This is it in most leagues. Week 13 is when you either make the playoffs or wait until next season for another chance to shine your fantasy lantern of greatness in your opponent's eyes. Fortunately, we have a nice handful of IDP to get you through this week's contests.

As always, e-mail me with your specific questions. The more information your provided, be it league settings, waiver wire availability, etc. that you can provide, the better my response will be. And if you can get your queries in by Saturday evening, it increases my ability to respond timely, as I have to spend most Sunday mornings at church. Not trying to put you off, just acknowledging my time limitations, you understand.

Bye Weeks coming up:

Week 13: Cleveland, Tennessee (and we are done with the bye weeks)

Elevator Going Up

Nick Kwiatkoski CHI -- Kwiatkoski is going to start with Jerrell Freeman out on a suspension, and he played a whole lot of snaps in Week 12 (93%). Danny Trevathan has also headed to the IR and thus Kwiatkoski will be relied upon to step up his play. I like him for a tackle orient Hed leagues going forward, given his uptick in snaps.

Lavonte David TB -- David has been disappointing this season, to be sure, but he turned on the burners for Week 12, nailing down seven total tackles (five solo) with a QH (QB hit), a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. I see this as a beginning of good things, since I do not see a LB1 playing as bad as he has all season long. He could be on your wire, due to his early season struggles, too.

Darron Lee NYJ -- Lee collected 11 total tackles in Week 12 against the Pats (five solo) and also deflected a pass (PD). He was also on the field for all defensive snaps, making him a valuable rookie to snag off the wire.

Korey Toomer SD -- Toomer has been a strong LB1 over his last few games, and has led his team in tackles for three consecutive weeks. Check to see if he continues to start for the Chargers, though, as he could see limited action if Denzel Perryman and Jatavis Brown are both back on the field in Week 13.

Defensive Linesman

Andre Branch DE MIA -- Branch put up nice numbers against the 49ers: five total tackles (four solo, two for a loss), a sack and a QH. He is an upgrade over Mario Williams at this point, and well worth adding to your roster so long as he is playing the majority of snaps.

Noah Spence DE TB -- Spence has now collected 4.5 sacks over his last six contests, and also had five total tackles in Week 12 (two solo), with 1.5 sacks, two QH and a forced fumble. Nice production if you can get it from a rookie DL.

Sheldon Rankins DT NO -- Rankins is another rookie having a good season, and recently put up a two solo tackle, one sack, one QH and one forced fumble effort against the Rams in Week 12. If you need to start a DT, he is someone to target off the wire.

Damon Harrison DT NYG -- Harrison has been a productive DT, since arriving in Giant territory after relative obscurity with the Jets before this. He is coming off a nine tackle effort (four solo) and a forced fumble against the Browns in Week 12 (granted, the Browns, but still nice numbers).

Jaron Hargrave DT PIT -- Hargrave is the final DT to consider adding to your roster, and with the season ending injury to Cameron Heyward, he should see plenty of playing time going forward. He put up a five total tackle effort in Week 12 (four solo, two for a loss), adding one sack, and two QH against the Colts. Again, if you need to roster a DT, he is well worth your consideration going forward.

Defensive Backs

Tavon Wilson S DET -- I would recommend adding Wilson to your roster this week as he gets to face off against the safety friendly Saints this week. Run to your waiver wire and add him now, if only for this week.

Jalen Collins CB ATL -- Collins is starting in place of the injury Desmond Trufant, and put up a nice stat line in Week 12: six tackles (four solo, one for a loss), and three pass deflections. Teams will be targeting him, making him a good source of stats as the season winds down.

Daryl Worley CB CAR -- Worley is a rookie that is also being targeted, and putting up huge numbers. He had 12 tackles (10 solo, one for a loss) in Week 12 while playing against the Raiders on the road, as well as a pair of PDs. Love those rookie corners who can cover and tackle.

 

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Escalator Going Down

Linebackers

Trent Murphy WAS -- Murphy has cooled off significantly after a hot first half of 2016. He only put up two tackles last week, one solo, and is seeing less time on the field with Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith back in action. Plus, he only has 10 total tackles over the past four games (six solo), and a single sack, so if you had plugged him in during his hot streak, you should feel free to drop him now.

Defensive Linemen

Geno Atkins DE CIN -- Atkins has been a favorite DE target of mine in drafts, but this is not shaping up to be his season. He is not tackling this season, however, and with just 13 total tackles on the season, and a big goose egg in Week 12, he is now not worth starting.

 

Corey Liuget DE SD -- Liuget is another guy I was targeting in drafts that has been a huge disappointment. He has no sacks on the season, and 17 solo tackles is nothing to get excited about. Drop him for someone who is producing on a weekly basis, maybe Branch or Spence who are highlighted above.

Defensive Backs

No one of interest except those listed in the injury report below.

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 on the Jets squad, but certainly you will do well if you own a top LB on the Jets that you can plug in against the Colts, for the most part.

