IDP Analysis: Crowded Saints DL

RISING

Jeremy Chinn, LB/DB, CAR

Going into the season it wasn't clear how the Panthers planned to use Chinn, a highly athletic but conceivably raw safety from Southern Illinois, but by now it seems safe to say that Carolina will utilize Chinn as a three-down player all year. Not only that, but he's not playing safety so much as he's playing a rover/linebacker position, putting him right in the thick of the action and setting him up for big tackle production the rest of the season. At the moment Chinn is on pace for 140 tackles on 1,008 snaps – a blistering pace but one he might be able to loosely maintain. Anything less than 110 or so tackles for Chinn would be quite disappointing by now.

Kyzir White, LB, LAC

It's not obvious how happy the Chargers might be with White – PFF assignmed him a low grade to this point in the season – but he's playing a three-down role for them right now and posting strong IDP production as he does so. First-round pick rookie Kenneth Murray is thriving at one linebacker spot while, playing 203 snaps over the last three weeks, White has 28 tackles (21 solo). White is in theory a coverage specialist linebacker, but as long as he keeps playing rushing downs too then he should be a startable IDP option in most formats. LB3 Denzel Perryman is a coverage liability and isn't a realistic option to play at White's expense.

Trevon Diggs, CB, DAL

Although it's normally a bad process to chase cornerback IDP points, Diggs looks like a rare case where a cornerback could prove to be a standout IDP option all year, even in shallower formats. Diggs is in the novel position of giving up lots of catches on a team that can't afford to bench him, and even if Diggs does play better and gives up fewer catches he'll still likely post high tackle totals if only because of how many snaps he has to play on an uptempo Dallas squad. Diggs has logged more than 70 snaps in each of his four games, allowing him to pile up 26 tackles and a sack through four games. Dallas' offense should keep scoring at a high-tempo pace, which should keep forcing Diggs to play exhausting snap counts.

Anthony Walker, LB, IND

Walker's season started slowly for his IDP owners, and until recently he even appeared on the verge of losing some of his workload to fellow linebacker Bobby Okereke. Walker may well be the Colts' third linebacker behind Okereke and Darius Leonard when those two are healthy, but for the moment they might not be. Okereke has a thumb injury that will require surgical repair, and Leonard left Sunday's game against Chicago with a groin injury. Walker might need to play a 60-snap workload if either of those two are out, in which case he'd project for a high tackle total given that he has 25 stops on 154 snaps so far in 2020.

Deionte Thompson, S, ARI

Thompson has a shot to start the rest of the way for the Cardinals, but at the very least he should be a three-down player until Budda Baker (thumb) is able to return. Thompson might fall behind Baker and Chris Banjo on the depth chart at that point, but until then he'll be in position to build on his big IDP showing from Week 4. Playing 59 snaps against Carolina, Thompson totaled nine tackles (four solo) with a pass defended, giving him 13 tackles on 98 defensive snaps this year. As long as he's starting, Thompson should play upwards of 70 snaps per game for the Cardinals.

FALLING

Sione Takitaki, LB, CLE

After opening the year playing in a three-down role for the Browns, Takitaki's workload is dwindling as the Browns season progresses. He led the Browns linebackers in Week 1 snaps, but last week all of B.J. Goodson, Porter Gustin and Malcolm Smith played ahead of Takitaki. Not just that, but 2019 fifth-round pick Mack Wilson, who played ahead of Takitaki in 2019. None of these Browns linebackers are likely very good, so there might not be a reliable contributor to unearth from the current cast.

Isaiah Simmons, LB, ARI

You have to blame coaching when things like this happen, but no matter whether the blame lies with coaches or Simmons himself, it's probably safe to call his rookie season a memorable bust. Simmons is an incomparable athlete and was highly productive at Clemson, leading the Cardinals to select him eighth overall and... immediately place him on the bench. Jordan Hicks and De'Vondre Campbell are ahead of Simmons at linebacker, and Simmons' workload stayed minimal even with multiple injuries at safety, the other position Simmons played at Clemson. Through four games Simmons has played only 45 snaps, totaling six tackles.

Trey Hendrickson, DE, NO

Hendrickson is doing very well for the Saints this year, his 158 snaps in four games yielding 11 tackles (all solo) and three sacks. The problem is that Marcus Davenport is due to return from injury soon, and the former first-round pick is a standout talent in his own right, one who was expected to start ahead of Hendrickson this year. Perhaps the play split between Hendrickson and Davenport will prove more in Hendrickson's favor than previously assumed, and Hendrickson might remain productive even if not, but the margin of error is clearly about to shrink on Hendrickson despite his strong play to this point.

Jerome Baker, LB, MIA

Baker was one of the top IDPs of Week 1, totaling 16 tackles and one sack on 61 snaps, but the wheels have seemingly fallen off since. Not only has Baker's IDP production fallen off – 16 tackles in the three games since Week 1 – but the Dolphins have begun to tinker with his snap count, too, perhaps portending job security issues. The Dolphins have given a handful of Baker's former snaps to Elandon Roberts and Kamu Grugier-Hill, and they have the option of giving still more of Baker's snaps to third-round pick rookie safety Brandon Jones, who sometimes plays linebacker snaps. Baker has a brutal 33.2 PFF grade on the year and his playing time might suffer in light of his poor play.