The 2026 season moves forward to Week 7. The Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders are on a bye next week. So if you see any players from those squads that shouldn't be on waivers, try to take advantage of someone else's roster crunch.
Each week, we'll highlight diamonds in the rough or some players that just need to be rostered in more leagues on the defensive side of the ball. Keep in mind your scoring system and roster restraints when heading to the waiver wire to grab these IDPs.
Defensive Linemen
DE Carl Granderson, New Orleans Saints
The 29-year-old veteran has been a menace the last two weeks with five tackles and 1.5 sacks in each game. He faces the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have a quarterback with rather limited mobility, in Week 7, but then the Saints
are on a bye. In other words, this may be a one-week pickup, but he has played well enough to consider holding through the week off.
DE George Karlaftis, Kansas City Chiefs
Karlaftis has had a decent season, but it just hasn't been showing up in the stats column. That changed in Week 6 - fresh off a bye. He had six tackles, two pass defenses and his first sack of the season. If your league is heavily focused on sacks, he may not be the best option with eight and six sacks the last two years. He does a little bit of everything, though, which provides his fantasy value.
Linebackers
LB Harold Perkins Jr., Atlanta Falcons
Perkins was one of our picks a couple of weeks ago but tailed off. The Falcons lost their two starting inside linebackers Sunday in Kendal Perkins (neck) and Divine Deablo (arm), and Perkins should be the primary beneficiary. He had four tackles on Sunday and figures to have ample upside for more if his aforementioned linebacker teammates are out for an extended period of time.
LB Justin Strnad, Denver Broncos
The 30-year-old has been solid in five straight games, but he really hasn't had a breakout performance yet. He had four tackles, a fumble recovery and a half-sack in Week 6, and he had eight tackles and a pass defense the previous week. The breakout could come against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7.
LB Isaiah McDuffie, Green Bay Packers
After Edgerrin Cooper was lost for the season, Ty'Ron Hopper was elevated to the starting inside linebacker next to Zaire Franklin. However, McDuffie outsnapped Hopper 42-33 in Week 6 and came up with five tackles. He had six tackles in the previous game and is a high-floor, low-ceiling pickup for depth.
Defensive Backs
S Tony Adams, Tennessee Titans
Adams left Sunday's game with an ankle injury for a short time, but he came back and made his presence felt. He had 12 total tackles, a sack and a pass defense. He had nine total tackles in Week 5. Pick him up and stream him against the Cleveland Browns this week.
S Javon Bullard, Green Bay Packers
Bullard has six-plus tackles in five straight games. In four of those, he had seven total. He has 18 solo and 17 assisted tackles on the season, so if solos are worth more than assists, that will hurt his value. That's also why he's likely still on waivers. His three pass defenses in Week 6 should prop him up more, though.
CB Jalen Ramsey, Pittsburgh Steelers
The former Pro Bowl shutdown corner is going to be a hit-or-miss option. Lately, he has done a whole lot of hitting, though. He had eight-plus tackles in three of the last four games. He had 10 tackles and two sacks in Week 6. However, in Week 4 against the Browns, he merely had one tackle. That's the feast-or-famine nature you'll have to deal with against the New Orleans Saints in Week 7.
This article originally appeared on The Huddle: Fantasy football IDP free-agent report: Week 7
