The Return of The Forgotten – Trevor Scott & Kevin Payne

The Friday edition of the IDP Zone comes with an analysis at a couple of players who fell off the IDP radar at the beginning of the season but are surprising sleeper picks entering Week 13 of the NFL season. They’re perfect examples of how IDPs should never be completely dismissed out of hand since they can always come back to significance at any time due to injury or ineffective play by the starters on the field ahead of them.

Trevor Scott

Scott was one of the more fashionable sleeper picks coming into training camp this summer. He finished his rookie season with 19 solos, five assists and five sacks. They were modest numbers but the statistics came in the last few games of the season and he seemed to pick up momentum heading into the current campaign. The bandwagon practically tipped over when left defensive end Derrick Burgess was traded to New England and the starter on the other side, Kalimba Edwards, was released. However, a funny thing happened on the way to stardom. The Raiders acquired veterans Greg Ellis and Richard Seymour from the Cowboys and the Patriots, respectively, and named them the starters. Scott was reduced to a nickel role and he disappeared from the fantasy radar.

Injuries to the linebacker corps gave Scott another chance last weekend. Injuries to strongside (”SAM”) linebackers Ricky Brown and Jon Alston forced the coaching staff to move weakside (”WILL”) linebacker Thomas Howard to the SAM. In a surprising turn of events, Scott was given the starting nod at the WILL and he performed well against the Cowboys on Turkey Day. Scott registered six solos and two sacks. He’ll reportedly continue to start on the weakside in Week 13. Nothing’s guaranteed but there’s a good chance he’ll continue to start at linebacker the rest of the season – if he performs well this coming Sunday. He’s most likely listed as a defensive end in all leagues, so he could be a huge pickup for owners who can still play him at the defensive line position.

Kevin Payne

Payne was the starter at strong safety for the Bears last season and flourished from a statistical perspective.  He recorded 74 solos and 15 assists along with 4 interceptions, 1 sack and 7 passes defended. Payne was a Top 15 DB in most formats. However, rookie Al Afalava showed more playmaking presence at SS during training camp and veteran Danieal Manning was inserted into the free safety position since the coaching staff wanted his athleticism in center field. Payne was relegated to nickel back duty and sometimes rotated with Afalava at SS.

Observers of the Chicago Bears know that the defensive backfield is always in flux when it comes to the team. There’s more turnover in that part of the team than in any other position.  This past week, head coach Lovie Smith announced that Payne would start at free safety and Manning would return to the nickel role.  The team wanted to shore up its terrible nickel defense by putting Manning on slot receivers that have been destroying the defense weekly.

For Manning owners, it’s a devastating turn of events considering Manning is a Top-5 DB in every format right now and his value takes a monumental hit as a nickel back. Payne is suddenly worth owning but IDP owners should beware: Payne isn’t the athlete or playmaker that Manning is. He won’t put up the same numbers simply because he’s starting at Manning’s old position.

Tags: Al Afalava, Chicago Bears, Danieal Manning, derrick burgess, Greg Ellis, Jon Alston, Kalimba Edwards, Kevin Payne, oakland raiders, richard seymour, Ricky Brown, Thomas Howard, Trevor Scott