Another six-team bye week, and another week with minimal rising IDP stars to target to plug holes in your starting lineup. Fortunately for fantasy owners, the bye weeks end after Week 12. Yippee! Not many sinking defensive players this week, either, on the plus side.
Bye Weeks coming up:Current Week: Buffalo, Cleveland, Miami, New England, New York Jets, San Francisco; Week 12: Kansas City, Los Angeles Rams; Week 13 and beyond: No more bye weeks!
Elevator Going Up
Linebackers
Deion Jones ATL
Jones is returning to the active roster, after recovering from his Game 1 foot injury. He is a top 5 LB and although likely will be held to limited snaps to begin, he is someone you need to target if he is still sitting on your league’s waiver wire or free agent list. Put in your claim right now, go ahead, stop reading and make the move.
He played a majority of the snaps on defense in Week 10 against the Bengals, and the second-year player picked up his first sack of the season in that game, along with five total tackles (TT), four of those being of the solo variety. He is showing big play potential with an interception (INT), a forced fumble (FF) and the above-referenced sack in the past three games played. If he is going to see additional action on defense, he is well worth picking up for the stretch run, especially with the nice matchups for the Saints on deck over the next several weeks.
Mason Foster WAS
Foster collected 10 TT in last weeks’ game vs the Buccaneers (eight solo). He is on pace to set a career high in tackles assuming he can stay on the field, besting the 124 he was credited with in 2016. As with Anzalone, his team is set up for some tasty matchups over the next few games, and thus, he is a valuable asset in tackle-oriented IDP leagues.
Defensive Linemen
Tyquan Lewis DE IND
Lewis finally saw the field in Week 10, after spending the first portion of the season on the IR list with a toe issue. He collected three TT against the Jaguars (two solo) with a QB hit (QH) and a pass deflection (PD) tossed in to improve his worth as a DL in IDP action. He was the starter at right DE last week, playing 72% of the defensive snaps.
Dante Fowler DE LAR
Fowler had a full stat line in Week 10: three TT (two solo), a sack, a QH, a FF and a fumble recovery (FR). His move from Jacksonville to the Rams defense has also resulted in a significant uptick in defensive snaps. If you add him, realize that he will be on a bye week in Week 12.
Maurice Hurst DT OAK
Hurst was a steal as a fifth-round draft selection for the Raiders, and has been a standout on a suspect defensive squad this season. He picked up his third sack of the season against the visiting Chargers this past week, as well as four solo tackles, one for a loss of yards (TFL), and a QH. In a DT mandatory league, he has great potential going forward.
Defensive Backs
Jeff Heath S DAL
Heath put up an eight solo tackle effort against the Eagles in Week 10, and now gets to face the Falcons who are a pass-happy offense. He is good for the occasional big play, with three PDs and one INT on the season to date, as well as consistent tackle production.
Bene Benwikere CB ARI
Playing opposite Patrick Peterson in the Arizona secondary has resulted in plenty of IDP production for Benwikere. He has averaged six tackles per game over the past five contests. The next two weeks are not great matchups but as the targeted CB for the Cardinals, expect his production to be steady.
Escalator Going Down
Linebackers
None to speak of, except for those listed in the injury report below
Defensive Linemen
Akiem Hicks DE CHI
Hicks collected three sacks in the first four games of 2018, but has been shut out in that stat category over the past five contests. He only offered his owners one solo tackle against the visiting Lions, although he has been occasionally much more productive this season in terms of making tackles. Still, there are far more dependable options to employ on the DL front.
Leonard Williams DE NYJ
Williams has not been credited with a sack over the past five weeks, and with him on bye in Week 11, this is a great time to replace him in your IDP lineup. He has not exactly been a monster in terms of providing tackle numbers recently, either, making him extremely droppable.
Marcell Dareus DT JAX
In two of the past three weeks, Dareus has put up a big goose egg in the tackle category. Now, he gets to face a pair of tough teams that are stingy about allowing fantasy points to opposing DTs. In a DT-mandatory league, look for a better option to insert in your lineup.
Defensive Backs
Kyle Fuller CB CHI
The Bear corner has just five TT over the past three games, although he has put up six PD and an INT over that stretch, to keep him viable as an IDP option. In tackle-heavy leagues, though, he is a drag on your IDP production and not worth holding onto.
