In fantasy football, there are some new trends that I enjoy writing about: dynasty leagues, and individual defensive player leagues. This weekly column will combine two of those by discussing two 
young IDPs. I will give my scouting thoughts on how they played a particular week. Today I will be discussing Kansas City cornerback Ron Parker and Tennessee linebacker Avery Williamson.
CB-Ron Parker, KC- The former safety plays with tight physical coverage the majority of the time he is on the field. Technically he is a fourth year player who spent time with the Raiders and Seahawks before settling in the starting lineup for the Chiefs. He gets his hands all over the receivers within the first five yards. There are times the defensive back likes to gamble with slower receivers, like Vincent Brown. When he misjudged Brown’s quick area burst, Parker gave up a 15 yard gain. This did not cause him to doubt himself as he continued to take those kind of chances the entire night. You need to be mentally tough and a bit crazy to play on an island in the NFL. The corner is a solid tackler, who plays good run support and is not afraid to throw a shoulder to knock the runner down.
What I enjoyed the most watching him was his swagger; Parker was almost daring the young Derek Carr to throw at him. He got lucky when a flag for pass interference got picked up on a pass in the red zone. There are times when the defensive back plays a little safety over the top when the Raiders didn’t line up a receiver on his side. It’s his ability to break quickly on the ball and his understanding route concepts that make him dangerous. Despite being verbose, I almost felt sorry for him when he got out-leaped by Andre Holmes for a 35 yard reception in the fourth quarter. It got even worse for Parker when he got beat inside by James Jones for the game winning touchdown within the last two minutes of the game. If you play in a cornerback required league, he is a must add and might be a solid DB3 for the next few seasons if he keeps his job. Then again, if he keeps on gambling, he might be benched before the end of the season.
LB-Avery Williamson, TEN- The rookie inside linebacker had a very mixed effort against the Eagles. He got fooled by misdirection early in the backfield, and got sealed out of plays because he didn’t keep his head on a swivel. I am concerned that the backer doesn’t shed blockers quickly, so he gets forced to maneuver around them instead causing the offensive player to get additional yardage. LeSean McCoy juked him a few times when Williamson got caught looking at his upper body, when he should have watched the all-pro back’s hips.
The young backer flows quickly side to side and made most of his tackles on inside run plays. He has good tackling technique and uses his pads to deliver punishment. Williamson did get substituted out a few times, but continues to also play on the kickoff team which gives him more tackle opportunities. There were a few occasions the linebacker lined up on the outside against the slot receiver. I believe this is a mistake as he is a better pass rusher and does not have the athleticism to go up against a wide out one on one. Williamson got decent pressure when he rushed the passer, using his hands to keep blockers away from his body and dipped his shoulder to try to get around them. The young linebacker is a solid LB3 or LB4, but needs to step into blockers and shed them quickly to be more of an impact player.
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