The weeks are dwindling, but we hope the W’s are piling up as the fantasy playoffs come into focus. We have six teams on a bye this week, and it will be a crucial one to nail your waiver claims and pounce on those guys who probably shouldn’t have been dropped.
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 seventh-year pro has been useful at times in fantasy. He had a stretch early in the year with a sack in four of five games and sprinkled in some four-tackle games as well. He came out of the bye week with four tackles, a forced fumble and two sacks. He has the Tennessee Titans and Cincinnati Bengals to terrorize the next two weeks.
DE BJ Ojulari, Arizona Cardinals
The second-round pick is starting to cause some havoc. Here are his last five game logs: two tackles, one sack; four tackles; eight tackles, two sacks; one tackle, one sack; and five tackles. He’s getting it done in different ways. He has the Pittsburgh Steelers this week before his bye in Week 14, so it may be a short-term pickup.
Linebackers
LB Krys Barnes, Arizona Cardinals
When healthy, this guy makes a difference. The problem is keeping him healthy. He had two, seven-tackle games early in the year and was injured. He returned two weeks ago with three tackles, an INT and two pass defenses and had seven tackles last week.
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LB Sione Takitaki, Cleveland Browns
The fifth-year pro is on the fringe but has a couple of notable performances recently. Takitaki had five tackles and a pass defense two weeks ago and six tackles last week. The Browns have a few injuries in their linebacking corps, and he looks poised to take advantage.
LB Anfernee Jennings, New England Patriots
The 2020 third-round pick has posted three solid games in a row. He had four tackles three weeks ago, seen tackles two weeks ago and broke off four tackles and 1.5 sacks last week. He’s a fit in deeper leagues if you’re covering a bye.
Defensive backs
S Trenton Thompson, Pittsburgh Steelers
This one may hinge on the health of Minkah Fitzpatrick, but the former UDFA has played well the last two weeks. He had six tackles and two pass defenses in Week 11 and five tackles, an INT and a pass defense in Week 12. He may get a longer look down the stretch.
FS Tyrann Mathieu, New Orleans Saints
We featured the “Honey Badger” a couple of weeks ago, and he just keeps performing. He came out of the bye week with four tackles, two INTs and two pass defenses. He had eight tackles in the game before his bye week. If you didn’t bite then, you should now.
CB DaRon Bland, Dallas Cowboys
Throw out the pick-six record, and when you focus on the more realistic counting numbers, he has been great. He has a pass defense in eight straight games and an INT in three straight. He had 10 tackles last week and at least four in three straight and four of five.
