The Guru and the Godfather: Week 3

Photo: Imagn Images

John Norton ("The Guru") and Gary Davenport ("The Godfather of IDP") are two of the most experienced and knowledgeable IDP analysts in the fantasy football industry. Every week during the 2023 season here at Footballguys, The Guru and the Godfather will come together to answer five of that week's most pressing questions.

Two weeks into the 2023 fantasy campaign, things have already started going off the rails. Stars are falling flat on their faces, Randos are posting fat stat lines, and injuries are mounting. For the 2-0 crowd, everything is dandy, But there are plenty of 1-1 and 0-2 IDP managers for whom the anxiety is already turned up to 11.

In an effort to soften the noise and make with the chill, the Guru and the Godfather have gathered again to look at what's gone right, what's gone wrong, and how to get it all headed back in the right direction with a win in Week 3.

It's never too early to panic, and plenty of IDP managers are already freaking out about high-end players who haven't met expectations. With the old saying, "Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, three times is a trend" in mind, highlight a player for which concerns are overblown—and one where it's time to hit the big red button.

Guru: I'm seeing managers drop Haason Reddick already. Yes, the guy has one assist in two games, but this is a player who has double-digit sacks in four straight seasons and is still playing the same role in the same defense on the same team that led him to 49 tackles, 16 sacks, and 8 turnovers last year. Park him on your bench until he gets the gorilla off his back, but don't cut him… yet.

If you have been following my EOTG series this year, you know that I have been concerned with Shaquille Leonard from the start. He appears to have overcome the first issue, which is the injury situation but is not looking remotely like the player that was the best in the IDP game as a rookie not so long ago. Maybe he is not fully recovered after all. If that is the case after this much time, he may never be. E.J. Speed is the better player right now, and I've seen nothing to make me believe that will change anytime soon.

Godfather: To piggyback on what the Guru said, it's too early to be panicking about edge-rushers like Haason Reddick, Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns, and Aidan Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions, all of whom rank outside the top 50 defensive linemen two weeks in. This is just the nature of the position. There are highs and lows. Big weeks and doughnuts. All it takes is one big Week 3 from any of those linemen, and all will be well with the universe. But hey, go ahead and panic-drop Reddick. He'll look good on my team.

Norton is also spot-on about Leonard, who saw his snap share drop below 75 percent in Week 2. Maybe it's an effort to keep Leonard on the field, and you can't drop him. But it's a worry—and Leonard's not the only linebacker we had high hopes for entering 2023 who is in that boat. Jamin Davis of the Washington Commanders hasn't hit 70 percent in either game this season. Cole Holcomb of the Pittsburgh Steelers had a snap share south of 80 percent in Week 1 before rebounding against the Browns. Christian Harris of the Houston Texans saw his playing time free-fall in Week 2. Want something to freak out about? The ever-shortening list of every-down players at IDP's most important position is it.

A win in Week 3 would go a long way toward soothing those panicky managers, so which players at each IDP position are set to go Godzilla on Tokyo and lead folks to victory in Week 3?

Guru: Harold Landry is due! He's off to a slow start by his standards, but I like his chances of breaking out against the Browns in week three. The injury to Nick Chubb is a factor. Jerome Ford had a nice stat line, but 65 or so of his 106 rushing yards came on one play. He was roughly 15 for 45 on the rest. Until the Browns can get Kareem Hunt up to speed and in football shape, it's going to be on Deshaun Watson, and so far, I'm not impressed. I think Landry gets home on the pass rush more than once.

Anyone who has Devin White on their roster was hugely disappointed last week, to the point that a lot of managers will bench him for week three, almost in protest. Let bygones be bygones and keep him in your lineup. The Chicago offense is a dumpster fire, and White had very little opportunity in that game. That is not going to be the case when the Eagles come to town in week three. In week one, Ja'Whaun Bentley had nine tackles against them. Last week, Jordan Hicks and Ivan Pace Jr combined for 21 tackles and half a sack. White and Lavonte David could be even better this week.

Camryn Bynum could be your defensive game-winner this week. He already has 25 combined stops and has a week-three date with a Chargers offense that has been an outstanding matchup for safeties. Jevon Holland and DeShon Elliott combined for 18 tackles and 9 assists against Los Angeles in week one. Kevin Byard followed up with twelve tackles (seven solo) in week two.

Godfather: Jaelan Phillips was an absolute force for the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 (11 tackles and half a sack) before missing Week 2 with a back injury. By all indications, Phillips is good to go this week against the Denver Broncos, and that could mean big things for both Phillips and Bradley Chubb. Sunday, the Broncos play host to a Denver Broncos team that allowed a whopping 63 sacks last year and gave up the most fantasy points to defensive ends. Two games into the 2023 campaign, Russell Wilson has been dropped nine times.

At linebacker, Ernest Jones of the Los Angeles Rams has been decent (19 total tackles), but he hasn't quite been the unstoppable force of IDP greatness that some in the fantasy community predicted in 2023—yet. Monday night in Cincinnati, we may well get his coming-out party. The Bengals have long been a team that has been kind to opposing linebackers. The Rams aren't playing especially well as a whole defensively, and with Joe Burrow banged up and iffy to play, Cincinnati will probably lean on Joe Mixon and the ground game that much more.

In 2022, no team in the league allowed more fantasy points to safeties than the Dallas Cowboys. This week, the NFL's hottest team travels to Arizona to face a Cardinals team that just placed top safety Budda Baker on injured reserve. Jalen Thompson has never received the notoriety that his batterymate has, but the 25-year-old has amassed back-to-back 110-tackle seasons and should see a value bump with Baker out at least a month.