Tag: Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

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.

How is it Week 12 already? This season has blown by, and we hope you’re doing the same to the competition. We have a few more weeks of byes to cover, and it’s important to nail those sleepers on the wire.

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

EDGE Baron Browning, Denver Broncos

The 2021 third-round pick will have some peaks and valleys, but those peaks have been on point of late. In Week 8, he had four tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. Browning had a quiet, three-tackle game in Week 10 and had three tackles, a sack and a forced fumble in Week 11. He has the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans the next two weeks to keep feasting.

EDGE Odafe Oweh, Baltimore Ravens

The EDGE rusher has reached the quarterback three weeks in a row and in four of five games. His value will hinge largely on sacks, because he has 13 tackles over the last five games. If your league incentivizes sacks, he’s a good target.

Linebackers

LB Ernest Jones, Los Angeles Rams

He missed a game due to injury and then had a bye week, so Jones could be floating on waivers in shallow or less competitive formats. He shouldn’t be there after 12 tackles and a half-sack in Week 11. He has five 10-tackle games on the season and will provide some upside.

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LB Damone Clark, Dallas Cowboys

Clark was highly effective early in the season with three eight-plus tackle games in the stretch of a month. He has been a little shaky since, but he has six tackles in three of four games.

Defensive backs

SS Quentin Lake, Los Angeles Rams

He’s dealing with a sore hamstring, so keep an eye on his status this week. Lake had a season-high eight tackles last week and has at least six stops in three of four games. He won’t offer much elsewhere, but the tackle numbers are encouraging.

SS Jordan Battle, Denver Broncos

Battle’s role has increased … as such, his production did as well. He delivered 12 tackles last week. There’s no telling if that was a blip or the start of something, because he didn’t have more than three in any previous game this season.

SS DeAndre Houston-Carson, Houston Texans

Houston-Carson had a statement game two weeks ago with seven tackles and an INT. He followed it up last week with five tackles and a pass defense. He has the Jacksonville Jaguars, Denver Broncos and New York Jets coming up to get it rolling.