Plenty of defensive ends to consider picking up this coming week, and a nice handful of defensive backs. Linebacker is what you would expect, with a nice bunch to help get you through the many injuries and the start of bye weeks. Let us see what we can do this scoring period to upgrade those IDP squads.

Bye Weeks coming up: Denver, Washington, Atlanta, New Orleans

Elevator Going Up

Linebackers

Lawrence Timmons MIA

Jabaal Sheard IND

Kendell Beckwith TB

Ray-Ray Armstrong SF

Shaq Thompson CAR

Nick Vigil CIN

Tahir Whitehead DET

Timmons was back in Week 4, and became an every down LB again. He picked up six solo tackles against New Orleans, along with a QH (QB hit/hurry). One of his tackles was for a loss of yards (TFL) which is always a plus in real football, and will keep him on the field going forward.

Sheard had a productive game against the Seahawks, with seven total tackles (five solo, one TFL). He also picked up a sack and added two QH to his stat line in Week 4. He is not a LB1, but is certainly playing well enough to be an option during the bye week period.

Beckwith is taking advantage of the absence of both Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David. He should start again in Week 5, as both those starters are expected to stand on the sidelines in Week 5. Every down LBs are gold when they produce, which is what Beckwith has been doing.

Armstrong has accumulated 30 combined tackles over the first four weeks of the 2017 season, and added a sack, and interception (INT) and a pass defense (PD) in Week 4. With Navaro Bowman on the downslope of his career in the NFL due to injury, and Reuben Foster sitting on the sidelines, he makes for a sneaky option. Plus, you have to love a guy with a hyphenated repeating first name, don't ya?

Thompson has been an every down LB for the past two weeks, and is racking up the tackles, collecting 17 total over the past two weeks (14 solo, with nine in Week 4). Not so sure he continues to be a 3-down LB going forward, but in tackle heavy leagues, he is a LB1 right now.

Vigil is coming off an excellent Week 4 performance, with 12 combined tackles (eight solo) and a sack. You cannot bank on that, but he does face off against Buffalo in Week 5, who feature a run-oriented offense. Definitely a LB2 at this point in the season.

Whitehead looks to be as healthy as he has been in a while. You should not expect two fumble recoveries to be the norm, but he does provide solid tackle numbers when on the field. His ownership percentage makes him immediately rosterable.

Defensive Linemen

Cameron Heyward DE PIT

Jurrell Casey DE TEN

Danielle Hunter DE MIN

Anthony Zettel DE DET

David Bass DE NYJ

Yannick Ngakoue DE JAX

Emmanuel Ogbah DE CLE

Heyward put up a huge stat line in Week 4: four total tackles (three solo, two TFL) with two sacks, two QH, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He is a DE1 to add right now.

Casey is another to consider adding to your IDP roster, coming off a seven total tackle week (five solo, one TFL) with a sack and a QH. He started off slow, but now seems to be gaining ground as a DE2.

Hunter continues to impress. A pair of sacks and QHs with a PD to his credit in Week 4, as well as five total tackles (three solo) is not something to ignore. He gets to face the rookie QB Mitch Trubisky in Week 5, so go out and grab him now.

Zettel is not someone your league opponents are likely targeting, but this rookie is one to consider in your free agent pickups this week. He is coming off a week where he picked up two sacks, four QH (!) and a fumble recovery with a tackle total of three (two solo, two TFL). Until further notice, put him in your starting lineups.

Bass had some sack potential that was realized in Week 4, where he had one sack, one QH, with a total tackle production of three solos and three assists, and one of those was a TFL. Sure, he is a Jet, but the defense will be on the field a ton this season, so opportunity exists for him.

Ngakoue had two sacks in Week 4 with two QH and a forced fumble. He also had a two solo tackle day and one of those was a TFL. In a big play league, he is someone to target.

Ogbah has been hot for the past two games, and is coming off a six combined tackle effort (four solo, one TFL). He also collected a sack while forcing two fumbles, and recovering one fumble. He is still a work in progress, but the progress looks promising.

Defensive Backs

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix S GB

Micah Hyde S BUF

Rashard Robinson CB SF

Trevor Williams CB LAC

Vernon Hargreaves CB TB

Clinton-Dix is a guy to target if you want tackles and INTs from your safety. He put up eight solos in Week 4, with some big play numbers, too: one TFL, one INT and a PD.

Hyde had a pair of INTs in Week 4, to go along with two PDs and seven total tackles (six solo, one TFL. He has been a steady performer over his career, and is worthy of a pickup if you have injury or bye week issues.

Robinson was the subject of multiple pass attacks in Week 4, resulting in four PDs, an incredible number for big play leagues. Add in his six solo tackles, and he becomes a top-notch CB to pick up in CB-mandatory leagues.

Williams is going to be the target in the Charger secondary, and he adapted well in Week 4, racking up seven solo tackles with a PD. So long as Casey Hayward continues to provide shut down coverage on the other side of the field, expect Williams to be a useful IDP defensive back.

