Plugging the Gaps: IDP Waiver Wire for Week 9

Stephon Tuitt, Defensive End

When one of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive ends isn’t going off, the other one is instead. Playing opposite Cameron Heyward is both a blessing and a curse for Stephon Tuitt. Tuitt plays less of a penetrating role at defensive end than Heyward, instead being used as more of a gap control player in Pittsburgh’s 3-4 defense. That said, he’s still done enough to be ranked as the 22nd-best defensive end in balanced fantasy scoring. He’s on pace for just under 70 tackles and around 9 sacks this year. So much for being a gap-plugger.

In Week 9, he gets to take on an Oakland Raiders offensive line that is scarily good at protecting young quarterback Derek Carr, but still has some flaws. Carr, a big armed quarterback, needs the time in the pocket to allow his receivers to get downfield before he hurls his 40-yard bombs to them. Should Tuitt and Heyward push the pocket well, they could disrupt this offense’s flow and possibly get to Carr. The Raiders rank just 30th in highest sack percentage allowed, and 32nd in stuff percentage allowed. Still, there should be enough tackles to go around in this one.

Tuitt is available in 90.5% of ESPN IDP leagues. We project him for around 3.5 tackles, a good chance for a sack, and a total score of 4.87 balanced fantasy points in Week 9.