Welcome to Week 2 of the NFL streaming and DL Streaming 101.
I was texting with a good friend yesterday, who is one of the best fantasy players I know, and he was lamenting a 0-4 start in his main leagues. I told him that fantasy is a mix of skill and luck, and nowhere is that balance greater towards the luck side than Week 1. This article is no exception to that rule. Overall, Week 1 streaming calls averaged a respectable 6.16 Big 3 points per game.
Even though I’m diving deep for these picks (players available in at least 77% of IDP leagues), my goal is always to hit 10 ppg (at least in the top few tiers). Tier 4 (educated dart throws) actually performed the best, with Za’Darius Smith posting 28.25 points on a mere 16 snaps! Overall, 5% of calls were booms (over 20 pts), 25% were viable (around 10 pts), and only 5% were duds (0 in the fantasy box score). For the sake of transparency, these are all things that I will continue to track as the season goes on!
With the chaos of Week 1 behind us, let’s dig into a bigger (and hopefully better) list of potential DL streaming options. This week, I have a list of 30 names for your consideration, evenly split between DT and DE but sorted in a combined DL order. Many new names to explore this week, including the first appearance of a Tier 1 - Ideal play this season and fewer players in the bottom tier. This week’s player write-ups are a throwback to my old DE Annex article, highlighting four underrostered edge rushers with potential this week (and beyond in some cases).
Note: several names are listed as questionable at the time of this writing, so please be sure to check injury reports and follow The IDP Show on Twitter, as I will sometimes find last-minute replacements for players ruled out and share them there.
Featured DL Streamers
ED Dre’Mont Jones, NE (🎓🎓🎓🎓)
I’m often reticent to consider any Patriots DL given their history of rotations, but Jones’ 84% snap share in Week 1 is encouraging about his role on the team. Jones also performed well, picking up a sack in his Patriots debut, and the underlying metrics suggest more may be in his near future. Jones was one of 47 players to record a sack in Week 1, but his six pressures rank him 7th overall, 3 QB hits are good for 3rd, and his pass rush grade of 80.6 was 9th among DL playing at least 50% of snaps.
While I’m not yet modeling opponents’ points allowed per game, a look at the Steelers Week 1 provides some additional reasons for optimism for Jones. In Week 1, the Patriots deployed Jones equally on the right and the left, which should translate to plenty of opportunities to line up against tackle Troy Fautanu, whose Week 1 pass-block grade of 47.1 ranks him 58th at the position. Given this was not against elite competition with a reshuffled Atlanta defensive line, Jones is a great streaming option who may not be as widely available this time next week.
ED Arden Key, IND (🎓🎓🎓)
Arden Key may be the most suggested DE streamer since I’ve started writing about the position. In his first eight seasons in the NFL, Key has played for five different franchises and averaged just over four sacks per season. Unlike Jones, who could be a weekly starter, Key is a plug-in with enough talent (81.3 pass rush and 56.0 run defense grades in Week 1) and opportunity (71% of snaps in Week 1) to exploit in the right spots.
This week has the potential to be one such spot with the Colts taking on the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. While the Chiefs were able to keep Mahomes upright against Denver, both tackles' performances were concerning. With Josh Simmons missing another week (or longer), the Chiefs will likely turn to rookie Kahlil Benson again, who graded out as the 5th-worst pass-blocking tackle in the NFL in Week 1. Given Key is graded as the 8th-best pass-rushing DE against tougher competition, this could be one of those weeks when you consider playing the veteran.
ED Trevis Gipson, CAR (🎓🎓)
Another player who is very ‘churnable’ but has enough talent and a favorable matchup this week is Trevis Gipson of the Panthers. With Patrick Jones II still sidelined with a back injury, the Panthers will likely deploy a three-man rotation of Jaelan Phillips, Princely Umanmielen, and Gipson again. Teammate Umanmielen warranted some consideration as well, but Gipson’s slightly higher snap count (45 to 35) and significantly higher run defense grade (70.6 to 51.8) have me leaning towards Gipson.
All of the Panthers' edge rushers could be in for a good day against the Falcons, who gave up 80.75 points to the Steelers' elite edge rushers in Week 1. While there is clearly a downgrade in edge talent from Pittsburgh to the Panthers, the Falcons still represent an exploitable matchup for sacks and tackles. Atlanta was the fourth-most run-heavy offense in Week 1, resulting in over a dozen tackles and assists for Watt and company. Gipson represents a player with an above-expected path to sacks, complemented by a strong run defense grade, which should keep him on the field.
ED Oluwafemi Oladejo, TEN (🎓)
I know what you are thinking: wasn’t Jake Martin in this spot last week and didn’t he score two points for his one QB hit? And now you are suggesting we trust his teammate who played only 21 snaps in Week 1? First of all, thank you for reading both of these first two weeks. Second, when we get into Tier Four, it’s not so much a matter of trust as of being the best of what’s out there. Third, yes, I think Oladejo is a viable dart throw (and someone you might want to have on your deep rosters for a few weeks) for two reasons.
First, among players with at least 20% of snaps, Oladejo was the sixth-highest-graded edge defender (89.3) in the NFL in Week 1. No individual grade was elite, but that kind of overall performance should warrant more chances for snaps (and snaps are the number one predictor of performance across IDP). Second, Jake Martin turned in an abysmal performance (37.7 overall), which should result in a reduction in snaps. Finally, Oladejo amassed three tackles on only 21 snaps in Week 1. While this ratio is unsustainable, if the Eagles game turns into a blowout, there should be plenty of opportunities to tackle Will Shipley or Tank Bigsby in the 3rd or 4th quarter.
Full Week 2 DL Streamer List
Good luck, and if you have any questions about deep DL plays, my office is always open by replying to this article or reaching out on Twitter (@ProfessorIDP).
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