Week 6 IDP Fantasy Football Top Performers and Injury Roundup: Patrick Queen, Will Anderson, Brian Branch, Paulson Adebo, Aidan Hutchinson and More

Week 6 is nearly in the books, with just one Monday night game remaining. 

Let’s take a look at some of the top IDP fantasy performers from Sunday’s games, along with some injuries that occurred during the day. We’ve already covered offensive players in a different story.

Explore the best in-season fantasy football tool to manage your team and get league rankings with the Fantasy Assistant. Use our  trade analyzer and trade value charts to break down trade scenarios with Fair Trade ratings. Need a fantasy expert on call for waivers specific to your league? Our AI Fantasy Expert can break down any player for you inside the Fantasy Assistant.

Top Tacklers

Pittsburgh’s Patrick Queen leads the league with 13 total tackles for the week. It was his highest tackle total on the season, and now he has 43 tackles through six games. He doesn’t have any other big numbers, but the tackle production is enough to roster/play him in a lot of IDP leagues.

Denver’s Brandon Jones, Philadelphia’s Nakobe Dean and Washington’s Bobby Wagner all have 12 tackles.

Jones also had a pass defensed this week. He’s got 44 tackles on the season, which is a good mark for a defensive back. Jones’ forced fumble, fumble recovery, interception and three passes defensed make him an even better IDP weekly option.

Dean now has 38 total tackles across five games played, which is another pretty solid number. He hasn’t done much else, except have one pass defensed, but on his tackle numbers alone, Dean is a solid weekly IDP option.

Wagner reached double digits for tackles for the second time this season. He’s got 56 total tackles across six games, so he’s still one of the better IDP options at LB. He also has a fumble forced and pass defensed this season, but his tackle numbers are good enough alone to start him.

Green Bay’s Quay Walker and New Orleans’ Jordan Howden had 11 total tackles each.

Walker is now up to 51 total tackles on the season, and he also has 1.5 sacks. The tackles alone are enough to consider him for a weekly IDP spot, and any other stats he provides are just gravy.

Howden had just eight total tackles coming into the week, so this looks like a one-week outlier at this point. The big tackle performance is enough to scoop Howden up in deeper IDP leagues, while he should be monitored in all other IDP leagues to see if he can replicate this game going forward.

Multiple Sacks

Only five players have multiple sacks on the week.

Houston’s Will Anderson leads the way with three sacks. He had eight total tackles on the day, which was a season high. Anderson now has 19 tackles, 5.5 sacks and a pass defensed (he also got that Sunday) on the season, showing he’s valuable where sacks are worth a lot, but it also shows he’s not a great fantasy performer if he doesn’t get any sacks.

Washington’s Dante Fowler Jr., Detroit’s Alim McNeill, New York Giants’ Azeez Ojulari and Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson all have two sacks.

Fowler had four total tackles on Sunday. He’s got 11 total tackles and 3.5 sacks on the season. Three of the sacks have come in the past two weeks, so Fowler might be worth adding/starting just to see if he can keep things going.

McNeill had four total tackles on the day as well. He now has eight total tackles, 2.5 sacks and a pass defensed across five games. McNeill’s sacks have come in the past two games, so he’s another one worth maybe adding to see if he can stay hot.

Ojulari also tallied four total tackles on Sunday. He’s got 14 tackles this season, along with three sacks and a fumble recovery. Ojulari is a solid IDP option, but probably someone who should only be starting in deeper leagues for now.

Both of Hendrickson’s tackles ended in sacks. He has 14 tackles, five sacks and a pass defensed on the season now. Hendrickson is one of the better pass rushers in the game, and while he doesn’t record a lot of tackles, his upside is enough to start him in a lot of leagues.

Other Standouts

Detroit’s Brian Branch had two interceptions, a forced fumble, two passes defensed and six total tackles in week 6. He’s got 28 total tackles in just four games played, along with three picks, nine passes defensed and the forced fumble. That’s more than enough production to start him in a bunch of IDP leagues.

New Orleans’ Paulson Adebo had 10 total tackles, two passes defensed and an interception on Sunday. Adebo has been in this weekly story several times already, and now has 46 total tackles, three picks and 10 passes defensed on the season. You won’t get much better fantasy production out of a cornerback, so take advantage of Adebo if he’s still available.

Atlanta’s Nate Landman had eight total tackles and two forced fumbles in week 6. Landman was playing in just his second game of the season, and is a pretty consistent IDP performer that you might be able to scoop up for free. 

Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt is one of the better defensive players, if not the best, in the entire NFL. He had five total tackles and two forced fumbles on Sunday. Watt has 25 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a pass defensed this season. He needs to be starting in IDP leagues.

Jacksonville’s Ventrell Miller had another good game this week, tallying 10 total tackles and forcing a fumble. He’s up to 37 total tackles across six weeks, with 28 coming in the past three contests. He needs to be starting in a lot of IDP leagues going forward.

Carolina’s Trevin Wallace had nine total tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery this week. That makes it 24 tackles across the past two weeks, and means Wallace is a good starting option moving forward.

Los Angeles Chargers’ Alohi Gilman had 10 total tackles, a pass defensed and a sack this week. He only has 23 tackles across four games, so the tackle production might have been an outlier. Gilman is still a player worth adding/playing in deeper leagues, and is someone to keep an eye on in standard IDP setups.

Cleveland’s Rodney McLeod Jr. had eight total tackles, a pass defensed and returned a blocked kick for a touchdown. He’s tallied eight tackles in back-to-back weeks, which should be enough to get him starting in a good amount of IDP leagues moving forward.

Injuries

Arizona’s Kyzir White, Bilal Nichols, Joey Blount and Sean Murphy-Bunting all got hurt in week 6. White is second on the team in tackles, so he’ll probably be the biggest loss if he cannot play going forward. The Cardinals’ defense could be one to target if several of these guys are unavailable moving forward. 

Atlanta’s Justin Simmons has a hamstring injury. He’s got 23 tackles and a couple passes defensed this season and has played nearly every defensive snap, so if he’s out, that could hurt the Falcons.

Cleveland’s Martin Emerson has a rib injury. He’s played just under 90% of the team’s defensive snaps, so while he’s not a big-time name, his absence would create a decent void.

Denver’s Pat Surtain II left Sunday’s game with a concussion. Surtain is one of the better cornerbacks in the game, and would be a massive loss if he misses any games.

Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson broke his tibia and fibula, had an air cast put on while on the field and had to have immediate surgery. He’s likely to miss the remainder of the season, which will hurt the Lions’ pass rush and run defense.

Houston’s Azeez Al-Shaair has a knee injury. He already had 40 tackles this season, and if he misses any time, it would certainly affect the Texans’ defense.

New England’s Marte Mapu left week 6 with a neck injury. He’s played 94% of the defensive snaps this season across two games played, so if he’s out, that creates an opportunity for somebody else.

Philadelphia’s Darius Slay left with a knee injury. He’s on the field about 86% of the time this season, so if he’s out, that takes away a solid IDP option and would hurt the Eagles’ defense overall.

Tampa Bay’s Jamel Dean left with a hamstring injury. Dean has made this story already this season and was playing a ton of snaps, meaning another good IDP option could be lost, and the Bucs’ defense would lose one of its better players. 

Washington’s Dorance Armstrong (rib) and Jonathan Allen (pectoral) both left with injuries this week. Armstrong has three sacks this season, while Allen is at two. If both guys are out, that’d be a blow to the team’s run defense and also the pass rush.