This is it, the final week of the regular season. Some of you may be competing for a fantasy championship, so despite a general distaste for Week 17 fantasy championship playoffs (seriously, just end the season with Week 16 in the future), here is the final IDP Report for the 2018 season. Good luck in all your fantasy sport efforts, and remember, keep coming back to our site for advice for all your fantasy sports needs.

Elevator Going Up

Linebackers

Patrick Onwuasor BAL

Onwuasor is coming off a huge day against the host Chargers, collecting a pair of sacks to go with his nine total tackles (TT), eight of those being of the solo variety. He has a good matchup in Week 17 with the Browns coming to visit, and he has racked up 3.5 of his 5.5 sacks on the season over the last four games.

Eric Wilson MIN

Wilson started in place of Eric Kendricks in Week 16 against the Lions, and had nine TT (eight solo) with three of those being for a loss of yards (TFL). Kendricks is listed as questionable for Week 17’s tilt against the visiting Bears, so Wilson should see significant snaps on defense for another game.

Genard Avery CLE

Avery has a good matchup against the Ravens this upcoming week, and did collect a sack in Week 16. He is the starting weakside LB on an up and coming team, and looks to be on the field a ton for Week 17 against Baltimore.

Defensive Linemen

Darius Philon DE LAC

The Chargers are playing for a division title, and while they could be sitting starters, it seems likely that their defensive linesmen will see their usual slate of snaps. Philon picked up a sack last week, to go with his five TT (three solo), and while the Broncos are not a great matchup, expect the possibility of playoff advantage with a victory to spur the Charger IDPs on to strong play.

Chris Long DE PHI

Long has a chance to start at right DE for the Eagles in our nation’s capital in Week 17, and is coming off a two sack effort against the Texans this past weekend, and also forced a fumble (FF) in that contest. The Eagles are playing for their playoff life, and should take it to the host Washington offense.

Davon Godchaux DT MIA

While the Dolphins have no playoff expectations, look for them to plug their starters in for the bulk of the snaps on defense in Buffalo. He had a big effort against the Jags in Week 16 with six TT (four solo). He has had the occasional big tackle game this season, although it is his playing time that makes him a possible plug-in in DT-mandatory leagues.

Defensive Backs

Darqueze Dennard CB CIN

Starting left cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick is questionable for Week 17 with a shoulder issue, leaving Dennard in place to continue his strong play in the defensive backfield for the Bengals. This week’s opponent, Pittsburgh, is a great matchup, and Dennard projects as a fine tackle-producing DB for the regular season finale.

Kevin Byard S TEN

Byard has a great matchup, facing the Colts who rank second in terms of allowing points to opposing safeties on the season. He has been putting up good tackle numbers all season, and has increased his big-play production of late, with four pass deflections (PD) and two INT over the past two weeks.

Marlon Humphrey CB BAL

The Ravens are at home and playing for a victory that will allow them to clinch a division title. The Browns are a top-10 team with regard to allowing fantasy points to opposing cornerbacks in 2018. Baker Mayfield , helming the Browns, is a good bet to put up an INT and Humphrey has shown an affinity to pick off the errant pass with an INT in each of the past two games.

Escalator Going Down

We will take a different approach in Week 17. Instead of suggesting IDP to avoid plugging in, instead the approach is to avoid playing those defensive players on teams that have nothing to gain by playing their starters. This week, that means the Panthers, Cowboys and Saints (even with Jerry Jones promising that Dallas will play to win). Also, be wary of relying on any IDP on the Chiefs, Texans, Chargers, Rams, Bears and Seahawks, all of whom could pull their starters early depending on game flow.

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 Bills, but certainly you will do well if you own a top CB on either the Falcons or Buccaneers or a LB, DL or S against the 49ers  that you can plug in this week, for the most part.

