This is it, the last week of byes to plague us fantasy players. Only Carolina and Pittsburgh players are unavailable to us
this week. Fret not, there are plenty of good, little owned IDP to snap up off the waiver wire that can bolster your lineup in Week 12. Let us get to the discussion, shall we?
Elevator Going Up
Linebackers
Alec Ogletree StL
Jameel McClain NYG
Vincent Rey CIN
Bruce Carter DAL
Bjoern Werner IND
Brandon Marshall DEN
Demario Davis NYJ
With 13 total tackles/10 solos in Week 11, Ogletree leaps to prominence in the linebacking world. He also added an interception and two pass deflections in a superb game against the Broncos. He has been flirting with joining the elite, and you should be able to add him this week for his matchup against the Chargers on the road. McClain had 11 solo tackles last week among his 14 total takedowns, and he is settling in nicely as the prime MLB for the Giants. He is at home with a favorable stat crew in Week 12 and you can expect the Cowboys to be running at him. Rey is a sneaky option, as he gets dropped frequently and is usually available for an addition to your roster. He is coming off 22 tackles over the past two weeks, so you might just want to act quickly if your linebacker corps has a glaring hole. Carter gets to face the Giants, which is nice, and he is a nice source for tackles with Justin Durant on the shelf. Conner does not play the majority of snaps, but still manages to put up nice numbers in limited action. He is coming off a sack and nine tackle Week 11 performance, and should do well again at home against the Rams. Werner has a great matchup, facing the Jaguars in Week 12, and I look for him to grab a sack or better this week. Marshall is a great addition to your roster if your league values tackles over big plays, as he is coming from a 15 tackle performance with 12 of those tackles being solos. Davis is on this list because he gets to play in Buffalo where the stat crew is extremely generous, although with all the snow, the weather may affect his production. Still, if any city knows how to deal with snow, it is Buffalo, so with him coming off a 12 total tackle effort against the Steelers in Week 10 before his bye, you should consider adding him to cover for injury or the final bye week of the season.
Defensive Linemen
DeMarcus Ware DE DEN
Charles Johnson DE CAR
Jacquies Smith DE TB
Sheldon Richardson DE NJY
Ray McDonald DT SF
Clinton McDonald DT TB
Sen'Derrick Marks DT JAX
Ware had a sack and forced fumble in Week 11, and also added some extra oomph to the stat line with seven tackles (six solo). Miami, the Week 12 opponent, is not known for their pass blocking prowess, so perhaps a sack or two could be in his immediate future. Johnson is trending upward in his past several games, and while his early season struggles may have put off some IDP players, you need to look to the present not the past when setting your lineup. If he has been dropped, now is the time to strike. Smith is seeing more snaps of late, and also getting to the QB more. He had two sacks in Week 11, together with forcing a fumble, so with him facing a beat up Bear’s team, he has potential. Richardson is coming off a bye, and thus could be available to boost your tackle numbers at DL. Consistency is underrated, but as the league leader in tackles at DE, he is a nice if not exciting addition to your IDP lineup. The 49ers’ McDonald is free to play with his pending domestic assault charges being dropped, and he is coming off an excellent Week 11, with five solos, two assists, a sack and a forced fumble. The Week 12 opponent has to travel across the country, and the Washington team seems to be in free fall right now, so this matchup looks quite tasty. McDonald of the Bucccaneers benefiting from his linemate, Gerald McCoy’s production, but we won’t be complaining about the additional production from a DT. Four tackles (three solo) and a sack in Week 11 make him an attractive addition to a roster that requires a DT slot. Marks is also a nice addition if you need to roster a defensive tackle. Coming off a bye, he had been credited with a sack in each of the preceding three games he played and he now gets the sackable Andrew Luck in Week 12. Yummy.
