Another six-team bye week, and another week with minimal rising IDP stars to target to plug holes in your starting lineup. Fortunately for fantasy owners, the bye weeks end after Week 12. Yippee! Not many sinking defensive players this week, either, on the plus side.

Bye Weeks coming up:Current Week: Buffalo, Cleveland, Miami, New England, New York Jets, San Francisco; Week 12: Kansas City, Los Angeles Rams; Week 13 and beyond: No more bye weeks!

Elevator Going Up

Linebackers

Deion Jones ATL

Jones is returning to the active roster, after recovering from his Game 1 foot injury. He is a top 5 LB and although likely will be held to limited snaps to begin, he is someone you need to target if he is still sitting on your league’s waiver wire or free agent list. Put in your claim right now, go ahead, stop reading and make the move.

Alex Anzalone NO

He played a majority of the snaps on defense in Week 10 against the Bengals, and the second-year player picked up his first sack of the season in that game, along with five total tackles (TT), four of those being of the solo variety. He is showing big play potential with an interception (INT), a forced fumble (FF) and the above-referenced sack in the past three games played. If he is going to see additional action on defense, he is well worth picking up for the stretch run, especially with the nice matchups for the Saints on deck over the next several weeks.

Mason Foster WAS

Foster collected 10 TT in last weeks’ game vs the Buccaneers (eight solo). He is on pace to set a career high in tackles assuming he can stay on the field, besting the 124 he was credited with in 2016. As with Anzalone, his team is set up for some tasty matchups over the next few games, and thus, he is a valuable asset in tackle-oriented IDP leagues.

Defensive Linemen

Tyquan Lewis DE IND

Lewis finally saw the field in Week 10, after spending the first portion of the season on the IR list with a toe issue. He collected three TT against the Jaguars (two solo) with a QB hit (QH) and a pass deflection (PD) tossed in to improve his worth as a DL in IDP action. He was the starter at right DE last week, playing 72% of the defensive snaps.

Dante Fowler DE LAR

Fowler had a full stat line in Week 10: three TT (two solo), a sack, a QH, a FF and a fumble recovery (FR). His move from Jacksonville to the Rams defense has also resulted in a significant uptick in defensive snaps. If you add him, realize that he will be on a bye week in Week 12.

Maurice Hurst DT OAK

Hurst was a steal as a fifth-round draft selection for the Raiders, and has been a standout on a suspect defensive squad this season. He picked up his third sack of the season against the visiting Chargers this past week, as well as four solo tackles, one for a loss of yards (TFL), and a QH. In a DT mandatory league, he has great potential going forward.

Defensive Backs

Jeff Heath S DAL

Heath put up an eight solo tackle effort against the Eagles in Week 10, and now gets to face the Falcons who are a pass-happy offense. He is good for the occasional big play, with three PDs and one INT on the season to date, as well as consistent tackle production.

Bene Benwikere CB ARI

Playing opposite Patrick Peterson in the Arizona secondary has resulted in plenty of IDP production for Benwikere. He has averaged six tackles per game over the past five contests. The next two weeks are not great matchups but as the targeted CB for the Cardinals, expect his production to be steady.

Escalator Going Down

Linebackers

None to speak of, except for those listed in the injury report below

Defensive Linemen

Akiem Hicks DE CHI

Hicks collected three sacks in the first four games of 2018, but has been shut out in that stat category over the past five contests. He only offered his owners one solo tackle against the visiting Lions, although he has been occasionally much more productive this season in terms of making tackles. Still, there are far more dependable options to employ on the DL front.

Leonard Williams DE NYJ

Williams has not been credited with a sack over the past five weeks, and with him on bye in Week 11, this is a great time to replace him in your IDP lineup. He has not exactly been a monster in terms of providing tackle numbers recently, either, making him extremely droppable.

Marcell Dareus DT JAX

In two of the past three weeks, Dareus has put up a big goose egg in the tackle category. Now, he gets to face a pair of tough teams that are stingy about allowing fantasy points to opposing DTs. In a DT-mandatory league, look for a better option to insert in your lineup.

