UPGRADES
DE Cameron Wake, MIA (5 solos, 3 sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 SF)
Wake has been mostly injured or ineffective through the 2013 season but he was simply dominant on Thursday night in a big win over the Bengals. He terrorized Andy Dalton with pressure throughout the game while piling up 3 sacks and a game-winning safety in overtime. Looks like he’s back and ready to salvage the season with a strong second half.
DE Chandler Jones, NE (3 solos, 3 asst, 2 sacks)
In a high scoring game with the Steelers, Jones still managed to make enough plays and pull ahead in the race for the top-scoring fantasy DE this year. The 2nd year pro from Syracuse had his third multi-sack game of the season and his 50 combined tackles are making him a very reliable starting option every single week.
DE Cameron Heyward, PIT (2 solos, 3 asst, 1 sack)
The former 1st round pick from 2011 has taken awhile to get going but he has been showing steady improvement since being inserted into the starting lineup in week 6. He posted 6 combined tackles a week ago and followed that up with 5 tackles and a sack of Tom Brady this week.
DT Jurrell Casey, TEN (6 solos, 2 sacks, 1 FF)
The Titans defense hasn’t produced a lot of great IDP options so far this year, but Casey has a chance to finish as the best at his position. He had an impressive rookie season back in 2011 when he posted 40 solo tackles but it took him some time to develop as a pass rusher. He’s on pace to match those rookie tackle numbers now, and also has 6 sacks on the year which gives him a good chance to reach double digits.
LB Bobby Wagner, SEA (6 solos, 5 asst, 1.5 sacks)
Wagner has seen a dropoff in his production this year due to several factors apart from his own level of play. The Seattle defense has played relatively few snaps because they have been so good as a group, and the stat crew in Seattle is giving out the lowest ratio of solo tackles to assists in the league. After sitting out a couple games while recovering from an injury recently, Wagner looked to be back to his old form on Sunday as he racked up 11 combined tackles and 1.5 sacks. He’s not quite a reliable starter yet, but might be on his way back.
LB Paul Worrilow, ATL (9 solos, 10 asst)
Last week it was another rookie Falcons linebacker who got an upgrade in Joplo Bartu, but this week Worrilow exploded with 19 combined tackles in a loss to the Panthers. With MLB Akeem Dent reduced to a 2-down role, it looks like Worrilow and Bartu are both playing full-time roles for now. Veteran Sean Weatherspoon figures to return from short-term IR soon though so that may limit Worrilow’s upside.
LB Jason Worilds, PIT (3 solos, 2 asst, 2 sacks)
Worilds replaced rookie Jarvis Jones in the starting lineup last week and that trend continued again this week. Even though they didn’t do much to slow down the Patriots offense while allowing a team-worst 55 points in the game, Worilds put up solid numbers with 5 combined tackles and a pair of sacks. That should probably earn him more time.
LB Pat Angerer, IND (7 solos, 5 asst, 1 PD)
Angerer returned to a full-time role in week 7 against the Broncos but didn’t get a chance to show much due to the way that game went. He was much more involved this week and was credited with a game-high 12 tackles, clearly outplaying his fellow ILB Jerrell Freeman who only came up with 5. As a player who has put up big tackle numbers in the past, Angerer is probably worth a pickup if he happens to be available.
S Eric Weddle, SD (9 solos, 6 asst)
Weddle’s production this year has been rather underwhelming but it seems to be based in large part on the fact that the Chargers defense has not faced very many snaps in most weeks. That changed this week as they were up near 80 snaps on the day, and it clearly helped Weddle who was credited with a ridiculous 15 combined tackles in the game. The big plays haven’t been there this year and that’s keeping him out of the #1 safety range for now, but he’s a reliable #2 at worst probably.
S Aaron Williams, BUF (7 solos, 1 asst, 1 PD)
The Bills secondary is finally healthy so now we have a pretty good idea of how they plan to use everybody. Aaron Williams was in the lineup as the starting strong safety this week alongside Jairus Byrd and Da’Norris Searcy was reduced to a subpackage role. There is obviously some potential for Williams here who has looked very good for most of this year and brings great range to the position despite being somewhat undersized.
S Shamarko Thomas, PIT (7 solos, 1 asst)
Despite only playing about half of the snaps this week, Thomas still managed to put up a very solid stat line with 7 solo tackles. With Troy Polamalu looking like a shell of his former self at times, it seems likely the Steelers will continue to give Thomas more work. He may not be a clear add for redraft owners but is definitely a guy that dynasty owners will want to keep an eye on if he’s not on a roster.
CB Dimitri Patterson, MIA (8 solos, 1 INT, 1 PD)
At 30 years of age and 5’10”, Patterson is not the type of player most fantasy owners would get excited by. That might change when you consider the production he’s been putting up recently. Over the past 3 weeks, including 2 starts, he’s collected 14 solo tackles, a sack, and 2 interceptions. With Brent Grimes holding down the opposite spot, it looks like Patterson is being targeted regularly and he seems to be getting the best of things lately.
DOWNGRADES
DE Chris Long, STL (1 solo)
Unfortunately, when it comes to IDPs, the best players don’t always put up the best stats. Long had a dominant 3-sack game last week against the Seahawks, but came up empty this week despite putting a ton of pressure on Jake Locker throughout the game. He’s always had limited fantasy upside because of his low tackle numbers and that boom or bust trend seems to be continuing.
