UPGRADES
DE Sheldon Richardson, NYJ (5 solos, 2 asst, 3 sacks)
The Jets were without Muhammad Wilkerson for the second week in a row, but Richardson put up enough points for 2 star players this week. He set up shop in the Vikings backfield and harassed Teddy Bridgewater into 3 sacks while also getting credit for 3 tackles for loss and 4 QB hits. He hadn’t been very productive over the past month with just 3 solos, 3 assists, and 0 sacks in his last 3 games combined, but he has another great matchup next week in Tennessee.
DE Jason Pierre-Paul, NYG (4 solos, 3 asst, 2 sacks, 1 FF)
DE Damontre Moore, NYG (2 solos, 2 sacks)
The Giants lost Robert Ayers and were without Mathias Kiwanuka up front, but they still have an elite player in Pierre-Paul to lead the way. He posted one of his best games of the year this week with 7 tackles and a pair of sacks in a blowout win over the Titans. Damontre Moore has also seen heavy playing time for two weeks in a row. Although still a work in progress against the run, he has clear upside as a pass rusher and posted 2 sacks plus a pair of QB hits this week.
DE Malik Jackson, DEN (6 solos, 1 sack)
Jackson put up 30 solos with 6 sacks last year, but has taken on a smaller role this year following the signing of Demarcus Ware. The potential is clearly there, however, if he can get regular playing time as he showed this week. He saw more snaps (50) than he had all year and put up strong numbers with 6 solo tackles and a sack. Perhaps we’ll see him get more playing time in the weeks ahead after this strong outing.
DT Jordan Hill, SEA (4 solos, 2 asst, 1 sack)
Hill doesn’t get a lot of playing time as a rotational DT in the Seahawks defense, but he’s starting to make a case for himself. The 3rd round pick from 2013 was credited with 6 tackles and a sack this week despite only playing 23 snaps. He also picked up a sack against the Cardinals a few weeks ago and could be a young player to keep an eye on in DT-required leagues.
LB Elvis Dumervil, BAL (3 solos, 1 asst, 3.5 sacks, 1 FF)
Dumervil has not received much national attention so far this year, but his 3.5 sacks against the Dolphins this week brings him up to 16 on the year. That ties him with Justin Houston for the league lead, and leaves him just a half sack behind his career high. Pretty impressive, but unfortunately his low tackle numbers have made him tough to count on in most weeks unless you’re playing in a sack-heavy scoring system.
LB Craig Robertson, CLE (10 solos, 2 asst, 1 FR, 1 PD, 1 TD)
With Karlos Dansby sitting out his third game in a row this week, it was once again Robertson who led the way in the middle of the Browns defense. If you go back to week 11 when Dansby was injured, Robertson has compiled 26 solos and 17 assists in the past 4 weeks. He also added to his numbers when he jumped on a Luck fumble in the endzone for a touchdown this week. For a player who was expected to just keep the seat warm while the team groomed rookie Christian Kirksey for a full-time role, this has been an impressive stretch.
LB Gerald Hodges, MIN (5 solos, 3 asst, 1 INT, 2 PD, 1 TD)
With Anthony Barr sitting out this week with a knee injury, Hodges got the start at strongside linebacker and put up some great numbers once again. He picked off Geno Smith on the first play of the game and returned the ball 27 yards for a touchdown, to give him the fastest defensive touchdown in franchise history. The Vikings have excellent depth at outside linebacker now, and Hodges certainly looks capable of a full-time role. Given that Greenway will turn 32 in January, it’s possible Hodges could become their WLB of the (near) future.
LB Devon Kennard, NYG (6 solos, 2 sacks, 1 FF)
Kennard was a 5th round pick out of USC this year who looks like just another in a long line of talented Giants pass rushers. He picked up 2 sacks a week ago and then added another pair this week. Although he’s only playing a little more than half the snaps, he’s looked impressive and will probably develop into a full-time player at some point.
