DEFENSIVE LINE
Richard Seymour- Seymour is currently tied for fourth in the NFL in sacks and is the leading sacker amongst interior defensive linemen. He now has a sack in three of five games and also has two multi-sack games as well. On top of that, Seymour also is averaging around four tackles a game as well. He is a nice start in any league, but particularly if you need a DT.
Cullen Jenkins- Jenkins is hot on the heels of Seymour as the top DT to own overall. Like Seymour, Jenkins also has five sacks so far and is closely behind with three tackles per game. Jenkins has a sack in four of five games so far, and with the way the Eagles are playing and getting exploited on defense he will have lots of chances to keep racking up the numbers.
Brian Robison- Robison has alternated good games with horrible games so far this year. He had three, three, and four tackles in weeks one, three and five. In those weeks he also tallied a total of 4.5 sacks. However wedged in between he had two-one tackle games in weeks two and four. While he may be inconsistent, he does offer some nice upside when he is “on”.
LINEBACKERS
Leroy Hill- Keep an eye on Hill’s health. He left the game against the Giants in the 4th quarter this week, but when he has been healthy lately he has been exceptional. He has 28 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble in the last three weeks and if he is not going to miss any time he is a nice addition going forward.
Gary Guyton- Guyton looked pretty good in his first game replacing the injured Jerod Mayo. Mayo is likely out for another month or so, so Guyton should be a nice pickup and fill-in for the next few weeks. He totaled nine tackles this past week in his first start and has room to grow as he gets more and more accustomed to seeing the field full time going forward.
Aldon Smith- Smith is a rookie and is only a part time player so he can be a hit-or-miss player. That being said, he has come on strongly in the last two games. In those games, Smith has totaled seven tackles and 3.5 sacks. He is making a serious push to start or at least log major playing time going forward. If that happens, he has double digit sack potential.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Jason Allen- Since making his way back into the starting lineup in the last two games, Jason Allen has started to churn out some very worthwhile fantasy numbers. In the past two games he has a total of 17 tackles (16 solo), four passes defensed and two interceptions. While he clearly cannot keep that pace up, it is clear teams are trying to throw against the Texans and are staying away from Jonathan Joseph if they can. At the moment, Allen is the big beneficiary and is worth a roster spot.
Brandon Browner- While I would still prefer his teammate Marcus Trufant, Browner has played well and played exceptionally well this week in Trufant’s absence against the Giants. Browner followed up his eight tackle (all solo) effort in week four with a six tackle, one interception, three passes defensed and a touchdown effort this week against the G-Men. As teams continue to throw his way, he will continue to pick up some decent fantasy stats.
Charlie Peprah- Peprah has not been exceptional, but he has not been bad either. Since taking over for Nick Collins, he has tallied 15 tackles, three passes defensed and two interceptions in three games. He came to life for his first big game this week against Atlanta when he gathered 8 total tackles an interception and pass defensed. While he will not quite live up to Collins’ value and he will always have to fight Morgan Burnett and Charles Woodson for stats, Peprah is still worthy of a look in deeper leagues.
