RADIO
If you faced Josh Allen (362 yards, four totals touchdowns) or Jared Goff (494 yards, five touchdowns) this week, or worse, both, then you might not be interested in reading this column, as you probably don’t have anything to play for in Week 16.
That is unless you started Derek Stingley (two interceptions), T.J. Watt (seven tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble), and Nik Bonitto (a sack and a defensive touchdown) in your IDP spots.
In this Week 16 IDP waiver wire column, I present you with a dozen defensive linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs to get you through your playoff push.
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Waiver Wire Adds at Linebacker for Week 16
Edgerrin Cooper, ILB, Green Bay Packers
Rostered in 55% of Sleeper IDP Leagues
Rookie linebackers usually don’t make an impact, but the Packers’ second-round draft pick, Edgerrin Cooper, has. Since Week 5, Cooper has been routinely playing over 30 snaps a game. In Week 11, he hit a career-high 51 snaps against the Chicago Bears and tied his career-high with seven tackles.
Unfortunately, he missed the next three games with a hamstring injury, but he came back just when his team needed him. In Week 15, with the Packers facing a tough matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, Quay Walker went down with an ankle injury and didn’t return.
COOOOOOOOOP!#ProBowlVote + #EdgerrinCooper pic.twitter.com/NCIo7ur5Sf
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 16, 2024
Cooper stepped up and made five tackles, a sack, and an interception. Cooper, who has an 85.4 PFF pass-rushing grade this season, should fill the Walker role and see an increase in pass-rush snaps as long as Walker is out.
Micah McFadden, ILB, New York Giants
Rostered in 43% of Sleeper IDP Leagues
Micah McFadden is a boom-bust tackle machine. In Week 15, he made 11 tackles and a sack against the Baltimore Ravens. He’s made 11 tackles in three of the past four games, but he made four tackles in the other game. He’s prone to down weeks like that.
On the season, he ranks No. 26 with 102 combined tackles, 57 of which were solo tackles, putting him in a tier that includes Logan Wilson, T.J. Edwards, and Lavonte David. He’s a fringe starter in leagues that start two linebackers and a routine starter in leagues that start three or more.
Kyzir White, ILB, Arizona Cardinals
Rostered in 24% of Sleeper IDP Leagues
Kyzir White made over 11 tackles for the second straight week. He has made 25 tackles in the past two games and stands at No. 17 on the league leaderboard with 111 combined tackles. White has rushed the passer 91 times, about three times as many blitzes as McFadden has, but his sack rate and pressure rate are significantly lower.
Dee Winters, ILB, San Francisco 49ers
Rostered in >0% of Sleeper IDP Leagues
Dee Winters has been playing more snaps as the season has gone on, and the Niners’ linebacker room has been shaken up. He’s still not producing huge numbers, and his role in the lineup is not solidified, so he’s only a speculative deep league add.
But if Dre Greenlaw misses more time, Winters will be on the field more. Greenlaw returned this past week from the Achilles injury he suffered during the Super Bowl. But he missed most of the second half of the Niners’ loss to the Rams. Afterward, he said he was just feeling sore and was being extra cautious in his first game back.
De’Vondre Campbell refused to take the field and went to the locker room early, effectively ending his career as a Niner and probably as a football player anywhere. Fred Warner has continued to play despite fracturing his ankle, but he might rest in Week 17 or 18 if the 49ers are eliminated from the playoffs.
Waiver Wire Adds at Defensive Line for Week 16
Nik Bonitto, EDGE, Denver Broncos
Rostered in 52% of Leagues
Nik Bonitto continues to make a case for Defensive Player of the Year. With half a sack against the Indianapolis Colts, the third-year outside linebacker from Oklahoma extended his sack streak to five games and 11 of the past 12.
Broncos LB Nik Bonitto is first player to have 10-plus sacks, multiple TDs in single season since DPOY J.J. Watt in 2014https://t.co/mWHl2d6BMA pic.twitter.com/ojrCGvdUOT
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) December 16, 2024
Even better, he caught Adonai Mitchell’s ill-fated pass across the field back to Anthony Richardson and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown, a play that was scored as a forced and recovered fumble. That’s now two straight games with a defensive touchdown.
