Fantasy Football Week 3: Individual Defensive Back (IDB) Rankings

Kirby Lee-US PRESSWIRE

After a somewhat disappointing season in 2011 that had some wondering if he would lose his job to Chris Hope this off-season, Falcons strong safety William Moore is off to a terrific start. After a solid stat line against the Chiefs, Moore started Monday night off with a bang, intercepting Peyton Manning on the first drive and missing a touchdown by one yard.

Moore was all over the field and the icing on the cake was a late game sack on Manning, something that isn’t easy for any defender to come away with as the savvy veteran is tough to bring down.

Coming into Week 3 Moore has a terrific matchup against the a Chargers offense that’s been friendly towards safeties through two weeks. It’s time to believe in this veteran safety as his productive preseason has turned into fantasy gold, and he’s looking like this year’s big time breakout defensive back.

What Did We Learn From Week 2?

- I’m a little puzzled by what’s going on in Tennessee but what we do know is that this will be a very friendly IDP situation, especially if Chris Johnson continues to struggle. The Titans defense will be on the field with regularity, and while linebackers Akeem Ayers and Will Witherspoon are making plays, Michael Griffin was a monster with 18 tackles (16 solo) last week.

Interesting, as Griffin is a free safety and we would usually point towards the strong safety for this type of production. Thus far, Griffin seems to benefit from a lack luster situation on the strong side, a position that has shuffled players like Jordan Babineaux and Robert Johnson through camp.

Perhaps Griffin will continue to benefit with Colin McCarthy out of the lineup, but I will be interested to see what happens when he comes back.

- Probably time to be concerned about Eric Berry only because he’s coming off an ACL. Playing against a potent New Orleans offense, maybe we give Berry one more shot but you need a backup plan until he starts to flash the numbers we expect from this ultra talented strong safety.

- Yup, Roman Harper played the Panthers and struggled just like he did last year. Harper tends to have problems against Carolina but is worth putting back in your lineup against the Chiefs.

- The Bills are stout up front and I’m concerned the Bills strong safety position won’t have the same opportunities that made George Wilson and Donte Whitner so productive in recent years. With Trent Richardson running the football, hopefully we will see the Browns sustain drives and give Wilson some opportunities for a DB2 performance.

Sean’s Week 3 Watch List

- The Packers are coming to Seattle and that means the Seahawks will be in sub-packages most of the game, as the defensive backs get a workout. While Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman are off my top 30 list, they hold CB1 value this week.

- Jeremy Miles continues to play over Taylor Mays and as I’ve pointed out in the past, Mays’ struggles shouldn’t surprise us. Miles isn’t anything special, but Mays can’t turn his hips and run in pass protection. San Francisco was wise to move on from him early on, and I think the Bengals will give up soon. Let’s see if Miles can continue to produce as he put out reasonable numbers last week.

- The Jaguars have a poor matchup this week against the Colts but Dawan Landry is still a DB3 play. If you have a better upside option on your depth chart, it’s worth putting Landry on the bench. If he’s productive in this game, we should feel good about his odds to start weekly going forward.

Week 3 IDP Rankings – QB | RB | WR | DL | LB |