Linebackers

Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo

Los Angeles Rams vs San Francisco

Houston Texans vs Jacksonville

Defensive Ends

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Houston

Kansas City Chiefs vs Oakland

Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay

Defensive Tackles

New York Giants vs Dallas

Arizona Cardinals @ Seattle

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Houston

Los Angeles Rams vs San Francisco

Safeties

Los Angeles Chargers @ Denver

Tennessee Titans vs Indianapolis

Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington

Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh

Los Angeles Rams vs San Francisco

Cornerbacks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Atlanta

Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh

Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay

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

Patrick Onwuasor BAL

Eric Wilson MIN

Genard Avery CLE

Defensive Linemen

Darius Philon DE LAC

Chris Long DE PHI

Davon Godchaux DT MIA

Defensive Backs

Kevin Byard S TEN

Marlon Humphrey CB BAL

Darqueze Dennard CB CIN

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

Terrell Suggs BAL hamstring

Julian Stanford BUF ankle

Shaq Green-Thompson CAR shoulder (IR)

Aaron Lynch CHI elbow

Jordan Evans CIN ankle

Vontaze Burfict CIN concussion

Xavier Woods on-Luster CLE neck

Tanner Vallejo CLE hamstring

Sean Lee DAL hamstring

Shane Ray DEN illness

Clay Matthews GB back

Benardrick McKinney HOU foot

Brian Peters HOU undisclosed

Matthew Adams IND groin

Anthony Walker IND shoulder

Dee Ford KC knee

Matt Longacre LAR illness

Kiko Alonso MIA knee

Eric Kendricks MIN hamstring

Brandon King NE knee

B.J. Goodson NYG foot

Alec Ogletree NYG concussion

Josh Martin NYJ concussion (IR)

Jordan Jenkins NYJ ankle

Kevin Pierre-Louis NYJ shoulder

Jeremiah Attaochu NYJ concussion (IR)

D.J. Alexander PHI hamstring

Vince Williams PIT toe

Mark Nzeocha SF groin

Malcolm Smith SF Achilles

K.J. Wright SEA knee

Brian Orakpo TEN elbow

Ryan Anderson WAS hamstring

Defensive Linemen

DE

Benson Mayowa ARI back

Markus Golden ARI ankle

Fadol Brown GB toe

Christian Covington HOU knee

J.J. Watt HOU knee

Jabaal Sheard IND teeth

Andre Branch MIA knee

Mario Edwards NYG calf

Michael Bennett PHI foot

Frank Clark SEA elbow

Dion Jordan SEA knee

Carl Nassib TB shoulder

Jason Pierre-Paul TB knee

Jurrell Casey TEN knee-MCL (IR)

Matthew Ioannidis WAS hamstring

DT

Kawann Short CAR calf

Bilal Nichols CHI knee

Larry Ogunjobi CLE biceps

David Irving DAL ankle

Tyrone Crawford DAL neck

Damon Harrison DET ankle

A’Shawn Robinson DET knee

Ziggy Hood MIA hamstring

Linval Joseph MIN knee

Mike Pennel NYJ teeth

Maurice Hurst OAK ankle

Fletcher Cox PHI hip

Shamar Stephen SEA foot

Jarran Reed SEA oblique

Gerald McCoy TB shoulder

Defensive Backs

S

Budda Baker ARI knee

Anthony Levine BAL toe

Eddie Jackson CHI ankle

Quandre Diggs DET back

DeShawn Shead DET knee

Charles Washington DET hamstring (IR)

Kentrell Brice GB ankle

Andre Hal HOU ankle

Mike Tyson HOU concussion

Kayvon Webster HOU thigh (IR)

Kareem Jackson HOU knee

Malik Hooker IND hip

Clayton Geathers IND knee

Lamarcus Joyner LAR ankle

T.J. McDonald MIA ankle

Walt Aikens MIA hand

Marcus Sherels MIN foot

Vonn Bell NO quadriceps

Corey Graham PHI illness

Sean Davis PIT quadriceps

K’Waun Williams SF knee

Bradley McDougald SEA knee

Tedric Thompson SEA ankle

CB

Tavon Young BAL groin

Ryan Lewis BUF concussion

Tony McRae CIN hamstring

Dre Kirkpatrick CIN shoulder

Denzel Ward CLE concussion

Anthony Brown DAL back

Brandon Langley DEN concussion

Jamal Agnew DET knee

Jaire Alexander GB groin

Will Redmond GB shoulder (IR)

Johnathan Joseph HOU neck

Quincy Wilson IND calf

A.J. Bouye JAX toe

Xavien Howard MIA knee-meniscus

Xavier Rhodes MIN groin

Trumaine Johnson NYJ undisclosed

Morris Claiborne NYJ shoulder

Gareon Conley OAK concussion

Daryl Worley OAK shoulder (IR)

Sidney Jones PHI 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.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.