Congratulations if you are participating in your league’s playoff rounds, no matter how you arrived there. There are a handful of IDP to troll for on your waiver wire profiled below, with the most options available in the DL category. All should be available on most waiver wires, too, in each IDP group.
Elevator Going Up
Linebackers
Donald Payne JAX
With Myles Jack listed as questionable for Week 14, after sitting out last week’s contest, look for Payne to see significant snaps on defense once again. If he comes close to his 13 total tackle (TT) production from Week 13, he will be an extremely valuable wire pickup for those looking for LB help. He also pitched in against the Bucs with a sack and a QB hit/hurry (QH) as well as providing for a loss of yards on one of those double-digit tackles (TFL).
Bud Dupree PIT
Dupree was a former 1st round draft pick, and has been quietly putting together an impressive IDP portfolio. He picked up 1.5 sacks against the visiting Browns offense, contributing six TT (four solo) and some additional big play stats: a pair of QH, a pass deflection (PD) and a forced fumble (FF). The Steelers do not feature an every-down LB on their defense, but Dupree is lining up for significant playing time along with standout LBs T.J. Watt and Mark Barron .
Bernardrick McKinney HOU
Seems difficult to believe that McKinney has not been featured yet this season, but now is a fine time to grab the LB before your league mates realize his value. He has two great matchups and one decent one over the next three weeks, which arrive at just the proper time as playoffs hit. Since the Week 10 bye, he has collected 26 TT tackles.
Defensive Linemen
Carlos Dunlap DE CIN
Dunlap has turned it on for the past three contests, racking up 4.5 sacks and 19 TT (10 solo) over that time span. He had seven TT against the visiting Jets last week (six solo, three TFL), and a whopping six (!) QH and a PD in that game as well. The next two weeks do not look overly promising but he has racked up 4.5 sacks over the past three weeks, coinciding with a significant uptick in his snap count as the primary left DE for the Bengals.
Derek Barnett DE PHI
Barnett finally took advantage of the snaps he is playing for the Eagle defense, sacking the Dolphin QB and racking up four QH in Week 13’s contest on the road. He also collected six solo tackles (two TFL) in the game. He has a pair of good matchups on the schedule, with the Giants coming to Philly this week, and then a trip to the nation’s capital in Week 15.
Jacob Martin DE HOU
Martin is an edge rushing LB that qualifies at DL in both Yahoo and ESPN formats, making him a valuable IDP. He has been credited with his first sacks of the season the past two games, snagging 1.5 in Week 13 along with a trio of QH, and three TT (one solo, one TFL). He is coming on at the exact correct time if you need to add a big play DL to your roster.
Jabal Sheard DE IND
The Colt DE has a nice matchup in store this week, taking on the Buccaneers who allow the fifth most points to opposing defensive ends on the season. He has four sacks on the season, and gets to face Carolina in Week 16, another good sources of sacks.
Ed Oliver DT BUF
Oliver lost his starting role earlier this season, but is seeing a more consistent share of the snaps on defense of late. He had two sacks on 40 snaps in Week 13 against the host Cowboys, to go with four TT (three solo, one TFL). He also was credited with some big plays, with a PD, FF and QH showing up on his stat sheet. Buffalo is rotating three DTs on defense, so Oliver as a low percentage owned IDP is a find in DT-required leagues.
Defensive Backs
Chuck Clark S BAL
Clark will be the starting strong safety for the Ravens with Tony Jefferson now on the IR. He is a dependable commodity in a strong Baltimore defense, picking up a sack in Week 13 against the 49ers, along with seven TT (five solo). He also forced a fumble and had a QH in that contest.
Andrew Wingard S JAX
The rookie took advantage of the additional playing time generated by a concussion suffered by Ronnie Harrison , and he collected seven TT (six solo) along with a sack, a QH and a FF against the visiting Buccaneer offense. If Harrison cannot play in Week 14, look for Wingard to shine again in a great matchup against the Chargers.
Bradley Roby CB HOU
Roby returned to action as essentially an every-down DB and he produced at a high level, coming off a hamstring injury that held him out of action since Week 6. He had four TT (three solo, one TFL), and added big play production with a sack, a QH, and INT and a PD. Unfortunately, he does not have a great matchup until Week 16 when the Texans take on the Buccaneers on the road.
Escalator Going Down
Linebackers
Khalil Mack CHI
Mack has seen his production fall off dramatically over the past five games, with just 12 TT (10 solo) over that period, and just one sack. He can bust out any time, naturally, as a top LB in the NFL, but has not been worth starting of late.
Hasson Reddick ARI
Reddick was on the field for just a single snap on defense in Week 13 (he did have 10 special teams snaps), and the talk is that he is being considered for a move to edge rusher. While that may seem positive, the lack of sacks in his career does not inspire great confidence in him going forward.
Tahir Whitehead OAK
Despite being an every-down LB, his stat lines are woefully inadequate for fantasy purposes. Over the past three weeks, he has collected just 10 TT, and just a single solo last week against the Chiefs. The matchup in Week 14 against the Titans is a poor one, although Week 15 has the Jaguars visiting, and he could break out against a more favorable offense in terms of allowing LB production, but there are enough better options available to not risk continued limited tackle numbers.
