We’re through five weeks and just completed the first round of byes. Keep an eye out for owners feeling the roster crunch who may drop a player they normally wouldn’t drop in order to cover an IDP bye.
Each week, we’ll highlight diamonds in the rough or some players that just need to be rostered in more leagues on the defensive side of the ball. Keep in mind your scoring system and roster restraints when heading to the waiver wire to grab these IDPs.
Defensive linemen
DE Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions
Last year’s No. 2 overall pick has had three straight good games after a so-so first two weeks. Hutchinson has nine tackles, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble, an INT, four pass defenses and 4 1/2 sacks over the last three weeks. Hutchinson is likely owned in most deeper and competitive formats, but if he’s still somehow on waivers, you should change that.
DT Ed Oliver, Buffalo Bills
The big, 287-pound tackle has been a force in the middle thus far. He has at least three tackles per game, but Oliver has at least one sack per game over the last three games. He added nine tackles and a sack in Week 5. Defensive tackles are risky, but he’s producing enough to warrant the pickup if you need to cover a bye.
Linebackers
LB Nathan Landman, Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons lost Troy Andersen in the middle to a torn pectoral muscle, and the undrafted Landman has stepped in nicely. He had nine tackles in Week 4 and seven in Week 5. He’ll face the Washington Commanders in Week 6, and they run the ball and use short routes a lot, which could be another big tackle day.
LB Henry To’oTo’o, Houston Texans
Injuries have catapulted the fifth-round pick into a spot on the strong side, and he has answered the bell. He has at least seven tackles in four straight games and had at least 10 stops in two of them. To’oTo’o doesn’t offer much else, but it’s hard to find someone to land around eight tackles a game on waivers.
LB Christian Rozeboom, Los Angeles Rams
Six, five, five, six and five. That’s what the fourth-year, undrafted linebacker from South Dakota State has delivered in tackles each week. Rozeboom has offered nothing else, but he has set a baseline that can be useful in deeper formats if you’re trying to cover a bye at a premium position.
Defensive backs
SS Jimmie Ward, Houston Texans
It has been three good weeks in a row for the 10-year vet. He had eight tackles in Week 3, four tackles, and a forced fumble in Week 4, plus six tackles and a pass defense in Week 5. He has the New Orleans Saints this week and then a bye, which may mean he’s a short-term option. However, if he has another solid game this week, we could see keeping him around through the bye.
FS Micah Hyde, Buffalo Bills
From a fantasy perspective, the 32-year-old is a very unsexy option. His six tackles in Week 5 were a season high. He has two INTs, but he doesn’t really do much to stand out from a statistical standpoint. He has the New England Patriots, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers the next three weeks, and he could see more INT windows.
S Sam Franklin, Carolina Panthers
Franklin could be a one-week play against the Miami Dolphins this week. The Panthers are on a bye in Week 7, and Franklin would probably be expendable that week. He has stepped in for Xavier Woods, who is out four-to-six weeks with a hamstring injury. He had a Pick-6 in Week 4 and eight tackles last week.
