We made it through the first major bye week but the injuries keep mounting, as they tend to do with big men smashing into one
another. This occurs despite the efforts of the NFL to limit contact in a contact sport. Sigh. Plus, we still have the disappointing players we drafted with such high expectations only to have them dashed on the hard rocks of reality. Work that waiver wire and never settle for last year’s production. We need current performance and thus, here are this week’s suggestions.
Elevator Going Up
Linebackers
Keenan Robinson WAS
Justin Durant DAL
Prince Shembo ATL
Larry Foote ARI
Anthony Barr MIN
Nate Irving DEN
Wesley Woodyard TEN
Tahir Whitehead DET
Demario Davis NYJ
Robinson is a guy I have been adding where available, and others are following suit so you may have to trade for him. 13 total tackles with seven solos, and an INT and PD will make him a hot pick up. Durant had a busy Week 4 with eight tackles, a forced fumble, and INT and two pass deflections. With Bruce Carter possibly out this week, expect continued production from Durant. Shembo plays on a forgettable defense, but as the new starter over Joplo Bartu, he has value. Foote was a guy I spent a lot of time watching at the Big House when I first got my Michigan tickets, and he has been a productive player in the NFL for seasons now. He is steady and dependable, and a perfect bench LB to use on bye weeks. The rookie LB Barr just posted a sack and six total tackles in Week 4 (five solos) and if he is still on the wire, you should make a claim while he is relatively unknown. Irving has been a tackle monster, and as he is coming off a bye, he may be available. You should make the move and plug him in for the rest of the season. Woodyard is an every down LB on a team that plays on defense a ton every week. Expect continued production from him. Whitehead is the beneficiary of the loss of Stephen Tulloch to the Lions, and you need to act quickly to snag this new MLB for the Lions, based on his 12 tackle production in Week 4. I am glad to see Butler starting to get his engine running. 19 tackles over Weeks 3 and 4, plus a fumble recovery last week show signs of good things to come. Davis had a very good week against the Lions, with eight total tackles, two for a loss. He is a sleeper depth pick up, as the Chargers, the Week 5 opponent, has a horrific run game.
Defensive Linemen
Michael Johnson DE TB
Sheldon Richardson DE NYJ
Cedric Thornton DE PHI
Andre Branch DE JAX
Fletcher Cox DE PHI
Marcell Dareus DT BUF
Johnson had a great week, picking up two sacks to go with five total tackles and a force fumble. Lower your expectation against
the Saints this week, but pick him up for the long haul. Richardson racked up seven total tackles in Week 4, with five of those of the solo variety, plus a sack. In a run stopping defense, look for him to continue to provide good results. Thornton also was credited with seven tackles last week, and two of those were for a loss. In either a big play or tackle heavy IDP scheme, he is gaining value, and no one really knows about him…yet. Branch is a Week 5 pick up, as he faces the Steelers and has a great chance to pick up some coverage sacks. One week and done, baby. Cox has consistently been producing as a relatively under the wire DE. He is a top three DL in big play leagues, and isn’t exactly chopped liver (top 15) in tackle heavy leagues, with 18 total tackles (16 solo), and a forced fumble, fumble recovery, pass deflection and INT in the first four weeks of the season. Dareus picked up his second sack of the season in Week 4, and three of his 12 tackles on the season have been behind the scrimmage line. If you need to start a DT, he is worth of consideration.
Defensive Backs
Tony Jefferson S ARI
Malcolm Jenkins S PHI
Brandon Meriweather S WAS
James Ihedigbo S DET
Dwight Lowery S ATL
Ryan Mundy S CHI
Bradley Fletcher CB PHI
Cortez Allen CB PIT
Sam Shields CB GB
I said to pick him up last week, but if Jefferson is still on your wire, grab him and thank me later. Really, do not hesitate, go grab him NOW. Jenkins has thrived with the move to Philly. He had a full stat line last week with seven tackles (six solo), and a PD, INT and TD. Wish you had him in Week 4, dontcha? Meriweather is a perfect play when at home, like this week, when you can expect good to great tackle numbers. The Seahawks will look to exploit the Washington secondary and that should translate into very good IDP results for Meriweather. Ihedigbo was a big factor in the Lions’ win over the Jets in Week 4, with five tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Look for his tackles to continue to mount with Tulloch out at MLB. Lowery is a safety that excels at stopping the passing game. This week he faces the revived Giants’ offense, which will feature short, quick passes. If you need tackles from your DB, grab him for this week. Mundy came back to action in Week 4 after suffering an injury in the previous game, posting eight total tackles, six solos, and will try to build on that as his team faces a sorry Carolina offense. Fletcher is one of the top, if not the top CB to target if you want tackles, although he does have three pass deflections on the season, too. Allen had a great week with an INT to go with seven total tackles at the CB position. Offensive Coordinators are targeting him, and that is good for IDP purposes. Shields had a couple of pass deflections in Week 4, plus an INT. Depending on who is playing QB for the Vikings, this could be a sneaky pick up for some big play production, depending on how often Minnesota is forced to pass.
