The final week of byes is upon us, with another six teams sitting out in Week 11. Thus, the limited number of recommended pickups for this scoring period, especially at linebacker. There are a decent number of safeties and defensive ends, though, so have a run at the wire if you are missing players due to inactivity while on the bye or injury.

Bye Weeks coming up: Carolina, Indianapolis, Miami, New York Jets, San Francisco, Tampa Bay

Elevator Going Up

Linebackers

Nick Perry GB

Denzel Perryman LAC

Perry picked up three sacks in the Week 10 contest against the Bears, to go with his nine total tackles (six solo) with three of those tackles being for a loss of yards (TFL) and three quarterback hits/hurries (QH). Baltimore, the fourth most generous team in terms of linebacker points allowed, is next up on the schedule.

Perryman returned to action and was limited to just 46 snaps (55%) against the Jags. That did not seem to bother his production, as he collected nine total tackles (eight solo). Now that he is back on the field, he should continue to provide good tackle numbers. Grab him now off the wire if you play in tackle oriented league.

IDP to consider that have been previously profiled:Tahir Whitehead DET (Week 5),DeVondre Campbell ATL (Week 8).

Defensive Linemen

Dion Jordan DE SEA

Cornelius Washington DE DET

Anthony Zettel DE DET

Adrian Clayborn DE ATL

Sheldon Rankins DT NO

Jordan may see significantly more playing time if Frank Clark's hamstring holds him out of action in Week 11. He picked up a sack and three QH in limited time last week, along with a solo tackle for loss of yardage.

Washington picked up a pair of sacks in Week 10 against the Browns, to go with four total tackles (three solo, two TFL) plus two QH. Although the two sacks were his first of the season, the fact that he doubled his snaps on defense from Week 9 (48 as opposed to 24) bodes well going forward.

Zettel has garnered a sack in Week 10, his second in two weeks. The tackle numbers are not great, but as the Lions have been searching for an effective pass rush this season, he should be able to build on his recent success, even though his next three contests are against middle of the pack teams with regard to points allowed to opposing DEs.

Clayborn must be mentioned after a six sack effort against the Cowboys, along with six solo tackles (three TFL) seven QH, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Of course, do not expect this kind of production every week going forward, but that stat line certainly is eye opening.

Rankins had a full stat line in Week 10: two solo tackles (two TFL), a QH, an INT, one PD and a sack. He was highly anticipated after being drafted 12th overall in 2016 as a rookie DT, but has failed to impress until last week. There is some hope after a strong Week 10 performance that he is ready to bust out.

IDP to consider that have been previously profiled: None

Defensive Backs

Budda Baker S ARI

Tre Boston S LAC

Justin Simmons S DEN

Daniel Sorensen S KC

Davon House CB GB

The rookie Baker will see an uptick in playing time so long as Tyvon Branch's torn ACL sidelines him. He had nine total tackles against the Seahawks, leading the team. He also contributed with a pass defense (PD).

Boston is much more valuable in big play leagues, with a strong front defensive line that can rush the passer and corners that direct the action to the middle of the field. He had six total tackles against the Jaguars in Week 10 (one TFL) to go alongside his two INT and three PD.

Simmons led the Broncos in tackles in Week 10 with 10 total (six solo, one TFL), likely due to his playing all the snaps on defense. He also contributed a QH and a sack. He offers both coverage and run stopping skills, so the amount of playing time should remain steady.

Sorensen stepped in when Eric Berry went down with his Achilles injury, and has provide solid production. He is coming off a bye week, and thus should be available in most leagues.

House is what is often referred to as a "physical" cornerback, and his Week 10 production shows off his potential, with eight solo tackles (two TFL), a QH and a sack. If your league requires a CB or two in your starting lineup, consider adding him to your roster.

IDP to consider that have been previously profiled: Tavon Wilson S DET (Week 9)

Escalator Going Down

Linebackers

Blake Martinez GB

Will Compton WAS

Preston Smith WAS

Martinez only managed to accrue two tackles (one solo) in Week 10' contest against the Bears. He had been on a nice streak, with 67 tackles in his prior six games, so let's chalk this up to the Bears not having a ground game in Week 10.

Compton and Smith both had disappointing Week 10 results, with only three total tackles between the two LBs, although Smith did record a QH. Compton is in time share with Martrell Spaight which further hurts his value for fantasy purposes.

Defensive Linemen

None to speak of, except for those listed in the injury report below.

Defensive Backs

Adrian Phillips S LAC

Phillips managed to play 50% of the snaps on defense in Week 10, despite the return of Denzel Perryman (discussed above), but ended up with a goose egg in the stat column. He is likely looking at a time share situation where he is used more in coverage, so the tackle numbers are going to be depressed unless and until he sees a more full time role.

Matchups to Exploit

Remember, the second team listed is the one to use your IDPs against. Do not go crazy, and play a LB5 against the Browns, but certainly you will do well if you own a top LB on the Cowboys, Chargers or Packers that you can plug in this week, for the most part.

