UPGRADES
DE Malik Jackson, DEN (5 solos, 2 asst, 2 sacks, 1 PD)
Jackson is a 2012 5th round pick out of Tennessee who has been seeing steady time as part of a DL rotation for the Broncos this year. With starter Robert Ayers sitting out this week to rest a shoulder injury, however, Jackson received additional playing time and made a big impact in the game. He posted 7 tackles and a pair of sacks plus a pass deflection at the line. He’s now got 3 sacks in his last couple games and likely earned some additional playing time as a result.
DE Kyle Wilber, DAL (3 solos, 1 sack, 1 FF, 1 FR)
The Cowboys are already playing without Anthony Spencer at one DE spot and now it looks like they could be without another starter in DeMarcus Ware for a little while. Ware left Sunday night’s game early and Wilber came in to post some very solid numbers in over 50 snaps of playing time. He was originally drafted as an outside linebacker last year but didn’t get any playing time, so it’s surprising to see him making an impact at DE in the new 4-3 scheme. In any event, it looks like he will be counted on heavily over the next several weeks until Ware returns.
DE Corey Lemonier, SF (3 solos, 1 sack, 1 FF, 1 PD)
Lemonier has been filling in for Aldon Smith as the primary pass rush threat and doing a better job than most probably expected. Although he didn’t collect a sack until this week when he pulled down Carson Palmer in the end zone for a safety, he had been getting pretty consistent pressure on opposing QBs the past couple weeks. The rookie was a 3rd round pick out of Auburn and given the problems Smith has had, it looks like he should continue to be a key piece of the 49ers defense.
DT Jason Hatcher, DAL (5 solos, 1 asst, 2 sacks, 1 FF)
With all of the other starters going down around him on the defensive line, Hatcher has remained the one constant this year and he continues to enjoy the best season of his career. With 6 tackles, 2 sacks, and a forced fumble against Washington on Sunday night, Hatcher is now up to 5 sacks to make him one of the most productive fantasy defensive tackles in the league. Definitely keep him in your lineup next week against as Dallas travels to face Philadelphia.
DT Michael Brockers, STL (7 solos, 2 sacks)
The Rams defensive line has the pieces in place to be one of the best in the league, and last year’s #1 pick Brockers figures to be a key part of it. He got off to a bit of a slow start and may have even been cut loose by some impatient fantasy owners, but with his huge game against the Texans this week he’s posted 11 solo tackles and 3.5 sacks over his past 3 games. With the pass rushing talent the Rams have on the outside, it will be difficult for offenses to double team him so he should continue to develop into one of the better fantasy DTs in the league even if he’s not quite there yet.
OLB Alec Ogletree, STL (7 solos, 3 asst, 1 FF, 1 INT, 1 PD, 1 TD)
Kiko Alonso in Buffalo is pulling way ahead in the race for defensive rookie of the year with the numbers he has been putting up, but Ogletree may have closed the gap a bit this week. He continues to play just about every snap despite the return of Jo-Lonn Dunbar and he showed off his athleticism with a 98-yard interception return for a touchdown in a blowout win over the Texans this week. He’s averaging 6.5 solo tackles per game which puts him on pace for 100. His assist numbers are on the low side, but part of that is due to playing in front of a stat crew that is traditionally one of the stingiest with assists.
ILB A.J. Hawk, GB (8 solos, 2 asst, 3 sacks)
With the Packers missing Clay Matthews, there was some concern over how they were going to replace the pressure he generated on opposing QBs. Surprisingly, it was inside linebacker AJ Hawk that stepped up in his place contributing 3 sacks in a win over the Ravens. Even though Hawk hasn’t generally played in the team’s nickel packages due to concerns over his cover skills, the absence of Brad Jones gave him a full-time role this weekend. Given the other injuries for the Packers lately, we should probably expect a bump in his numbers going forward.
ILB Paul Posluszny, JAX (7 solos, 1 INT, 1 PD, 1 TD)
The biggest knock on Posluszny as a player and fantasy option has been a lack of big plays. Despite playing on the league’s worst team this year, however, he’s actually coming through with more big plays than usual. He had an impressive 59-yard interception return for a touchdown in Denver as the Jaguars gave the Broncos a scare. He’s already been credited with 7 passes defended on the year to go along with a sack and pair of interceptions. Given how many snaps the Jaguars defense figures to face each week, he’s a pretty safe LB1 option.
