NEWS AND NOTES
***Injuries continue to mount on the defensive side of the ball. Joining Ryan Shazier (knee), C.J. Mosley (knee), DeAndre Levy (knee/quad), James Laurinatis (quad), and Robert Quinn (shoulder) as headline starters battling injury this week are Jamie Collins (hip), Reshad Jones (shoulder), and Terrell Suggs (biceps). Sam Shields (concussion), Derrick Shelby (Achilles), Kevin Johnson (foot), and Justin March-Lillard were all moved to injured reserve this week. The extent of Collins' hip injury is not known. Jones and Suggs are trying to avoid surgery for conditions that often require surgery -- a decision could be made on both soon
***Jatavis Brown and Melvin Ingram are by far the best players in the San Diego back seven. Brown should continue to put up huge numbers. They're the numbers we should be seeing from Denzel Perryman. His season has been derailed by inconsistent play, multiple nagging injuries, and an obvious lack of trust from the coaching staff. Keep Perryman on your watch list but 2016 is a major disappointment.
***The Panthers defense was an interesting watch this week. All three linebackers -- including Shaq Thompson -- played every down despite facing a spread New Orleans offense. Though they showed a different variation on most snaps, the Panthers ran a ton of two deep, five under coverages. Drew Brees made them look confused and silly, but it's a development worth watching for Thompson if it continues.
***Elandon Roberts had a solid week in relief of Collins. But it was Dont'a Hightower back in an every-down role and healthy enough to contribute to double-digit tackles. Rob Ninkovich is seeing playing time but isn't likely to put up the numbers we saw from him prior to last season.
***Don't overreact to the 6-2 line from Tyler Matakevich. If Vince Williams did leave with only cramps last week, Matakevich won't be on the field much this week. Dynasty leaguers should see categorize him as they did Audie Cole. While valuable if he plays (those eight tackles came in just 18 snaps) due to surrounding cast, he's not likely to ever move up on the depth chart when everyone is healthy.
***Watch for the Niners to start a four man rotation at inside linebacker. The team hasn't been happy with Gerald Hodges, but Michael Wilhoite continues to struggle and Chip Kelly told the media that he believes Nick Bellore has been playing too much. Shayne Skov may get a look here, too.
POSITIONAL TIERS
The tier section got some good feedback over the past three weeks, so I'm going to keep the rotation going.
These tiers will not be as extensive as my offseason tiers. During the season, I put players into three categories: Matchup Independent Starters, Matchup Dependent Plays, and Priority Watch List. Dynasty league owners should have an additional category: Stashes you must keep on your roster. In deeper leagues, the matchup dependent list will obviously need to be longer.
This week: Defensive Line
DEFENSIVE LINE TIERS
Matchup Independent Every-Week Starters
Khalil Mack, Carlos Dunlap, Everson Griffen, Jabaal Sheard, Leonard Williams, Danielle Hunter, Jason Pierre-Paul, Calais Campbell, Brandon Graham, Cameron Jordan, Muhammad Wilkerson, Olivier Vernon, Derek Wolfe, Ezekiel Ansah (inj)
Rosterable Matchup Dependent Plays
Demarcus Lawrence (inj), Sheldon Richardson, Devin Taylor, Kyle Williams, Cameron Heyward, Jurrell Casey, Timmy Jernigan, Dante Fowler, DeForest Buckner
Big Play Matchup Plays
Robert Quinn (inj), Cliff Avril, Yannick Ngakoue, Joey Bosa, Brian Robison, Frank Clark
Dynasty Must Roster Stashes
J.J. Watt (IR), Joey Bosa, Dante Fowler, Jadeveon Clowney (still listed LB), Vinny Curry, DeForest Buckner, Henry Anderson, Noah Spence
Dynasty Watch List
Carl Nassib (inj), Trey Flowers, Mario Edwards, Robert Nkemdiche, Owa Odighizuwa, Lorenzo Mauldin, Randy Gregory (susp)
Defensive Tackles to Roster
Aaron Donald, Fletcher Cox, Michael Bennett, Geno Atkins, Damon Harrison, Linval Joseph, Clinton McDonald, Nick Fairley, Kerry Hyder, Ndamukong Suh, Danny Shelton
EVERY-DOWN LINEBACKER PROJECTIONS
Additions to the every-down column in BOLD. Injury situations to monitor this week in italics.