LB Ryan Kerrigan, WAS (4 solos, 1 asst, 2 sacks, 1 FF)
This is clearly looking like a lost season for Washington, but Kerrigan is not letting up. He picked up 2 more sacks this week to get him to 11.5 on the year, and 4 of those have come in the last 3 weeks. Kerrigan also added his 4th forced fumble of the year, which gives him 14 in his 4-year career so far.
LB Melvin Ingram III, SD (5 solos, 1 asst, 1 sack, 1 PD)
The Chargers drafted Ingram with their first round pick in 2012, but haven’t gotten much production from him during an injury-plagued start to his career. He had probably his best game as a pro on Sunday night against the Patriots, however, when he was credited with 6 tackles, a sack, and a pass defensed. The Chargers are desperate for a pass rusher at OLB so hopefully he can build on this effort and stay healthy the rest of the season.
S Charles Woodson, OAK (7 solos, 1 asst, 1 INT, 1 PD)
This has been a remarkable season for the 38-year old safety. With 7 on Sunday in a win over the 49ers, he’s up to 69 solo tackles on the season and has a great chance to set a career high. Perhaps as impressive is the fact that he’s been on the field for nearly every defensive snap the Raiders have played. In addition to the big tackle numbers, he’s also shown that he can still be an effective playmaker with 3 interceptions plus a sack and fumble recovery on the year.
S Pierre Warren, NO (6 solos, 2 asst, 2 PD)
Although Warren didn’t make the Saints out of training camp, he is now their starting free safety after a brief stint on the Vikings practice squad. A rash of injuries has given him an opportunity, and you can expect that opponents will continue to target him to try and take advantage of his inexperience. Through 3 games, he has been credited with 15 solo tackles and 7 assists. Those may not be exciting numbers, but he figures to be on the field a lot with the way the Saints have been playing.
CB Chris Harris, DEN (5 solos, 1 sack, 1 INT, 1 PD)
The Broncos defense was on the field for over 80 snaps this week and that gave Harris plenty of playmaking opportunities. He held up well in coverage while mostly lining up against the Bills slot receiver and also added a sack and interception in the game. Harris has played very well all year and has been able to hold off first round pick Bradley Roby for the starting spot opposite Aqib Talib.
CB Bene Benwikere, CAR (6 solos, 2 asst, 1 INT, 2 PD)
Following the release of Antoine Cason last week, rookie Benwikere was inserted into the starting lineup this week and he held up pretty well in a blowout win over the Saints. He finished with 8 tackles while adding his first career interception. Given how much attention Cason received, we can likely expect Benwikere to be tested often as well.
CB Ron Parker, KC (8 solos, 1 asst)
With Eric Berry going on IR, the Chiefs decided to shift Parker over to safety. He’s already been one of the most productive DBs in the league this year and this only figures to help him stay more active each week. He led the Chiefs with 9 tackles this week and the next highest player only had 5. The Chiefs stat crew is not very favorable, but he figures to be busy next week against the Raiders as well.
DOWNGRADES
DE Justin Tuck, OAK (0 tackles)
Tuck has not played poorly for the Raiders this year, but he’s also clearly not living up to the 11-sack season he had a year ago with the Giants. He’s posted just 3 sacks in 12 games and hasn’t posted more than 2 solo tackles in a game since the opener. Tuck will be 32 years old next year and has had back issues in the past so it seems like we probably can’t expect a whole lot more from him.
DE Jerry Hughes, BUF (2 solos)
Hughes obviously had a tough matchup this week while going up against Peyton Manning, who rarely takes a sack. However, he also tied a season-low with just 33 snaps as the coaching staff appeared to leave him on the sideline after he took a personal foul penalty in the second quarter. It wasn’t clear if the move was done as a punishment, but obviously you’ll want to keep Hughes in your lineup despite the matchup with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers next week.
DE Demarcus Ware, DEN (0 tackles)
Ware was on the field a lot against the Bills this weekend, but somehow managed to get shut out completely on the stat sheet. Even though he’s proven to be a key pickup for the Broncos, his fantasy value has been held back somewhat by the all-or-nothing nature of his weekly production. In the 5 games he played this year where he hasn’t recorded a sack, he’s only managed 5 solos and 1 assist total.
