RADIO
Another week, another injury to Colts LB Shaq Leonard. Now it’s his neck. He is meeting with neck surgeons, and he’ll probably not return. So Bobby Okereke is a safe starting linebacker the rest of the season.
On the positive side of injury news, Steelers edge LB T.J. Watt is back on the field. But is he back? He only made four combined tackles and no sacks or impact plays in Pittsburgh’s win over New Orleans, but let’s give him some time.
Last week, Joseph Kerby was my top waiver wire add. He made five solo tackles and two assists, a fair 8.4 point game in Rotoballer Standard IDP scoring, even though he didn’t come up with a pick. Now, who will be the breakout additions this week?
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Justin Houston, LB/DL, Baltimore Ravens
Rostered in ~30% of MFL Leagues
It’s a shame Houston missed Weeks 4 through 7. If he could play a full season, he could compete for a sack title. Every single week he has played a whole game he has made a sack. In fact, in his past three games, since returning from injury, he has made 2.0 or more sacks each game. This, at age 33, isn’t so much a breakout as a rewind.
Leonard Williams, DT, New York Giants
Rostered in ~53% of MFL Leagues
Williams has made five solo tackles and three or more assists in each of his last two games. He is playing about 90% of the snaps. He has also made 1.5 sacks. So Williams is a good add for sack-heavy scoring systems and tackle-heavy scoring systems.
Jeff Okudah, CB, Detroit Lions
Rostered in ~45% of MFL Leagues
Okudah continues his boom-or-bust season. If it’s not 15 combined tackles, like he did in Week 7, it’s 10 tackles and a pass defense. Against the Bears, it was an interception returned for a touchdown. He has had some games where he hasn’t done much of anything, but he has quietly risen to CB5 in the IDP Guys Invitational.
Patrick Peterson, CB, Minnesota Vikings
Rostered in ~13% of MFL Leagues
Peterson picked off Josh Allen twice to help the Vikings defeat the Bills and take the #1 seed in the NFC. He has played every single defensive snap. In addition to three interceptions, he also has made 12 pass breakups and 34 combined tackles. His pass breakups have come in clumps: two in some games, three in others, and none in four games. Take Peterson as a boom-or-bust player.
J.J. Watt, DL, Arizona Cardinals
Rostered in ~50% of MFL Leagues
Is the Watt of 2018 back? He made five hits on opposing QB Matthew Stafford this past Sunday. That comes two weeks after he put four hits on Vikings QB Christian Kirk. He registered 3.0 sacks in those games. He doesn’t put up high tackle numbers — never more than three combined in a game. But he has consistent potential to make a sack: he has done so in five of the nine games he has played.
Damar Hamlin, S, Buffalo Bills
Rostered in ~53% of MFL Leagues
Since Week 3, Hamilin has been an almost-every snap starter. He has made eight solo tackles in each of the past two weeks and ten-plus combined tackles in each of the past three. Adding a sack every so often, he could make a contribution in leagues that start multiple safeties.
Roberts Elandon, LB, Miami Dolphins
Rostered in ~30% of MFL Leagues
Over the past three games, Elandon has only missed one tackle and made 25 tackles. His PFF tackle grade in each of those games has been over 70. Overall, he has scored double-digit fantasy points in three of the past five games.
Sione Takitaki, LB, Cleveland Browns
Rostered in ~16% of MFL Leagues
In the past two games, Takitaki has made double-digit tackles. He has stepped up with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah out with an injury (knee). Owusu-Koramoah returned to practice on Friday, so he could be back for Week 11. Takitaki’s snap count could go down from the 90% it was in Owusu-Koramoah’s absence to between 50% and 80%, but he could still put up 4-8 combined tackles and a TFL or QB hit each game with that volume.
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