Category: Fantasy football waiver wire

We’re nearing the halfway point of the NFL season, and we hope you’re looking back at the competition in the rearview. It’ll be a high-octane week because no teams are on a bye in Week 8.

Each week, we’ll highlight diamonds in the rough or some players that just need to be rostered in more leagues on the defensive side of the ball. Keep in mind your scoring system and roster restraints when heading to the waiver wire to grab these IDPs.

Defensive linemen

DE Josh Sweat, Philadelphia Eagles

He’s a bit feast-or-famine, because if Sweat is not reaching the quarterback, he won’t add a lot. He’s reaching the quarterback often right now. He had two sacks in Week 7 and has at least a half-sack in five of seven games this season. He has only 19 tackles in seven games but has seven forced fumbles and an INT. He could have a field day against Washington this week.

DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

He was the last pick in the first round of the 2021 draft, and if he qualifies at DL in your league, he’s on a tear the last two weeks. JTS had four tackles and a sack two weeks ago and six tackles last week. The 24-year-old EDGE recorded four sacks in each of his first two seasons, and he has three thus far in 2023.

Linebackers

LB Blake Cashman, Houston Texans

He’s coming off a bye week, which could have kept him floating on waivers after a monstrous game in Week 6. Cashman had 15 tackles and two pass defenses. He had nine tackles in Week 5 as well. If available, he has the most upside of our linebacker pecking order this week.

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LB Kyle Van Noy, Baltimore Ravens

The 32-year-old veteran wreaked havoc in Week 7 with five tackles and two sacks. Van Noy has three sacks over the last two weeks and is forcing the team’s hand into giving him a bigger role. In deeper leagues, or leagues that rely heavier on sacks, he’s a sneaky option.

LB Anfernee Jennings, New England Patriots

The 2020 third-round pick has played in four games and has at least five tackles in each of them. He had six tackles in each of the last two games and could provide a low-ceiling, reasonable-floor option if you’re dealing with injuries at the position.

Defensive backs

CB Darious Williams, Jacksonville Jaguars

Five, seven, three, five – those are the tackle numbers the 30-year-old has produced the last four games. He also has a forced fumble, an INT and eight pass defenses in that stretch. Corners are combustible, but Williams has been great for the last month.

S Dean Marlowe, Los Angeles Chargers

Marlowe had 11 tackles against the Kansas City Chiefs last week and had six in the game before that. The 31-year-old journeyman will need S Alohi Gilman (heel) to remain sidelined to remain a factor, but you can’t ignore the output the last two weeks.

SS Jordan Poyer, Buffalo Bills

It has been a quiet season for 32-year-old vet, but he busted out in Week 7 with 10 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. Before that game, he had a ho-hum 24 tackles on the year and nothing else. So you run the risk of that game being an aberration, but he has had at least five tackles in three straight games.

Six weeks down, and two-thirds of the season to go. We’re through two weeks of byes, and we’re entering the point where you need to make real decisions on guys you have drafted or have been waiting to awaken. Keep an eye out for owners feeling the roster crunch who may drop a player they normally wouldn’t cut in order to cover an IDP bye.

Each week, we’ll highlight diamonds in the rough or some players that just need to be rostered in more leagues on the defensive side of the ball. Keep in mind your scoring system and roster restraints when heading to the waiver wire to grab these IDPs.

Defensive linemen

DE Samson Ebukam, Indianapolis Colts

The 28-year-old has sacks in four of the last five games. He has had at least two tackles in all six games thus far, too. Ebukam has been a consistent performer the last four years with 4 1/2, 4 1/2, 4 1/2 and five sacks. He’s at four now and is poised to blow past his career high of five.

DE Justin Madubuike, Baltimore Ravens

The former 2020 third-round pick has emerged the last three weeks with at least a half-sack in each game. Madubuike has totaled 12 total tackles and 3 1/2 sacks during the stretch. He’s a big, 305-pound run-stuffer who has shifted to the end, and he’s making the most of his opportunity.

Linebackers

LB Jahlani Tavai, New England Patriots

The 27-year-old, former second-round pick is having a breakout season. Over the last three weeks, he has 21 tackles, an INT, a sack, and two pass defenses. Tavai is exactly the kind of high-motor guy Bill Belichick loves, and he could be a mainstay in the middle for a while.