DT Haloti Ngata, BAL (DNP)
Ngata wasn’t exactly playing up to his previous standards this year, but his regular season ended early as he was suspended for 4 games due to violating the league’s substance abuse policy last week. Rookie Timmy Jernigan replaced him and figures to see a lot more playing time while Ngata is out. With Ngata due to count $16 million against next year’s cap, this could force the team to release him or at least try to re-negotiate his deal somehow.
DT Shariff Floyd, MIN (1 solo)
Floyd has played pretty well this year, but he’s been unable to finish games the past few weeks while dealing with a knee injury. At this point, it’s probably going to be tough to count on him even if he winds up in the starting lineup against the Lions next week.
LB Sio Moore, OAK (1 solo)
Moore was on the injury list with a hip injury last week and was considered a game-time decision. He tried to play through it and played all but one snap in the game, but didn’t appear to be the same player as he wound up with just a single solo stop. Be careful with him next week and keep an eye on the practice reports during the week to see how he’s doing.
LB Emmanuel Lamur, CIN (2 solos, 2 asst)
Lamur has been a pleasant surprise for the Bengals this year as they’ve been forced to play without Vontaze Burfict often. However, he appears to be seeing a drop in his level of play and his snap count as Vincent Rey has emerged as an everydown option. If Burfict does return, that could push Lamur down even further.
LB Bruce Carter, DAL (1 solo)
The Cowboys have been phasing Carter out in recent weeks as he doesn’t tend to play in passing situations, and that was taken to a new extreme on Thursday night against the Bears. He was only on the field for about a third of the game and that might happen again next week with a game in Philadelphia. Looks like Carter is the odd man out for now unless there’s another injury.
LB Tamba Hali, KC (3 solos)
Hali has averaged double digit sacks for the past 5 seasons, but it doesn’t look like he’ll get close this year. Despite having the league’s leading sack artist opposite him, Hali has just 5 sacks in 13 games this year and only 1 in his last 7 games. Tough to rely on him next week even with a matchup against the Raiders.
LB Donald Butler, SD (1 solo, 3 asst)
Butler has been a disappointment this year, but also appears to be playing through an injury. The Chargers are using a full rotation at both inside linebacker spots, which is keeping the fantasy value down for all of them. Looks like we’ll need to wait until next year for Butler to try and get back to the previous levels we’ve seen from him.
S Rashad Johnson, ARI (0 tackles)
This was one of the weirder stat lines in the league this week as Johnson was shut out completely despite producing like a top-5 safety in most scoring systems all year. He received a full workload and was credited with a forced fumble and fumble recovery that was overturned by instant replay, but it looks like just an unlucky game overall where he just wasn’t around the ball very much.
S Kam Chancellor, SEA (1 solo, 1 asst, 1 PD)
The Seattle defense is getting back to their dominating selves of late, but Chancellor’s numbers have seen a big dropoff in recent weeks. When the defense is capable of getting off the field on third downs and controlling the ball on offense, that won’t leave many opportunities for him and the front seven is also playing very well. That has left him with just 3 solos and 3 assists with 2 passes defensed in the past two games. Next week’s matchup against the 49ers doesn’t appear very favorable either.
CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson, TEN (1 asst)
Wreh-Wilson has been extremely productive this year as he’s been an easy target for opposing quarterbacks. Unfortunately, he suffered a separated shoulder this week that knocked him out of the game early. Initial reports suggested that he could be headed to injured reserve, and the Titans figure to move forward with Coty Sensabaugh in his place.
CB Brent Grimes, MIA (2 solos, 1 asst, 1 PD)
Grimes is the rare cornerback who plays well on the field while also putting up strong numbers for fantasy owners. His numbers have taken a noticeable drop of late, however, and he’s no longer producing like a reliable starter. He posted 4 interceptions in a 3-game stretch during the middle of the season, but has now gone 4 games without one and has just 10 solos with 3 assists in that span. It looks like QBs are avoiding his side of the field for the most part, and that has limited his opportunities to make an impact.