Matchups to Exploit
Remember, the first team listed is the one to use your IDPs against. Do not go crazy, and play a LB5 against the Colts, but certainly you will do well if you own a top LB on the Raiders, Giants or Green Bay that you can plug in this week, for the most part.
Linebackers
New York Giants vs Tampa Bay
New Orleans Saints vs Philadelphia
Defensive Ends
Washington vs Houston
Arizona Cardinals vs Oakland
New York Giants vs Tampa Bay
Defensive Tackles
Indianapolis Colts vs Tennessee
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New York Giants
New Orleans Saints vs Philadelphia
Safeties
Los Angeles Chargers vs Denver
New Orleans Saints vs Philadelphia
Houston Texans @ Washington
Cornerbacks
New York Giants vs Tampa Bay
Dallas Cowboys @ Atlanta
Chicago Bears vs Minnesota
Detroit Lions vs Cleveland
Waiver Wire Targets
This section is intended to serve as a shortened cheat sheet listing those waiver wire targets you should be considering if you need to plug a hole in your starting lineup. 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
Deion Jones ATL
Mason Foster WAS (15% ownership in Yahoo leagues, but 58% in ESPN)
Defensive Linemen
Tyquan Lewis DE IND
Dante Fowler DE LAR
Maurice Hurst DT OAK
Defensive Backs
Jeff Heath S DAL
Bene Benwikere CB ARI
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
Deion Jones ATL foot
Matt Milano BUF head
Preston Brown CIN leg
Vincent Rey CIN groin
Nick Vigil CIN knee-MCL
Vontaze Burfict CIN hip
Joe Thomas DAL foot
Sean Lee DAL hamstring
Eli Harold DET shoulder
Jalen Reeves-Maybin DET neck
Blake Martinez GB ankle
Nick Perry GB knee
Frank Zombo KC hamstring
Denzel Perryman LAC knee (IR)
Reuben Foster SF hamstring
K.J. Wright SEA knee
Lavonte David TB knee-MCL
Derrick Morgan TEN shoulder
Defensive Linemen
DE
Trent Murphy BUF knee
Taco Charlton DAL shoulder
Carroll Phillips IND groin (IR)
KemokoTuray IND neck
Lerentee McCray JAX hamstring
Chris Landrum LAC hip
Joey Bosa LAC foot
Charles Harris MIA calf
Marcus Davenport NO toe
Stephon Tuitt PIT elbow
Vinny Curry TB ankle
DT
Robert Nkemdiche ARI calf
Adolphus Washington CIN knee
David Irving DAL ankle
Daniel Ross DAL calf
Eli Ankou JAX calf
Eddie Vanderdoes OAK knee-ACL
Dan McCullers -Sanders PIT ankle
Defensive Backs
S
Budda Baker ARI undisclosed
Rudy Ford ARI heel
BashaudBreeland GB groin
Kentrell Brice GB ankle
Mike Mitchell IND calf
Eric Berry KC heel
Duke Dawson NE hamstring
JaquiskiTartt SF shoulder
Neiko Thorpe SEA groin
Delano Hill SEA quadriceps
Maurice Alexander SEA elbow
Dane Cruikshank TEN knee
CB
Maurice Canady BAL thigh
Taron Johnson BUF shoulder
Darqueze Dennard CIN collarbone
Dre Kirkpatrick CIN concussion
Darius Slay DET knee
Kevin King GB hamstring
Nate Hairston IND ankle
Quenton Meeks JAX knee-MCL
A.J. Bouye JAX calf
Trevor Williams LAC knee
Bobby McCain MIA concussion
Jalen Mills PHI foot
Ronald Darby PHI knee
Sidney Jones PHI hamstring
M.J. Stewart TB foot
Quinton Dunbar WAS shin
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.FANation Chat is now live on the site, to help you work through your fantasy football dilemmas. Or if you have any fantasy football questions, especially about IDP leagues, you can also send a message toia@fantasyalarm.com for a personal response from the writer of this article. Naturally, the more detail you can send about your league, such as number of teams, platform you play in (Yahoo, ESPN, etc.), scoring and roster system, the better the ability to provide accurate advice.