The first week of byes is down, and four more contending teams are off in Week 7. Through six games, rosters have had a chance to settle. You know who you can count on and who’s on the bubble. As always, keep an eye out for worthwhile players who may have been released during last week’s byes.
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
DT DeForest Buckner, Indianapolis Colts
The two-time Pro Bowler had a solid start to the season with at least four tackles in each of his five games. He really made a statement the last two games, though, with 13 tackles and three sacks combined. He’s a 295-pound interior lineman who will have peaks and valleys, but the tackle numbers are promising for him to hold value throughout the year.
DT Dexter Lawrence, New York Giants
The 2019 first-round draft pick has been a solid player, but he has really taken the next step through the first six weeks of the season. He has tied his career high with four sacks – all of which have come in the last three games. He had five tackles in four of the six games and just one tackle in the other two. So he’ll need the sack numbers to continue to have value outside of deeper leagues, but he’s on the rise.
Linebackers
LB Jacob Phillips, Cleveland Browns
The former third-round pick got off to a slow start the first two weeks with just five combined tackles. He has turned it on with seven, seven, 10 and 10 the following four weeks. He has mixed in two sacks as well, and Phillips looks to be a weekly flex candidate in standard leagues that start a DL, LB, DB and flex.
LB Alex Singleton, Denver Broncos
It’s OK to look at Singleton’s Week 6 stat line and blurt out a “Holy” and follow it up with your word of choice. He had 21 tackles, and 19 of them were solos, good for the second-most individual stops in NFL history! Now, LB Josey Jewell was out with a knee injury, but you can’t bench someone who just racked up 21 tackles, can you? Singleton was solid during the first two games without Jewell to open 2022, and the Broncos went right back to the latter, but 21 tackles is tough to ignore in any context. Pick up Singleton and see if you can shop him or just use him at flex until Jewell comes back.
Defensive Backs
SS Rayshawn Jenkins, Jacksonville Jaguars
The 28-year-old’s season started out quietly with just five tackles combined in the first two weeks. Since then, he has tallied five, six, 12 and eight stops. Each of the last two weeks, seven of them have been solos. He had a career-high 84 tackles in 15 games in 2020, and he’s poised to eclipse that with good health.
S Jaquan Brisker, Chicago Bears
Brisker, a second-round pick in 2022, may have the most upside of the bunch this week. He has had at least five tackles in each of the last five games, but he has sacks in two of the last three games. They’re using him to blitz, which creates opportunities for sacks, forced fumbles, and fumble recoveries to go with a solid baseline of tackles. We could be looking at a DB1 or DB2 by season’s end. Don’t miss the boat.
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