In many leagues, this is the last chance to make the playoffs. Finding a replacement IDP on the waiver wire is difficult but there are some gems out there. Not many, granted, but there are some worthwhile options to consider going into Week 13. Let us take a look at who is available, shall we?
Elevator Going Up
Linebackers
Josh Bynes ARI
Martinez is heavily owned (79% in ESPN, but only 48% in Yahoo) and thus may not be available to you but grab him if he is on the wire. He is coming off a superb Week 12 effort, with 15 total tackles (12 solo) and one of those was a tackle for loss of yards (TFL). He also had an INT, a pass defensed (PD) and a fumble recovery. He has a tough matchup this week against Tampa Bay, who are the best in football at limiting fantasy point production to opposing linebackers, but Week 14 against the Browns and Week 16 against the Vikings are tasty matchups.
Bynes had a productive Week 12, picking up nine combined tackles (eight solo) and forcing a fumble. He filled in nicely for Deone Bucannon, who went down with an ankle injury and is listed as questionable for this week. Check the injury reports and be ready to pounce if Bucannon is not playing.
IDP to consider that have been previously profiled: Tahir Whitehead DET (Week 5), Demario Davis NYJ (Week 2), Chandler Jones ARI (Week 3), Denzel Parryman LAC (Week 11), Darron Lee NYJ (Week 2).
Defensive Linemen
Brandon Graham DE PHI
Olivier Vernon DE NYG
Denico Autry DE OAK
Frostee Rucker DT ARI
Graham had a sack in Week 12, giving him seven on the season. He also had five solo tackles (two TFL), a quarterback hit/hurry (QH) and forced a fumble against the visiting Bears. The Philadelphia offensive attack is forcing opponents to gamble, resulting in pass rush opportunities this season for Graham, who now has a career-best seven sacks with time left to improve on that number.
Vernon looks to be healthy once again, and he has collected 12 total tackles (nine solo) over the past three weeks. He also contributed 1.5 sacks in Week 12 against Washington on the road, further demonstrating his improved health. His Week 13 matchup is not favorable, as the Raiders give up the least fantasy points to opposing DEs through Week 12.
Autry had a great game in Denver in Week 12, with three total tackles (two solo, two TFL) and he also added two sacks and two QH to his stat line. He and Mario Edwards have been timesharing across from Khalil Mack, which limits his full potential. He does have two good matchups coming up when the Raiders host the Giants in Week 13 and then head to Kansas City for Week 14.
Rucker is the lone DT candidate this week. He had a four solo tackle effort in Week 10 and a five solo in Week 12. Those two decent performances sandwich a one solo tackle game in Week 11, however, so unless you must start a DT in your league, you might not want to take a risk on the veteran.
IDP to consider that have been previously profiled: Cameron Heyward DE PIT (Week 5).
Defensive Backs
Reshad Jones S MIA
Clayton Geathers S IND
Miles Killebrew S DET
Bradley McDougald S SEA
Desmond King CB LAC
Ryan Smith CB TB
Dre Kirkpatrick DB CIN
Jonathan Jones CB NE
Trumaine Johnson CB LAR
Jones is not likely to be available in your leagues, but as with Blake Martinez above, if your league has been asleep at the wheel, snap him up. He is coming off a twelve total tackle game in New England (nine solo), and he also recovered a fumble that he took in for a TD.
Geathers came off the PUP list for Week 12, after a lengthy recovery from a serious neck injury. He put up goose eggs across the stat line, and only played 10 snaps with six of those on special teams. He has DB1 potential if he gets a starting role in the Colts defensive backfield, and would be a good player to stash on your bench if you have the room.
Killebrew is slated to move into the starting strong safety position, now that Tavon Wilson is having season-ending surgery on his shoulder. He did have a nine total tackle game in Week 3 when he started in place of Wilson (eight solo), so there is potential for tackle production going forward.
McDougald is another player who moves into a starting role due to injury, in this instance the player he is replacing is Kam Chancellor, making for pretty big shoes to fill. He was a productive tackler when with Tampa Bay before his move to Seattle this season, and showed coverage skills with 21 PD between 2014-16, and if he comes close to mirroring Chancellor’s efforts in the secondary, he would be a valuable late-season pickup.
Kingplays nickel corner for the Chargers and thanks to opposing offenses avoiding the strong play of the outside CBs, he gets plenty of action. He put up a five solo tackle effort against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, along with an INT and a PD, while also scoring a TD.
Smithis starting for the Buccaneers with Vernon Hargreaves sitting out with a hamstring injury. He is being targeted frequently, resulting in good tackle numbers. His coverage skills are lacking, though, so he is mostly valuable in tackle-oriented leagues. He has a pair of good matchups in the next two weeks, going to Green Bay and then hosting the Lions.
Kirkpatrick had nine total tackles ((seven solo) and a couple of PD in Week 12 and now has another good matchup against the Steelers in Week 13. He sees plenty of snaps on defense week in, week out, and is a CB1 at this point in the season.
The second Jones profiled this week looked good in Week 12 against the visiting Dolphins, with nine solo tackles (one TFL), a sackand a QH. Of course, New England did have seven sacks in the game. Week 13’s opponent, Buffalo, is a tough matchup, but things get better after that with the Patriots heading to Miami and then Pittsburgh.
