Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
It isn’t too often that an IDP playmaker is sitting on the fantasy football wavier wire. Most owners like to hang onto defensive studs, even on bye weeks, because they can win a week by themselves for IDP owners. Once and awhile, though, there is a future star still in the free agent pool. One of these underrated IDP options still available in a large number of leagues is LB Whitney Mercilus of the Houston Texans.
Mercilus led the NCAA with 16 sacks back in 2011 when he was at Illinois and he proved that he could be a relentless pass rusher. Mercilus started his career rather slowly, though, as he had just six sacks last year. He only received four starts in his first professional season and simply looked list on the field in some situations.
This year, however, Mercilus has started all 11 games for defensive coordinator Wade Philips and the hybrid defender has seen one-on-one coverage on a constant basis with DE J.J. Watt getting so much attention. Mercilus has also been a factor against the run this season, as he has racked up an impressive 3.6 tackles per game.
In Houston’s game on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mercilus had an astonishing stat line. The linebacker racked up six total tackles and recorded one sack. wIt was his best fantasy performances to date and just shows how much he has learned this season.
Mercilus is finally starting to mature into a decent LB2 this year and is worth picking up in any IDP dynasty format. He has the potential to average 10 sacks per year and will only get better as he gains more experience.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
