UPGRADES
DE Muhammad Wilkerson, NYJ (2 solos, 2 asst, 1 sack, 1 INT, 1 PD)
The numbers Wilkerson is putting up are pretty incredible for a 3-4 DE. Although the Jets were dominated by the Bengals this week, Wilkerson still found a way to contribute with a sack and interception. He’s now up to 7 sacks on the year and leading the charge for what has mostly been a relentless Jets defensive line.
DE Calais Campbell, ARI (5 solos, 1 sack, 2 PD)
While the Cardinals don’t have an elite edge rusher, they are getting consistent push up front from Campbell. He’s been an elite run defender at DE for the past few years, but is now starting to emerge as a more consistent pass rush threat as well. He’s posted 3.5 sacks over his last 4 games to go along with a steady does of solo tackles. Definitely looking like a solid DE1 in most scoring systems.
DE Olivier Vernon, MIA (2 solos, 4 asst, 1 sack)
Cameron Wake gets most of the attention on the Miami defense but it’s Vernon who is now leading the team in sacks. With a sack of Tom Brady this week, he’s now posted a sack in 4 consecutive games. Wake has been limited to a part-time role since returning from injury, but Vernon and some other players have helped pick up the slack a bit.
DT Kyle Williams, BUF (6 solos, 3 asst, 1.5 sacks)
Williams has played like an elite DT in the past but his career has been sidetracked by injuries the past couple seasons. He was at his best on Sunday playing against the Saints in front of family and friends, however, as he was constantly getting into the backfield and disrupting plays. He has a great combination of strength, intensity, and quickness and is benefiting from playing alongside Mario Williams in the new aggressive Bills defense. He’s headed for a career year for sacks and a top-10 fantasy DT finish.
DT Jonathan Babineaux, ATL (7 solos, 1 sack, 1 FF)
Babineaux has been a good player for awhile now but unfortunately his production rarely seems to match his level of play. For whatever reason, it seems he has trouble sustaining production but as he showed this week he is certainly capable of blowing up at any moment. His 7 solos included 3 tackles for a loss as he took advantage of a leaky Cardinals offensive line. Might provide some help if you need a DT since the Falcons defense looks like they could have trouble getting off the field.
ILB Sean Lee, DAL (7 solos, 3 asst, 2 INT, 2 PD)
Lee’s amazing season continues with another monster game against the Lions this week. He posted 10 combined tackles while also pulling in two interceptions. With 59 solo tackles through 8 games, he’s on pace to shatter the 100-solo threshold and the big play ability (4 interceptions already) give him a great chance to finish as the #1 overall IDP this year if he can stay healthy.
ILB Craig Robertson, CLE (11 solos, 1 sack)
Robertson has been somewhat underwhelming this year considering that he’s playing an everydown role in the middle of the Browns defense. He’s starting to get more blitz opportunities lately though, which has allowed him to post 3 sacks in the past 4 games. He also showed better range this week as he picked up 11 solo tackles while mostly matched up against elusive players like Jamaal Charles and Dexter McCluster as the Browns lost a close game to the Chiefs.
ILB David Hawthorne, NO (8 solos, 1 sack, 1 FF)
The Saints defense looked impressive against the Bills this week and Hawthorne may have stood out the most with his all-around performance. He forced a fumble with a sack on the opening snap of the game and continued to chase down plays throughout the game. He’s not a part of the team’s dime package so should continue to lose some snaps against spread attacks but that didn’t seem to limit him this week.
OLB Sio Moore, OAK (5 solos, 1 asst, 2 sacks)
The Raiders have been looking to get more production from their rookie linebacker and he showed up with 2 sacks against the Steelers on Sunday. That gives him 3 in his last 2 games and it looks like the light is finally starting to turn on for him. Moore was a 3rd round pick and is definitely a player to watch in dynasty leagues due to his potential upside.
S Antrel Rolle, NYG (4 solos, 1 asst, 1 sack, 1 FF, 1 INT, 1 PD)
The Giants changed up their defense a bit this week and it now looks like Rolle may be the player you want to focus on in their secondary. The Eagles certainly helped but he is putting up steady tackle numbers and heating up as a playmaker with 3 interceptions in his last 5 games. Rolle also added his first sack of the season and has some favorable matchups coming after the bye next week.
S T.J. Ward, CLE (10 solos, 1 sack)
Ward exploded onto the scene as a rookie in 2010 when he posted 95 solo tackles but he’s been a shell of his self since then. It definitely looks like the old Ward is back this year though as he picked up 10 solo stops and a sack against the Chiefs this week. Over his past 3 games, he has been credited with an incredible 27 solo stops.
S Tyrann Mathieu, ARI (6 solos, 1 asst, 1 INT, 2 PD)
The rookie safety just continues to look impressive as he piles up tackle and big plays. With 6 solos this week, he’s now up to 47 on the season which puts him on pace for nearly 100 solos. He also has a clear knack for making plays and added his second interception of the season. Looking more likely that he’ll warrant some defensive rookie of the year consideration along with Kiko Alonso and Sheldon Richardson.
CB Terrell Thomas, NYG (10 solos, 1 asst, 1 sack, 1 FF, 1 PD)
Thomas has missed the past two seasons while recovering from multiple ACL surgeries, but he looked pretty good on Sunday as he filled up the stat sheet. The Giants are showing a willingness to change up their defensive secondary from week to week so this may have just been a game plan that was designed to use him a lot, but with games like this they will probably find more ways to use him without putting too much stress on his surgically repaired knee.
