DL Streaming 101: Week 6

Professor IDP looks at the best DE and DT streaming options in your IDP fantasy football leagues for Week 6.

Welcome to the Week 6 edition of DL Streaming 101! The bye weeks are back with some big DL names out of action this week, and even more injuries to deal with, but this article was created for weeks like this!

Before we get into last week’s picks and our season-long performance, I wanted to give a quick shout-out to some DL Streaming 101 alumni from earlier this year who finished in the top 24 within their position group this week: Daniel Ekuale, David Onyemata, Andrew Billings, Gervon Dexter, Tershawn Wharton, Za’Darius Smith, Yaya Diaby, Dorance Armstrong, and Nick Herbig. As we progress in the season some names are going to disappear from the list because they are too highly rostered at this point or I see better matchups but remember, I am not picking names out of a hat so even as you stream and look for good players on the wire, just remember that you might have some on your roster from previous week’s articles!

I was braced for a dip in performance thanks to the one-two punch of formerly under-the-radar good players being rostered too heavily to be included in this article and our first round of byes but I am overall happy with last week’s results. The group was led by a 32-point performance by Seattle’s Derick Hall who (sadly) will be making his last appearance in this article due to too many teams rostering him. Hall was not alone though in having a standout streaming day as Vita Vea, Emmanuel Ogbah, Anfernee Jennings, and Michael Clemons all topped the 15-point mark helping us, once again, average over 12 points per recommendation overall despite a few weaker performances (but no 0s).

For the season, The Ideal and Solid tiers are now both over an average of 10 points per game with Solid (Deeper) just behind. All are putting up solid metrics for DL with pass rush grades over 60 and snaps averaging at least 66%. Across all DL in Week 5, my model had a .351 correlation with actual performance which is a number I am happy with so there are no changes as we head into Week 6 where we have no Ideal plays but some good options in the Solid and Solid (Deeper) categories across all IDP league sizes.

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DL Available in 75% of IDP Leagues

Grover Stewart, DT, IND (🎓🎓🎓)

Stewart is a name familiar to most long-time IDP players as he has historically been a solid tackler registering at least 40 combined tackles and assists in each of the last four seasons including a 44 tackle, 9 TFL, and 26 assist season in 2022 finishing the season as DT10. While his snap shares have not changed substantially since star teammate DeForest Buckner’s injury hovering in the 50-70% range his performance has been stellar as he currently ranks 6th in the league in run defense grade and 7th overall among DTs per PFF. Stewart faces a Titans team this week who allowed three 10+ pt DT performances last time they were on the field in Week 4 making him a solid play this week.

Dayo Odeyingbo, DE, IND (🎓🎓🎓)

While the Titans were a great matchup for DTs in Week 4, they have consistently been a top play against DEs throughout the season with every DE group who faced them scoring above their season average. Enter Dayo Odeyingbo who underwhelmed last week but is getting an ideal snap volume (84% in Week 5). If Stewart is a nice floor play, Odeyingbo represents a player with a high ceiling accumulating triple the pressures, sacks, hits, and hurries of his DT teammate so far in 2024. If Kwity Paye returns (which seems like a longshot as of this writing) it will likely hurt Odeyingbo’s snaps but with no Tyquan Lewis he appears to have a safe snap floor that should afford him ample opportunities in Week 6.

Maliek Collins, DT, SFO (🎓🎓🎓)

Collins saw his snap share decline in Week 5 as the 49ers deployed six DTs for the first time this season. Collins has been a solid pass rusher this season earning a PFF pass rush grade of 68.7 and is third on the team with 11 pressures in his 2024 campaign. While Collins had a disappointing fantasy performance in Week 5, no team in the NFL has allowed more fantasy points to opposing DT than the Seahawks who are giving up over 60 fantasy points per game to the position. Collins primarily lines up on the left side of the defense meaning he will be seeing a good bit of the right side of the Seahawks offensive line who are PFF ranks as 69/70 and 74/78 at their positions for the season.

Anfernee Jennings, DE, NEP (🎓🎓)

While the Patriots are employing a significant rotation on their defensive line that has seen as many as seven players on the line earning greater than 40% of snaps in a single week, Jennings has been a stalwart presence playing 55-69% of snaps every week he was healthy with that ceiling coming last week. Jennings is only among a handful of defensive linemen this season who are in the 60/60 club for PFF boasting solid grades in both run defense and pass rush. The Patriots draw a slightly plus matchup against the Texans this week but it is primarily the on-field performance and hopes that he can replicate last week’s snap share that lands Jennings on the list this week.

