Well, it has happened. That day that fantasy managers have dreaded since the season began. Those darkest of times.
It is—the Byepocalypse.
For reasons known only to Nostradamus and The Powers That Be at 345 Park Avenue in New York, half a dozen teams are off in Week 12—the Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets are all off. No Jessie Bates. No Terrel Bernard. No Trey Hendrickson. No Foyesade Oluokun. No Carl Granderson. No Quinnen Williams.
Because injuries and players who just aren’t getting it done weren’t problem enough. Nah. Needed more of a challenge. Because fun.
There’s also the matter of it being the last month of the fantasy regular season. There are plenty of 6-5 or 5-6 teams who need a win in the worst way in Week 12. Getting one with umpteen holes in the starting lineup is—problematic.
But the motto of Fantasy In Frames is “Solving IDP Problems Since The Godfather Made Up That Motto 11 Seconds Ago.” So, this week’s IDP Waiver will be similar in format to last week’s—light on fluff, long on names of players who can help fantasy managers get that badly-needed win in Week 12.
Let’s get to it.
WEEK 12 IDP WAIVER WIRE TARGETS
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
DT Denico Autry, Houston: After serving a suspension to open the season, the 34-year-old Autry has been impactful for the Texans—he has at least three tackles and a sack in two of his last three games. The Titans have had issues in pass protection this season—the 33 sacks Tennessee has surrendered ranks as the fifth-most in the NFL. Autry is a solid plug-and-play in IDP leagues that require defensive tackles.
EDGE Arden Key, Tennessee: A third-round pick of the Las Vegas Raiders back in 2018, Key has bounced around the NFL—the Titans mark his fifth professional team. After a six-sack season with the Titans a year ago, Key has logged five sacks to date this year—with all of them coming in the past five games. Key has at least one sack in four of those five contests, and the Texans have had some issues with pass protection in recent weeks.
EDGE Kwity Paye, Indianapolis: After topping 50 tackles with 8.5 sacks last year, Paye garnered some breakout buzz over the summer. That hasn’t exactly happened, but Paye is coming off his best game of the season—seven total tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble against the New York Jets. The Detroit Lions aren’t a favorable IDP matchup for edge-rushers, but Paye has quietly tallied a sack in three straight games. Sometimes you just have to ride the hot hand and hope.
LINEBACKERS
LB Jerome Baker, Tennessee: After being dealt to the Titans as part of the deal that landed Ernest Jones IV in Seattle, it appeared that Baker was going to be relegated to the bench. But that lasted right up until Jack Gibbens broke his ankle last week against the Minnesota Vikings. After Gibbens left the game, the 27-year-old Baker played every defensive snap for the Titans, logging eight total tackles. Baker has three 100-tackle seasons on his NFL resume—you likely aren’t going to do better at linebacker on the waiver wire.
LB Tyrice Knight, Seattle: The Seattle linebacker corps is completely remade relative to Week 1—Ernest Jones has taken over as the play-caller for the since-released Tyrel Dodson, while rookie Tyrice Knight has taken over as the team’s second linebacker for the aforementioned Jerome Baker. In last week’s win over the San Francisco 49ers, Knight played 81 percent of the defensive snaps, tallying 10 total tackles and a QB hit.
LB Christian Rozeboom, Los Angeles Rams: After Troy Reeder got hurt, Rozeboom spent a few weeks as a full-time player. His snaps have been scaled back of late—from 98 percent in Week 9 to just 64 percent a week ago. But some players can post solid numbers without a true three-down role, and Rozeboom did just that last week against the Patriots, racking up 11 total stops. The Philadelphia Eagles have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points per game to linebackers this season.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
S Reed Blankenship, Philadelphia: Blankenship is the personification of defensive backs in IDP. He entered the season as a potential value on the back end, got off to a hot start, cooled off to the point he got the gate from many fantasy managers and has since warmed back up again. Last week against the Washington Commanders, Blankenship hit double-digits in tackles and intercepted Jayden Daniels.
S Jalen Pitre, Houston: Pitre exploded onto the IDP landscape as a rookie back in 2022, piling up a staggering 147 total tackles as Houston’s box safety. That isn’t the role that Pitre plays for the Texans now—he’s more a slot defender in 2024. But the 25-year-old is still more than capable of posting an IDP relevant stat line, including nine total tackles and a forced fumble in Week 11 against the Dallas Cowboys. He’s overdue for an interception—and Will Levis has been known to throw them.
S Ar’Darius Washington, Baltimore: The Ravens have tried multiple options at safety opposite Kyle Hamilton, from Marcus Williams to Eddie Jackson to Williams again and then last week fourth-year pro Ar’Darius Washington. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington totaled 11 total tackles, and all indications are from the Ravens coaching staff that Washington played well enough to earn another start Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams.
For more of our IDP Waiver Wire content throughout the season, click here!
Gary Davenport (“The Godfather of IDP”) is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow him on Twitter (Can’t make him call it X) at @IDPSharks