Linebackers

Jacksonville @ Cleveland

Dallas v Philadelphia

Los Angeles Chargers v Buffalo

Green Bay v Baltimore

Defensive Ends

Arizona @ Houston

Cincinnati @ Denver

Chicago v Detroit

Kansas City @ New York Giants

Defensive Tackles

New Orleans v Washington

Houston v Arizona

Safeties

Oakland v New England

Houston v Arizona

New England @ Oakland

Cornerbacks

Jacksonville @ Cleveland

Cincinnati @ Denver

Atlanta @ Seattle

Waiver Wire Targets

All these players are spotlighted above, and you can read my comments about them in the "Elevator Going Up" section of this article. Not all the players commented on are here, however, as there is no need to waste your time searching for players that are heavily owned. This group consists of those that you may have a chance of locating on your league's waiver wire in that they are owned in significantly less than 50% of leagues. Happy claiming for your weekly matchups.

Linebackers

Nick Perry GB

Denzel Perryman LAC

Defensive Linesmen

Dion Jordan DE SEA

Cornelius Washington DE DET

Anthony Zettel DE DET

Adrian Clayborn DE ATL

Sheldon Rankins DT NO

Defensive Backs

Budda Baker S ARI

Tre Boston S LAC

Justin Simmons S DEN

Daniel Sorensen S KC

Davon House CB GB

Ouch (My Aching Roster)

All the injury reports below need evaluation prior to kickoff.  Teams are notoriously sketchy about injury reports, and we often do not know a player's status until just before game time. Consider the list below as a "heads up" as to what is going on early in the week, and should not be considered definitive.

Linebackers

Duke Riley ATL knee (meniscus)

Tim Williams BAL thigh    

Andrew Gachkar CAR coach’s decision

Danny Trevathan CHI calf

Sean Lee DAL hamstring

Todd Davis DEN ankle

Jalen Reeves-Maybin DET ankle

Dylan Cole HOU hamstring

John Simon IND neck

Dee Ford KC back

Hayes Pullard LAC neck

Robert Quinn LAR illness

Stephone Anthony MIA coach’s decision

Brandon Watts MIA back

Bryan Braman NO undisclosed

A.J Klein NO ankle

Kelvin Sheppard NYG groin

Keenan Robinson NYG quadriceps

Devon Kennard NYG quadriceps

BJ. Goodson NYG ankle

Corey Lemonier NYJ foot

James Harrison PIT back

Elijah Lee SF knee

Will Compton WAS foot

Defensive Linemen

DE

Jerry Hughes BUF shin

Bryan Cox CAR coach’s decision

Roy Robertson-Harris CHI hamstring

Ezekiel Ansah DET back

Joel Heath HOU knee

Allen BaileyKC knee (MCL)

Everson Griffen MIN foot

Cassius Marsh NE shoulder

Anthony Johnson NYJ undisclosed

Marcus Smith SEA concussion

Frank Clark SEA thigh

Aaron Lynch SF calf

Solomon Thomas SF knee (MCL)

William Gholston TB neck

Matt Ioannidis WAS hand

DT

Pat Sims CIN calf   

Larry Ogunjobi CLE groin

Quinton Dial GB chest

Malcom Brown NE ankle

Damon Harrison NYG ankle

Timmy Jernigan PHI ankle

Jarran Reed SEA hamstring

Defensive Backs

S

Chuck Clark BA thigh

Chris Prosinski CHI hamstring

Shawn Williams CIN hamstring

Ed Reynolds CLE knee

Jeff Heath CAL concussion

Don Carey DET knee

Morgan Burnett GB groin

Andrew Sendejo MIN groin

Kenny Vaccaro NO groin

Michael Mitchell PIT ankle

Earl Thomas SEA hamstring

Kam Chancellor SEA neck

Su’a Cravens WAS personal

Keangelo Hall WAS knee

Nontae Nicholson WAS shoulder

CB

E.J. Gaines BUF hamstring

Ladarius Gunter CAR coach’s decision

SherrickMcManis CHI hamstring

Bryce Callahan CHI knee

Adam Jones CIN concussion

William Jackson CIN toe

ChidobeAwuzie DAL hamstring

Kevin King GB shoulder

Chris Culliver IND undisclosed

Darryl Morris IND undisclosed

Kenny Moore IND head

Eric Rowe NE groin

Donte Deayon NYG ankle

Morris Claiborne NYJ foot

David Amerson OAK foot

Ronald Darby PHI ankle

Joe Haden PIT upper leg

Richard Sherman SEA Achilles

Robert McClain TB hamstring

Vernon Hargreaves TB hamstring

As ever, good luck and Godspeed in your fantasy efforts. Make sure to read all of our great articles to help you win your fantasy match ups every week and ultimately bask in championship glory. If you have any fantasy football questions, especially about IDP leagues, I can be reached at ia@fantasyalarm.com.