Escalator Going Down
Linebackers
Derrick Morgan TEN
Morgan’s move to OLB instead of DE is hurting his production. Willis is not playing like the LB1 you drafted him as, and you would be wise to bench him until he regains his former form.
Defensive Linemen
Nothing of note, move along.
Defensive Backs
Nothing of note, move along.
Ouch (My Aching Roster)
All the injury reports below need to be evaluated at kickoff. Teams are notoriously sketchy about injury reports, and we often do
not know a player's status until just before game time. The list below is intended as a "heads up" as to what is going on early in the week, and should not be considered definitive.
Linebackers
Bruce Carter DAL (quad)
Thomas Davis CAR (hip)
Defensive Linemen
Charles Johnson DE CAR (hip)
Defensive Backs
William Moore S ATL (shoulder)
LaRon Landry S IND (suspension)
Eric Berry S KC (heel)
Dwayne Gratz CB JAX (concussion)
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.
Player News
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane reports TE Dallas Goedert will remain with the Eagles in 2025.
Goedert agreed to a $4 million salary cut for the upcoming season, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz. He will make $10 million in 2025 and be a free agent next offseason. It’s quite the turnabout after Eagles coaches and front office officials strongly implied for months that Goedert had played his last snap with the team. Goedert, 30, who has missed 15 games over the past three seasons, was widely expected to be dealt during the NFL Draft. Goedert will be a solid top-12 fantasy option, well behind AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith in the team’s target pecking order. He averaged 4.2 catches and 49.6 receiving yards per game in 2024, and had the ninth highest EPA per target among tight ends.
Titans re-signed DT James Lynch.
Lynch, 26, a former fourth round selection by the Vikings, will return for a second season with the Titans after starting all 17 games in 2024. He had 20 tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack for the Titans last season. Pro Football Focus graded the Titans as last year’s fourth worst pass rush and ninth best run-defending unit.
Jaguars released WR Gabe Davis.
Davis, who secured $24 million in guarantees when he signed with Jacksonville last year, managed 20 catches for 239 yards and two touchdowns over ten games in his only year with the Jags. The Davis signing is yet another in a string of disastrous decisions by the former Jacksonville front office. With Brian Thomas and Travis Hunter in the fold, the Jaguars ended their experiment with Davis, 26. He should see interest from wideout-needy teams in the coming weeks, including perhaps the Lions. Davis will be locked into a strictly downfield role wherever he lands this spring or summer.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports WR Allen Lazard is “in play” to sign with the Steelers.
Lazard has followed Aaron Rodgers from the Packers to the Jets, and now possibly to Pittsburgh if Rodgers decides to sign there and play again in 2025. Lazard had 29 catches over seven games with Rodgers under center for the Jets in 2024. He had been a healthy scratch for much of the 2023 season, which Rodgers missed with an Achilles injury. “The possibility hinges largely if not entirely on Rodgers signing with the Steelers,” Florio said. “While nothing with Rodgers is ever done until it’s done, the persistent thinking continues to be that it will happen.” Lazard would likely operate as the No. 2 wideout in Pittsburgh behind DK Metcalf. The team’s run heaviness and resulting dearth of targets would make it difficult for Lazard to be fantasy relevant in 2025.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Cowboys are finalizing a trade for Steelers WR George Pickens.
The move, which includes a 2026 third round pick and a 2027 fifth round pick sent to the Steelers, comes after another ESPN report saying Pickens, 24, wanted to remain in Pittsburgh. Acquiring Pickens — who has 2,841 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns over three NFL seasons — addresses an area of acute need for the Cowboys, who have one of the league’s weakest wideout room behind CeeDee Lamb. Pickens and Lamb will make for one of the NFL’s best receiver duos, with Pickens functioning as a viable downfield threat for Dak Prescott, who last season ranked 15th out of 40 qualifying quarterbacks in deep ball accuracy. Pickens in 2024 was third in deep targets and second only to Alec Pierce in receiving yards on downfield receptions. Pickens will have far more upside in the Dallas offense than he did in Pittsburgh. DK Metcalf, meanwhile, will enter the 2025 season as the unquestioned No. 1 wideout for the run-heavy Steelers. His fantasy prospects look much brighter with Pickens in Dallas.
NFL Network’s Jane Slater reports Saints QB Derek Carr wants to “see if he can play through with this shoulder injury.”
Slater reports that Carr believes he injured his throwing shoulder in the same Week 14 game against the Giants that he injured his left wrist last season. The shoulder issue was apparently discovered as he ramped up throwing in the spring, not as the season wound down in 2024. Carr has already had surgery on that arm and wants to see if he can play through the injury. Slater adds that Carr made two trips to New Orleans to meet with the team doctor and a decision will be made “sooner rather than later” as the 34-year-old tries to make the best decision for his shoulder and the Saints aim to make the best decision for their franchise. It would be a surprise to see Carr return to start for the Saints, especially without having surgery. New Orleans has signaled an attempt to move on by selecting Tyler Shough in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Carr has two seasons left on his four-year, $150 million contract with the Saints and a decision on his future is looming.