My how time flies. We have passed the quarter pole of the 2019 IDP fantasy football season. It seems like just yesterday, we were compiling our draft boards. Week 4 was quite the roller coaster ride, as injuries continue to mount, and a suspension shifted the IDP landscape, a little. Ah well, same as it ever was in the IDP realm. As always, IDP owners must take the adapt and overcome mentality. Enough of my pontificating. Let’s get to some Week 5 IDP Start/Sit options.

Keep in mind that Detroit and Miami are on their bye weeks.

Import your team to My Playbook for instant Start/Sit advice

Start

Sam Hubbard (DL – CIN)
After a huge Week 1 performance, in which he posted 10 total tackles, and two sacks, Hubbard has slowed down. He has not had a sack since the opener and hasn’t recorded a QB hit. What he has done, in a big way, is put up above average tackle totals. On the season, he has put up 26 total tackles, and a forced fumble. Through the first four games, he is producing top-5 DL number, in most standard scoring formats. This week, he faces a Cardinals’ offense that is allowing and average of five sacks per game.

Jurrell Casey (DL – TEN)
It what was an early theme of the 2019 season, Casey was another big name DL off to a slow start, that all changed in Week 4. Last week, he did a little bit of everything that IDP owners love. He put up four solo tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and recovered a fumble. Always a solid tackle producer, he has 16 total on the season, the three big plays have escalated him to a solid DL2 numbers producer. Look for him to have another big game in Week 5. In the past three games, the Bills’ offense has allowed 62 total tackles, 5.5 sacks, and a forced fumble the DL position.

De’Vondre Campbell (LB – ATL)
When something happens once, it could be a fluke. When something happens twice, it could be a trend. When something happens in three of the first four games, it is definitely a trend. Over the first four weeks of the season, Campbell has outscored teammate Deion Jones in three of the four games. He has 38 total tackles, two forced fumbles, and is playing 88% of the defensive snaps. In his fourth season, he has finally arrived, as a fantasy relevant LB. It’s time to recognize that he has joined Jones, who will undoubtedly come on, as a weekly start regardless of the matchup.

Quincy Williams (LB – JAX)
While most pundits believed that once Telvin Smith decided to sit out the season, it would be a breakout year for Myles Jack. That has not been the case. The rookie Williams, out of Murray State, has become the main man at LB on the Jaguars’ defense. In the past three games, he has accumulated 25 total tackles and has played 99% of the defensive snaps. On the season he has 29 total tackles, while Jack has just 17. The Panthers’ offense has been generous to opposing LBs. In the last three games, they have given up 77 total tackles, seven sacks, and four forced fumbles to the position.

Devin McCourty (DB – NE)
It’s not very often that a DB with 13 total tackles in four games, finds themselves among the top-12 scorers, in most balanced scoring formats. How has McCourty pulled this off? He has put up an interception in each of the first four games and been credited with five passes defended. While it’s not the most advised strategy to chase big-play production, sometimes the matchup is just too good. The Redskins’ QB situation is a mess. In the last three games, DBs have accounted for 81 total tackles against Washington. More importantly, they have also put up six interceptions.

Budda Baker (DB – AZ)
There has been a major shakeup in the Cardinals’ secondary. Following their Week 4 loss to Seattle, SS D.J. Swearinger was released. It was not a huge surprise, as he had been struggling, but it does leave a lot of tackle opportunities out there for the secondary. Baker has cooled off, after posting 18 total tackles in the first two weeks, he put up just 10 total in the next two. Early reports are that rookie Deionte Thompson will step in for Swearinger. As he gets up to game speed, look for Baker to lead the secondary in tackles, starting this week at Cincinnati.

Sit

Justin Houston (DL – IND)
After a solid Week 1 performance, he had four total tackles, a sack, and a QB hit, it has been all downhill for Houston. In the past three weeks, has just seven total tackles, one recovered fumble, and just two QB hits. To make things worse, Jabaal Sheard (knee) saw his first action of the season last week. In what was likely not a coincidence, Houston saw his snaps drop to a season-low 66%, as Sheard played 51%. It’s a rough Week 5 matchup, as the Chiefs’ offense has allowed just two sacks to a DL, through the first four games. There is little need to hold on to the veteran DE.

Dee Ford (DE – SF)
The good news is that the 49ers were on a bye last week, allowing Ford to rest his ailing knee. The bad news is, that it is tendinitis, and will likely require offseason surgery. He has decided to play through the pain, as this has been a long-running issue for him. The injury is clearly hampering him on the field, as well as on the stats sheet. In the first three games, he has three total tackles, two sacks, and a fumble recovery. More disturbing, his snaps count has gone down on a weekly basis. In Week 3, he played a season-low 30 % of the defensive snaps. Cleveland has been tough on opposing DL, allowing a single sack to the position.

Patrick Onwuasor (LB – BAL)
This was supposed to be a breakout season for Onwuasor. He has secured the only three down LB role on the Ravens’ defense, has little competition for tackles, and should be thriving as the main man in the middle. Things have not exactly worked out that way. Despite putting up 14 total tackles in the past two games, he is currently posting just high-end LB4 numbers, in most balanced scoring formats. Things are not likely to get better in Week 5. The Steelers’ offense has allowed just 67 total tackles, and a single big play to the LB position.

Tyrann Mathieu (DB – KC), Juan Thornhill (DB – KC)
It’s a twofer! Admittedly, IDP owners were spoiled for years, by the secondary play in Kansas City. Just plug in stud SS Eric Berry, then sit back and watch the IDP production roll in. My how the times have changed. In the first for games, the duo of Mathieu and Thornhill have produced next to nothing. Let’s put that into a bit of perspective, shall we? In the first four weeks, they have combined for 30 total tackles and one sack. By comparison, Chiefs CBs Bashaud Breeland and Kendall Fuller have combined for 43 total tackles, a sack, an interception, three fumble recoveries, and have scored a defensive touchdown. It’s obvious where the value lies in this secondary moving forward.

Find and analyze trades for your team with My Playbook

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | TuneIn | RSS

Walton Spurlin is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Walton, check out his archive and follow him @waltonspurlin.