DL Streaming 101: Week 12
Professor IDP looks at the best DE and DT streaming options in your IDP fantasy football leagues for Week 12.
Welcome to the Week 12 edition of DL Streaming 101! Welcome to Byemaggedon 2024 (Part 1) with six teams on bye this week including big 4 of the top 32 DT and 11 of the top 32 DE. This may induce panic in some, but that’s why we’ve been sharpening our DL streaming skills all season long!
They say all good things must come to an end so let’s bid a fond farewell to the 10-point-per-game average streak which ended at eight consecutive weeks by looking back at how some of the article alumni are faring with the first appearance in parentheses:
Grover Stewart (Week 6) - DT7
A’Shawn Robinson (Week 2) - DT8
Nik Bonitto (Week 3) - DE9
Vita Vea (Week 5) - DT12
(Nine honorable mentions are currently ranked between 13-24 at their positions)
While Week 11 was a rough one for DL streaming, my confidence remains unshaken for two reasons. First, across all players, my model had a correlation of .354 (up from .327 last week) with DL performance so I, unfortunately, picked some negative outliers last week. Second, we still had some great performances in Arden Key, Emmanuel Ogbah, and Michael Hoecht last week in an environment where many of our old staples are too highly rostered to warrant inclusion in this article.
We will look to improve from last week’s 7.54 average and redouble efforts to find those hidden gems that are being overlooked in most leagues!
In the 2024 season, the Ideal Tier is performing the best with the Solid (Deeper) Tier outperforming expectations. As a note, this is not the case in my overall model, I’ve just been a little better at selecting very deep plays than I have been at picking from that middle group. Case in point, my next men up last week for the Solid Tier were Javon Kinlaw (34.65 points in Week 11) and John Jenkins (14.5 points in Week 11). Overall, streamers are averaging 11.23 points per game, staying above the unofficial starter benchmark of 10.
On to Week 12 which again features two Ideal Tier suggestions, many with a Solid rating, a handful in the Solid (Deeper) and still no wading into Dart Throw territory!
DL Available in 75% of IDP Leagues
Nick Herbig, DE, PIT (🎓🎓🎓🎓)
Herbig got a great deal of buzz the last time Alex Highsmith was unavailable due to injury but that has seemingly subsided this time around. While his performance was poor in Week 11 (a 36.7 overall PFF grade) and Preston Smith is now in Pittsburgh, Herbig received 82% of snaps and posted a respectable 63.8 pass-rush grade and still has an 89.2 pass-rush grade in 2024 (7th among all DL with at least 190 snaps). Herbig also has a great matchup this Thursday against the Browns who have allowed the eighth most points to opposing DE since Jamies Winston took over as the starting QB.
Alim McNeill, DT, DET (🎓🎓🎓🎓)
Regardless of who is starting at QB, the Colts have been a favorable matchup for opposing DT in 2024. Last week, with the return of Anthony Richardson, the Colts allowed a combined 87.85 NPLB points to the Jets including 30+ point performances to Quinnen Williams and Javon Kinlaw. McNeill is still grading out as PFF’s seventh overall graded DT including a 75.9 pass-rush grade and has played the eighth most snaps among all DT who have played 10 games this season (including an 83% snap share in Week 11).
Osa Odighizuwa, DT, DAL (🎓🎓🎓)
Making his return from a brief respite from this article, Odighizuwa is still widely available in many IDP leagues. I just mentioned that only seven interior defenders have played more snaps than Alim McNeill, and Odighizuwa is one of that group (89% share in Week 11). The Cowboys play the Commanders this week who are a middle-of-the-road matchup for opposing DT, but over the past four weeks have allowed a total of eight fantasy viable DTs (two were 20+ point plays).
Maliek Collins, DT, SF (🎓🎓🎓)
Like McNeill, Collins had a disappointing fantasy outing in Week 11 recording 5.25 points off of one tackle and one assist. While Collins does not have the talent of some of the other players on this list (on paper), he does grade out well against the pass at 66.7 for the season and played 77% of snaps last week. I’m unconvinced of Collins’ ceiling this week against the Packers but Green Bay allowed fantasy viable performances to Tyler Lacy, Davon Hamilton, and Jeremiah Ledbetter just two weeks ago.