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LB Jack Gibbens, Tennessee Titans

The Titans are on a bye this week, so this will be a move if you have the roster space. Gibbens has earned it. He has had eight, 10, 10 and nine tackles over the last four weeks. He has one pass defense on the season and nothing else, so this will be for a league that values tackles.

LB Oren Burks, San Francisco 49ers

Burks is a depth piece to pick up, and he’s coming off his best two games of the season. He had five tackles and an INT in Week 5, and he followed that up with eight tackles in Week 6.

Defensive backs

SS Justin Reid, Kansas City Chiefs

Reid had a strong start to the season and fell off a cliff in Weeks 3 and 4. He has resurfaced the last two weeks with eight tackles, a forced fumble, and pass defense in Week 5, adding five tackles, an INT, and a sack in Week 6. He’ll be busy against the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins the next three weeks.

SS Josh Metellus, Minnesota Vikings

The 2020 sixth-round pick’s numbers the last few weeks will give you some pause. He has at least six tackles in each game, and he stood out in Week 6 with a strip sack and eight tackles. You simply can’t ignore these numbers any longer.

SS Tracy Walker, Detroit Lions

Walker is a target for deeper leagues where you’re looking for some low-hanging fruit. Over the last four weeks, he has six, five, four and six tackles to go with two pass defenses overall. He’s not going to jump off the page, but he adds some baseline numbers.

We’re through five weeks and just completed the first round of byes. Keep an eye out for owners feeling the roster crunch who may drop a player they normally wouldn’t drop in order to cover an IDP bye.

Each week, we’ll highlight diamonds in the rough or some players that just need to be rostered in more leagues on the defensive side of the ball. Keep in mind your scoring system and roster restraints when heading to the waiver wire to grab these IDPs.

Defensive linemen

DE Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions

Last year’s No. 2 overall pick has had three straight good games after a so-so first two weeks. Hutchinson has nine tackles, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble, an INT, four pass defenses and 4 1/2 sacks over the last three weeks. Hutchinson is likely owned in most deeper and competitive formats, but if he’s still somehow on waivers, you should change that.

DT Ed Oliver, Buffalo Bills

The big, 287-pound tackle has been a force in the middle thus far. He has at least three tackles per game, but Oliver has at least one sack per game over the last three games. He added nine tackles and a sack in Week 5. Defensive tackles are risky, but he’s producing enough to warrant the pickup if you need to cover a bye.

Linebackers

LB Nathan Landman, Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons lost Troy Andersen in the middle to a torn pectoral muscle, and the undrafted Landman has stepped in nicely. He had nine tackles in Week 4 and seven in Week 5. He’ll face the Washington Commanders in Week 6, and they run the ball and use short routes a lot, which could be another big tackle day.

LB Henry To’oTo’o, Houston Texans

Injuries have catapulted the fifth-round pick into a spot on the strong side, and he has answered the bell. He has at least seven tackles in four straight games and had at least 10 stops in two of them. To’oTo’o doesn’t offer much else, but it’s hard to find someone to land around eight tackles a game on waivers.

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LB Christian Rozeboom, Los Angeles Rams

Six, five, five, six and five. That’s what the fourth-year, undrafted linebacker from South Dakota State has delivered in tackles each week. Rozeboom has offered nothing else, but he has set a baseline that can be useful in deeper formats if you’re trying to cover a bye at a premium position.

Defensive backs

SS Jimmie Ward, Houston Texans

It has been three good weeks in a row for the 10-year vet. He had eight tackles in Week 3, four tackles, and a forced fumble in Week 4, plus six tackles and a pass defense in Week 5. He has the New Orleans Saints this week and then a bye, which may mean he’s a short-term option. However, if he has another solid game this week, we could see keeping him around through the bye.

FS Micah Hyde, Buffalo Bills

From a fantasy perspective, the 32-year-old is a very unsexy option. His six tackles in Week 5 were a season high. He has two INTs, but he doesn’t really do much to stand out from a statistical standpoint. He has the New England Patriots, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers the next three weeks, and he could see more INT windows.

S Sam Franklin, Carolina Panthers

Franklin could be a one-week play against the Miami Dolphins this week. The Panthers are on a bye in Week 7, and Franklin would probably be expendable that week. He has stepped in for Xavier Woods, who is out four-to-six weeks with a hamstring injury. He had a Pick-6 in Week 4 and eight tackles last week.