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Mitchell's top Week 10 IDP waiver wire pickups, adds, fantasy football defensive streamers for 2025. Target these individual defensive players on Week 10 waivers.
Welcome back to our fantasy football IDP Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers for Week 10. I know it might be hard to believe, but the Cincinnati Bengals do have a defense, and some of their players are quite good for IDP fantasy football.
A strong offense plus a terrible defense means both teams will be trading scores and running a lot of plays. For the second straight week, the Bengals' opponent ran 70 or more plays. The adage “volume is king” applies to IDP fantasy football, too.
So with that in mind, take a look at my 11 recommended additions at linebacker, defensive back, and defensive line for Week 10.
Editor's Note: Stay competitive in IDP fantasy football leagues with RotoBaller’s IDP rankings, sleepers, and waiver wire pickups for individual defensive players.
Week 10 Waiver Wire Adds for Linebacker
Barrett Carter, MLB, Cincinnati Bengals - Rostered in 33% of Leagues
Carter, a fourth-round rookie from Clemson, took over as Cincinnati’s every-down linebacker in Week 6. I know it’s ugly to put a Bengals player on a list of defenders to add, but hear me out.
"I can look back at this time of adversity and be able to tell my kids how to work through adversity like this."
The Bengals are starting rookie Barrett Carter at LB, over veteran Logan Wilson.
Logan said he put his arm around Carter & said:
"There's gonna be no hard feelings… pic.twitter.com/pA7g7Op9UB— Caleb Noe (@CalebNoeTV) October 14, 2025
Carter made double-digit tackles in three out of his first four starts for a total of 40 combined in that time frame. In the Bengals’ humiliating 47-42 loss to the Chicago Bears, the Bears ran 76 total plays, and Carter made a tackle on 10 of them. With their shoddy defense, the Bengals are allowing opponents to run 66.7 plays per game, the second most in the league.
Carter only has a 46.5 PFF grade, but as long as he’s on the field for 33 and a quarter minutes a game (second-worst time of possession), facing teams that have to play quickly to keep up with the Bengals offense, he’s going to produce based on volume.
Dre Greenlaw, LB, Denver Broncos - Rostered in 36% of Sleeper Leagues
Greenlaw remains underrostered due to his injury history. A torn Achilles tendon he suffered at the end of the 2023 season caused Greenlaw to miss all but two games in 2024. Then, he missed the first six games of 2025 with a preseason quad injury.
When he finally saw the field again in Week 7, he got into a confrontation with a referee at the conclusion of the Broncos’ comeback victory over the Giants that resulted in him being suspended for one game.
But the last time Greenlaw was healthy for the long term, he was extremely productive. In both 2022 and 2023, Greenlaw made 120-plus tackles, and he forced two fumbles in 2022. In Week 9, he made eight tackles and a sack in his return.
JD Bertrand, ILB, Atlanta Falcons - Rostered in 7% of Leagues
Bertrand, a second-year player out of Notre Dame, ascended to the role of No. 2 linebacker with the injury to Divine Deablo (forearm), who was placed on the IR in Week 8. He has been on the field for almost all of Atlanta’s nickel defense snaps, and he has made 25 tackles in his first three games.
Mohamoud Diabate, MLB, Cleveland Browns - Rostered in 7% of Leagues
Diabate took over as Green Dot linebacker when Carson Schwesinger left in Week 8 with a high-ankle sprain. Schwesinger is listed as “week-to-week,” and high-ankle sprains usually take longer than two weeks to heal, so Diabate has a good chance to start in Week 10.
Week 10 Waiver Wire Adds for Defensive Line
George Karlaftis, EDGE, Kansas City Chiefs - Rostered in 51% of Leagues
The 2022 first-round pick has made strides each season. His PFF defensive grade and pass rush have risen significantly every year. Now, he’s into green territory with a 78.9 PFF grade. Since Week 2, he has the seventh-best pass-rush grade in the league for players with over 180 snaps.
George Karlaftis had a great showing last night, even if everything didn't show up in the box score. He recognizes the jump set and attacks inside, but watch how he uses the long arm to keep Mariota in the pocket for a second before closing. Very smart play pic.twitter.com/tNVm6CjG6j
— Daniel Harms (@InHarmsWay19) October 28, 2025
In the AFC Championship rematch in which the Chiefs came up short against the Bills, Karlaftis made six tackles and half a sack. It was his second straight game getting to the opposing quarterback. Karlaftis is on bye in Week 10, but he’s a good stash for after the bye.
YaYa Diaby, DL/LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Rostered in 43% of Leagues
Diaby made 3.0 sacks in Weeks 6 and 7, and that would be four sacks if you score half sacks as full sacks. In Week 7, he also made five tackles and forced a fumble. He was on bye in Week 9, and he comes back to face Drake Maye and the Patriots.
The Pats have been giving up a lot of sacks lately. They allowed six to the Falcons in Week 9 and six to the Browns the week before.
K'Lavon Chaisson, DL/LB, New England Patriots - Rostered in 10% of Leagues
Continuing his breakout season, Chaisson added one sack and one forced fumble in Week 9 against the Atlanta Falcons. It was his second game in the past three with a sack and his second with a fumble forced or recovered. Since Week 5, Chaisson has made 10 pressures, tying him for the fifth most in the league during that span.
Week 10 Waiver Wire Adds for Cornerback and Safety
Jordan Battle, S, Cincinnati Bengals - Rostered in 60% of Leagues
Battle is another product of the Bengals’ high defensive volume. While he has not played well, having missed 16.7% of the tackles he has attempted, including one on the Bears’ final drive that resulted in a touchdown instead of a field-goal attempt, he has made 68 tackles on the season.
Kevin Byard III, S, Chicago Bears - Rostered in 31% of Leagues
Byard is tied for the league lead with four interceptions, and he has matchups coming up with young quarterbacks Jaxson Dart and J.J. McCarthy.
Bullshit call. Wipes away Kevin Byard interception pic.twitter.com/nfu5B3Rpk5
— Dave (@dave_bfr) November 2, 2025
Byard’s interception totals have fluctuated; he made a single interception in both 2023 and 2024. But he has shown the ability to hit high interception totals before. This is his sixth season with four or more interceptions, and he could end up meeting or exceeding his eight interceptions in 2017.
Being on the field for nearly every snap, he also racks up tackles, with five or more takedowns in six of his eight games.
Jamel Dean, CB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Rostered in 3% of Leagues
Dean and the Bucs were on a bye in Week 9, but he remains one of the top five scoring defensive backs in IDP fantasy football.
His tackle numbers remain relatively high, but where he is really excelling this year is in making impact plays. His three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and one sack are all career highs.
Cole Bishop, S, Buffalo Bills - Rostered in 3% of Leagues
Bishop has made six or seven tackles in each of his past three games, and now he has an exciting matchup against the Miami Dolphins and their shaky quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa is leading the NFL with 11 interceptions thrown. This is his third season with double-digit picks, and he’s putting up by far his worst interception percentage in a season. Bishop made five tackles in the Bills’ Week 3 win over the Dolphins. Tagovailoa threw a pick to Bills LB Terrel Bernard.
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