Hargreaves is another CB that is going to be tested this season. Always a good sign for fantasy, he picked up nine solo tackles last week and also defended a pass. He has to face the Patriots and Tom Brady’s arm in Week 5, so expect high level iDP production in this week’s game,

Escalator Going Down

Linebackers

Terrell Suggs BAL

Paul Posluszny JAX

Suggs has virtually disappeared from the Baltimore defense the past couple of weeks. He only posted one assisted tackle in Week 4, and aside from a nice performance in Week 1, he has underperformed and is not worth rostering right now.

Posluszny was drafted based on name recognition this season, and that was a serious mistake. He has just 12 total tackles on the season, and obviously the shift to strong side linebacker to make room for Myles Jack is not a good fantasy move for the veteran. If you own him, now would be a good time to see if one of your leaguemates still has him valued too high. Or just drop him for one of the guys that are profiled above.

Defensive Linemen

No real downgrades for the DLs this week, unless they are showing up in the injury report below.

Defensive Backs

As with the DLs above, nothing much here except for those who are reported as injured.

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 Browns, but certainly you will do well if you own a top LB on the Jets, Vikings or Bengals that you can plug in this week, for the most part.

Linebackers

NYJ @ CLE

MIN @ CHI

CIN vs BUF

TB vs NE

ARI @ PHI

Defensive Ends

KC @ HOU

HOU vs KC

DET vs CAR

PHI vs ARI

Defensive Tackles

PHI vs ARI

KC @ HOU

Safeties

TEN @ MIA

MIN @ CHI

PHI vs ARI

Cornerbacks

LAC @ NYG

NYJ @ CLE

TEN @ MIA

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

Lawrence Timmons MIA

Jabaal Sheard IND

Kendell Beckwith TB

Ray-Ray Armstrong SF

Shaq Thompson CAR

Nick Vigil CIN

Tahir Whitehead DET

Defensive Linesmen

Cameron Heyward DE PIT

Jurrell Casey DE TEN

Danielle Hunter DE MIN

Anthony Zettel DE DET

David Bass DE NYJ

Yannick Ngakoue DE JAX

Emmanuel Ogbah DE CLE

Defensive Backs

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix S GB

Micah Hyde S BUF

Rashard Robinson CB SF

Trevor Williams CB LAC

Vernon Hargreaves CB TB

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. Note: those teams on bye this week do not have any injuries listed below.

Linebackers

Markus Golden ARI torn ACL-out for the season

Ramon Humber BUF thumb

Jeremy Cash CAR calf

Nick Kwiatkoski CHI chest

Jordan Evans CIN hamstring

Jamie Collins CLE concussion

Sean Lee DAL hamstring

Anthony Hitchens DAL knee

Paul Worrilow DET knee

Jarrad Davis DET concussion

Joe Thomas GB ankle

Dee Ford KC lower back

Kevin Pierre-Louis KC groin

Jatavis Brown LAC foot

Rey Maualuga MIA hamstring

Brandon Watts MIA back

Mike Hull MIA shoulder

Dont'a Hightower NE knee

Elandon Roberts NE ankle

Corey Lemonier NYJ foot

Josh Martin NYJ ankle

James Harrison PIT illness

Dekoda Watson SF groin

Reuben Foster SF ankle

Pita Taumoepenu SF ankle

Lavonte David TB ankle

Kwon Alexander TB hamstring

Defensive Linemen

DE

Ed Stinson ARI hamstring

Robert Nkemdiche ARI calf

Brandon Williams BAL foot

Shaq Lawson BUF groin

Daeshon Hall CAR knee

Myles Garrett CLE ankle

Mike Daniels GB hip

Lerentee McCray JAX knee

Olivier Vernon NYG ankle

Cliff Avril SEA neck

DT

Danny Shelton CLE calf

Jordan Phillips MIA ankle

Fletcher Cox PHI calf

Destiny Vaeao PHI wrist

S

Kurt Coleman CAR knee (MCL)

Chris Prosinski CHI hamstring

Derron Smith CIN ankle

Ed Reynolds CLE knee

Don Carey DET knee

Lamarcus Joyner LAR hamstring

Keith McGill OAK foot

Corey Graham PHI hamstring

Jaylen Watkins PHI hamstring

Mike Mitchell PIT hamstring

Marcus Cromartie SEA undisclosed

Eric Reid SF knee

Adrian Colbert SF hamstring

T.J. Ward TB hip

Keith Tandy TB hip

Johnathan Cyprien TEN hamstring

CB

Jaylen Hill BAL thigh

E.J. Gaines BUF groin

Daryl Worley CAR pectoral

Nolan Carroll DAL concussion

Chidobe Awuzie DAL hamstring

Davon House GB quadriceps

Marcus Burley HOU knee

Kevin Johnson HOU knee

Darryl Morris IND undisclosed

Tevin Mitchel IND abdomen

Chris Milton IND hamstring

Quincy Wilson IND knee

Byron Maxwell MIA hamstring

Stephon Gilmore NE ankle

Eric Rowe NE groin

Darryl Roberts NYJ hamstring

David Amerson OAK concussion

Gareon Conley OAK shin

Ronald Darby PHI ankle

Jeremy Lane SEA groin

Neiko Thorpe SEA ankle

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.