Week 8 IDP Waiver Wire: Who Needs a Healthy Neck?

Week 8 IDP Waiver Wire Targets

This list of IDP waiver wire pickups is sorted by position, and then by priorty.

Of course, IDP leagues vary widely by depth, scoring rules, and lineup settings. So to get the best measure of who to pick up in your league, check your Free Agent Finder.

Alex Highsmith, Edge, Pittsburgh Steelers

I tried this Highsmith thing back in Week 6, and it didn’t work. He failed to notch even a QB hit on Jalon Daniels that week and has just 1 total hit and no sacks since Week 2. So why bother again?

Well, Highsmith didn’t totally not work in Week 6. He did register a season-high 5 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. And that followed his previous high of 4 in Week 5. Pressures probably don’t score you fantasy points, but they help you understand who’s getting close to the QB while falling short of the sack payoff.

This week brings a Cleveland rematch that only afforded Highsmith 2 pressures the first time. But Deshaun Watson promptly took 8 sacks from the Jets the following week and 5 from the Ravens the next game. (Tennessee managed only 1 this past Sunday.)

If Highsmith doesn’t work out this time, you can bet I won’t be presenting him to you again. I will also be tracking his practice participation this week.

Pittsburgh limited Highsmith’s practice participation last week because of a groin issue, and he then played his smallest snap share of the season against the Saints. But it was only mildly below his usual -- 58%, compared with 62% and 72% the previous two weeks.

Gervon Dexter, DT, Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta heads to Tampa this week to face an apparently rejuvenated offense.

Baker Mayfield took no sacks in his Week 7 return, just the second time this season the Bucs have taken fewer than 3 sacks. Even with that, Tampa Bay sits tied for second-most sacks allowed in the league.

Enter Dexter who’s tied for third-most pressures among interior linemen, according to Pro Football Focus. He has also tallied at least 1 tackle for loss in each of the past three contests, collecting 4 total over that span.

Dexter looks like a solid sack bet this week, though his mere 2.7 total tackles per game so far means a bit of a boom-bust profile.

Braden Fiske, DT, Los Angeles Rams

Fiske finally notched his first sack of the season against the Raiders on Sunday, but we’re certainly not simply chasing that with his inclusion.

The third-year lineman played his second-largest snap share in that game, coming up just one snap short of his season high. That boost followed the Rams losing DTs Poona Ford and Kobie Turner to injuries in the same week.

Fiske also preceded the sack with a pair of QB hits the week before, giving him 6 for the season and 1+ in five of his past six games. Edge Byron Young (9) is the only other Ram with more than 2.

Everyone gets a chance to add to that number this week against the Chargers. Justin Herbert ranks second league-wide in sacks per game (narrowly behind Deshaun Foster) and has faced the fourth-highest pressure rate.

A 6.5-point line in the Rams’ favor -- tied for fourth-highest on the week -- indicates more potential pressure on the Chargers to throw and leave their QB exposed.

Fiske carries particularly enticing upside for DT-required spots.

Kendal Daniels, LB, Atlanta Falcons

Wow.

Last time we saw Daniels before Sunday’s win over the 49ers, he left Week 6 on a stabilizing board with a worrying neck injury. Fortunately, that proved to be all precaution, as hospital doctors cleared him to return to the stadium the same day.

Daniels then managed full practices on two of three days leading up to the Niners but still entered Sunday questionable. Those questions ended at kickoff.

The rookie took full advantage of Divine Deablo’s absence (IR with a forearm fracture) to play every snap and deliver one of the week’s biggest defensive stat lines:

• 9 solos
• 2 assists
• 1 tackle for loss
• 1 INT
• 1 fumble recovery

That should lock in Daniels -- who has tallied 6+ solos in three straight games -- as the corps leader for at least the remaining three games of Deablo’s absence. And the rookie looks like at least a low LB2 for fantasy lineups over that span.

If you play in a dynasty IDP league, you should be especially intrigued. Daniels build a cross-category production profile in college: 293 tackles, 31.5 TFLs, 7.5 sacks, 16 passes defensed, 5 INTs. And Deablo’s contract ends after this season.

Micah McFadden, LB, New York Giants

I called McFadden an “IDP sleeper” last week after news broke that LB Tremaine Edmunds would miss the rest of the season. He thanked me by racking up 10 solo tackles in his first start.

McFadden went from playing just two total snaps on defense through the first six weeks to 100% playing time as he took over defensive play-calling duties.

Behind those 10 solos sat 2 tackles for loss and a QB hit, highlighting the backfield-disrupting skill set that McFadden has presented when on the field in the past. He’ll be especially intriguing if your league scores those categories.

