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Week 12 IDP Free Agent Focus

Ezekiel Ansah, DE, Lions

The star pass rusher still has 0 sacks for the year, which is why you just might find him available this week. But Sunday provided the surest sign yet that they’re coming.

Ansah notched 4 QB hits in the win over the Jaguars, his most of the season. He also ranked 3^rd on the team with 4 total tackles, reaching that number and 3 solo for the 2^nd straight week. Those are solid numbers for a DE who generally posts just average tackle numbers for the position.

Ansah could burst into the sack category on Thanksgiving Day against a Vikings team that has allowed 18 sacks over the past 5 games. Ansah posted 5 solos including a tackle for loss against Minnesota in Week 9.

Stephon Tuitt, DE, Steelers

It was easy to not get too excited when Tuitt finally posted his 1^st sack of the year in Week 10. But then he notched 2.5 more among 4 total QB hits in Sunday’s win at Cleveland.

Now comes a Thanksgiving night trip to Indy to face a Colts offense that has allowed 4 opponents this year to tally 5+ sacks—most recently the Chiefs (6) in Week 8.

Danny Trevathan, LB, Bears

Trevathan posted 9 solo tackles for the 2^nd straight game in Sunday’s loss to the Bears. He totaled 11 tackles in each game.

The Week 12 matchup with Tennessee brings an opponent that has presented a below-average scoring matchup for LBs on the season. But the Titans have seen at least one 9+ tackle line for a LB against them in 5 straight games. The only opponent in that stretch with 2 worthwhile LBs (Jacksonville) got 10+ from both guys.

The Titans should be working the ground game plenty at Chicago next Sunday, and Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman should find plenty of work in run and/or pass D.

Ramik Wilson, ILB, Chiefs

Wilson delivered his 3^rd solid fantasy line in 5 games Sunday against the Bucs.

The 2^nd-year LB tallied a season-high and team-high 7 solo tackles, plus an assist. That included a tackle for loss for the 2^nd time in 3 weeks. Even if that particular category doesn’t get counted in your league, it shows that Wilson is making plays rather than just getting lucky with tackle chances finding him downfield. He also added an INT and a forced fumble in Week 9.

Wilson’s playing time also jumped near 100% in Week 10 for the 1^st time.

We’ll see about his snap count for Week 11 once those numbers come out, but we’d bet on another near-full allotment against the Broncos in Week 12. Denver entered Week 11 as a top-10 scoring matchup for LBs.

Derrick Morgan, OLB, Titans

Morgan racked up not only 1.5 sacks in Sunday’s loss to the Colts, but 6 total QB hits.

Few matchups stack up better than Indy for production in that area, but Morgan has now delivered at least 1 sack in 6 of his past 7 games. That probably got him picked up in sack-friendly IDP leagues before now, but he’s worth a look even in balanced-scoring outfits now.

The veteran has tallied 2+ QB hits in 5 of the past 7 contests, including 3 games of 3+. A Week 12 trip to Chicago will find a Bears offense that has allowed 4 sacks in 2 straight games.

Daryl Worley, CB, Panthers

Perhaps someone in your league has already noticed this guy. It looks like time to treat Worley as a weekly starting option in CB-required leagues and a weekly consideration for general DB slots.

Thursday night gave us Worley’s 2^nd straight game of 6 solo tackles and 3^rd straight 6+ tally over his past 4 outings. He has delivered 5+ tackles in 4 straight games, averaging 8 total stops per week over that stretch.

A Week 12 trip to Oakland should find plenty more passing volume to continue to support his tackle numbers, especially with Carolina’s stout run D threatening Latavius Murray’s relevance.

Byron Jones, S, Cowboys

After playing nearly full time through most of the season, Jones played 100% of the snaps in 2 straight games heading into Week 11. More importantly, he has now delivered nice fantasy production in 2 straight games and 3 of 4.

Sunday found him leading all Cowboys with 8 total tackles and 6 solos. That followed a career-high 12 tackles (11 solo) in Week 10, which came 2 weeks after a then season-high 7 tackles (6 solo) in Week 9.

A Thanksgiving Day clash with Washington finds a neutral scoring matchup for fantasy DBs. But we’ve seen some safeties post good enough numbers to flash the upside. Washington also entered Week 11 attempting the league’s 7^th most passes per game.

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.