Defensive Backs
Kemal Ishmael S ATL
Major Wright S TB
George Wilson S TEN
Michael Adams S IND
A.J. Bouye CB HOU
Ron Parker CB KC
Call him Ishmael but don’t send him to sea (sorry, as a former English major I could not pass up the Moby Dick reference). He is one of the few Falcon IDP I would consider owning, and he is fresh off a six tackle (five solo), two pass deflection and one sack showing in Week 11, albeit against Carolina. Wright faces his former team on Sunday, and is coming off a seven tackle week followed by a 10 tackle performance last week. Wilson is coming from a eight tackle week, and faces off against the Eagles, who have been extraordinarily friendly to opposing safeties in terms of allowing tackles. Adams rounds out the safeties this week and the Jags are another team that helps safeties look good in the stat column. He had an eight solo tackle Week 11 (no surprise, as he has racked up eight solos in the two weeks previous, too), plus he tacked on two interceptions to boot. Bouye is coming off two excellent weeks, and is being tested as the cornerback playing opposite Johnathan Joseph in Houston. I like defensive backs that are tested often by offensive coordinators as it makes for pass deflection and tackle numbers that help IDP production. Parker makes a return to the list, as he is just too good to ignore. An 11 solo tackle Week 11 just validates his inclusion here last week, and if he is still on your wire, you should grab him before your league mates wake up to his potential.
Escalator Going Down
Linebackers
Ahmad Brooks SF
Casey Matthews PHI
Brooks took himself out of last week’s game after only playing 12 snaps. That is not what you want from your linebacker. Not at all. Matthews is too up and down to trust, as he was not a presence in Week 11’s blowout game by the Packers, after putting up good numbers in the Week 10 blowout of the Panthers. Value consistency, not rollercoaster stat lines.
Defensive Linemen
Mike Daniels DE GB
Brian Robison DE MIN
Robert Quinn DE StL
Speaking of consistency (see the above section), Daniels has been providing the wrong kind of production on a regular basis. Feel free to ignore him, or if you picked him up based on his early season success, to drop him now. Robison, on the other side of the field this week from Daniels, is also not worthy of being rostered right now. He had zero tackles in Week 11, and until he turns up the heat, he is not someone you want to even put on your watch list. Quinn had zero tackles in the Week 11 game against Denver, although he did put up three pass deflections. Still, you do not want your DL to give you a goose egg in the tackle column.
Defensive Backs
T.J. Ward S DEN
D.J. Swearinger S HOU
Patrick Chung S NE
Brandon Flowers CB SD
Ward put up one stinking tackle against the Rams, despite playing 65 snaps. He has been a good performer until Week 11, so perhaps this was just an anomaly. Swearinger may be an upside guy in dynasty or deeper keeper leagues, but he has been hurting his owners for weeks now. If you have the bench space, hold him, but in redraft leagues, he is chum. Chung has the unfortunate situation of dealing with the vagaries on a week-to-week basis with head coach Bill Belicheck. Despite looking like a good pickup following his Week 10 performance, he was used in just over half the snaps on defense in Week 11. Again, inconsistency makes IDP players poison. Flowers is a cover corner that teams avoid. Thus, limited tackles and opportunities for interceptions or pass deflections limit his value. Good real football player, not a good fantasy option.
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
Jabaal Sheard CLE (foot)
Vontaze Burfict CIN (knee)
Tamba Hali KC (knee)
Ryan Shazier PIT (ankle)
Defensive Linemen
Arthur Jones DE IND (ankle)
Star Lotulelei DT CAR (ankle)
Cullen Jenkins DT NYG (calf)
Defensive Backs
Troy Polamalu S PIT (knee)
Rafael Bush S NO (leg)
Alterraun Verner CB TB (hamstring)
Cortland Finnegan CB MIA (ankle)
Jason Verrett CB SD (torn labrum)
Leodis McKelvin CB BUF (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
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.
The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf reports Brian Schottenheimer was “non-commital” on whether the Cowboys would have a lead back or take a committee approach.
“Schottenheimer wants to see how things unfold during offseason workouts and training camp,” Yousuf continues. It certainly seems to be a situation where Jaydon Blue could carve out a role in a hurry. “If Blue proves himself, he’ll have the chance to carve out a significant role,” Yousuf writes. Certainly nothing we saw from Javonte Williams or Miles Sanders in recent years would lead us to believe that they’ll be blocking Blue if he shows out in training camp.
Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said he’s “expecting Kyle [Pitts] to take a big jump.”
“Year 2 of the system. Year 2 of understanding what we’re trying to do offensively. All those things that come with it, so expecting a lot of good things from Kyle,” Robinson continued, presumably while trying to sell the people who asked him this question a bridge. The good news for those who would want to buy in on Pitts is, like the Spanish Inquisition, nobody is expecting a Pitts breakout year in his fifth season. He’s now a freeroll. But it’s hard to believe he’ll do any better than low-end TE1 duty this year.