Can you believe it? We are already a quarter of a way through the season. By now we have an idea of the path our fantasy teams are following. If you are 0-4 there is hope to turn your season around. Don’t give up yet! If you are 4-0 keep your foot on the gas. There is still a lot of football left that can turn a dominating start into a disappointing finish. Either way you join to compete one way or another. Here is a list of some IDP players I am buying and selling at this point in the season.
PLAYERS TO BUY
DL- Washington Commanders- Chase Young
The Commanders chose not to give Young his fifth-year option. Rightfully so. Over the last two-seasons he played 12 of 34 possible games. That is 3 less than the entirety of his rookie season. The injuries may scare some people on his future. He already missed the season opener. However, right now through 4 games played he is on pace for 44 tackles and 12 sacks. That would give him a career high in sacks. His rookie season he had 7.5 sacks. Add that with the possibility of getting at least one forced fumble then this season could be a career year for him. As it should be knowing it is a contract year. If the Commanders do not resign him another team will. Buy him while it is still early. The more he is on the field his dominance will show possibly making it more difficult to trade for him.
Edge- New England Patriots- Keion White
An injury in week 4 to edge rusher Matthew Judon could allow the rookie to see more reps. Josh Uche should be the immediate benefactor to Judon missing time. If you can trade for Uche, do it. His cost may be too high. Therefore, you could pivot to White. White is a versatile edge rusher that can play on the line or come off the edge. He has the size and speed to dominate the opposing lines. He just has not been given the reps quite yet. All that should change over the next couple weeks. The time to buy is now. If we wait any further his cost could become higher than what Uche’s is right now.
LB- Baltimore Ravens- Trenton Simpson
I talked about him during the off season. His value may be even lower now that he has not seen much as anticipated. Simpson received a soft tissue injury back in August sidelining him for majority of the season. Currently fellow Linebacker Patrick Queen (the one Simpson might replace by next season) is having a career year. Queen is on pace to see over 150 tackles. This could be because Simpson is yet to see meaningful snaps. He might not necessarily eat into Queen’s playing time. However, when he takes the field, he will absorb some tackles from Queen. Simpson can play inside or is versatile enough to play off the edge too. This could allow scenarios to see him and Queen on the field at the same time. You are not buying him necessarily to compete, but he is great buy to stash. I believe he is an excellent fit for the Ravens. Buy him before those meaningful snaps take place.
CB- Arizona Cardinals- Kei’Trel Clark
The sixth-round pick is making the most of his opportunity. Currently third on the team in tackles and snaps. He has been on the field for 98% of snaps. He has allowed 72% completion when targeted, and allowed 238 yards. He has allowed no touchdowns through 4 weeks! At times he has missed some tackles. He is a rookie; I expect some mistakes. The point is he has impressed more than dissatisfied. He was thought to be a special teams player, but said the hell with that, becoming one of the teams better defensive backs. He could still be an under the radar player since he has no interceptions yet. Grab him while you can.
S- Baltimore Ravens- Geno Stone
Stone filled in for Marcus Williams in week 2 and has not looked back. All eyes are on star safety Kyle Hamilton. That makes sense considering he was drafted to be a leader for the team. This just means it is a great time to buy Stone. Currently seeing 93.4% of snaps. Fifth most on the team. He has zero missed tackles while allowing 6 receptions for 40 yards with no touchdowns. He has 2 interceptions on the season. Even with Williams expected to be back Stone has showed he deserves to be on the field. Buy him with the scare of Williams taking his starting role back.
PLAYERS TO SELL
DL- Los Angeles Rams- Aaron Donald
This is crazy considering two-years ago Donald had his 5th straight double-digit sack performance. Donald is arguably one of the best to every play the game, but he is not getting any younger. Honestly, if he retired today, he could enter the Hall of Fame. His presence on the field should not be unnoticed. He is on pace to get just over 10 sacks plus just north of 60 tackles. (That would be 3rd best in his career for tackles) He has accomplished what most do not in their entire career. If you are one of those 0-4 teams this might be great value since he is off to a hot start. Trade him to a competing team for like a Calijah Kancey. A defensive tackle that has been hurt majority of the season but has been compared to Donald. Out with the old in with the new.
DL- Indianapolis Colts- Samson Ebukam
Ebukam should benefit most with opposite end Kwity Paye in concussion protocol. The Colts signed Ebukam to a three-year deal. Rightfully so. In his two-year stint with the 49ers he had 9.5 sacks with 12 tackles for loss. The downfall is in his career he has never seen over 5 sacks in a season. Before going down Paye was outplaying him. I expect the same when he returns. If he underperforms expectations, it is possible the Colts address the edge further. This 2024 class is filled with talented rushers. If you can trade him for like a Myles Murphy, I would accept. Starting defensive end Trey Hendrickson recently popped up on the injury report meaning Murphy could see expanded playing time giving Hendrickson some rest. Regardless Murphy should be groomed to be a leader for the Bengals defensive front.
LB- Carolina Panthers- Kamu Grugier-Hill
The team signed him once they lost Linebacker Shaq Thompson to a fractured fibula. Prior to joining the team, he had 282 total tackles. In 2021, as a Houston Texan, he had 106 of them. This means he only averaged about 29 tackles for the other six seasons. My point is even though he might be thrusted into a starting role he likely is not permanent. Sell him while he is looking good. It is possible the Panthers address the position regardless of his season performance. He would be a perfect candidate to trade for Trenton Simpson plus a fourth-round pick.
CB- New England Patriots- J.C. Jackson
Jackson is reuniting with his team that drafted him. The team had plans to move on from him, but fate brought him back. Jackson will hope to step in and get close to his career high in tackles (57) and interceptions. Two feats he accomplished his third and fourth year with the Patriots. They traded for him after rookie first-round pick Christian Gonzalez injured his shoulder causing the possibility of ending his season. It is possible Jackson signs for longer than this one-year with New England. Regardless, Gonzalez will step back into the starting role once healthy. This one is harder to trade for since Jackson has not done much this season. If you could get Safety Kerby Joseph or Corner Carlton Davis that would be ideal. Both players have dealt with injuries this season but showed promise in their two games played.
S- Minnesota Vikings- Harrison Smith
Smith did sign an extension in 2021 making him a Viking through 2025. This year he is on pace for a career high in tackles with 119. Potentially sacks too. He has 3 after last week which was his career high before then. Smith will be 35 before the season fully concludes at the Super Bowl. He is an honored member of the Vikings being with the team his entire career. Next off season does have a plethora of safeties hitting the market. It is possible that Smith gets his contract restructured. This would allow the Vikings to bring in another solid veteran. Use his pace of career high numbers to get stronger in the future. He would be a great candidate to trade for Geno Stone plus a third-round pick.
That wraps up my buys and sells for IDP through the quarter of the season.
Thank you for reading. Follow me on X at @ThePPRShow for more IDP content. Peace & Love.
For additional IDP lineup advice, check out our Start/Sit Tool and our Week 5 IDP Rankings.