OLB Thomas Davis, CAR (8 solos, 1 asst, 2 sacks, 1 PD)
Even though Davis had clearly overtaken him at this point, the trade of Jon Beason to the Giants leaves little doubt that Davis will be a key 3-down linebacker for the Panthers as long as he can stay healthy. A remarkable story after recovering from multiple knee injuries, Davis continues to play well for the Panthers. His 2 sacks this week give him 3 on the year and he’s only played 5 games thus far so he could be headed for a great season.
OLB DeAndre Levy, DET (7 solos, 2 INT, 2 PD)
Levy doesn’t get a lot of press while playing in Detroit, but he has been one of the league’s better linebackers in coverage this year. He came through with one of the best plays of the weekend on a beautiful leaping interception and then put the game away with a second one later on. With 4 interceptions on the season, Levy is playing like a clear LB2 and deserves to be in your lineup each and every week, but especially when facing a pass-heavy offense.
ILB Jon Beason, NYG (11 solos, 1 asst)
After being acquired in a trade from Carolina, Beason was inserted into the starting lineup at MLB for the Giants this week and he played very well. He still doesn’t have the range he used to during his peak days with the Panthers, but he’s an instinctive player who can help strengthen the run defense for a team that needs all the help it can get right now. Beason looks like he’ll be an everydown player for the Giants and that could easily make him a good LB3 or better if the Giants defense continues to have troubles getting off the field.
S Michael Mitchell, CAR (6 solos, 1 asst, 1 sack, 2 INT, 2 PD)
The injuries to the Panthers secondary have created an opportunity for the former Raider to play an everydown role. He was a surprise pick for Oakland in the 2nd round back in 2009 but always looked like a player with high potential due to his aggressive nature and physical tackling style. He has been a very pleasant surprise the past couple weeks with 3 interceptions and a sack and looks like he might finally be reaching his potential. There was some concern that Quintin Mikell could take over for him but it was Mitchell who stayed at SS this week with Mikell lining up at FS.
S Da’Norris Searcy, BUF (13 solos, 3 asst, 1 sack)
The Bills secondary is starting to get healthy so there is a chance that Searcy could start losing some snaps soon, but the numbers he put up this week warrant an upgrade. There were a lot of missed tackles in the game, including some from Searcy himself, but that created a ton of tackle opportunities that helped him pile up 16 tackles and a sack. There remains a chance that the Bills could trade FS Jairus Byrd before the deadline, which could be enough to keep Searcy in the lineup long-term.
S Malcolm Jenkins, NO (3 solos, 5 asst, 1.5 sacks)
Despite coming into the game listed as questionable with a neck injury, Jenkins was able to play all 88 snaps in the game. His tackle numbers aren’t going to be great during most weeks but he is coming into his own as a playmaker this year. Through 6 games, he has picked up 2.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and an interception. The Saints have a bye next week, but he has what look to be some very favorable matchups coming up afterwards.
CB Marcus Cooper, KC (5 solos, 1 INT, 5 PD)
Cooper is a former WR who was converted to corner midway through his college career and the Chiefs scooped him up after the 49ers couldn’t find a spot for him on their roster after taking him in the 7th round. He got a surprise start this week with Brandon Flowers sitting out and came up with his second huge game in a row. After adding two interceptions in a win over the Titans last week, Cooper picked off a pass and was credited with 5 passes defensed this week as the Raiders kept testing him and he kept coming through. He has excellent size and ball skills and looks like a natural playmaker.
CB Jason McCourty, TEN (7 solos, 2 asst, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 TD)
McCourty has been one of the best fantasy corners in the league over the past couple seasons, but he was off to a slow start statistically this year. Part of that is likely due to his strong play in coverage but also the players around him seem to be doing a better job. He had a breakout game against the Seahawks this week, however, as he was credited with 9 tackles, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery that he returned 77 yards for a touchdown at the end of the first half to give his team the lead.
