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.