You may have wondered why Bears CB Kyler Gordon didn’t make my Week 7 IDP waiver wire article. And then his Thursday night stat line against the Patriots looked like even more of a mistake.
First, let’s recall what Chicago’s slot corner posted in his two games off the PUP list:
Obviously fantasy totals will vary by format, and he’s got better if your league gives more than 3 points per sack. But there is still an issue.
Gordon played just 31% of Chicago’s defensive snaps in his first game back. That’s why I didn’t buy into the 3-sack outing and instead kept him well in the Week 7 DB rankings. Gotta be matchup specific, right?
Well, Gordon remained the key pass rusher in the win against New England. His frequency was down compared to Week 6 but remained high for the position.
According to Pro Football Focus, Gordon rushed on nine of his 17 snaps in the opener, spending just six pass snaps in coverage. The veteran finished with 57% playing time Thursday night and rushed eight times in his 31 total snaps, with 16 more snaps spent in coverage.
So Should We Just Start Him From Here?
Before I answer that, let’s touch on a few other important points.
Gordon hasn’t played more than three games in a season since 2024. That year, he found himself playing 77.5% of Chicago’s snaps under a former defensive coordinator. Maybe he’ll get back into that range after missing the first five games while recovering from a leg injury that cost him all of training camp.
Gordon also blitzed often for a CB in 2024, ranking third at the position in total pass rushes despite missing two games. That’s just 3.2 per game, though, and he’s exceeded four hurries in a game just twice, with early outings of seven and five.
Gordon’s return games this year notably came while Edge Montez Sweat was suspended for a PED violation. That makes sense as a catalyst for increased blitzing. He is set to return for Week 8.
JSN Presents an Abnormal Challenge
Seattle presents an interesting matchup, with WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba running 32-33% of his pass snaps from the slot through three games this year. His other three combined for 23% or less time in the slot.
If JSN runs inside more against the Bears in Week 8, that will likely mean more coverage duties for the team’s top CB slot. When Smith-Njigba lines up on the outside, however, the lack of interior threats from Seattle’s offense can encourage pass rushes.
I wouldn’t project a corner to average a sack-plus per game, at least not until he proves it a little more. But you can certainly expect to find Gordon higher in the Week 8 rankings. I’ll keep an eye on the playing time, and continue to work on how to treat him the rest of the way.
NFC Player of the Week Missing the Rankings
Gordon wasn’t the only notable Week 6 DB scorer I chose to ignore heading into Week 7. Saints CB Martin Emerson also failed to make the article on waivers and was left behind in the rankings. What is there?
In case you didn’t know, I’m bringing him up because Emerson won NFC defensive player of the week honors for his 2 INTs and 4 pass breakups in the Week 6 win over the Giants. His overall stat line landed Emerson in a tie for the top spot in scoring with Gordon (depending on your format).
But Emerson didn’t even start that game. He played just 32 total snaps through Week 5 before getting help from Kool-Aid McKinstry leaving the Giants game early.
However, McKinstry put in a full week of practice, and looks ready to return for Week 7. That should knock Emerson back to reserve status.
Finally, Lions Recover Key Defender
One guy who won’t be missing in Week 7 is Lions S Brian Branch.
The fourth-year DB will take the field for the first time since a Dec. 4 Achilles tear, after opening the season on the PUP list. But how much will he play?
“Every time obviously you get a player like this [Branch] and his caliber at the back, it’s outstanding,” DC Kelvin Sheppard said Thursday, according to the team’s site. “I’m not big on giving you projections and ‘Oh, he’s going to do this, he’s going to do that.’ … There’s a lot of things the player can obviously do to help us, and we’ll see the areas that we feel are right and he feels for him as we progress here.”
HC Dan Campbell added: “We’ll let him come here and we’ll be smart, but he’s ready to play.”
The combination of those quotes certainly doesn’t make it sound like he’s headed for full playing time, which I didn’t expect in Game 1, less than 11 months removed from an Achilles tear.
So leave Branch out of your IDP lineups for now, and we’ll see if he can play for Week 8.
Texans LB All the Way Back … But with Limited Impact
Henry To’oTo’o returned Sunday from his Week 1 shoulder injury and wasted no time on the rampage.
The fourth-year man played 70 of Houston’s 71 defensive snaps in a Week 6 win over Jacksonville. That’s back to the range where he finished last season.
To’oTo’o recorded just 6 total tackles (3 solo, 1 tackle for loss) in the game, however, despite 24 RB carries for the Jaguars and LB Azeez Al-Shaair leaving temporarily for a concussion check.
The No. The Texans’ 2 LBs have yet to offer more than spotty fantasy production and are getting a lackluster matchup with the Giants this week. Don’t look at To’oTo’o as more than a fringe LB3 to LB4.
Snap Boost for Browns Rookie Likely to Miss
Browns S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren had a season high 95% snap share in last week’s win over Baltimore. That marked a big spike from his 50% and 41% shares in the previous two weeks.
Unfortunately for the second-round pick, it also coincided with the early departure of S Grant Delpit due to a concussion.
Although he officially carries the “questionable” tag into this week’s game, Delpit cleared the concussion protocol on Saturday and is expected to play. So expect McNeil-Warren’s play to dip again.
Who is in the IDP Lineup?
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