You’re still reading? Then congratulations remain in order! We’re in those crucial final weeks of the season now, and sometimes the waiver wire can be a place for defensive pickups, from a strategic perspective. By that I mean submitting claims for players who do not directly help you, for instance grabbing a sixth linebacker, purely because you want to prevent a rival potentially strengthening their squad.
Usually by this stage of the season, if you’re still fighting for a championship, you’ve a clear idea on 80 percent plus of your weekly starters, so you’re not always looking to add players at certain positions. I’d suggest rethinking that approach and still being aggressive in pursuing the best players available regardless. Not only will dominating the waiver wire give you a stronger roster, and weaken opponents, but it also creates a mindset within your league.
Enough with the strategy talk, lets identify some targets for Week 15…
Defensive Lineman
We’ve struck lucky in recent weeks with the likes for Jacquies Smith, Damontre Moore and Allen Bailey as bargain pickups, and this week I’m going to suggest another Smith and a deeper punt on another 2013 draft pick.
Despite a resurgence in form, the Seahawks have been the best match-up for opposing defensive ends over the last four gameweeks, allowing on average 28.8 points per week to defensive ends. That includes a 22 point day to Calais Campbell in Week 12, and a 15.5 point day to Fletcher Cox last week. In between those two games was a game against their opponents this week, the 49ers. J Smith had a sack and tackle for loss in that Week 13 clash which helped earn him 8.5 points, while Tank Carradine had four total tackles, two of which were for a loss, recording 10.5 points. I like both of the 49ers to have decent performances again, although Carradine is a much more speculative play based on his playing time (approximately 30 percent in the last two weeks).
After being a huge letdown last week (ahem, ZERO), it’s hard to put your trust in Justin Tuck (especially as my colleague Jeff Ratcliffe has highlighted his own disappointment with Tuck), but this week the Raiders face a Chiefs team that has allowed three players to score 14.5 points or more in the past two weeks, making it a plum matchup. That being said, like the Seahawks-49ers clash, it’s another divisional rematch from just a few weeks back, and in that Week 12 matchup Tuck only managed 3.5 points. It’s going to take a brave (desperate?) owner to plug and play Tuck this week, but we’re still talking about a top DE3, and this time of year, it’s not always easy to find one of those on the waiver wire.
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Ross Miles is a Lead Writer for Pro Football Focus Fantasy. Follow him on Twitter – @RossMilesNFL
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