DOWNGRADES
DE J.J. Watt, HOU (0 tackles)
The Rams found a way to do something that few teams have been able to do, slow down J.J. Watt. The Rams were committed to blocking him and held him without a tackle for the first time since his rookie season. Even more impressive, the Rams were able to do this even though Watt was lining up all over the place in an attempt to get him free. He’ll try to rebound next week against the Chiefs but obviously has not been making as huge of an impact this year as he did a year ago.
DE Julius Peppers, CHI (0 tackles)
Unfortunately, the strong game that Peppers had in week 4 didn’t turn out to be a sign of good things to come as he went 2 straight games since then without recording a single stat of any type. It’s really starting to look like Peppers is just not the same player he used to be and that’s a huge loss for an aging Bears defense that has started to show leaks after opening up strong.
DE Charles Johnson, CAR (0 tackles)
Despite getting plenty of options to rush the passer in a blowout win over the Vikings, Johnson put up a goose egg on Sunday. That’s twice in a row that he failed to come through for fantasy owners despite favorable matchups. He did post a sack against Arizona last week but that looked like a disappointment considering all the pressure he put on Carson Palmer in that game.
DT Star Lotulelei, CAR (0 tackles)
Lotulelei has been garnering some attention as a possible rookie of the year candidate this year, but he has taken a step back the past couple games. He was held to just 2 tackles a week ago by Arizona and then got shut out this week in a win over Minnesota. The Panthers obviously have very high hopes for him, but it’s difficult for a young player at this position to be consistent week after week.
OLB Nick Perry (3 solos, 2 asst, 1 sack, 1 FF) and Mike Neal, GB (0 tackles)
Perry has started to emerge as a playmaker with 3 sacks the past two weeks, but the team found out on Monday morning that he suffered a broken foot in the game this weekend and will be out for a little while. Neal got the start for the Packers this week in place of the injured Clay Matthews and played over 50 snaps, but he failed to register even a single tackle. Obviously, the Packers will need more from Neal going forward but it remains to be seen how much he can contribute.
OLB Spencer Paysinger, NYG (2 solos)
Paysinger lost his spot as the starting MLB for the Giants to Jon Beason this week and his numbers took a big hit as a result. The move to WLB didn’t take away any playing time as he still managed to play the entire game, but he just wasn’t as involved and seemed to be a step behind Beason on most of the Bears running plays. If Beason can hold up, he provides an upgrade inside and that could leave fewer plays for Paysinger to clean up.
ILB D.J. Williams, CHI (2 solos)
Williams suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the Thursday night game against the Giants and will be lost for the season. It’s not necessarily a huge loss as the Bears will likely turn to their rookie Jon Bostic, who could add a spark and some youthful speed to the Bears defense. Don’t look for Bostic to play a 3-down role though as Lance Briggs and James Anderson figure to be much more reliable in coverage.
S Ryan Mundy, NYG (1 solo, 1 asst)
Mundy has been a nice find for fantasy owners this year as he stepped in for the injured Stevie Brown and provided pretty steady production for the first few weeks of the year. Over the past three games, however, he’s posted a couple of clunkers that have raised some doubts about his fantasy value. The Bears haven’t been a great matchup for safeties as they like to spread the ball around and use their outside receivers, but the addition of Beason at MLB also figures to limit the tackle opportunities for Mundy from what he had been seeing.
S Aaron Williams, BUF (1 solo, 1 asst, 1 PD)
Williams is a tough player to figure out right now as he began the year looking great following a move to safety. When the Bills started to lose all their corners to injury, however, they were forced to move him back outside. Now that they are starting to get healthy with the return of Stephon Gilmore and Leodis McKelvin, there is a chance they could move him back to strong safety to pair up with Jairus Byrd or possibly use him as a nickel corner. Either way, he’s probably not startable until we get a better sense of how the Bills plan to use him.
CB Brandon Browner, SEA (3 solos)
Browner was victimized by the Titans early in the game and was benched for awhile as the coaches decided to give him a break. Walter Thurmond took his place in the base defense and Byron Maxwell came in as the team’s slot corner. Things haven’t really gone as well for Browner this year as we’ve come to expect with no interceptions in 4 games and some generally underwhelming tackle numbers. Playing opposite Richard Sherman should create plenty of chances, but it looks like he’s not living up to expectations so far.
