Week 12 IDP Fantasy Football Top Performers and Injury Roundup: Nick Cross, Josh Butler, Danielle Hunter, Harrison Smith, Ernest Jones and More

After looking at some fantasy football takeaways from offensive players in Sunday games, we’ll now take a look at some IDPs.

We’ll look at top performers and also look at some injuries that could impact defenses.

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Top Tacklers

Only a handful of players had 10 or more tackles on Sunday, led by Nick Cross’ 14 tackles.

The Indianapolis safety is up to 116 total tackles on the season, showing he needs to be played in all IDP leagues. He’s been in double digits as a tackler in three of the past four games.

Chicago’s Kevin Byard III and Indianapolis’ Zaire Franklin each had 13 tackles on Sunday.

Byard had over 10 tackles for the second time in three weeks - he had nine tackles in the other game. With 84 tackles on the season, Byard is a good weekly starting option, and a pretty underrated one, in my opinion.

Franklin is known as one of the better IDP options in the league, so his performance was no surprise. He also had a sack on Sunday. Franklin, with 123 tackles on the season, absolutely needs to be starting every week.

Dallas’ Josh Butler, Los Angeles Rams’ Christian Rozeboom and New York Giants’ Tyler Nubin all had 12 tackles.

Butler also had a sack and three passes defensed on Sunday. He has just 18 tackles on the season now, so this was a breakout performance for the cornerback. Butler should be added in deeper IDP setups to see if he can keep serving as a decent weekly option.

Rozeboom got into double figures as a tackler for the third time in the past four weeks. He’s a great weekly option, with 91 total tackles for the season.

Nubin had 12 tackles for a second straight week - he also had a pass defensed on Sunday. He’s not a super consistent performer, but he needs to be rostered and played in deeper IDP leagues at the very least.

Minnesota’s Harrison Smith, Indianapolis’ E.J. Speed and Giants’ Micah McFadden all had 11 total tackles.

Smith posted his first double-digit tackle performance of the season. It was a nice bounceback performance after a couple of low-tackle weeks. Smith is still a decent IDP option in deeper setups, and now has 64 tackles on the season.

Speed got into double figures as a tackler for the seventh time this season. He has 108 tackles on the season, making him another Colt IDP option who needs to be starting every week.

McFadden got into double figures for the third time this season and second time in the past three weeks. He’s a pretty solid weekly IDP option, with 76 tackles over 10 games.

Seattle’s Ernest Jones IV, Tampa Bay’s Christian Izien and Dallas’ Eric Kendricks all had 10 tackles on Sunday.

Jones posted his third double-digit tackle performance across four games with the Seahawks. He has 91 tackles over 10 games, showing he’s another good weekly IDP option.

Izien reached double-digit tackles for the second time this season. He only had four tackles over the past two games combined, so there’s a little boom or bust to his game. He’s still a solid IDP option in deeper setups.

Kendricks continued his strong season, and has at least eight tackles in every week. He also recovered a fumble on Sunday, and those few splash plays mixed with a good amount of tackles makes Kendricks a good weekly option.

Other Top Performers

Houston’s Danielle Hunter had three sacks across his six tackles. Hunter now has 37 tackles and 10.5 sacks on the season, making him a good weekly option. He’s hot of late, with five sacks over the past two weeks.

Seattle’s Leonard Williams had 2.5 sacks across his six tackles. It was his first sack in four weeks, but with 31 tackles overall, he’s not a bad starting option in deeper IDP leagues where sacks are worth a good amount of points.

Dallas’ Micah Parsons had two sacks across his eight tackles. It was his second two-sack game over the past three weeks. Parsons won’t post that many tackles most weeks, but the sack upside is what makes him a good weekly IDP starting option.

Minnesota’s Jonathan Greenard had two sacks across his six tackles and also forced a fumble. He has nine sacks and 37 tackles on the season, making him another good weekly starting option. He’s a bit underrated though.

San Francisco’s Leonard Floyd had two sacks across his four tackles on Sunday. He has 6.5 sacks across his 32 tackles this season, with 3.5 sacks coming over the past two weeks. Floyd needs to be added and played in deeper IDP leagues until Nick Bosa is back and Floyd cools off a bit.

Philadelphia’s Milton Williams had two sacks and a forced fumble on Sunday night. He quietly has five sacks on the season, but with just 15 total tackles, he’s better suited for fantasy starts in the deepest IDP leagues.

Houston’s Will Anderson Jr. had two sacks on Sunday. He’s got 9.5 sacks on the season, making him a good weekly starting option.

Giants’ Bobby Okereke had eight tackles and a forced fumble in week 12. He has at least eight tackles in four straight games. With 83 tackles on the season, along with some other splash plays, Okereke is a pretty good weekly starting option.

Chicago’s Jonathan Owens had eight tackles, a forced fumble and fumble recovery on Sunday. Owens has 11 tackles overall on the season, so try not to overreact to this performance too much. He’s worth an add in deeper IDP leagues though.

Tennessee’s Kenneth Murray Jr. had seven tackles and an interception on Sunday. He has at least six tackles in four straight games, and with 76 tackles and some other splash plays this season, Murray is a good weekly option.

Injury Roundup

Denver’s Riley Moss suffered a knee injury in week 12. He has 71 combined tackles and has been playing almost every snap, so his absence could be a big blow to the Broncos’ defense.

Houston’s Jalen Pitre left with a shoulder injury. He has 65 tackles and some other big plays this season, and has been playing most of the defensive snaps, so if he’s out, the Houston defense could take a step back.

Miami’s Anthony Walker injured his hamstring on Sunday. Walker had 29 tackles in the previous three games combined, so if he’s out, another Dolphins’ linebacker will need to step up.

Giants’ Azeez Ojulari left with a toe injury. He’s played 87% of the snaps or more the past three weeks, so his absence could open the door for another New York d-lineman.

Philadelphia’s Brandon Graham is out for the season with a torn tricep, while Darius Slay left with a concussion. Being down Graham will hurt the Eagles’ pass rush, while playing without Slay could hurt the secondary.

San Francisco’s Renardo Green left with a neck injury. He’s been playing a ton of snaps of late, and would weaken an already thin 49ers’ secondary unit.

Tampa Bay’s Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (ankle) and Jordan Whitehead (pectoral) left with injuries on Sunday. A pass rusher could emerge if Tryon-Shoyinka misses time, while a new safety would be needed to help replace Whitehead, who had been playing most of the defensive snaps and has 76 total tackles on the season.