Once more, a bounty of rising IDP for your consideration. If you look at the players with fortunes trending downward, you will
certainly realize that this is a difficult guessing game from week to week. As with the offensive side of things in fantasy football, I am trying to steer you toward players that can help you, whether that be short or long term, but there will be the occasional muck up, like Tony Jefferson in the Cardinal defensive backfield. They cannot all be gems, unfortunately, but I think for the most part you will find some golden nuggets among the players recommended this week.
Elevator Going Up
Linebackers
Koa Misi MIA
Tahir Whitehead DET
Alex Okafor ARI
Sio Moore OAK
Brandon Marshall DEN
Misi came back from injury strong, putting up nine combined tackles (eight solos). He will not be available long on the wire, so act now to secure his services going forward. Whitehead has filled in nicely for the injured Stephen Tulloch, and had seven combined tackles in Week 6, with six of those being solos, as well as two pass deflections and a pair of interceptions. I like him a lot this week at home against the under whelming Saints. Okafor was the replacement for Matt Shaughnessy in Week 6, and he put up two sacks together with four solo tackles. He also managed to collect two hits on the quarterback. He is flying way under the radar, and should be available for you on the wire. Moore may have been dropped in your leagues, and now would be a fine time to snag him. With 10 solos in Week 6, he will not last long on waivers. Marshall filled in for Danny Trevathan, who left the game with a fractured left kneecap, and he will be starting at weak side LB for the next three to six weeks.
Defensive Linemen
Jurrell Casey DE TEN
Jerry Hughes DE BUF
George Johnson DE DET
Jared Crick DE HOU
Olivier Vernon DE MIA
Clinton McDonald DT TB
Casey had seven solos as part of his Week 6 nine combined tackles, and added a couple of sacks. He gets to go against Washington and Houston the next two games, and I like his chances to rack up some serious tackles. Hughes has collected three sacks in the past two weeks, and has been putting up tackles as well. I like the Buffalo defense overall, and like the defensive line personnel best. Johnson does not see a huge number of snaps, but plays big in his time on the field. He had two sacks in Week 6 to go with his six total tackles, and is relatively unowned at this point. Crick gets to play opposite J.J. Watt, and thus teams run at him. This results in nice tackle totals, although he is not a great source if you want your defensive ends to provide sacks, as he only has 1.5 on the year. Vernon busted loose in Week 6, with a forced fumble, a sack and a half, plus five solo tackles as part of his seven total tackles. If you have been holding back on him, now is the time to insert him in your lineup and reap some value. McDonald is averaging over five tackles a week, huge numbers for a DT. If you need to start a DT in your league, he should be your target on the wire.
Defensive Backs
Tyrann Mathieu S ARI
Reshad Jones S MIA
Rashad Johnson S ARI
Quintin Demps S NYG
Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix S GB
Jason Verrett CB SD
Blidi Wreh-Wilson CB TEN
Cortez Allen CB PIT
Mathieu was apparently being eased into action, and is now ready to move forward. Even with a knee brace, he put up four solo
tackles, a pass deflection and a recovered fumble in Week 6. If his snap count stays up around 75%, he is definitely worth owning and starting. Jones came back from his suspension with a bang, racking up nine solo tackles and a pass deflection. Go to your leagues wire and add him now. Johnson had a busy stat line in Week 6: eight tackles total/six solo, two INT, two passes deflected and a TD. You cannot expect such bounty every week, but it is hard not to notice that the Cardinals’ safety ranks put up good numbers week in, week out. Demps has taken on a starting role for the Giants over the past three weeks, and has put up 21 total tackles (20 solo) and a pair of interceptions over that span. He is well worth an add at this point. Clinton-Dix is starting to shine in Green Bay, as the offense heats up and teams are forced to air it out. He now has 26 total tackles (23 solo) and an INT and PD, as well as one sack on the season. Verrett had a pass deflection and an interception in Week 6 to go with his six solo tackles. He is a rookie cornerback, so expect teams to keep testing him, allowing him to rack up the tackles and other big play stats. Wreh-Wilson had 11 combined tackles in Week 6, with a pass deflection and an INT. The Titan defense spends a bunch of time on the field every week, so expect him to continue to collect IDP points. Allen is the third ranked cornerback in terms of tackles through the first six weeks of the season, and thus quite valuable for IDP purposes. He has five pass deflections and a couple of interceptions, too. He is prolly owned in your league, if you have to start a CB, but he has value in non-discriminatory DB leagues with those tackle numbers.