CB Adam Jones, CIN (6 solos, 1 asst, 1 INT, 2 PD, 1 TD)
The season-ending injury to Leon Hall looks like it will create a full-time role for Jones who has put up some decent numbers this year. Although he is undersized to match up with some of the league’s bigger receivers, Jones is a tenacious player who should continue to make plays given the dominant play up front from the Bengals defensive line.
CB Logan Ryan, NE (5 solos, 2 sacks, 1 FF, 1 PD)
The rookie corner started last week against the Jets and returned an interception for a touchdown. He didn’t start this week against the Dolphins but still managed to come up with a huge game-changing play. In the third quarter, he came on a blitz and sacked Ryan Tannehill from the blindside to force a fumble that helped shift the momentum in the game. That was his second sack of the night and he put up these great numbers despite playing less than half the snaps in the game.
DOWNGRADES
DE Dion Jordan, MIA (0 tackles)
As the supposedly best pass rusher in this year’s draft class, there was some hope that Jordan could have an immediate impact similar to what Von Miller and Aldon Smith did in their rookie seasons. He posted a sack in the season opener but has been shut out since then and it looks like he’s struggling to adapt to the pro game. Jordan is basically playing a pass-rush specialist role so he’s not getting enough snaps or tackle opportunities to be a viable fantasy option yet. He is generating some pressure with his rushes, but the lack of usage is disappointing especially considering the injury to Wake.
DE Wallace Gilberry, CIN (0 tackles)
Gilberry flashed onto the scene with a couple of big games recently but they were helped in part by an injury to Michael Johnson. Over the past couple weeks, he has played a similar rotational role but just hasn’t been nearly as productive with his limited snaps. Obviously that’s a risk with a part-time player so you should feel safe to keep him on your bench unless he sees a very favorable matchup.
DE Desmond Bryant, CLE (0 tackles)
After a great start that saw him post 3.5 sacks in his first 3 games, Bryant was looking like one of the best free agent signings in the league. Since then, however his production has been trending steadily downward to the point where he was shut out completely this week by the Chiefs. He has seen a slight drop in playing time, but is doing considerably less with his opportunities than he was early on.
DE Jason Hunter, OAK (1 PD)
Hunter is another player who got off to a great start this year with 10 solo tackles and 2 sacks in his first three games. Since then, however, he’s combined for just 2 solo stops and no sacks in his last 3 games. His playing time has remained steady so it looks like opposing offenses have done a better job of keeping him blocked. He might get a chance to turn things around when the Eagles come to town next week but don’t expect much.
ILB David Harris, NYJ (1 asst)
The stat line for Harris this week makes it look like he might have left early with an injury but he actually played the entire game in an ugly blowout loss to the Bengals. His lowest tackle output in any game prior to this one came last week when he posted 5 tackles against the Patriots. So that’s two disappointing games in a row for Harris and probably cause for some concern.
ILB Spencer Paysinger, NYG (1 solo)
The Giants made a change to their defense this week as they took Paysinger out of the starting lineup and actually gave him zero snaps on defense. His only solo tackle came on special teams and it looks his value will be highly dependent on the matchup. Coverage specialist Jacquian Williams wound up playing every snap as the Giants went with a nickel package as their base defense and then stuck with it after playing almost the entire game with a lead.
OLB Jabaal Sheard, CLE (1 asst, 1 PD)
Sheard has been back in the starting lineup for two weeks now but he doesn’t appear to be the same player he was pre-injury. He’s playing close to a full-time role at OLB but has just 1 assisted tackle and a pass deflection to show for it over 2 games. The Browns now have some depth at OLB with Barkevious Mingo and Paul Kruger also options so he’ll need to turn things around to stay on the field although Kruger has been a free agent bust so far.
ILB Rey Maualuga, CIN (1 solo, 1 asst)
Maualuga has been a weak link for the Bengals defense, but did post was decent tackle numbers earlier this year. It looks like he’ll be out for about a month with a sprained MCL, which could be good news for Votaze Burfict who will likely move inside to MLB, and Michael Boley at weakside linebacker.
S Ryan Mundy, NYG (0 tackles)
With the Giants facing the Eagles this week, they changed up their defense and took Mundy out completely. Meanwhile, Will Hill played the entire game. The Giants obviously feel that Mundy works better against a run-heavy offense so it might be tough to feel comfortable starting him going forward. They have a lot of healthy pieces they can use in the secondary now so be careful.
S Jamarca Sanford, MIN (1 solo, 1 asst)
Sanford left the Sunday night game against the Packers early this week with a groin injury and did not return. He had posted 17 solo tackles in his prior two games and also added 15 solo tackles in the first two games of the year so he can clearly be productive when he’s on the field. Pay attention to the injury reports to try and determine if it’s safe to use him next week.
S Donte Whitner, SF (1 solo, 1 PD)
Whitner generated some press for himself a few weeks ago when he announced he was changing his name to Hitner. Well, there haven’t been many hits from him in recent weeks as his tackles have remained right around 3 or 4 solo stops in most weeks. Obviously playing behind guys like Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman limits his opportunities, and the matchup with Jacksonville this week was particularly bad. If the 49ers keep dominating time of possession like they have been though, there will continue to be very few chances for Whitner to pick up the pace.
CB Stephon Gilmore, BUF (1 asst)
Gilmore showed flashes of being a great corner as a rookie last year but he suffered a broken wrist in the preseason and had to sit out the first 5 games as a result. He’s returned to action but is playing with a cast on his hand that is making it really difficult to challenge receivers and even tackle at times. Until he gets the cast off, it might be a safe bet to keep him on the bench.