Johnson spent Week 12 shadowing Michael Thomas (NO). He often draws the duty of covering the opponent’s best receiver, which results in plenty of tackle opportunities, although he does flash coverage skills as well. This week’s matchup is a good one, with a road contest against the Cardinals.
IDP to consider that have been previously profiled: Eric Reed S SF (Week 12), Barry Church S JAX (Week 9), Vonn Bell S NO (Week 3), Morgan Burnett S GB (Week 6), Johnathan Cyprien S TEN (Week 12), Budda Baker S ARI (Week 12) Justin Evans S TB (Week 6).
Escalator Going Down
Linebackers
None to speak of, except those listed below in the injury report.
Defensive Linemen
Adrian Clayborn DE ATL
David Irving DT DAL
Clayborn had to QH against Tampa Bay in Week 12, but he is not producing tackles with just one solo in the past two weeks. He was likely a waiver wire darling after his six sack Week 10 performance against Dallas, but the past couple of games make it clear that he should be dropped.
Irving is another player who has not been helping owners, collecting just one solo tackle and one assist over Weeks 11 and 12. He does have six sacks to his credit, but the last sack came in Week 9. As with Clayborn, feel free to cut him loose.
Defensive Backs
None of note, except for those listed below in the injury report.
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 Ravens, but certainly you will do well if you own a top LB on the Colts, Jaguars or Detroit that you can plug in this week, for the most part.
Linebackers
Detroit @ Baltimore
Indianapolis @ Jacksonville
Jacksonville v Indianapolis
New Orleans v Buffalo
Los Angeles Chargers v Cleveland
Defensive Ends
Tennessee v Houston
Miami v Denver
Baltimore v Detroit
Jacksonville v Indianapolis
Defensive Tackles
Dallas v Washington
Kansas City @ New York Jets
Los Angeles Rams @ Arizona
Safeties
Buffalo v New England
Los Angeles Rams @ Arizona
Denver @ Miami
Tennessee v Houston
Cornerbacks
Los Angeles Chargers v Cleveland
Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh
Miami v Denver
Philadelphia @ 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
Blake Martinez GB (Just realize that his ownership in ESPN is 79%, but only 48% in Yahoo)
Josh Bynes ARI
Defensive Linesmen
Brandon Graham DE PHI
Olivier Vernon DE NYG
Denico Autry DE OAK
Frostee Rucker DT ARI
Defensive Backs
Clayton Geathers S IND
Miles Killebrew S DET
Bradley McDougald S SEA
Desmond King CB LAC
Ryan Smith CB TB
Dre Kirkpatrick DB CIN
Jonathan Jones CB NE
Trumaine Johnson CB LAR
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
Deone Buchanon ARI ankle
Thomas Davis CAR thigh
Danny Trevathan CHI calf
Vincent Rey CIN hamstring
Nick Vigil CIN ankle
Justin Durant DAL concussion
Sean Lee DAK hamstring
Anthony Hitchens DAL groin
Clay Matthews GB groin
Brennan Scarlett HOU foot
Telvin Smith JAX concussion
Donald Payne JAX hamstring
Dee Ford KC back
Ukeme Eligwe KC Achilles
James Onwalu LAC quadriceps
Connor Barwiin LAR arm
Brandon Watts MIA back
Kyle Van Noy NE calf
Trevor Reilly NE head
Bryan Braman NO undisclosed
J.T. Thomas NYG groin
B.J. Goodson NYG ankle
Calvin Munson NYG quadriceps
Corey Lemonier NYJ foot
Joe Walker PHI neck
D.J. Alexander SEA shoulder
Josh Forrest SEA foot
Zach Brown WAS shoulder
Martrell Spaight WAS ankle
Defensive Linemen
DE
Josh Mauro ARI ankle
Robert Nkemdiche ARI ankle
Roy Robertson CHI hamstring
Derek Wolfe DEN neck
Hassan Ridgeway IND shoulder
Trey Flowers NE ribs
Anthony Johnson NYJ undisclosed
Dion Jordan SEA neck
Robert Ayers TB concussion
Matt Ioannidis WAS ankle
DT
Corey Peters ARI ankle
Maliek Collins DAL foot
Domata Peko DEN knee (MCL)
Kenny Clark GB ankle
Corbin Bryant NYG elbow
Steve McLendon NYJ neck
Beau Allen PHI knee
Clinton McDonald TB back
Terrell McClain WAS toe
Defensive Backs
S
Johnathan Ford ARI knee
Chris Prosinski CHI hamstring
Adrian Amos CHI hamstring
DeAndre Houston-Carson CHI ankle
Shawn Williams CIN hamstring
Ed Reynolds CLE knee
Derron Smith CLE knee
Maurice Smith MIA illness
Kam Chancellor SEA neck
Adrian Colbert SF thumb
T.J. Ward TB concussion
Josh Robinson TB hamstring
Da’Norris Searcy TEN ankle
Su’s Cravens WAS personal
Montae Nicholson WAS concussion
CB
Desmond Trufant ATL head
Brian Poole ATL back
Captain Munnerlyn CAR illness
Daryl Worley CAR foot
Bryce Callahan CHI knee
Jamal Agnew DET knee
Rashaan Melvin IND hand
Chris Culliver IND undisclosed
Nickell Robey LAR thigh
Eric Rowe NYJ foot
David Amerson OAK foot
Joe Haden PIT upper leg
Shaq Griffin SEA concussion
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.