Chop Robinson, EDGE, Miami Dolphins
Rostered in 7% of Leagues
Chop Robinson has been a late entrant into the race for Defensive Rookie of the Year. With 1.5 sacks in Miami's loss to the Houston Texans, the Penn State product is up to five on the year, ahead of Jared Verse and tied with Jonah Elliss for first among rookies.
Jonah Elliss, EDGE, Denver Broncos
Rostered in >0% of Leagues
Jonah Elliss, a third-round rookie, has been overshadowed by other members of his draft class and other members of his team’s strong defensive line, but he is tied for the rookie lead in sacks. His streak of three straight weeks with a sack came to an end in Week 15, but he has a matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15.
He doesn’t play enough snaps to be relevant in tackle-heavy scoring formats.
Joseph Ossai, EDGE, Cincinnati Bengals
Rostered in 7% of Leagues
Joseph Ossai, a fourth-year veteran, has finally emerged as someone who can help Trey Hendrickson create pressure on the Bengals’ underperforming defensive line. He made a sack in three straight games before Week 15. Typically, he plays between 20 and 40 snaps and also makes a couple of tackles.
In Week 16, he has a favorable matchup against a Cleveland Browns team that has been leading the league in sacks allowed for most of the season and gave up five against the Kansas City Chiefs this past week.
Kingsley Enagbare, DE, Green Bay Packers
Rostered in 4% of Leagues
Kingsley Enagbare, a 2022 fifth-round pick, has been seeing increased playing time and production recently. In Weeks 11, 13, and 14, he was on the field for over 40 snaps. In two of the past three games, he has made a sack, and he has 4.5 sacks on the season. In deep leagues, buy the momentum.
Waiver Wire Adds at Safety and Cornerback for Week 16
Dane Belton, SS, New York Giants
Rostered in 1% of Leagues
Dane Belton’s snap share has exploded with all the injuries to the New York Giants backfield. When rookie starting safety Tyler Nubin got injured in Week 14, Belton had to step into the starting role against the Ravens, and he showed up. Belton made 14 tackles and a sack on 14 snaps in Week 15.
With Nubin placed on the IR and having undergone ankle surgery, Belton’s spot in the starting lineup is secured for the rest of the season.
Jordan Battle, S, Cincinnati Bengals
Rostered in 7% of Leagues
I highlighted Battle in Week 14 when he took over as the Bengals’ primary every-down safety. He continues to maintain his position atop the depth chart. He has played over 50 snaps for three straight weeks and hit a career-high 62 snaps last week in Cincinnati’s win over the Tennessee Titans.
Against the Titans, he made a career-high 10 tackles, and he has 20 tackles in the past three games. He would have scored a touchdown, too, on a fumble return, if it wasn’t for his sloppy ball handling that resulted in him fumbling it out the back of the end zone.
Derek Stingley, CB, Houston Texans
Rostered in 8% of Leagues
It's almost 2025 and NFL quarterbacks are still testing Derek Stingley Jr's ability to track the ball downfield pic.twitter.com/EW7rzBTQI6
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) December 16, 2024
Derek Stingley has hit his stride when it comes to making interceptions. He had good hands in college, making six interceptions, but as a rookie, he only made one pick. Then in his sophomore year, he made five interceptions and stepped up his overall coverage abilities.
This season, Stingley is up to five interceptions again, having made four since Week 11. Next week brings a matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, who will either be starting Patrick Mahomes or Carson Wentz, depending on the health of Mahomes’ ankle.
Mahomes has always been somewhat interception-prone, having thrown double-digit picks every year since 2021. While he started off this season throwing an interception in each of the first seven games, he hasn’t been picked off since Week 11.
Wentz threw nine interceptions on 276 pass attempts in his last period of extended play with the Commanders in 2022, a relatively low interception rate of 3.3%.
Tarheeb Still, CB, Los Angeles Chargers
Rostered in 1% of Leagues
Chargers rookie Tarheeb Still has been a starter since Week 4 and has played over 48 snaps every week since Week 6, hitting the 70-snap mark three times, including last week. He made six tackles and an interception last week, and he has four interceptions, including a pick-six, on the season.
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