A.J. Epenesa, DE, BUF (🎓🎓)

A.J. Epenesa earned the same grade in my DL model this week as Jennings with raw scores acting as the tie-breaker which places him one spot lower. While Von Miller’s suspension saw increased usage for several Bills edge rushers, none had a larger jump than Epenesa who played a season-high 69% snap share in Week 5. Epenesa put up three QB pressures last week bringing his season total to nine despite only one recorded sack. The Bills play the Jets this week who have allowed two 10+ fantasy point DE performances in four of their five games this season. The Jets have also only allowed a single 30-point performance (Harold Landy, Week 2) suggesting Epenesa is more of a floor than a ceiling play this week.

Jarran Reed, DT, SEA (🎓🎓)

Reed makes another appearance in DL Streaming 101 despite coming back to earth in Week 5 after three consecutive games over 15 fantasy points. The return of Leonard Williams had the expected negative impact on Reed’s snap share which dropped to 69%. The return of Byron Murphy would likely reduce his role further as he only played 56% of snaps the last time all four of Seattle’s DT were healthy (Dre’Mont Jones being the 4th player). Despite these reduced snaps, Reed is a fantastic upside play as he leads the team in PFF pass rush grade (71.2) and is 3rd on the team with 13 pressures. The 49ers have not yet given up a big game to an opposing DT but have allowed seven viable fantasy weeks to the position.

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DL Available in 90% of IDP Leagues

T’Vondre Sweat, DT, TEN (🎓🎓🎓)

Sweat has played at least 68% of snaps every game this season, with or without Jeffery Simmons lining up next to him. After as slow of a fantasy start as is possible (zero points through Week 2), Sweat seems to have found a groove as he is coming off of back-to-back 12+ point performances and looks to build off that momentum post-bye week. Sweat has quietly put together a top-5 overall PFF performance among all DT with a current grade of 80.1. Despite being an average matchup overall, the Colts have already allowed the Texans (Week 1) and Steelers (Week 4) to post multiple 20+ point performances from opposing DT. Sweat and (hopefully) Simmons hope to make this a third occurrence this weekend. 

Chauncey Golston, DE, DAL (🎓🎓🎓)

The Cowboys are absolutely decimated at DE losing Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Marshawn Kneeland over the last two weeks. Enter Chauncey Golston who played 90% of snaps in the Cowboys win over the Steelers in Week 5. Golston is not strictly a volume play as he currently has a respectable 69.6 PFF pass rush grade over 145 snaps this season. Dallas takes on a Lions team which has not been a favorable fantasy matchup for opposing DE in 2024 holding all opponents within five points of their season average. Given the season average for the (healthy) Cowboys is only 22.87, this constitutes a significant red flag but if you need a streamer who is going to have abundant opportunities to score, it is hard to overlook Golston.

Adam Butler, DR, LVR (🎓🎓)

While Butler had a disappointing fantasy week, he still played 86% of snaps in Week 5 his fourth time this season eclipsing the 80% mark, and is 4th in the NFL in DT snaps this season. With star teammate Christian Wilkins now out indefinitely, the Raiders will have to rely on Butler (also in the PFF 60/60 club) to lead the interior of their defense. Pittsburgh has been a slightly above-average fantasy matchup for opposing interior defenders thus far in 2024 holding only one opponent (the Colts in Week 4) below their season average for the position. Note: the metrics I use place Butler as a Tier 2 play but given those were accumulated beside Christian Wilkins, I moved Butler to Tier 3 as he is a more speculative option at the moment.

DeMarcus Walker, DE, CHI (🎓🎓)

Walker played a season-low snap share of 73% in Week 5 but still outpaced all other edge rushers on the Bears. Walker has a 69.9 PFF pass rush grade with 13 pressures but only a half sack to his credit in 2024. The Bears face the Jaguars this week who have been an up and down matchup for opposing edge rushers this season stifling the vaunted Texans pass rushers and the depleted Dolphins but also allowing the Browns and Bills to thrive. Walker draws the tougher assignment on the left side of the Jaguars' offensive line but given multiple “B-teams” have scored from both edge spots this season it is a worthwhile risk that Walker and the Bears will continue the trend.

Arden Key, DE, TEN (🎓🎓)

If Johny the Greek were writing this article, the Titans-Colts matchup would be one he would classify as a “Perfect Stream” with Key representing the fourth solid player identified from one matchup. The Colts stymied the Steelers' edges in Week 4 but then allowed 23 and 53 points to Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker last week. Key might not be on the same planet as Watt or Hines-Allen but he has a comparable pass rush grade to Travon Walker. Couple this data with Key’s strong snap rates (a floor of 68% with a ceiling of 81%) and he is a viable DL streamer this week.

Logan Hall, DT. TBB (🎓🎓) 

Greg Gaines has ceded snaps in Tampa Bay to Logan Hall each of the past three weeks with Hall now able to be comfortably penciled in for a snap share in the mid-to-upper 60s. While I may not love Hall’s matchup this week (hence his status as a solid-deeper play) his three sacks over the past two weeks are likely to garner attention from your league-mates making this your opportunity to add him and stream this week if needed.

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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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