2014 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 12
Hello and welcome back to the IDPGuru.com’s most popular in-season article, IDP Waiver Wire Pickups, which will be releasing every Tuesday of the regular season.
Let’s start things off by going through some IDP news, notes, and commentary from Week 11 of the NFL season.
Injury Round-Up
Karlos Dansby appears to have sprained his MCL and is expected to miss at least a month. This virtually kills all of his fantasy value. In related news, OLB Jabaal Sheard is likely done for the rest of the season. This probably means a bump in playing time for Barkevious Mingo.
Rafael Bush broke his leg and will be out the remainder of the season. It’s the next man up for the Saints at free safety.
Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin fractured his ankle and is going to be out for the year in all likelihood.
Jason Verrett was sent to IR on November 15 due to a torn labrum in his shoulder – his season is over.
General Player Notes
Ahmad Brooks took himself out of the game as he was not happy with his reduction in playing time caused by Aldon Smith’s return to the lineup. I wouldn’t expect him to have much fantasy value at all moving forward.
In a surprise move last week, the Packers played Clay Matthews at inside linebacker against the Bears. Last Sunday against the Eagles he was moved down to the line of scrimmage to form a five-man front. He had 5 total tackles and a sack in this role. It’s hard to say how he’s going to be utilized moving forward but he’s still worth rostering for his upside in most leagues.
In typical Bill Belicheck fashion, he took a player in Patrick Chung who had been bumping up his box score production over the last several weeks and he cut his playing time. Chung only wound up seeing 34 of 58 snaps on Sunday night. He’s a player who will be hard to trust in the upcoming weeks.
Mark Barron continues to only see partial playing time. His snap counts were down to 17% last week. He can be ignored in re-draft leagues.
After losing some snaps over the last couple weeks, Kemal Ishmael was back in a full-time role which makes him a solid DB3+/DB2- until William Moore returns.
The Texans started Danieal Manning at strong safety this week over D.J. Swearinger, but the coaches said it was just part of the game plan and not for any disciplinary reasons. Nevertheless, Swearinger is nothing more than a DB4/DB5 at this point.
Now onto The Guru’s IDP waiver wire selections for Week 12!
(Please note that a majority of these pickups are long-term, rest of season pickups as opposed to matchup-type recommendations. As the season progresses and the waiver wire becomes more thin and matchup information becomes more reliable, the focus of this article will shift more towards recommendations based on weekly matchup.)
Defensive Linemen
(Previously recommended DLs: Gerald McCoy, Willie Young, Cameron Heyward, Sen’Derrick Marks, Wallace Gilberry, William Gholston, Jurrell Casey, Corey Liuget, Mario Addison, Johnathan Hankins, Michael Johnson, Anthony Spencer, Cameron Heyward, Brian Robison, Jurrell Casey, Frostee Rucker, Ezekiel Ansah, Jerry Hughes, Jason Hatcher, Aaron Donald, Michael Johnson, Charles Johnson, Ryan Davis, Henry Melton, Dontari Poe, Robert Ayers, Derrick Morgan, Allen Bailey)
DE Jacquies Smith (TB) – Injuries along the Tampa Bay line have opened the door for Smith to see an increase in playing time over the last couple of games. He capitalized on that time increase last week with 2 sacks. The Buccaneers pass rush has been mediocre this year, so Smith should continue to see 50% or so of the snaps as long as he continues to produce. DL4+ in the immediate short-term.
DE Sheldon Richardson (NYJ) – Richardson only has 3.5 sacks on the year, but he’s tied for the league lead in tackles for a DE with 38, providing owners with consistent weekly production in that category. The matchup against the Bills this week heavily increases his chances at a sack, making him a top 15-20 play at the position in Week 12.
DE Jason Hatcher (WAS) – Hatcher hasn’t produced at the same level he did a year ago when he was wearing a Cowboys uniform, but he’s shown flashes of his 2013-self and has produced against weaker matchups. The 49ers have been one of the most sacked teams over the last several weeks and Hatcher should have an above average shot at a sack. Not a bad DL3 option in 10-12 team leagues.
