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Mitch Blatt's top IDP waiver wire adds and defensive streamers for Week 12 of the 2023 fantasy football season. These LB, DL, and DB have matchups worth exploiting.
If you took my advice in Week 2 and added Dallas Cowboys CB DaRon Bland to your IDP team, you would have enjoyed 23 fantasy points this week as he made yet another pick-six, his fourth of the season.
Bland is still only rostered in 13% of Sleeper leagues. If you're not rostering and starting him, what are you waiting for? Add DaRon Bland if he's available. I've said enough about him before. There are a lot of other great guys you might not have heard of.
I will present 11 DBs, LBs, and DLs to add if you are in need of help on the defensive side of the ball.
Editor's Note: Stay competitive in IDP fantasy football leagues with RotoBaller’s IDP rankings, sleepers, and waiver wire pickups for individual defensive players.
IDP Adds for Shallow Leagues
Brian Cashman, LB, HOU
Cashman moved to inside linebacker, where Denzel Perryman usually plays, and he finished with an astonishing 19 combined tackles, one of which was a sack. Cashman has been productive in the past at strong side linebacker. He made 15 tackles in Week 6 and 10 in Week 9. But if his monster output in Week 11 was due to his being in the middle, there's a chance he'll be able to do it again in Week 12. Perryman (suspension) will also miss Week 12, and Henry To'oTo'o is still not out of concussion protocol.
Khalil Mack, EDGE, LAC
Mack made two sacks and forced a fumble in the Chargers' loss to the Packers. It was his second game in the past three weeks with two sacks and a forced fumble. Mack's sacks have been coming in pairs.
He made six in Week 4. Much like Taysom Hill, if you plug him into your lineup every week, you are bound to get a lot of league-winning weeks. You also have to deal with the one-tackle games that come with it.
Elandon Roberts, LB, PIT
The Steelers inside linebackers are never as good or sexy as their outside linebackers. But Elandon Roberts has been productive all season long, and he's been putting up huge numbers in recent weeks now that Kwon Alexander (Achilles) is missing games on IR. In Week 10, he played 65 snaps, twice as many as he usually plays, and made eight combined tackles. This week, he made 15 whole combined tackles.
Prior to Alexander going down, Roberts was averaging six tackles a game, which is not bad but not starter-worthy in leagues of six or fewer IDPs. Now that Alexander is out for essentially the rest of the season, Roberts is a potential starter, albeit not a must-start.
Ivan Pace Jr., LB, MIN
Pace came up big on Sunday night against the Broncos, making nine tackles and forcing a fumble. He has played the vast majority of the Vikings' snaps in recent weeks as Brian Asamoah (ankle) has missed four straight weeks.
In Week 12, Pace has a good matchup against the Chicago Bears. Run-heavy offenses like the Bears usually result in linebackers being involved in many tackles. That was the case in Week 11, as the Bears' opposing linebackers, the Lions' Alex Anzalone and Jack Campbell, racked up 15 and nine tackles respectively.
Kerby Joseph, S, DET
The Lions' second-year safety made two interceptions in his past two games before a disappointing game against the Chicago Bears last week. Justin Fields only threw 23 passes against the Lions, so Joseph didn't have many opportunities to make plays on the ball or to make tackles after deep completions.
But the Packers, whom the Lions face next week, throw the ball more frequently than the Bears. Jordan Love has attempted 40 passes in each of the past two games, and he has thrown 10 interceptions this season. Joseph is rostered in 12% of Sleeper leagues.
Another Lions defensive back who is good at playing the football is cornerback Jerry Jacobs, who made two interceptions the last time the Lions played the Packers and three on the season.
Jalen Ramsey, CB, MIA
Jalen Ramsey has shown off his elite ball skills in zone coverage this year. Since returning in Week 8, Ramsey has picked off three passes in three games. Against the Raiders, he went sky-high to make the game-sealing pick. He's available in 73% of Sleeper leagues.
IDP Adds for Deep Leagues
Cody Barton, LB, WAS
Barton has missed the past four games with an ankle injury while sitting on IR. He has now been designated to return and must be back within the next three weeks. The Commanders' middle linebackers have been making a lot of tackles. Barton made 60 tackles in his first six games, including three weeks with double-digit tackles.
Anthony Barr, LB, MIN
With Jordan Hicks (shin) on IR, the Vikings added Anthony Barr, who had played for them from 2014 until 2021 before playing last year with the Cowboys.
Barr had produced multiple 70-tackle seasons and made the Pro Bowl for four straight years from 2015 until 2018. He played 12 snaps and made one tackle in his debut, the loss to the Vikings. His only competition for snaps is Troy Dye, who hasn't played more than 10% of the team's defensive snaps in the past three years.
Casey Toohill, DE, WAS
Since the Commanders traded away both of their defensive linemen, Toohill has become the starter and has gotten more snaps. His snap count increased from 21% in Week 8 to 66% or higher every game since. Toohill made one sack last week, and he has made five sacks all season.
Reed Blankenship, S, PHI
Blankenship has made seven or eight tackles in each of his past three games, in addition to having an interception and a fumble recovery. He is a capable starter with added streaming potential against the Bills next week. Opposing safeties are scoring a lot of points against the aggressive Buffalo Bills offense. The Bills are the ninth-most favorable matchup for safeties, according to My Fantasy League.
Roger McCreary, CB, TEN
McCreary is an interception play against the Carolina Panthers' Bryce Young, who has thrown eight interceptions this season. Young threw a pick-six last week, and he has thrown four interceptions in the past three games, three of which were returned for touchdowns.
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