Linebackers

Indianapolis @ New York Jets

New England vs Los Angeles

Minnesota vs Dallas

Baltimore vs Miami

Defensive Ends

Arizona vs Washington

Los Angeles @ New England

Chicago vs San Francisco

Defensive Tackles

San Diego vs Tampa Bay

Buffalo @ Oakland

Safeties

New Orleans vs Detroit

San Diego vs Tampa Bay

Atlanta vs Kansas City

Philadelphia @ Cincinnati

San Francisco @ Minnesota

Washington @ Arizona

Cornerbacks

Arizona vs Washington

Jacksonville vs Denver

Carolina @ Seattle

Green Bay vs Houston

 

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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 I comment on are here, however, as I am not going 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 Kwiatkoski CHI

Lavonte David TB (owned in 55 % of ESPN leagues, 56% of Yahoo leagues)

Darron Lee NYJ

Korey Toomer SD

Defensive Linesmen

Andre Branch DE MIA

Noah Spence DE TB

Sheldon Rankins DT NO

Damon Harrison DT NYG (owned in 50 % of ESPN leagues, 16% of Yahoo leagues)

Javon Hargrave DT PIT

Defensive Backs

Tavon Wilson S DET

Jalen Collins CB ATL

Daryl Worley CB CAR

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

Markus Golden ARI ankle

Lorenzo Alexander BAL ankle

Jamari Lattimore BAL nose

Preston Brown BAL wrist

Luke Kuechly CAR concussion

Leonard Floyd CHI concussion

Jackson Jeffcoat CLE hamstring

Justin Durant DAL

Sean Lee DAL illness

DeAndre Levy DET knee

Tahir Whitehead DET knee

Clay Matthews GB shoulder

Jake Ryan GB ankle

Kyler Fackrell GB hamstring

Blake Martinez GB knee

Brian Cushing HOU back

John Simon HOU chest

Jadeveon Clowney HOU elbow

Robert Mathis IND elbow

Jelani Jenkins MIA knee

Mark Herzlich NYG concussion

Perry Riley OAK hamstring

Malcolm Smith OAK hamstring

Shilique Calhoun OAK knee

Jatavis Brown SD knee

Jordie Tripp SEA thigh

Brock Coyle SEA foot

Aaron Lynch SF ankle

Eli Harold SF toe

Terence Garvin WAS shoulder

Defensive Linemen

DE

Adrian Clayborn ATL knee

Ryan Delaire CAR knee

Mitch Unrein CHI back

Jack Crawford DAL foot

Demarcus Lawrence DAL back

David Irving DAL illness

Ezekiel Ansah DET ankle

Antonio Smith HOU hip

D.J. Reader HOU shoulder

Jared Odrick JAX shoulder

Yannick Ngakoue JAX shoulder

Kendall Reyes KC knee

Jaye Howard KC hip

Robert Quinn LA concussion

Mario Williams MIA illness

Owamagbe Odighizuwa NYG knee

Stacy McGee OAK ankle

Damontre Moore SEA foot

Glenn Dorsey SF knee

Jurrell Casye TEN foot

Anthony Lanier WAS lower leg

DT

Corey Peters ARI foot

Marcell Dareus BUF abdomen

Kawann Short CAR

Terrell McClain DAL thigh

Vince Wolfork HOU groin

Malik Jackson JAX back

Arby Jones JAX ankle

Dontari Poe KC back

Earl Mitchell MIA  back

Sharrif Floyd MIN knee

Darius Latham OAK ankle

Quinton Dial SF neck

Gerald McCoy TB foot

Ricky Jean-Francois WAS knee

Defensive Backs

S

Tyrann Mathieu ARI shoulder

James Ihedigbo BUF ankle

Sergio Brown BUF hamstring

Kurt Coleman CAR concussion

Adrian Amos CHI foot

Shawn Williams CIN hamstring

Derron Hall CIN thight

J.J. Wilcox DAL thigh

Barry Church DAL forearm

Don Carey DET hamstring

Dre Hal HOU illness

Clayton Geathers IND concussion

Peyton Thompson JAX ankle

Nate Ebner NE concussion

Jordan Richards NE knee

Nat Berhe NYG concussion

Calvin Pryor NYJ concussion

Chris Conte TB chest

Ryan Smith TB shoulder

Daimion Stafford TEN hamstring

Kyshoen Jarrett WAS shoulder

CB

Patrick Peterson ARI knee

Justin Bethel AR foot

Ronald Darby BUF concussion

Tracy Porter CHI knee

Deiondre' Hall CHI ankle

Tramon Williams CLE knee

Morris Claiborne DAL sports hernia

Demetri Goodson GB knee

Damarious Randall GB groin

Darius Gunter GB back

Johnathon Joseph HOU shin

Kareen Jackson HOU hamstring

Patrick Robinson IND groin

Jalil Brown IND ankle

Tevin Mitchel IND hamstring

Chimdi Howard MIA hamstring

Xavier Howard MIA knee (Meniscus)

Lafayette Pitts MIA back

Mackensie Alexancer MIN groin

Marcus Sherels MIN ribs

Terence Newman MIN neck

Marcus Williams NYJ ankle

Nick Marshall NYJ ankle

David Amerson OAK knee

D.J. Hayden OAK hamstring

Brandon Flowers SD concussion

Deshawn Shead SEA hamstring

Jason McCourty TEN knee

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.