Plugging the Gaps: IDP Waiver Wire for Week 9

Kyle Emanuel, Defensive End/Linebacker

I’m very pleased that this week sees us recommending almost all brand-new options for Plugging the Gaps, just like last week. It’s a personal goal of mine to expose you to the variety of options out there in the IDP world, and Kyle Emanuel is a fascinating one. The fifth-round draft pick of the San Diego Chargers this year, Emanuel played against small-schoolers in college, but didn’t play like one himself. This year, he has been more bad than good, with six of his eight games producing fewer than three fantasy points –- two of which he missed due to injury. That said, we saw his incredible potential in Week 1, when he lit up the Detroit Lions for three tackles, one sack, one stuff, and an interception.

He has that kind of upside in Week 9, also, against a Chicago Bears team that has struggled to find any kind of consistency on offense in 2015. The Bears have only allowed two sacks in the last two weeks, but they are allowing a ridiculous number of tackles, most of which are going to edge rushers. The Bears are allowing just the 19th-highest sack percentage to opposing defenses this year, and the 29th-highest stuff percentage. Emanuel isn’t in line for big plays this week, just tackles.

Emanuel is available in 99.5% of ESPN IDP leagues. We project him for around 5.5 tackles, a chance for a sack, a good chance for a pass defensed, and a total score of 7.02 balanced fantasy points in Week 9.