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Mitchell's top Week 6 IDP waiver wire pickups, adds, fantasy football defensive streamers for 2025. Target these individual defensive players on Week 6 waivers.
Welcome back to our fantasy football IDP Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers for Week 6. The craziness continued in Week 5 of the NFL season -- the two last remaining undefeated teams lost, making this the earliest point in the season with no undefeateds since 2014.
Nik Bonitto (three sacks) led a ferocious Denver Broncos pass rush that sacked Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts six times. Three turnovers, including a red zone pick by Pats cornerback Marcus Jones, made the difference in the New England Patriots’ upset of the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football.
My waiver wire recommendation, Vikings LB Eric Wilson, had a good game, making nine tackles in Minnesota’s victory over the Cleveland Browns. Baltimore cornerback Keyon Martin made a career-high five tackles in the Ravens’ 10-44 loss to the Houston Texans. Now, here are ten defensive linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs to add off the waiver wire in Week 6.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Week 6 Waiver Wire Adds for Linebacker
Nate Landman, LB, Los Angeles Chargers - Rostered in 10% of Sleeper Leagues
In his first year as a full-time starter, Nate Landman is popping. He has made 41 tackles, the fifth most amongst linebackers, and he ranks as the LB7 in RotoBaller IDP Standard Scoring.
Rams LB Nate Landman had some strong moments in coverage vs. the 49ers.
Comes across the face of the TE on one and then helmet on ball on the other.
He's been such a crucial piece of this Rams defense. pic.twitter.com/WLyUIC6YA9
— Blaine Grisak 💭 (@bgrisakTST) October 3, 2025
His missed tackle rate is just 2.5%, and his PFF tackling grade is 86.1. His overall PFF grade of 76.0 is solid, too, and more than enough to solidify his starting job for the rest of the year and possibly beyond.
Demario Davis, LB, New Orleans Saints - Rostered in 48% of Leagues
With ten tackles in the Saints’ first victory of the year over the New York Giants, Davis had his third double-digit tackle game of the year and forced a fumble. Through five weeks, Davis is the LB23 in RotoBaller IDP Standard Scoring, which skews slightly big-play heavy, and he’s even higher in tackle-heavy formats.
Shaq Thompson, WLB, Buffalo Bills - Rostered in 0% of Leagues
Thompson could step in as the Bills’ No. 2 LB after injuries to Dorian Williams and Matt Milano. Williams missed Buffalo’s Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots with a knee injury, and Milano appears to have aggravated his pectoral injury.
Milano missed Weeks 3 and 4 with the pec injury. He returned and made six tackles against the Pats, but then he had to leave that game. Thompson finished with five tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble.
Thompson had been playing between 11 and 21 snaps when he was the LB3 behind Williams. If Williams and Milano both miss Week 6, Thompson could be in for 40 to 55 snaps.
Week 6 Waiver Wire Adds for Defensive Line
Josh Sweat, DE, Arizona Cardinals - Rostered in 9% of Leagues
Sweat set a career high with 8.0 sacks last season, his final in Philadelphia. It looks like he’s on his way to a new high in his first season as an Arizona Cardinal. His two-sack game against the Tennessee Titans marks his fourth straight game with a sack, putting him at five sacks on the year.
Derrick Barnes Jr., DL/LB, Detroit Lions - Rostered in 26% of Leagues
Barnes has been used uniquely both in the box and on the defensive line, which allows him to accumulate a whole lot of tackles. You’d be lucky to get a couple of tackles from some defensive linemen in IDP fantasy football.
But Barnes made six tackles and one sack in each of the first four games of the season. Then, in the Lions’ Week 5 win over the Bengals, Barnes made seven tackles and a sack.
Barnes alternated between playing defensive end and middle linebacker in his four years at Purdue before the Lions picked him in the fourth round. The Lions are using him in both spots. He has taken 116 snaps from the defensive line and 115 from the box.
Jeffery Simmons, DE, Tennessee Titans - Rostered in 8% of Leagues
After an eight-tackle, 1.5-sack game in the Titans’ victory over the Arizona Cardinals, Simmons has risen to the DL10 in RotoBaller Standard IDP Scoring.