TEAM
|
EVERY-DOWN LB
|
75-100% SNAPS
|
INJ | SUSP
|
NOTES
|
---|---|---|---|---|
ARIZONA
|
Deone Bucannon : Chandler Jones
|
Markus Golden : Kevin Minter | ||
ATLANTA
|
Deion Jones : DeVondre Campbell |
|
Paul Worrilow, Sean Weatherspoon (IR) | Jones/Campbell not yet healthy enough |
BALTIMORE
|
C.J. Mosley : Zachary Orr
|
Terrell Suggs
|
|
McClellan 80% w/ Mosley out |
BUFFALO
|
Preston Brown : Jerry Hughes : Zach Brown
|
|
||
CAROLINA
|
Luke Kuechly : Thomas Davis
|
|||
CHICAGO
|
Jerrell Freeman
|
Danny Trevathan : Sam Acho
|
Michael Floyd | |
CINCINNATI
|
Vontaze Burfict
|
|
||
CLEVELAND
|
Demario Davis : Chris Kirksey
|
|
||
DALLAS
|
Sean Lee
|
|
||
DENVER
|
Brandon Marshall
|
Von Miller : Todd Davis
|
||
DETROIT
|
Tahir Whitehead
|
Kyle Van Noy | DeAndre Levy | |
GREEN BAY
|
none
|
|
|
|
HOUSTON
|
Benardrick McKinney : Whitney Mercilus
|
Brian Cushing |
|
|
INDIANAPOLIS
|
D'Qwell Jackson |
|
Trent Cole (IR) | |
JACKSONVILLE
|
Paul Posluszny : Telvin Smith
|
|||
KANSAS CITY
|
Derrick Johnson
|
Dee Ford
|
Justin Houston (PUP)
|
|
LOS ANGELES
|
Alec Ogletree : Mark Barron
|
|||
MIAMI
|
Kiko Alonso
|
|
Koa Misi (IR)
|
Jenkins rotating w/ Butler
|
MINNESOTA
|
Eric Kendricks : Anthony Barr
|
|||
NEW ENGLAND
|
Dont'a Hightower
|
Jamie Collins | ||
NEW ORLEANS
|
Craig Robertson
|
Nate Stupar |
James Laurinaitis, Dannell Ellerbe
|
|
NEW YORK GIANTS
|
none |
|
||
NEW YORK JETS
|
David Harris
|
Darron Lee |
|
|
OAKLAND
|
Cory James
|
Bruce Irvin
|
Ben Heeney (IR) | Riley taking some snaps from James |
PHILADELPHIA
|
Jordan Hicks : Nigel Bradham
|
|
||
PITTSBURGH
|
Lawrence Timmons, Vince Williams
|
Ryan Shazier | Watch Williams and Shazier status | |
SAN DIEGO
|
Jatavis Brown : Melvin Ingram
|
|
Manti Te'o (IR) | |
SAN FRANCISCO
|
Nick Bellore
|
Michael Wilhoite | NaVorro Bowman (IR) | |
SEATTLE
|
Bobby Wagner : K.J. Wright
|
|||
TAMPA BAY
|
Lavonte David : Kwon Alexander
|
|||
TENNESSEE
|
Avery Williamson
|
Brian Orakpo
|
||
WASHINGTON
|
Will Compton
|
Mason Foster : Ryan Kerrigan
|
Subscribe to The Audible on iTunes or download our weekly IDP podcast here every Thursday for injury updates, player analysis, and matchup discussion. Follow and ask questions on Twitter @JeneBramel.