DE Fletcher Cox, PHI (1 solo)
In what is going to be a trend this week, Cox is another player whose strong play hasn’t translated well to the stat sheet much this year. In an easy win over the Raiders that saw them attempt 56 pass attempts and run the ball over 30 times, Cox somehow only managed to finish the game with a single solo tackle. He’s been able to generate pressure in many games this year but has just 3 sacks to show for it.
DE Jared Allen, MIN (1 solo)
Allen is a relentless pass rusher who gives full effort on every play but he’s gone cold. He had 4.5 sacks in the first 4 weeks of the year but has just half a sack in his last 4 games. Making matters worse, he’s been contributing less against the run than usual this year as he’s been credited with only 16 solo stops in those 8 games. The former elite fantasy DE has fallen back to the pack and is maybe not even a clear DE1, especially given the weak team around him.
DT Barry Cofield, WAS (0 tackles)
While playing nose tackle doesn’t have to be a hindrance to a player’s production, it doesn’t appear to be doing any favors for Cofield this year. He’s shown some flashes with 3 sacks on the year, but has posted 0 tackles in 3 of his past 4 games despite getting very consistent playing time.
LB Brooks Reed, HOU (1 PD) and Whitney Mercilus, HOU (1 solo)
Both starting outside linebackers in Houston have been disappointments this year. Reed was an early 2nd round pick who looked like a potential star with 6 sacks as a rookie, but he’s only added 3.5 sacks since then. Mercilus was a 1st round pick last year who looked good earlier this year, but he’s now gone 3 weeks in a row without a sack. They have a great matchup against the Cardinals next week and will get a chance to turn things around.
LB Jarvis Jones, PIT (2 asst)
The rookie outside linebacker was very productive in college but is finding things a bit tougher in the NFL. He is still waiting to get his first sack as a professional and was demoted from the starting lineup last week in favor of veteran Jason Worilds. It’s obviously too early to give up on Jones, but it looks like he might need some more development before he can become a reliable contributor.
LB Brandon Spikes, NE (3 solos)
Spikes was expected to get more playing time following the season-ending injury to Jerod Mayo, but over the past two weeks it looks like he’s playing roughly two thirds of the snaps. Dont’a Hightower appears to be taking on more of an everydown role while the Patriots seem to be favoring an extra defensive back or Dane Fletcher in their nickel packages. This suggests you may want to sit Spikes in matchups against pass-heavy offenses.
LB Josh Bynes, BAL (1 PD)
Bynes missed the game in week 6 against the Steelers and that appears to have been all the opening that was needed for veteran Jameel McClain to take over at weakside inside linebacker. Although he had some solid outings this year, Bynes was always considered to be a bridge holding down the spot until McClain or rookie Arthur Brown were ready to overtake him.
S Tashaun Gipson, CLE (1 PD)
Gipson has been a pleasant surprise this year with 50+ combined tackles over the first half of the season. He was a non-factor this week though as he finished with just a single pass deflection despite playing nearly the entire game. This looks most likely to be a fluky bad week more than a sign of any clear problem, but his high tackle numbers from the first half are probably not sustainable for a free safety with TJ Ward and D’Qwell Jackson playing in front of him.
S Da’Norris Searcy, BUF (2 solos)
As mentioned above in the upgrades, Aaron Williams appears to be the Bills starting strong safety at this point and that figures to limit Searcy to more of a specialty role. He could see more time against pass-heavy matchups, but against a more conservative offense like the Chiefs this week he was reduced to a part-time role.
S Michael Mitchell, CAR (1 solo, 2 asst)
While he’s listed here in the downgrade section, I don’t think anyone should overreact to the low output for Mitchell this week as it turned out to be a bad matchup where the Panthers defense only faced about 50 snaps. Mitchell continues to start at SS and it looks like Quintin Mikell and Robert Lester split time at the other safety position. The Panthers travel to San Francisco next week to take on the 49ers and that should be a great matchup for him.
CB Janoris Jenkins, STL (1 solo)
Jenkins had a strong rookie season and looked like he would team up with Cortland Finnegan to give the Rams a very strong CB tandem. While Jenkins got off to a strong start this year, he has seen his numbers steadily decline in recent weeks. Over the past 3 games, he’s managed just 5 solo stops, 2 assists, and 1 pass defensed. Some of that had to do with Trumaine Johnson getting picked on in recent weeks, but it’s still worth noting.
CB Ike Taylor, PIT (1 solo, 2 asst)
Taylor has been the #1 corner for the Steelers for some time and he’s been a productive fantasy option for much of his career. At 33 years of age, however, it looks like he may no longer be the same player he used to be as his numbers have been down across the board. Making matters worse, he was diagnosed with a concussion at some point late in the game so it looks like his status for next week could be in doubt.
CB Brandon Browner, SEA (1 solo, 1 PD)
Browner has been a great fantasy option in the past but he is not playing up to the same level so far this year. Playing opposite Richard Sherman should keep plenty of targets coming his way, but he seems to be coming out of games with as many penalties as tackles lately. He’s headed for free agency after this year and is not expected to be retained by Seattle, but it’s unclear if a new situation will be much better than his current one.