D.J. Wonnum, DE, CAR (🎓🎓🎓)
The Panthers are coming off a bye but Week 10 saw a changing of the guard with Charles Harris a healthy inactive and Wonnum playing 67% of snaps in his season debut. While there is a very limited sample size (50 snaps), Wonnum generated five pressures, five tackles, and a sack on his way to an overall 74.7 grade. The Chiefs are a slightly favorable matchup for DEs allowing the 11th most points per game on average in 2024. If this game is a blowout, Wonnum still grades well as a run defender and tackler and could have a nice floor.
Dayo Odeyingbo, DE, IND (🎓🎓)
To the surprise of many, Odeyingbo has led (or tied the lead for) the Colts’ edges in terms of snap share over each of the past six weeks with the room fully healthy. He has been frustrating from a fantasy perspective with a few highs but far too many lows. Still, the snap share and fine play, including a 64.4 season-long pass-rush grade per PFF, make him a solid (deeper) play in Week 12 among the many byes.
DL Available in 90% of IDP Leagues
Chauncey Golston, DE, DAL (🎓🎓🎓)
Golston was another disappointment from Week 11 that I’m not quite ready to give up on. Only four edges played more snaps than Golston last week who played a 95% snap share missing only three plays. The season-long PFF grades are there as well to suggest the likelihood of him maintaining his role is strong (despite a poor showing in Week 11 with a 47.8 overall grade). The Commanders are coming off of their most points allowed to opposing DE last week surrendering 72.5 NPLB points allowing three solid games to Nolan Smith, Josh Sweat, and Brandon Graham. The points allowed to Graham are particularly encouraging for Golston managers since he earned 20+ points on only 32 snaps and a 47.4 overall single-game grade.
Dalvin Tomlinson, DT, CLE (🎓🎓🎓)
Tomlinson’s snap shares have been less consistent than we would like in a streamer but he is coming off of a season-high 68% snap share in Week 11 which led all Browns interior defenders. With enough snaps, Tomlinson has the talent to produce with core PFF grades all above 64. The Browns play the Steelers on Thursday Night Football this week in a rivalry game which can produce some strange outcomes. The Steelers have allowed at least 38.5 NPLB points to opposing DT groups since Russell Wilson took over as starting QB including back-to-back games allowing a 10- and 20-point DT.
Adam Butler, DT, LV (🎓🎓)
Butler is quietly the DT20 on the season and is coming off of his biggest game in 2024 last week against the Dolphins where he accumulated two tackles, three assists, and two TFLs (including one sack). While his grades do not leap off the page and he has a tough matchup against the Broncos this week, his performance on his 75% snap share in Week 11 creates plenty of optimism for Butler as a player with a solid floor (he has the sixth most solo tackles among all DT) with some upside.
Tershawn Wharton, DT, KC (🎓🎓)
Whereas Butler feels like a nice floor play, Wharton is a big swing this week. He has played 55-79% of snaps in games this season and has a PFF pass-rush grade of 66.7 while generating a respectable 20 pressures with three sacks. While the Panthers have been playing better lately, the Chiefs are heavy favorites (11 points as of this writing) which could create a gamescript that will allow for many pass rush opportunities. Should Wharton have the ability to match up against Center Brady Christensen, this will only help his chances as the aforementioned lineman is near the bottom of the league in pass blocking per PFF.
Josh Paschal, DE, DET (🎓🎓)
22.1, 26.6, 1.5. These are Josh Paschal’s NPLB fantasy points over the past three games (he missed two games of the past five due to injury). Despite the absolute stinker last week, Paschal still played a phenomenal 88% snap share despite the debut of Za’Darious Smith. The Colts represent a mediocre matchup for opposing edge rushers but a 7.5-point spread has Paschal similarly positioned to get after the opposing QB early and often if the Colts have to abandon the run.
Charles Snowden, DE, LV (🎓🎓)
Snowden is my least confident pick this week. His PFF grades are great (76.2 run defense) to good (59.6 pass-rush) but the concern is that he is coming off of his highest snap share week and is facing a tough matchup. Snowden was under 30% of snaps in Weeks 7-9 before a 68% share in Week 11. Even if he keeps the primary role opposite Crosby, the Raiders face the Broncos this week who are the third most difficult opponent for DE on the season. The one ray of sunshine is that a good friend who is a Raiders fan has Snowden rostered in a medium-sized league we are in together so I’m hopeful he has some deeper knowledge here!
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!
Be sure to subscribe to The IDP Show on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.