His sack and tackle totals were both season highs, which are unsustainable, but Simmons could finish in the DL20-30 range in the long term. That would make him a fringe DL2 most weeks and a solid bye-week replacement.
Dorance Armstrong, DE, Washington Commanders - Rostered in 8% of Leagues
Armstrong has been a streaky IDP DE. In 2024, he had made sacks in three consecutive weeks, followed by a seven-week dry spell. In 2023, he made all but two of his sacks during a four-week stretch and then a three-week streak.
Dorance Armstrong with sack No. 2 today and 5th on the season in five games. Had five last regular season.
On the pass-rushing surge that began in January. https://t.co/RgTerg38KM pic.twitter.com/PzlvfAxlk0
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) October 5, 2025
Now Armstrong is in the midst of yet another stretch of productive play. In the first five weeks of the season, he has made five sacks. He did get blanked against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4, but he added a second sack against the Los Angeles Chargers this week to make up the difference.
Armstrong is a good gamble for day traders who like to buy the trend. He should be started in leagues that require three or more DL, and he is a possible short-term streamer in leagues with two DL.
Nick Herbig, LB/DL, Pittsburgh Steelers - Rostered in 10% of Leagues
Herbig would be a high-end starter on just about any team. He'll be a consistent starter for the Steelers, too, when T.J. Watt or Alex Highsmith leave. For now, his production is somewhat influenced by the injury status of Watt and Highsmith.
With Highsmith (ankle) having missed Weeks 3 and 4, Herbig stepped up and made 2.5 sacks in those games. After the Steelers' Week 5 bye, Highsmith's status heading into Week 6 is uncertain and will need to be monitored.
For now, Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin says Herbig will have a place on the field even if Highsmith returns. “We are not going to limit Nick Herbig,” he said, according to an article published in the Steel Curtain Network. Austin added, “I’ll be excited to get them all going."
Given that there are only two outside linebacker spots, and T.J. Watt will be on the field, it's not realistic to think Highsmith and Herbig will both be playing starter-level reps. But Herbig is good enough that, even if he sits some, he could still make impact plays. Furthermore, given the injury history of both Watt and Highsmith, it's a good idea to stash Herbig.
Week 6 Waiver Wire Adds for Cornerback and Safety
Tykee Smith, S, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Rostered in 52% of Leagues
Smith won't be available on your league’s waiver wire for much longer. He has solidified himself as a routine double-digit scoring IDP DB. Averaging 7.8 tackles per game and having made two impact plays, he offers stability in tackle-heavy leagues and upside for big-play leagues.
As a rookie last season, Smith made three forced fumbles and two interceptions while playing fewer snaps than he is now playing. He has yet to do so this season, so one can hope he has room for his production to grow.
Evan Williams, S, Green Bay Packers - Rostered in 16% of Leagues
A 2024 PFWA All-Rookie Team selection, Williams offers upside as a long-term play in addition to having a good matchup in Week 6 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Bengals QB Jake Browning attempted 40 passes in his Week 5 loss to the Detroit Lions. It was the Bengals’ best performance since Week 1. He threw three interceptions, increasing his total to eight on the year.
Williams is the best Packers defensive back you are likely to find on the waiver wire. Other Green Bay options to speculate on in the hopes of an interception include Keisean Nixon (rostered in 33% of leagues) and Xavier McKinney (66%).
Marcus Jones, CB/Punt Returner, New England Patriots - Rostered in 12% of Leagues
Before Travis Hunter, there was Marcus Jones. Jones scored touchdowns as a wide receiver, defensive back, and punt returner in 2023. He was the Nautical Blue Deion, the Taysom Hill of the defense. Then, he missed almost all of 2023 and played at an inconsistent volume in 2024.
Marcus Jones jumps to the ball to intercept Josh Allen!
NEvsBUF on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/vxawhPDKY0— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2025
But now, Jones is back in the starting lineup on defense and special teams, and he has scored his first touchdown since 2022! It’s time to annoy your league mates with defensive touchdowns from your DB.
Jones has played enough defensive snaps to create a low-end weekly floor with an average of 4.6 tackles per game. That’s not great, but when you add the likelihood that he will return a punt or an interception for a touchdown two or three or four times during the remainder of the season, he offers much more upside than a replacement-level DB.
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