Defensive Backs

Kyle Fuller CB CHI

The Bear corner has just five TT over the past three games, although he has put up six PD and an INT over that stretch, to keep him viable as an IDP option. In tackle-heavy leagues, though, he is a drag on your IDP production and not worth holding onto.

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, but certainly you will do well if you own a top LB on the Raiders, Giants or Green Bay that you can plug in this week, for the most part.

Linebackers

New York Giants vs Tampa Bay

New Orleans Saints vs Philadelphia

Defensive Ends

Washington vs Houston

Arizona Cardinals vs Oakland

New York Giants vs Tampa Bay

Defensive Tackles

Indianapolis Colts vs Tennessee

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New York Giants

New Orleans Saints vs Philadelphia

Safeties

Los Angeles Chargers vs Denver

New Orleans Saints vs Philadelphia

Houston Texans @ Washington

Cornerbacks

New York Giants vs Tampa Bay

Dallas Cowboys @ Atlanta

Chicago Bears vs Minnesota

Detroit Lions vs Cleveland

Waiver Wire Targets

This section is intended to serve as a shortened cheat sheet listing those waiver wire targets you should be considering if you need to plug a hole in your starting lineup. 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

Deion Jones ATL

Alex Anzalone NO

Mason Foster WAS (15% ownership in Yahoo leagues, but 58% in ESPN)

Defensive Linemen

Tyquan Lewis DE IND

Dante Fowler DE LAR

Maurice Hurst DT OAK

Defensive Backs

Jeff Heath S DAL

Bene Benwikere CB ARI

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

Deion Jones ATL foot

Matt Milano BUF head

Preston Brown CIN leg

Vincent Rey CIN groin

Nick Vigil CIN knee-MCL

Vontaze Burfict CIN hip

Joe Thomas DAL foot

Sean Lee DAL hamstring

Eli Harold DET shoulder

Jalen Reeves-Maybin DET neck

Blake Martinez GB ankle

Nick Perry GB knee

Frank Zombo KC hamstring

Denzel Perryman LAC knee (IR)

Reuben Foster SF hamstring

K.J. Wright SEA knee

Lavonte David TB knee-MCL

Derrick Morgan TEN shoulder

Defensive Linemen

DE

Trent Murphy BUF knee

Taco Charlton DAL shoulder

Carroll Phillips IND groin (IR)

KemokoTuray IND neck

Lerentee McCray JAX hamstring

Chris Landrum LAC hip

Joey Bosa LAC foot

Charles Harris MIA calf

Marcus Davenport NO toe

Stephon Tuitt PIT elbow

Vinny Curry TB ankle

DT

Robert Nkemdiche ARI calf

Adolphus Washington CIN knee

David Irving DAL ankle

Daniel Ross DAL calf

Eli Ankou JAX calf

Eddie Vanderdoes OAK knee-ACL

Dan McCullers -Sanders PIT ankle

Defensive Backs

S

Budda Baker ARI undisclosed

Rudy Ford ARI heel

BashaudBreeland GB groin

Kentrell Brice GB ankle

Mike Mitchell IND calf

Eric Berry KC heel

Duke Dawson NE hamstring

JaquiskiTartt SF shoulder

Neiko Thorpe SEA groin

Delano Hill SEA quadriceps

Maurice Alexander SEA elbow

Dane Cruikshank TEN knee

CB

Maurice Canady BAL thigh

Taron Johnson BUF shoulder

Darqueze Dennard CIN collarbone

Dre Kirkpatrick CIN concussion

Darius Slay DET knee

Kevin King GB hamstring

Nate Hairston IND ankle

Quenton Meeks JAX knee-MCL

A.J. Bouye JAX calf

Trevor Williams LAC knee

Bobby McCain MIA concussion

Jalen Mills PHI foot

Ronald Darby PHI knee

Sidney Jones PHI hamstring

M.J. Stewart TB foot

Quinton Dunbar WAS shin

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.FANation Chat is now live on the site, to help you work through your fantasy football dilemmas. Or if you have any fantasy football questions, especially about IDP leagues, you can also send a message toia@fantasyalarm.com for a personal response from the writer of this article. Naturally, the more detail you can send about your league, such as number of teams, platform you play in (Yahoo, ESPN, etc.), scoring and roster system, the better the ability to provide accurate advice.