Week 1 IDP Rankings, Streamers, and Fades

It’s nearly here! After all of our waiting and hoping, a brand new season of the Bachelor is… I mean, football is here! Yay!

As we kick off this new and unprecedented NFL season, Rotoballer is going to be changing up how we do our weekly IDP rankings analysis. Taking over the weekly IDP rankings article will be Yours Truly, and I will be putting my own spin on things. If you are one of my 14 devoted followers on Twitter, you know what to expect. If you are anyone else, let me tell you that you should expect some bad jokes mixed with some mediocre commentary. We will then grind those two ingredients together and sprinkle them on top of our weekly IDP rankings. It’s going to be incredibly… digestible! I promise you that much!

Note: These rankings will be split into Rotoballer’s three primary IDP positions (DL, LB, and DB), and they will typically come with some flyer/fade notes for each position as well. Expect edge-rushing linebackers like T.J. Watt to regularly appear on both our DL and LB rankings each week, because they are categorized as Defensive Linemen on some prominent fantasy apps (ESPN) while being dubbed Linebackers on others. Now that we've covered all that let's get to the good stuff!

Top-25 Fantasy Defensive Linemen for Week 1

DL Streamer of Week 1: Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders

Teddy Bridgewater has a career sack rate of 8.3%. In fact, before playing behind the elite Saints line last year, Bridgewater never had a sack rate lower than 8% in any of his NFL seasons. That rate won’t get better in Carolina, where the starting Left Tackle is already dealing with injuries, while the starting Center and Left Guard combined to allow 93 total pressures last season. Remember that Crosby lined up on the interior of the Raiders' defense for 53% of his defensive snaps last year.

Expect Crosby to notch at least one sack, a couple of TFLs, and four total tackles in this matchup. Feel okay spot starting him this week if you are one of the many who lost Danielle Hunter to the IR today.

DL Fade of Week 1: Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns

Myles Garrett is my pick for Defensive Player of the Year in 2020, but that campaign won’t start strong. Baltimore has a terrific offensive line that kept Garrett in check last year, and Lamar Jackson is notoriously hard to bring down. If you have Garrett, you’re playing him. Just don’t expect too much in Week 1, except maybe a junk sack where Lamar runs into his arms.

Underrated DL Matchup of Week 1: Frank Clark v. Houston O-Line

Frank Clark struggled early in his first year with KC, but he caught on in Week 7 and was a consistent threat for the rest of the season. That culminated in a big playoff game against the Houston Texans, in which Clark sacked Deshaun Watson three times. The Texans return pretty much the same offensive line this year as they had last, and their receiver corps is now missing DeAndre Hopkins. Expect the Texans to play from behind more this week than they did against KC in the playoffs and expect Clark to again take advantage to the tune of at least one sack and several solos.

Top-25 Fantasy Linebackers for Week 1

LB Streamer of Week 1: Kenneth Murray, Los Angeles Chargers

Expectations for all rookie defenders, including Murray, should probably be tempered in 2020 due to the lack of pre-season games or camps in this unique offseason. There are some exceptional cases in some special situations, though. For example, do you know who else had a limited offseason and has zero NFL games under their belts? The Bengals’ starting Left Tackle and Quarterback, both of whom Murray is going against this week.

Murray’s style of play is one that typically transitions well to the NFL. He is a fast, athletic, downhill thumper who should rack up tackles in the middle of a talented Chargers Defense. It's hard to imagine him having many problems with a rookie Left Tackle or a  Right Tackle who has been dubbed a bottom-10 run blocker two years in a row at Pro Football Focus. He also shouldn't struggle coming up the middle against three blockers (Trey Hopkins, Michael Jordan, and Xavier Su’a-Filo) whose PFF ratings are all below average. Murray should notch eight tackles and two or three TFLs in this game, even if he hasn't ever played an NFL game. Feel free to start him if you're nervous about the health (Fred Warner) or fantasy opportunities (Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch) of your usual starter.

