Plugging the Gaps: IDP Waiver Wire for Week 5

Hau’oli Kikaha, Linebacker

Watching the New Orleans Saints play on Sunday, I rued the fact that I didn’t put Hau'oli Kikaha into this column last week when I had a gut feeling on him. The Saints’ rookie pass-rusher is a force to be reckoned with on the edge, as he is able to work with both strength and finesse to beat his blockers. He now has an incredible 26 total tackles on the season, along with three sacks and two forced fumbles, and he’s looking to add to that amount as the season goes on.

In Week 5, he and the Saints get to take on the reeling Philadelphia Eagles, who -- despite being the ninth-highest team in pass-to-run ratio -- are a prime matchup for tackles for a loss. Kikaha can penetrate the backfield, and the Eagles rank 3rd in tackle for loss percentage allowed. Kikaha is on a three-game sack streak, but that may be broken against the Eagles, who rank just 21st in sack percentage allowed. Still, if he can get to the action and rack up a few tackles, along with one signature big play, he will repay your IDP faith in full.

Kikaha is available in 91.6% of ESPN IDP leagues, and we project him for around 6.0 tackles, a decent chance at a sack, a good chance for a pass defensed, and a total score of 7.48 balanced fantasy points in Week 5.