Escalator Going Down
Linebackers
Prince Shembo ATL
Preston Brown BUF
Shembo looked like the guy to own in Atlanta, having replaced Joplu Bartu as a starter, but he was relegated to special teams last week. Watch this going forward, but right now, I would avoid Falcon linebackers. The situation in Buffalo is confusing as far as picking who is the favorite LB flavor of the week. Until he becomes a three-down back again, Brown is too iffy to roster, or at least start.
Defensive Linemen
Cliff Avril DE SEA
Avril had just a single solo tackle to show for his efforts in Week 6’s loss to Dallas. Over the past two weeks, he has one solo tackle, and over the season, he’s been credited with only five solos. He also has not had a sack since Week 1. Feel free to drop him if you are still holding him on your bench.
Defensive Backs
Tony Jefferson S ARI
George Wilson S TEN
I told you to rush out and grab Jefferson a couple of weeks ago. Well, that was some poor advice, I will confess. I still think he has value, but mostly as a run stopping safety. When the Cardinals face a pass oriented team, leave him on the bench. Wilson played 72 of 78 snaps in Week 6, yet only had two combined tackles despite being on the field so much. I see this as a disturbing trend, and would suggest you look elsewhere for safety help going forward.
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
Jerod Mayo NE (knee-out rest of season)
Danny Trevathan DEN (knee)
Jon Bostic CHI (back)
Bruce Carter DAL (thigh)
Dont'a Hightower NE (knee)
Mychal Kendricks PHI (calf)
Rey Maualuga CIN (hamstring)
Nick Roach OAK (concussion-out rest of season)
Ryan Shazier PIT (knee)
Manti Te’o SD (foot)
Lance Briggs CHI (ribs)
Chad Greenway MIN (hand, ribs)
Emmanuel Lamur CIN (shoulder)
Spencer Paysinger NYG (hamstring)
Bobby Wagner SEA (toe)
Defensive Linemen
Armonty Bryant DE CLE (torn ACL-out rest of season)
Calais Campbell DE ARI (knee)
Chris Canty DE BAL (wrist)
Timmy Jernigan DT BAL (knee)
Phil Taylor DT CLE (knee)
Defensive Backs
Dashon Goldson S TB (ankle)
Aaron Williams S BUF (wrist, neck)
David Amerson CB WAS (concussion)
Brandon Browner CB NE (ankle)
Brandon Flowers CB SD (groin)
Dee Milliner CB NYJ (torn Achilles-likely done for the year)
Tracy Porter CB WAS (hamstring)
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB NYG (back)
Coty Sensabaugh CB TEN (knee)
Tramon Williams CB GB (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.
Player News
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.
9News’ Mike Klis reports free agent QB Desmond Ridder will get a veteran tryout at the Broncos’ rookie minicamp.
Ridder is a former third-round pick of the Falcons in 2022 and started 13 games for them in 2023. Atlanta moved on from Ridder after his 12-touchdown, 12-interception season; he joined the Raiders to play six games and start one in 2024. The 25-year-old is searching for backup jobs around the NFL after throwing for 5.4 yards per attempt and earning a 45.7 PFF grade last season, good for No. 69 out of 75 quarterbacks. The Broncos will bring him into rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, where Ridder looks to earn the chance to compete with Sam Ehlinger for the third-string quarterback spot in Denver.
Bengals DT B.J. Hill was seen in a protective boot at Tuesday’s voluntary workout.
Hill was seen in a protective walking boot for his left foot at the Bengals’ voluntary workout session on Tuesday. It seems to be a new injury for the veteran, though it is not yet clear what the injury is. The Bengals just signed Hill to a three-year, $33 million contract in the offseason and will be hoping one of the investments into their defense gets healthy for the start of the regular season.