LB Fade of Week 1: Lavonte David, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In two games against these same Saints last year, David collected 10 solo tackles and only one half-tackle total. He got no sacks, no PDs, no INTs, and no TFLs. If anything, this offensive line has improved since then, and this Week 1 matchup will be even more of a shootout than usual. Don’t expect David to get a sack against this veteran unit that allowed the fourth-lowest sack rate in the NFL last year. Don’t expect a pick (Drew Brees is the QB after all) or a PD, either. Instead, expect to fade David, and feel comfortable starting at least 12 other LBs before him this week.

Underrated LB Matchup of Week 1: Pittsburgh LBs v. Daniel Jones

The Giants are starting a Left Tackle with zero NFL experience, and who many ranked as just the third or fourth-best pass-blocking tackle in his class. Their Right Tackle allowed pressure on nearly 10% of his snaps last year, and the interior of this line was part of a unit that ranked as only the 25^th best in Adjusted Line Yards by Football Outsiders in 2019.

To make matters worse, Daniel Jones turned the ball over 24 times and took 38 sacks in less than 13 full games last year. His 12 fumbles as a rookie should have T.J. Watt licking his lips in anticipation of at least one strip-sack this week, while Devin Bush Jr. should be a comfortable Week 1 fantasy start in even the shallowest of fantasy leagues. Bud Dupree should even be considered a spot starter at LB in leagues that pay a lot of points for big plays (sacks, FF, etc.).

Top-25 Fantasy Defensive Backs for Week 1

DB Streamer of Week 1: Jeremy Chinn v. Las Vegas

For those who have followed my IDP reports this summer, you know that Chinn is one of my big IDP sleepers in dynasty and deeper redrafts. While it’s true that rookies often need time to adjust to life in the NFL secondary, a matchup with Las Vegas could be the perfect introduction for this talented rookie thumper. The Raiders are likely to try to establish the run in this one and try to control the game early, and we should expect Chinn to spend a lot of time in the box as a result. It won’t surprise anyone if Chinn is assigned to follow Josh Jacobs around for most of the day, and Jacobs projects for at least 20 rushes and a few targets in this contest.

Don’t start Chinn if you have an elite DB on your roster, but if you play in a deep league or need a spot starter, you could do worse than taking a flyer on the Southern Illinois alum. His floor looks to be three or four tackles, but this former corner could get you far more if the Raiders test him regularly.

DB Fade of Week 1: Justin Simmons, Denver Broncos

Against these same run-heavy Titans last year, Simmons secured an INT and four tackles. That is probably his ceiling in this matchup, and he may not come close to reaching it if the Titans have their way. With the recent injury to Vonn Miller and Bradley Chubb reportedly being eased back into the defense slowly, Denver may struggle to get after and pressure Ryan Tannahill in this one. The Titans will try to run the clock out and run as few plays as possible, and when they do pass, they should have plenty of time to do so.

A calm Tannahill should limit Simmons' big-play opportunities. If the Titans control the clock like they want to, there may be a limited opportunity for Simmons to make any plays at all. After all, Simmons only spent about 32% of his time in the box or at the line last season, and he did so even less against Derrick Henry.

Underrated DB Matchup of Week 1: Keanu Neal vs. Seattle

Dan Quinn has lined Keanu Neal up at the line of scrimmage or in the box on 46.7% of Neal's career snaps. That's a high amount, and it explains why Neal has averaged an impressive seven tackles per game in his short career. That kind of usage also spells a good week against a typically run-heavy Seattle offense that finished sixth in the NFL in run percentage last year, and first in run percentage the year before that. When an offense that likes to pound the rock goes against a sure tackling in-the-box safety, it spells a promising fantasy floor for your DB.

Neal is also often used to contain Tight Ends on passing downs, which is noteworthy since Russell Wilson targeted the TE position on 19.7% of his passes last year, despite Will Dissly and others being out with injury for most of the year. If Neal is healthy, which all reports indicate he is, this could be a good return game for him and for fantasy managers in need of a DB to replace the injured Derwin James.

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