IDP Matchup Plays: Living the Stream: Week 16

Odds are good that the people reading this are among the last four fantasy managers alive in their IDP leagues.

As a member of that Fantastic Four, they are powerful forces to be dealt with. The brute strength of The Thing. The nova-hot intensity of The Human Torch. All that stretching that Mr. Fantastic does.

Yes, he's also a genius. But "bendy" is still a lousy superpower.

Teams that have made it this far aren't generally prone to major flaws. But Living the Stream never, ever goes out of style. Some IDP managers have carouseled a starting spot all season long. Others have been forced to by injury. And others still stare into the waters for the first time for the season--some injuries happen at the absolute worst possible time.

If nothing else, there is an upside to Living the Stream this late in the season—if you have to look outside the roster for a starter, you won't have to compete with as many teams for his services.

Of course, the waiver wire is also picked pretty clean in deeper IDP formats, but hey—no plan's perfect.

IDP Matchup Play: EDGE Kwity Paye, Indianapolis (vs. Tennessee)

The 2024 season hasn't gone according to plan for Paye. His fourth season began with the Colts exercising the fifth-year option on the former first-round pick. After eight sacks a season ago, this was going to be Paye's coming-out party, with the 26-year-old telling reporters he intended to become an elite player at his position.

"I had (4.0) sacks as a rookie, (6.0) as a sophomore, and now 8.5 in my third season," Paye said. "I definitely want to get at least 10.5 sacks this year. I'm really shooting for 12-15 sacks, but double digits is the goal at the end of the day. I have to get there this year. I'm excited that Chris Ballard picked up my fifth year. I see it as a prove-it thing now more than anything. I want to prove that I'm what this team needs in a pass rusher moving forward."

Barring a seismic finish, Paye is going to come up well short of those lofty goals. But after just 1.5 sacks in September and October, Paye is heating up—at least half a sack in four of his past five games. A hot hand headed into a matchup with a terrible Titans team allowing the third-most fantasy points to defensive ends isn't such a bad thing.

IDP Matchup Play: EDGE Za'Darius Smith, Detroit (at Chicago)

Approximately 731 defensive injuries ago in Detroit when edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson got hurt, the Lions swung a deal for Smith in an effort to hold the pass rush together. The 32-year-old has been among the league leaders in pressures since then, and head coach Dan Campbell told reporters that the 10-year veteran has been as advertised in his new home.

"He fits the room, fits the guys; our players have embraced him," Campbell said. "Of course, you love having players that produce, but it's really, they bring something different than the guy next to you. It's why you like having different receivers, it's why you like having defensive backs, different rushers, different D-linemen, backers because it just enables you to do more, and that's what he does for us."

Smith was (not surprisingly) quiet in last week's terrible IDP matchup with the Buffalo Bills, but the two games preceding that he logged five tackles, 2.5 sacks and four quarterback hits. Over that span, Smith has been a top-15 fantasy defensive lineman, and Sunday, he'll be chasing the most-sacked quarterback in the NFL in Chicago's Caleb Williams.

IDP Matchup Play: LB Dre Greenlaw, San Francisco (at Miami)

For the first time since tearing his Achilles tendon in bizarre fashion in Super Bowl LVIII, Greenlaw finally made his return to action last week against the Los Angeles Rams. Knee soreness cut that return to action, but Greenlaw told KNBR Radio it was still great to be back on the field—and he'll be back out there Sunday in Miami.

"My attitude? Honestly, I'm not thinking about all of the free agency stuff," Greenlaw said. "I'm just thinking about three games that I got left with my teammates. At the end of the day, I'm probably going to be a free agent regardless, so I'm not trying to rush the process of being a free agent. I got three games left to enjoy with [LB] Fred [Warner], and [DE Nick] Bosa, and [QB Brock] Purdy, and all those guys, so when that time comes, I can't stop it. I can't do nothing about it. All I could do is just enjoy these three games."

Greenlaw's exit last week led to the bizarre situation with veteran De'Vondre Campbell that led to the latter's suspension. Greenlaw will probably get as many snaps as his body can handle Sunday in a must-win game against a Dolphins team surrendering the eighth-most fantasy points to linebackers this season.