It’s onward to Week 7. Hopefully, this is where you’ll start to gain some separation from the pretenders in your league. If lady luck has not been on your side, we have you covered, too, with those key roster decisions.
Defensive linemen
DE Brandon Graham, Philadelphia Eagles
Graham has been spotty this year with a couple of two-sack games, the last of which was in Week 6, and some sparse production otherwise. He faces the injury-depleted New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys the next two weeks. If he’s hovering on waivers, those are salivating matchups.
DE Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers
Heyward had been pretty quiet this year with just 1.5 sacks and a handful of tackles before his eight total tackles last week. He has the Tennessee Titans this week, which is a midrange matchup. He’ll follow that game with the Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals. There should be a lot of pressure to be applied in those slates, plus they’re quality tackling matchups.
Linebackers
ILB Krys Barnes, Green Bay Packers
Barnes was all over the field Monday night in Week 6, coming up with a season-high 10 total stops. He has 35 tackles in five games this year, but he has tallied nothing else in the stat sheet. With that said, it’s hard to find a seven-tackle linebacker at this stage.
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ILB Neville Hewitt, New York Jets
Hewitt has been a steady compiler with no fewer than six total tackles in each of his six games. He has two passes defensed, as well, and he has some history of rushing the quarterback. There could be some upside there to grab as depth or stash for later.
OLB Isaiah Simmons, Arizona Cardinals
The first-round rookie had his best game as a pro last week with four total tackles and a pass defense. He figures to see plenty more action with Chandler Jones (biceps) out for the season. He might be one to stash for a week to see how his role blossoms.
Defensive backs
CB Josh Norman, Buffalo Bills
Believe it or not, the former star cornerback has been one of the better DBs in fantasy over the last three weeks. He amassed 18 total tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two passes defensed. He has the New York Jets this week and could make it a fourth banner game.
CB Malcolm Butler, Tennessee Titans
In this weird season, we’re seeing a lot more big games from cornerbacks. Butler had two picks two weeks ago, and he followed it up with eight tackles and a pass defense last week. He has flirted with double-digit fantasy points (depending on scoring system) four games in a row now. It’s time to buy in.
SS Eric Rowe, Miami Dolphins
We don’t normally like to offer up players on a bye week, but Rowe has been too good the last three weeks to not think about stashing. He has had: six tackles; four tackles and two passes defensed; and nine tackles and a pass defense over the last three tilts. If you have the extra space, grab and stash.