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IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 12

Injuries (and Suspension) Present Opportunities

This list of IDP waiver wire pickups is sorted by position, and then by priorty.

Of course, IDP leagues vary widely by depth, scoring rules, and lineup settings. So to get the best measure of who to pick up in your league, check your Free Agent Finder.

It's the best fantasy football waiver wire assistant you'll find.

Brian Burns, Edge, Carolina Panthers

If you play in a shallower IDP league, Burns might well have been dropped at some point. He sits outside the top 50 D-linemen in fantasy points per game and has 0 sacks over the past three weeks, a span that included a game lost to injury.

But Burns posted an encouraging 3 QB hits among 5 total pressures in Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys. The later marked a season high.

Burns’ team might not have much hope for the rest of 2023, but he’s playing for a new contract. So the 25-year-old shouldn’t lack motivation. More importantly, his schedule looks favorable.

Here are his six matchups remaining on the fantasy schedule, with their rankings in Aaron Schatz’s adjusted sack rate:

• Titans (30th)
• Buccaneers (ninth)
• Saints (20th)
• Falcons (25th)
• Packers (18th)
• Jaguars (17th)

Tuli Tuipulotu, Edge, Los Angeles Chargers

Tuipulotu enjoyed a big playing-time boost earlier this season when Joey Bosa was dealing with injuries. He took advantage, delivering tackles for loss in each of the first four games and tallying 5 QB hits over that span. 

Bosa’s Sunday foot injury appears likely to present similar opportunity to the second-round rookie. And it’ll start in a positive tackle matchup with the Ravens.

Blake Cashman, LB, Houston Texans

Cashman delivered a huge stat line in Sunday’s win over the Cardinals:

• 19 tackles (13 solo)
• 1 sack
• 2 QB hits
• 1 pass defensed

Tackle counts aren’t a very good way to measure how well a LB is playing. But Cashman beat fellow full-timer Chritian Harris by 14.

We can’t know what Cashman’s playing time will look like once LB Denzel Perryman returns from suspension. Cashman had fallen to third in the group before Sunday.

But Perryman’s out one more game. So we should at least be able to comfortably start Cashman in Week 12. We’ll see beyond that.

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Cleveland Browns

The Browns lost LB Anthony Walker to a hamstring injury in Sunday’s win over the Steelers, and they ruled him out before the game ended. That bodes ill for Walker’s chances of being ready for an upside Week 12 matchup with the Broncos.

Walker has returned to the playing-time lead among Cleveland LBs, so his absence would leave opportunity.

Owusu-Koramoah led Cleveland with 7 tackles (6 solo) in the win over Pittsburgh. He did now, however, lead Browns LBs in playing time. Sione Takitaki edge him in snap share: 88% to 79%.

I’ll still take JOK as the better bet for numbers against Denver. But let the playing time remind you of the constant uncertainty in this LB corps. Don’t overspend for Owusu-Koramoan (or Takitaki, if you’re playing in a deeper league).

Josh Woods, LB, Arizona Cardinals

Teammate Kyzir White left Sunday’s game in the second quarter with an elbow injury. We’ll see about the severity this week. If he’s on track to miss Week 12, then Woods would be the next man up.

He played 82% of snaps in the loss to Houston, finishing second on the team with 7 tackles (6 solo). That put Woods well ahead of the next non-edge LB: Krys Barnes at 33% playing time.

Week 12’s opponent, the Rams, has been a negative matchup for LB scoring. But White managed 8 tackles and a sack in Arizona’s first meeting this year.

Woods would be merely a cheap speculative buy on waivers – perhaps even a guy to wait on until late in the week if you have open claims after midweek bidding.

Markquese Bell, S, Dallas Cowboys

Bell’s playing time looked worrisome heading into Sunday’s visit to the Panthers. But it looks quite the opposite now.

The second-year S/LB ‘tweener played 85% of Dallas’ defensive snaps against Carolina, fourth-highest among all defenders and 10 percentage points (6 snaps) ahead of LB Damone Clark.

One game doesn’t make Bell a “safe” bet going forward. But facing a Washington offense that’s been the fourth-best scoring matchup for LBs this season makes it easier to put Bell in our lineups while we learn more.

He also carries more value if eligible at DB in your league than at LB, because of the typically more volatile scoring at that position.

Jabrill Peppers, S, New England Patriots

Peppers is hovering in DB3 territory of the IDP rankings but sits available in 93% of Sleeper redraft leagues. 

He has spent much of this season posting middling production, but Peppers has tallied 5 passes defensed over his past five games. 

He hits an upside spot in Week 12 against a Giants defense that has nearly doubled opponent DB scoring. (Playing his former team certainly won’t hurt Peppers’ motivation.)

Fit Waivers Into Your Season-Long Strategy

Matt and Jared talk about how to manage your team throughout a successful fantasy football season ...

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.