Linebackers
(Previously recommended LBs: Sio Moore, Jamie Collins, Josh Mauga, Rolando McClain, Brandon Marshall, Emmanuel Lamur, Larry Foote, Jelani Jenkins, Preston Brown, A.J. Hawk, David Hawthorne, Anthony Hitchens, Brian Cushing, Jelani Jenkins, Danny Trevathan, Donald Butler, Prince Shembo, Keenan Robinson, Tahir Whitehead, Justin Durant, Jacquian Williams. Nigel Bradham, Miles Burris, Vincent Rey, Malcolm Smith, Dont’a Hightower, Chad Greenway, J.T. Thomas, Anthony Barr, Avery Williamson, Chris Borland, Michael Wilhoite, K.J. Wright, Mychal Kendricks, Clay Matthews, Ramon Humber)
LB Demario Davis (NYJ) – Davis’ ownership has waxed and waned throughout the season as he’s struggled to maintain consistency in the box scores. He may have been dropped last week during his bye. If so, it would be a prudent move to pick him up as he seemed to get back on track in Week 10 with a 11-1 stat line and he will be going up against the Bills and their generous home stat crew this coming week.
LB Vincent Rey (CIN) – The Cincinnati stat crew has really deflated the value of the Bengals’ IDPs as of late. After 3 home games, Rey finally got a chance to play on the road last week and had a bounce back game with 12 total tackles (10 solos) against the Saints. He has an elite matchup against the Texans this week, AND he’s on the road. This said, it’s time to trust Rey again and get him back in your lineups. Emmanuel Lamur as well for that matter.
LB Jameel McClain (NYG) – With Jacquian Williams failing to pass his concussion protocol, McClain had even less tackle competition on Sunday and it showed in the box scores as he racked up 14 tackles (11 solo) against a 49ers team that ran the ball 37 times. I expect the Cowboys to come out and run the ball a lot which should led to plenty of tackle opportunity for McClain and company again. LB3+/LB2- value.
OLB Bjoern Werner (IND) – Werner has been around the ball more as of late and although not a tier 1 or tier 2 edge rusher, he’s still worth a look in ideal matchups. And this week is as ideal as it gets against the Jaguars, who have given up a league-leading 39 sacks (nearly 4 a game). Chances are good Werner gets to Bortles in Week 12.
Defensive Backs
(Previously recommended DBs: Donte Whitner, D.J. Swearinger, Leodis McKelvin, Ryan Mundy, Robert Blanton, Josh Evans, Prince Amukamara, Tyrann Mathieu, Kyle Fuller, Antoine Cason, Aaron Williams, Tony Jefferson, Byron Maxwell, Husain Abdullah, Brock Vereen, Tony Jefferson, Rashad Johnson, Brandon Meriweather, Reshad Jones, Brandon Flowers, Kemal Ishmael, George Wilson, Quintin Demps, Usama Young, Cortez Allen, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, James Ihedigbo, Deone Bucannon, LaRon Landry, Kendrick Lewis, Major Wright, Brent Grimes, Rafael Bush, Patrick Chung, Larry Asante, Eric Berry)
S Mike Adams (IND) – Adams has taken advantage of LaRon Landry’s absence posting 8 solo tackles in each of his last three games (with 2 INTs in last week’s game). The Colts don’t seem overly anxious about getting Landry back into a full-time role as he only saw 8 snaps last week in a big game against the Patriots. So I think it’s safe to go out and nab Adams if he’s still available. The Jaguars have actually given up the 6th most points to safeties this year, so consider Adams a strong start.
S Major Wright (TB) – Wright finds his way on this list again after a 9 tackle performance against a strong matchup in the Redskins. He gets another strong matchup against the Bears this week, so it’s reasonable to expect similar production in Week 12 from the 5 year veteran out of Florida.
S George Wilson (TEN) – Wilson hasn’t done much of anything since taking over for Bernard Pollard several weeks back. But he is coming off his best fantasy game of the year in which he posted 7 solo tackles and an assist. More importantly, he squares off against the Philadelphia Eagles who have been an absolute dream matchup for opposing fantasy safeties. Since Week 2, 14 safeties have put up more than six tackles against them and nine have put up more than eight. For those in deep leagues, Wilson is a sneaky option. If Michael Griffin is available in your league, he’s a must start.
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Last Updated: November 18, 2014