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Mitchell's top Week 12 IDP waiver wire pickups, adds, fantasy football defensive streamers for 2025. Target these individual defensive players on Week 12 waivers.
Welcome back to our fantasy football IDP Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers for Week 12. We will watch to see if Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett can make history. After four sacks against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11, Garrett is on pace for 25.5 sacks on the season. He could break the single-season sack record of 22.5 that is shared by T.J. Watt and Michael Strahan.
Denver cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian also had a big game this week, making six tackles, two sacks, and an interception in the Broncos’ big win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Atlanta safety Ronnie Harrison Jr. made 10 tackles and a sack in the Falcons’ overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers.
With that said, take a look at these 11 linebackers, defensive linemen, cornerbacks, and safeties who would make good additions for Week 11 and in the future.
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Week 12 Waiver Wire Adds for Linebacker
Devin White, MLB, Las Vegas Raiders - Rostered in 34% of Sleeper IDP Leagues
White has made 87 tackles in nine games, with a Monday Night Football matchup against the Dallas Cowboys yet to be played. At this pace, he’ll exceed 160 tackles for the season.
He has had some of his biggest games against run-heavy teams. In three matchups against teams currently ranking in the top eight for rushing attempts per game, he has averaged 12.0 tackles. With the fantasy playoffs coming up, I am looking ahead to White’s Week 15 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles and his Week 17 matchup against the New York Giants. Both are top-6 teams in rushing volume.
Cody Simon, MLB, Arizona Cardinals - Rostered in 12% of Leagues
Fourth-round pick Simon has become the Arizona Cardinals’ green dot linebacker following the rib injury to Mack Wilson Sr. Wilson was only added to the injured reserve in Week 11, meaning that he won’t be back until Week 15 at the earliest.
In his place, Simon has made 20 tackles in three games, including 12 this week against the 49ers and 18 in the past two weeks. Next week, Simon and the Cardinals face the Jacksonville Jaguars, who average 29.5 rushing attempts per game, the fourth-most in the league, making Week 12 a good opportunity for Simon to rack up stops.
Barrett Carter, MLB, Cincinnati Bengals - Rostered in 38% of Leagues
Rookie Carter has been one of the highest-volume tackling linebackers since taking over for Logan Wilson. He made double-digit tackles three times. He has an underwhelming game against the Pittsburgh Steelers this week, making just four tackles.
He has typically performed better against teams that run the ball a lot, and the Steelers rank in the bottom quarter of the league in rush attempts per game. With matchups coming up in the next three weeks against the Patriots and Bills, two teams that rank in the top eight for rushing volume, Carter could have some better games.
Week 12 Waiver Wire Adds for Defensive Line
George Karlaftis, DL, Kansas City Chiefs - Rostered in 17% of Leagues
Karlaftis was unable to get to the Broncos' quarterback in Kansas City's loss to the Broncos. Before this game, however, he made at least half a sack in five of the previous seven games. Next week, he faces the Indianapolis Colts, whose quarterback, Daniel Jones, has been sacked 15 times in his past three games.
Myles Murphy, DL/LB, Cincinnati Bengals - Rostered in 9% of Leagues
Murphy has not lived up to his first-round draft capital after being selected No. 28 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. Misses like him are one reason for the Bengals’ consistently poor quality defensive play. In his first two seasons, the former Clemson Tiger only made three sacks and was relegated to a backup role.
Myles Murphy with his most active game in his career already pic.twitter.com/MlACqppU8a
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) November 16, 2025
Now with Trey Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart missing extended time, Murphy has been thrown into the starting lineup. Since Week 7, he has had over 40 snaps and sometimes over 50 in each game.
This week, he and B.J. Hill got to Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the second quarter for an 11-yard sack. Preliminary statistics credit Murphy with 1.0 sacks in the game, along with seven total tackles. He made six tackles in his previous game.
With Stewart on the injured reserve, Murphy will be a key player for the Bengals for at least the next three games. Hendrickson’s timetable is uncertain. He has missed three weeks, and the Bengals haven’t placed him on the IR but might be forced to. A recent report from the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport suggests that Hendrickson might require offseason surgery.
Cory Durden, DL, New England Patriots - Rostered in 0% of Leagues
Durden has been on the field for over 30 snaps in each of the past two games, and he figures to see even more playing time with Milton Williams suffering a high-ankle sprain in the Pats’ Thursday Night Football win over the Jets. Williams was placed on the IR, which effectively causes him to miss most of the rest of the fantasy football season.
Rated variously as a three or four-star recruit out of high school, Durden had an underwhelming collegiate career, which included five years split between Florida State and NC State, before entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent and bouncing around between practice squads.
He has only made 25 tackles and no sacks or impact plays in his three years. He is not a priority waiver wire add, but he is in line to get starter-level playing time. You should add him to deeper leagues where there are no other few starters available on the waiver wire.
Derrick Barnes, LB/DL, Detroit Lions - Rostered in 12% of Leagues
Barnes carries defensive line eligibility in Sleeper, but he plays about 45% of his snaps lined up in the box. This unique alignment allows him to make more tackles than most defensive linemen.
In general, box linebackers will make more tackles, but outside linebackers rushing from the defensive line will get more sacks. Barnes has a good balance of both with 49 tackles and four sacks this season.
Week 12 Waiver Wire Adds for Cornerback and Safety
Xavier Watts, S, Atlanta Falcons - Rostered in 38% of Leagues
Watts had a disappointing game against the Carolina Panthers, making just two tackles, a career low. Still, even with that poor performance, the rookie has made 57 tackles in 10 games.
Xavier Watts' tackling needs some refinement, but this right here is how you run fit. The Falcons rookie safety continues to make plays for this defense pic.twitter.com/6rK4mTc1TF
— Tre’Shon (@tre3shon) October 15, 2025
The Falcons traded up to pick him late in the third round, and he has lived up to the hype. PFF has Watts graded as the third-best safety in the 2025 draft class.
RJ Mickens, S, Los Angeles Chargers - Rostered in 3% of Leagues
Another rookie safety who has been playing well is Mickens of the Chargers. Mickens was drafted in the sixth round and didn’t take the field until Week 6 against the Miami Dolphins.
Since then, he has played 30 or more snaps in each of the last six games and is averaging 3.333 tackles per game. He has also made two interceptions in the past four games.
Isaiah Pola-Mao, S, Las Vegas Raiders - Rostered in 8% of Leagues
The nephew of Troy Polamalu, Pola-Mao, is continuing his breakout from last season. He has made 51 tackles, three pass breakups, and two interceptions in nine games.
In Week 12, the Raiders face the Cleveland Browns. If Dillon Gabriel doesn’t clear concussion protocol, Shedeur Sanders will start. Sanders looked terrible in relief for Gabriel this week, as he completed 4-of-16 passes for an interception. He also fumbled once, but the Browns didn’t lose the ball. Pola-Mao could make some valuable impact plays against the Browns.
Deommodore Lenoir, CB, San Francisco 49ers - Rostered in 4% of Leagues
Lenoir ranks in the top five of all defensive backs for snaps this season, and he got a lot of them this week against the Arizona Cardinals. As Arizona QB Jacoby Brissett racked up 57 passing attempts, Lenoir racked up seven tackles and an interception, his second pick in four games.
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