This might be a tough week to stash him if you don’t have much roster space, because the Giants get a Week 8 bye. But that factor could also lower his price and field of potential suitors.

McFadden should remain a full-timer the rest of the way and a good tackle bet. He also defensed five passes back in 2023, his first of two starting NFL seasons to date. So there’s cross-category scoring potential.

Christian Elliss, LB, New England Patriots

New England’s No. 2 LB but leading tackler is coming off a season-high 13 stops in the loss at Chicago. That marked his second double-digit tackle line of the season.

Elliss hasn’t offered much across other categories, but his 5 QB hits point to some sack upside. Indeed, his 58 pass rushes for the season rank fourth among all non-edge LBs, according to Pro Football Focus.

Elliss could convert more of those into sacks this week against Malik Willis, who has faced the league’s highest pressure rate. Miami hasn’t been a strong scoring matchup for LBs overall, but the Dolphins’ increased offensive success over the past two games has helped support three 8+ tackle LBs. Jets LBs also defensed four total passes on Sunday.

Grab Elliss as a Week 8 spot starter with some usage potential later in the year. He will follow Miami, however, with negative scoring matchups against Green Bay and Detroit, and then a Week 11 bye.

Isaiah McDuffie, LB, Green Bay Packers

McDuffie finally hit full playing time Sunday, with Zaire Franklin joining Edgerrin Cooper in the trainer’s room.

Franklin reportedly expects to miss “minimal games” despite suffering a hairline shin fracture, but he’s likely to miss at least this Thursday’s home date with Carolina.

The Panthers have proved stingy to LB scoring this season, but they have allowed three 9+ tackle LBs over the past four games.

McDuffie will play alongside Ty’Ron Hopper, who has just 8 solo tackles all season. So there’s room for McDuffie to be the volume guy in Week 8.

We’ll see about Franklin’s health and McDuffie’s expected role beyond that.

Dane Belton, S, New York Jets

Belton remains available in 94% of Sleeper IDP leagues despite supplying 8+ tackles in four straight games and passes defensed in three of his past five.

This week pits him and the Jets against a Raiders offense that has supplied the second-most passes defensed to DBs this season (trailing only the Cardinals).

QB Kirk Cousins has particularly seen a volume spike during the current four-game losing streak. He has averaged 41.3 pass attempts per game over that span vs. 30.7 over the first three weeks.

The Jets will probably need to score more than usual to motivate more such volume. They fell short of 20 points in three straight games before hitting Miami for 25 last week. But Belton’s consistent scoring profile makes him worth the shot and a potential weekly starter beyond the Vegas matchup.

Jessie Bates III, S, Atlanta Falcons

I wouldn’t have expected Bates to qualify for inclusion here, but he surprisingly sits on a roster in just 16% of Sleeper IDP leagues. That should especially change after three straight games of being involved in takeaways.

Bates recovered a fumble in Atlanta’s Week 5 loss to Baltimore. He forced one in the Week 6 loss to Chicago. And then he forced a fumble and snared an impressive INT -- one of two passes defensed -- against San Francisco.

Now comes a Bucs matchup that has supplied the eighth-most fantasy points per game to DBs this season. Perhaps we can pin that on undrafted rookie QB Jalon Daniels, but last year’s Bucs afforded the fourth-most points to DBs.

You’ll want to start Bates for this one, and he should stay busy for a Week 9 home date with the Bengals. Week 10 against the Chiefs looks far less favorable (third-fewest DB points allowed).

Marcus Jones, CB, New England Patriots

Jones is coming off his two largest tackle totals of the season, thanks in part to CB Carlton Davis’ neck injury stabilizing his playing time.

Jones’ snap shares fluctuated through the first three weeks:

• 48.0%
• 98.6%
• 58.1%

But the past four weeks have all seen him stay on the field for 83% or more, and the playing-time spikes and dips have directly coincided with Davis’ availability.

We’ll see whether the extended week between last Thursday’s loss in Chicago and this Sunday’s visit to Miami allow Davis to return after he managed two limited practices last week.

Jones looks worth stashing while we wait, though. In addition to his 8 and 9 tackles the past two games, Jones defensed a pass in Week 6 (his fifth of the year) and then notched a sack against Chicago.

The slot man got a season-high five pass rushes in that contest and could see more such duty against a Miami offense that’s far less dangerous through the air than Chicago’s.

If Jones maintains full -- or near-full -- duty beyond Week 8, he’ll get upside spots for tackle volume and coverage plays against the busy pass offenses of Green Bay and Detroit the following two weeks.

Find Out Who Makes Sense for Your Team

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Want some offensive waiver options? Check out this week's video below.