Buy
CB – Joe Haden – Browns
Rookie Joe Haden was highly touted coming out of college this year and selected by the 7th overall pick by the Browns but has taken a little while to settle into the starting line-up. Through weeks 1-6 Haden was only on the field for 44% of snaps, but since then he’s played 92% and become a starter. In this period he has made all six of his INTs and his FF and sack. He also his 5 best PFF grades in this same span and despite a poorer performance last week against a smoking hot Carson Palmer, I expect Haden to be a factor against the Steelers.
LB – Akin Ayodele – Bills
Injury woes in the Bills linebacking corps has given Ayodele extended playing time since week 11. He has been making the most of this opportunity with four double digit tackle games, but he has not caused any turnovers. If you are in a hole at LB and need a consistent scorer this week, you can definitely do a lot worse than Ayodele who is 99.9% certain to be available in of IDP leagues.
S – Craig Dahl – Rams
Another beneficiary of injuries, Craig Dahl has seen extended playing time as the Rams secondary has struggled with injuries all year. He became the starter in week 8 and has averaged 7.6 tackles a game, adding in two INTs, a FF and a sack. He hasn’t been particularly good when on the field, grading -6.7 overall (-6.7 in pass coverage) so will continue to be targeted, especially as he plays opposite the far superior O.J Atogwe. In a win-or-bust game, if the Seahawks trail, expect them to attack the vulnerable Dahl, so get him in your line-up.
LB – Paris Lenon – Cardinals
Consistent scoring is a staple of winning IDP fantasy leagues and Lenon’s average of 9.2 tackles a game over the past 5 weeks is a great example of the kind of reliability you need. He has also started playing at a much higher level with his four best PFF grades of the year in the past four weeks and a +10.4 grading. His week 17 match-up is the 49ers who are a run-first team without a trusted QB so Lenon should turn in another sold score.
Sell
S – Earl Thomas – Seahawks
Thomas’ production has dropped dramatically over the past 4 weeks with only 11 total tackles despite being on the field for all defensive snaps. He also hasn’t intercepted a pass since week 11, although he did cause a fumble last week against the Buccs. Funnily enough he has actually had his 2nd and 3rd best games of the year by our gradings (+1.7 vs. Panthers, +1.6 @ Buccs) but not been able to convert that into fantasy production. His match-up this week is against the Rams, a team that doesn’t go deep too often, so that will limit his play-making opportunities.
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