packers and Seahawks over the past four weeks.
Chauncey Golston, DE, DAL (🎓🎓🎓)
This is admittedly a risky play this week with Micah Parsons likely returning and an unknown edge rotation but Golston has been the constant for the Cowboys in Parsons’ absence with Carl Lawson and Tyrus Wheat playing more rotational roles. In addition to the great snap share (93% in Week 9), Golston has also graded out well including a 66.6 pass rush grade and a win rate of 12.8% which places him in the top half of starting DEs. The Eagles are a great matchup for opposing DL and gave up a combined 68.2 NPLB points to the Jaguars duo of Hines-Allen and Walker last week. While I’m not expecting that kind of outing for Golston, it is still a matchup that should allow him to be a great plug-and-play fantasy DE option.
Charles Harris, DE, CAR (🎓🎓🎓)
Wise fantasy managers play DEs who play the Giants. Harris might not grade out particularly well but he plays enough snaps (78% last week) to be able to exploit what has been the second most exploitable matchup for opposing edges this season.
Daniel Ekuale, DT, NE (🎓🎓)
I keep bouncing back and forth between Ekuale and teammate Davon Godchaux but this week I lean toward the former due to slightly better grades and comparable snaps. Ekuale has put up four solid fantasy performances in 2024 including a four tackle, five assist game in Week 5 against the Dolphins. The Patriots play the Bears this week who have allowed 45 fantasy points or greater in four of their last six games making this a good opportunity for Ekuale.
Brandon Graham, DE, PHI (🎓🎓)
I don’t expect Graham to play 69% of snaps again next week since Week 9 was the first time he hit that mark since Week 18 of 2022! Still, Graham is playing well on his farewell tour (including an 81.4 run defense grade) and little is known about the mysterious hand injury for Bryce Huff which means he could be in line for viable snaps this week against the Cowboys who will be playing a backup QB.
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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