Week 14 IDP Fantasy Football Top Performers and Injury Roundup: Jamien Sherwood, Budda Baker, Yetur Gross-Matos, Demario Davis, Larry Ogunjobi and More

After looking at fantasy football takeaways for offensive players from Sunday (first slate of games and afternoon/night games), it’s time to talk about some defensive players.

We’ll look at the top performers and also look at some key injuries that could affect things moving forward.

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Top Tacklers

New York Jets’ Jamien Sherwood and Arizona’s Budda Baker each had 18 total tackles on Sunday.

Sherwood got rolling again after having just 10 total tackles over the past two games combined. It was the sixth time this season he topped 10 tackles. He’s not a very consistent fantasy performer, but his high-tackle upside makes him a good starting option in IDP leagues.

Baker has now reached double digits for tackles on six occasions. He’s had at least seven tackles in each week though, showing he’s a player to trust with a starting spot in most IDP leagues.

Pittsburgh’s DeShon Elliott, Buffalo’s Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin  and Arizona’s Kyzir White all had 13 tackles this week.

Elliott also had a pass defensed on Sunday. He topped 10 tackles for the third time this season and second week in a row. Elliott might not keep this up all season, but he’s worth a start until he cools back off.

Rapp got in double figures for just the season time this season. He’s had at least six tackles in five straight games, which makes him a pretty solid starting option on a weekly basis.

Hamlin got into double figures for the third time this season. He’s been at four or five tackles in five of the past seven weeks - he topped 10 tackles in the other two. So Hamlin isn’t a very good weekly starting option, but his high-tackle upside could get him a few more starts.

White was in double figures for the fourth time this season, and first time in seven weeks. He’s had at least five tackles in every game since his last double-digit outing. White is another solid option, who could earn more starts after his latest performance.

Tennessee’s Luke Gifford, Philadelphia’s Nakobe Dean and Seattle’s Tyrice Knight all finished with 12 tackles.

Gifford stepped up with a couple starting linebackers down with injuries. He only had 14 total tackles coming into the week. Watch the injury report, and if Kenneth Murray Jr. and Jerome Baker are out again, Gifford could be a solid streaming option for week 15.

Dean was in double figures for the second straight week and third time in four weeks - he had eight tackles the other week. Dean is a player you can start in a ton of IDP leagues on a weekly basis just on his high-tackle numbers alone.

Knight was in double figures for the second time this season. When he’s been on the field, Knight has delivered good results. He’s a bit of an underrated IDP option, and one who might be available in a bunch of your leagues.

New York Giants’ Micah McFadden, Jacksonville’s Foyesade Oluokun and Philadelphia’s Zack Baun all had 11 tackles on Sunday.

McFadden got back on track after a four-tackle performance the week prior. He’s been in double figures in three of the past five games. He’s not super consistent, but McFadden is a pretty good weekly starting option.

Oluokun was in double figures for the third time this season. He’s had some low-tackle performances, but most weeks is at or above eight tackles, so he’s another good weekly option.

Baun had a sack among his 11 tackles. He topped 10 tackles for the seventh time this season, and has got to double figures in three of the past four and five of the past seven. Keep starting Baun every week.

Jets’ Brandin Echols, Atlanta’s Kaden Elliss, Chicago’s T.J. Edwards, Carolina’s Josey Jewell, Pittsburgh’s Patrick Queen and Buffalo’s Terrel Bernard all totaled 10 tackles.

Echols also had a pass defensed. He only had 21 tackles coming into the game, so this looks more like a one-week outlier. If Sauce Gardner misses another game, Echols could be a good streaming option for week 15.

Elliss registered a sack among his 10 tackles, marking the second straight week he’s gotten one. He has reached double-digit tackles in six of the past seven games, showing he’s another good weekly option with a little upside because of the sack potential.

Edwards had a sack among his tackles this week. He’s posted at least six tackles in all but one game this season, showing he’s another good weekly IDP option.

Jewell had 1.5 sacks among his 10 tackles. He has at least one sack in three straight games now, and at least nine tackles in all those contests.

Queen got back into double figures, marking the third time he’s reached the mark this season. He has at least seven tackles in six straight games, which makes him another good weekly option.

Bernard is a good/great weekly option, but got into double figures for just the second time. He has eight or more tackles in six straight contests.

Other Standouts

San Francisco’s Yetur Gross-Matos had three sacks among his four tackles. He only has four sacks and 15 tackles on the season, but does have four tackles in three straight games. Gross-Matos is worth an add in some deeper IDP leagues to see if he can stay hot in week 15.

Pittsburgh’s Cameron Heyward had two sacks among his five tackles. He has 10 tackles and three sacks over the past two weeks. He’s been trending up of late, and with the sack potential, Heyward is a really good defensive lineman to utilize for fantasy purposes.

Miami’s Zach Sieler had two sacks among his four tackles. He now has six tackles and 39 tackles on the season, making him another good weekly defensive lineman to try in fantasy leagues.

Kansas City’s Tershawn Wharton had two sacks among his three tackles. He has 4.5 sacks and 22 tackles for the season. He’s worth a roster spot and maybe some starts in really deep IDP leagues, but don’t bank on these kinds of performances often.

San Francisco’s Leonard Floyd had two sacks for his lone tackles on Sunday. He is up to 8.5 sacks on the season, with 5.5 coming over the past four games. Floyd has 36 tackles on the season and is a pretty solid weekly option.

New Orleans’ Demario Davis had eight tackles and picked off a pass on Sunday. He’s already a pretty good IDP option with 90 tackles on the season, with any other stats he delivers just gravy.

Seattle’s Ernest Jones IV also had a pick and eight tackles. He’s got 107 tackles, and that alone makes him a good starting option.

Injury Roundup

Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn suffered a groin injury in week 14. He’s played just about every defensive snap for the team this season, so his absence would open a spot for another corner, along with probably weakening the Panthers’ defense a bit more.

Pittsburgh’s Larry Ogunjobi suffered a groin injury as well. He’s not only a seasoned veteran, but had been playing a healthy amount of snaps, so his absence would really hurt the Steelers’ tough defense.

Steelers’ corner Donte Jackson injured his back this week. He’s been playing a ton of snaps, and without him, the Steelers’ secondary could struggle a bit.

Tampa Bay safety Antoine Winfield left with a knee injury. He has 58 tackles and several splash plays, so his absence would hurt the Bucs’ defense. He was playing just about every defensive snap too, so another safety or secondary player could really benefit in his spot.