Joey The Tooth’s Sell High IDP Candidates
Some IDP assets are worth holding. But many, including some of 2021's best scorers, are tickets you should cash in for rookie picks or offensive talent.
2021 has been a year with plenty of surprising studs on the IDP side of the football. Don’t buy into the fool’s gold. Instead, cash in on the insanity, gather some youth and draft capital, and jumpstart your bench with some ascending talent. There are plenty of aging candidates who are still productive that you can cash in on.
Read further to see who your cash cows can be.
Linebacker
Denzel Perryman, Las Vegas Raiders
2021 Stats through Week 13: 133 tackles (85 solo), 5 tackles for a loss, 3 passes defended, 2 fumble recoveries, and 3 QB hits.
Denzel Perryman always had talent. He could just never stay healthy. Plus, Perryman is mostly a vintage-style linebacker. He is a run-stuffing machine, though quite a liability in coverage. His coverage deficiency has been masked a bit by pairing with Cory Littleton. Perryman is third in the league in tackles behind only Bobby Wagner (137) and Foyesade Oluokun (135).
Perryman’s play could very easily land him an extension with the Raiders, and rightfully so. He is having a remarkable year and deserves all of the praise he has been getting. But let's be honest with ourselves: this may be too good to be true. Perryman will be going into his age 30 season next year. He has also never played a full 16 games over his seven years in the league, averaging just over 11 games played per season.
The question remains: what kind of return could you get for Perryman? At the moment, Perryman is a top 5 OVERALL linebacker in most formats. Many people are gushing over his play this year and his seamless fit in the Raiders’ scheme. A contending team will at most give up a 3rd round rookie pick, which I’d take. I’d also be more than happy to take a 2nd year, underperforming wideout for Perryman.
Anthony Walker Jr., Cleveland Browns
2021 Stats through Week 13: 85 tackles (57 solo), 2 tackles for a loss, one sack, 2 passes defended, and one QB hit
Anthony Walker Jr. was mostly signed as a backup plan, or maybe even a stop-gap option for the Browns until their younger linebackers became more acclimated to the NFL game. Walker was signed to just a one-year deal with the Browns, as they have both Jacob Phillips and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah waiting to take the reins and run with this Browns defense.
Luckily for Walker, Phillips went on IR for the season with injury. Owusu-Koramoah has had his own bumps and bruises, as well as a few growing pains. What both Phillips and Owusu-Koramoah have shown, though, are coverage skills in some way, shape, or fashion—something that Walker severely lacks. It was for this reason that the Colts let Walker walk after posting a top 10 tackle season.
Remember folks, as we learned with Zach Cunningham, tackles do not mean that you are a good football player. Walker could still land you some solid draft capital or could be a nice filler in a bigger trade to help bolster your roster.
If, and likely when, Walker signs elsewhere for 2022, it likely will not be for an every-down role unless he signs with a team that can mask his deficiencies.
Defensive Line
Emmanuel Ogbah, Miami Dolphins
2021 Stats through Week 13: 30 tackles (17 solo), 7 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks, 9 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, and 19 QB hits.
Emmanuel Ogbah is enjoying another highly productive season with the Miami Dolphins. Not only has he eclipsed the 6 sack mark for the second straight season, a feat he never was able to accomplish with either the Chiefs or Browns, but he has also set a career-high in passes defended (9) and is just 2 QB hits away from tying his career-high (21).
One reason why I think you should deal Ogbah while the iron is hot is that his production is a bit of smoke and mirrors. He has 6 sacks on the season, though 2.5 of them came in a Week 9 win over the Texans. Prior to 2020, Ogbah had not eclipsed 5.5 sacks or 16 QB hits with either of his previous two teams over 4 seasons.
Add the fact of the sudden emergence of rookie edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, and Ogbah could be the odd man looking in if the Dolphins continue to add talent, which they will. This is Phillips’ defensive line now, so sell Ogbah while he is still relevant and try to acquire some capital.
Javon Hargrave, Philadelphia Eagles
2021 Stats through Week 13: 53 tackles (22 solo), 8 tackles for a loss, 7.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 16 QB hits.
Javon Hargrave has always been a solid DL3/4 for fantasy purposes. His tackle numbers are relatively high, averaging 43 tackles per season. In 2021, he started the season lighting the world on fire. He had 6 sacks over the first 5 games and looked like an absolute stud. Over the last 8 games, he has only accumulated 1.5 sacks, which included a 6-game sack drought.
Still, Hargrave is having a career year, having already set a career-high in sacks (7.5), tackles for a loss (8), and QB hits (16), and is likely to shatter his tackles career-high (60) which he set in 2019. That drought, plus the fact that he has seemed to come back down to earth, is why I am selling him.
Hargrave could garner some solid trade value, especially in leagues where you start 3-4 DL. Deal him ASAP if you want anything in return.
Defensive Back
Vonn Bell, Cincinnati Bengals
2021 Stats through Week 13: 71 tackles (49 solo), 5 tackles for a loss, 0.5 sack, 3 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 QB hit.
Vonn Bell’s 2020 season of 114 tackles seemed like it was a stat line that was easily obtainable for Bell in 2021 again after what his role was on the defense. Unfortunately for him, he is reaching nowhere near that tackle mark, having only 71 tackles through 12 games, averaging under 6 tackles per game.
It seems that the emergence of an upper-tier linebacker (Logan Wilson) and Germaine Pratt’s steady role as a run stopper have capped Bell’s upside in this defense. Bell does not offer much upside in coverage, so if the run defense tackles are being soaked up by linebackers, it hits his value drastically.
Bell is still having a solid, yet unspectacular season. Plus he is coming off of a huge 2020 season, as well. Bell could still possibly land a 2nd round pick if you get lucky. Now is the time to sell Bell.
Summary
These are all pieces that currently hold solid value on the trade market. I suggest that if you roster any of these players, that you attempt to sell them before the 2022 season begins. I believe that the value of all of these players will only get worse moving forward and you don’t want to be caught with your pants down.
Thank you for reading, everybody. I will be back again soon!