IDP: Fantasy Profiles - A Few Good Men!
I am going to go a little deeper than the double digit quarterback killers last year, and obvious choices, to a few guys who you should target in your pools for the near future.
1) Derrick Harvey
If you are looking for a young beast at DE next year, this is your man. He is a freak athlete with elite closing speed and good strength. Word out of Jacksonville is that this kid is going to be on the field alot, so that means plenty of opportunity to get pressure on the QB.
Remember they invested a high pick on him and he is a good young prospect for a team that should be better next year. Don't let rookie struggles cloud your decisions, if you have nothing to learn in the NFL then your probably retired or cut.
2) Cliff Avril
This kid was a pleasant surprise for a team that didn't have to many of them. He tied for the rookie lead in sacks last year, and showed he could get to the QB as a backup in a limited role.
Now that he is a bigger part of a new look defense I could see this kid exploding, with some tutelage from a sack master in Julian Peterson (who was acquired in the off-season) this teams D should be ready for a bit of a turn around, and you could reap the rewards Avril has to offer. Plus he will be on the field alot considering his teams struggles on offence last year.
3) Gaines Adams
I think everyone in the football world is just waiting for this kid to hit double digit sacks. We can see the potential that oozes out of Adams, who looks the part of a freak specimen. I wouldn't sleep on this monster, because when he busts out, QB's will bust down.
Word is, Adams will be lining up further outside the line of scrimmage to give his speed the edge on tackles in passing situations. Sounds good to me, considering he is one of the faster DE's in the league. Huge upside with this pick!
4) Brian Orakpo
Yes, I am saying it! A rookie that can hit double digit sacks in his first year. If you want to talk about a guy who goes to a good situation, this is it. How sweet it will be to watch Albert Haynesworth create havoc in the middle so Orakpo can close from the outside. The intensity this guy brings will show on game day.
In Washington fans should get excited about their defense, because Orakpo is supposedly playing LB and DE. That gives him extra versatility with a non-stop motor. I think he could hit double-digit sacks no problem if the offense can score enough to force teams into passing situations.
5) Jacob Ford
Alot of people are talking about last years DE/DT James Jones (who is a bright prospect in his own right), but I liked what I saw out of Ford last year when Vandenbosch was injured. He seemed to step up and made contributions time and time again when the coach called on him last year, and there's no reason to think he can't do it again.
Keep your ear to the ground when selecting him, reason being, he has veterans in front of him. I still believe if he works on building on last years sack totals he could be special, and hard to take off the field for a coach that loves a tough defense.
6) Trevor Scott
Meet the other rookie leader in sacks last year. Many people didn't talk about his impressive first season, because everyone was talking about all the other teams in the NFL. Well, I for one am going to show this young DE some love, It's not easy being on the field three times as much as the offense, even if it is in a limited role.
This kid showed given the opportunity he could make the most out of it. If your looking for a young DE to round out your depth, take Trevor Scott and hope he can build off an impressive rookie campaign. I think he will make the most out of every snap he plays.
7) Chris Long
I wouldn't give up on this ultra talented football player. He started off slow on a team that couldn't seem to get rolling in the right direction. Now he has a super smart young defensive minded coach in Steve Spagnuola. If you enjoyed watching the NYG defenses blitz over the years, it was this coaches blitz packages you were drooling over.
The brain trust in St. Louis is already finding ways to get Long more chances to make plays, I can see a future with Long sitting on double-digit sacks sooner rather than later. Sometimes you have to add in the fact that he is a big investment and they will force him to play to his strengths (rushing the passer). This kid has elite athleticism, and NFL bloodlines. It doesn't seem likely that he'll fail in the future.
I obviously can't guarantee that all these players will reach double-digit sacks, but I wanted to preview some good DE's that have a chance at producing some nice sack totals. I am sure dynasty leagues who deploy the IDP rosters to their leagues will get some insight into these players who are on the brink of starting in IDP leagues across North America.
Thank you for reading, and I am curious to here what you think of my article. I originally posted this article on BleacherReports.