Defensive Linemen
Jerry Hughes DE BUF
The Bills have seen the production of their starting right DE dry up entirely the past two weeks, despite still playing substantial snaps on defense. Weeks 10 and 11 saw just a pair of solo tackles on the stat sheet, so the trend makes him unusable at present.
Defensive Backs
Donte Jackson CB CAR
The Panthers season is trending in a southward direction, and Jackson’s value is suffering with that tendency. He has just five assists over the past two weeks, and that is not the type of fantasy production you want on your squad as playoffs begin.
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 Giants, but certainly you will do well if you own a top LB or DE on the Falcons or a DL on the Raiders that you can plug in this week, for the most part.
Linebackers
New York Giants vs Green Bay
Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta
Indianapolis Colts @ Tampa Bay
Atlanta Falcons vs Carolina
Cleveland Browns vs Cincinnati
Defensive Ends
New York Jets vs Miami
Tennessee Titans @ Oakland
Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta
Defensive Tackles
Tennessee Titans @ Oakland
Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets
Minnesota Vikings vs Detroit
Safeties
Atlanta Falcons vs Carolina
New York Giants vs Green Bay
Los Angeles Chargers @ Jacksonville
Cornerbacks
Seattle Seahawks @ Los Angeles Rams
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Indianapolis
New England Patriots vs Kansas City
Cincinnati Bengals @ 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. 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
Donald Payne JAX
Bud Dupree PIT
Bernardrick McKinney HOU
Defensive Linemen
Carlos Dunlap DE CIN
Derek Barnett DE PHI
Jacob Martin DE HOU
Jabal Sheard DE IND
Ed Oliver DT BUF
Defensive Backs
Chuck Clark S BAL
Andrew Wingard S JAX
Bradley Roby CB HOU
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
Patrick Onwuasor BAL ankle
Danny Trevathan CHI elbow
Leighton Vander Esch DAL neck
Sean Lee DAL pectoral
A.J. Johnson DEN neck
Von Miller DEN knee
Brennan Scarlett HOU shoulder
Dylan Cole HOU knee-ACL IR
Myles Jack JAX knee
Najee Goode JAX knee IR
Jerome Baker MIA chest
Ben Gedeon MIN concussion IR
Kiko Alonso NO thigh
Kareen Martin NYG knee IR
C.J. Mosley NYJ groin IR
Paul Worrilow NYJ quadriceps
Anthony Nelson TB hamstring
Darren Bates TEN shoulder
Cameron Wake TEN undisclosed IR
Ryan Kerrigan WAS concussion
Montez Sweat WAS quadriceps
Defensive Linemen
DE
Jonathan Bullard ARI hamstring
Michael Bennett DAL foot
Derek Wolfe DEN elbow IR
Angelo Blackson HOU shoulder
Carlos Watkins HOU hamstring
Josh Allen JAX concussion
Lerentee McCray JAX hamstring IR
Frank Clark KC shoulder
Emmanuel Ogbah KC pectoral IR
John Franklin-Myers NYJ undisclosed IR
Dee Ford SF hamstring
Damontre Moore SF forearm IR
DT
Gerald McCoy CAR ankle
Dontari Poe CAR quadriceps IR
Bilal Nichols CHI knee
Akiem Hicks CHI elbow IR
Antwaun Woods DAL knee-MCL
Damon Harrison DET knee
Tyler Lancaster GB neck
Jalyn Holmes MIN undisclosed
Byron Cowart NE head
Steve McLendon NYJ undisclosed
Julian Taylor SF elbow
D.J. Jones SF ankle
Defensive Backs
S
Jalen Thompson ARI head
SherrickMcManis CHI groin IR
Brandon Wilson CIN hand
Eric Murray CLE knee
Robert Jackson CLE ankle
Jeff Heath DAL shoulder
Darian Thompson DAL biceps
Tony Brown GB heel
Ronnie Harrison JAX concussion
D.J. Hayden JAX neck
Rashad Fenton KC hamstring
Darious Williams LAR ankle
Steven Parker MIA groin
Bobby McCain MIA shoulder IR
Reshad Jones MIA undisclosed
Jabrill Peppers NYG back
Corey Ballentine NYG concussion
Jamal Adams NYJ ankle
Rudy Ford PHI Achilles IR
JaquiskiTartt ribs
Neiko Thorpe SEA groin
Tedric Thompson SEA shoulder-Labrum
Jamel Dean TB shoulder
CB
Prince Amukamara CHI hamstring
Dre Kirkpatrick CIN knee IR
Greedy Williams CLE shoulder
Anthony Brown DAL triceps IR
Bryce Callahan DEN foot IR
Rashaan Melvin DET ribs
Jamal Agnew DET ankle
Will Redmond GB foot
Gareon Conley HOU hip
Kenny Moore IND ankle
Ken Crawley MIA shoulder
Jason McCourty NE groin
Brian Poole NYJ concussion
Arthur Maulet NYJ calf
Artie Burns PIT knee
Richard Sherman SF knee
M.J. Stewart TB knee
LeShaun Sims TEN ankle
Adoree’ Jackson TEN knee
Chris Milton TEN undisclosed IR
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 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 to ia@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.