Rizzla presents his IDP rankings for week eleven and touches on the biggest surprises at each position so far in the season.
In this week’s edition we will highlight the biggest surprise at each position through ten weeks of the season.
At defensive tackle the biggest surprise has been the Green Bay Packers Kenny Clark. A former first round pick, Clark is having his best season to date according to ProFootballFocus and has the fantasy counting numbers to back it up with five sacks, six tackles for loss to go with 28 solo tackles, 12 assists and one forced fumble. The emergence of Clark has been a serious boon for the Packers defense that lost Muhammad Wilkerson for the season.
At defensive end the biggest surprise has been Denver Broncos rookie Bradley Chubb. Chubb is on pace to break Jevon Kearse’s rookie sack record of 14.5. Chubb, through nince games has racked up eight sacks and nine tackles for loss to go with 22 solo tackles, eight assists and one forced fumble. Chubb has 6.5 sacks in his last four games and is ready to terrorize opposing quarterbacks once again coming off of his bye week. Honorable mention goes to the Chiefs Chris Jones.
At linebacker the biggest surprise has been Indianapolis Colts rookie Darius Leonard who as a 4-3 linebacker has racked up four sacks, eight tackles for loss to go with a league leading 63 solo tackles, 34 assists, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two pass deflections. Leonard has been so productive that he has missed a game and a half and still is the top linebacker in total points and fantasy points per game. Honorable mention goes to Los Angeles Rams third year undrafted free agent Corey Littleton, the number two linebacker in terms of total and per game fantasy points. Leonard and Littleton seem to have solidified themselves as LB1 mainstays for years to come.
At safety the biggest surprise has undoubtedly been the Cincinnati Bengals outstanding rookie Jessie Bates. Bates exploded onto the IDP scene this year and has been pushing more heralded first round pick Derwin James for the title of best rookie safety. Bates who has racked up 45 solo tackles, 26 assists, four pass deflections and three picks, with one of them being brought back to the house.
At cornerback the biggest surprise is the number one fantasy cornerback Kareem Jackson. Jackson was moved from safety to corner due to the Texans myriad of injuries and has been playing lights out. Jackson has amassed 41 solo tackles, ten assists and ten pass deflections to go with four tackles for loss, two picks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Jackson has been been by far the best fantasy corner but still sees Marcus Peters owned in a higher percentage of leagues (32% to 25%).
As always we will be updating our IDP rankings up until kickoff Sunday afternoon, so be sure to check back for our latest updates and thoughts.
