Week 13 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups - NFL Fantasy Football 2011

Immediate Pickups

Linebackers

(Some LBs to point out who were on this list before and should no longer be on your Waiver Wire are NaVorro Bowman, Rolando McClain, Ray Maualuga, Donald Butler, Daryl Smith, Wesley Woodyard, Thomas Howard, James Farrior, Brooks Reed, Kevin Burnett, Chris Chamberlain, Colin McCarthy, Perry Riley. If they are still on your Wire, pick up those guys before anyone listed below)

Antwan Barnes (LB, SD) – Barnes has 6 sacks on the season. His next matchup is against Jacksonville, who just surrendered 7 sacks to the Texans and 5 of those sacks were recorded by outside linebackers so Barnes is very solid play Week Thirteen. In fact, he breaks my rule that I state above because I would bet he’ll have a better game than Brooks Reed, Chris Chamberlain and probably even better than James Farrior Week Thirteen.

E.J. Henderson (LB, Min) – There is probably little chance that he is on your waiver wire, but if he is, he is your number one waiver priority over every guy I have listed above except NaVorro Bowman and possibly Perry Riley (because Riley has a nice matchup and has also been a stud). Henderson has been very difficult to predict this year because his younger brother and him would literally chance places in the box scores every other week. In Week Twelve, E.J. put up 9 solos and 3 assists and in Week Eleven, it was 9 tackles and a sack. In Week Thirteen, he faces Denver where every linebacker gets solid points.

Connor Barwin (LB, Hou) – I’m just going to throw stats at you and let you decide if he should replace any of your LBs. Week Twelve: 4 sacks, 7 solo tackles, 3 assists.  Week Eleven: 1.5 sacks  Week Ten: 1 sack  Lastly, Houston now has a 3^rd string QB at the helm and Barwin might be on defense a lot if Houston can’t sustain drives.

Sam Acho (LB, Ari) – He’s been playing in place of the injured Joey Porter and already has 5 sacks, 23 tackles a couple pass deflections and 2 fumble recoveries. He faces the Cowboys next who are vulnerable to blitzing outside linebackers.

Akeem Ayers (OLB, Ten) – Facing the Bills Week Thirteen is an interesting matchup for Ayers, who can get to the quarterback and put up 6 solos and 2 assists like he did Week Twelve.

Jordan Senn (LB, Car) – The Indianapolis score keepers show their insanity once again, as detailed in Senn’s stat line of 3 solos and 7 assists. I have no idea why they are so lazy about their defensive stat keeping and just hand out assists to anyone they saw near the ball during a tackle or, worst yet, not giving a player full credit for a solo, but dividing it up among multiple guys instead. That being said, Senn is interesting for as long as Omar Gaither is out. He did a nice job in limited action Week Eleven as well. His Tampa Bay matchup is a nice one, so do a search on his name and Omar Gaither to see who gets the nod in Week Thirteen.

Defensive Linemen

(Some DLs to point out who were on this before and should no longer be on your Waiver Wire are Kyle Vanden Bosch, Phil Taylor, Jabaal Sheard, Ahtyba Rubin,, Andre Carter, Aldon Smith, Jeremy Mincey, Brian Robison, Greg Hardy, Carlos Dunlap, Chris Long, DT Phillip Taylor, DT Antonio Garay, DT Geno Atkins, DE Robert Quinn. If they are still on your Wire, pick up those guys before anyone listed below)

Robert Geathers (DE, Cin) – It’s difficult to narrow down on who will get the sacks each week for the Bengals, but Geathers has been on a roll and Pittsburgh is notoriously consistent for giving up sacks.

Van Martin (DE, SD) – I’ve noticed a decent trend with Martin and that trend is “tackling”. He only has 1 career sack in his 3 years in the league, but this is the first year he’s been a starter and he has 19 solos and 10 assists. It’s nice to have  a DL2 that you know you’re going to get some points while you “swing for the fences” with your “sack specialist” at your DL1. The good news is Martin is about to play the Jaguars Week Thirteen and that gives him his best chance to pick up his second sack of his career.

Henry Melton (DT, Chi) – This is a recommendation for those of you who play in defensive tackle required leagues. Melton is a strong player and recorded his 4^th sack of the year Week Twelve. In Week Thirteen, he faces Kansas City and should pick up another sack.

Kevin Williams (DT, Min) – Williams now has a sack in each of his last two games and faces Denver Week Thirteen, who is very DT friendly for both tackles and sack opportunities.

Defensive Backs

(Some DBs to point out who were on this list before and should no longer be on your Waiver Wire are Morgan Burnett, Kam Chancellor, Dashon Goldson, Jon McGraw, Eric Smith, Sean Jones, George Wilson(or Da’Norris Searcy), Reggie Nelson, Charles Godfrey, Jordan Babineaux, Justin King, Husain Abdullah, Charlie Peprah, Tanard Jackson, Ryan Clark, Lardarius Webb, Prince Amukamara. If they are still on your wire, pick up those guys before anyone listed below.)

Drayton Florence (CB, Buf) – With Terrence McGee out for the year, Florence is the next in line to fill that huge IDP point gap that was left by the McGee. Florence had a decent first start with 4 solos and an INT. He faces Tennessee next and he has a chance at another INT in that one.

Chris Owens (CB, Atl) –  Recommending Owens last week paid off if you put him in your lineup as your CB2 Week Twelve. He finished with 4 solos, a sack and an assist. I really like his Houston matchup Week Thirteen vs. the Texan’s 3^rd string QB.

Brandon Carr (CB, KC) – His pass deflections on the year are slightly above average at 7. His interceptions are mediocre at 2 and his tackles are above average for a cornerback at 32. So why am I recommending him?  Because he faces Caleb Hanie of Chicago Week Thirteen, who just threw 3 INTs and has a history throughout his college career of throwing a lot of interceptions as well.

Usama Young (FS, CLE) – For the second week in a row, Young has found himself near the top of the Cleveland box scores. He had 6 solos and 4 assists Week Eleven and 4 solos 2 assists in a game where the Bengals did not need to throw it often since rushing it over 30 times was very affective for them. They face Baltimore next, which has become a lot more of a “free safety friendly” matchup for teams then you would have guessed.