Week 7 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football (2025) - Defense Positional Rankings for LB, DL, DB

October 16, 2025

Fantasy football IDP rankings and IDP streamers for Week 7 of the 2025 NFL season. Chris's IDP fantasy start 'em, sit 'em picks for individual defensive players.

The hits keep on coming, in what feels like one of the most injury-plagued beginnings to an NFL season in recent memory. While we’ve warned you away from hyperbole or overreacting to injury waves as “the worst ever,” this season is truly starting to feel uniquely bleak. While offensive weapons have been the hardest hit, defenders are not immune.

Perhaps the biggest name lost in Week 6 is Fred Warner, one of the greatest linebackers of our generation. While Warner has historically been a better true football player than a fantasy asset, that has not been the case this year. Before going down for the season against the Bucs, Warner was on pace to finish as the Defensive Player of the Year and as LB2 overall in fantasy.

To make matters even worse, some players are voluntarily taking themselves out of our lineups. There is no truer example of this than Brian Branch, last season’s DB2 overall and our preseason DB1 overall. While things have been decidedly worse for Branch this year, he is still DB21 in ppg and DB14 overall. So, the real prospect of having to cut him due to suspension is hard to stomach.

IDP Scoring System for Rankings:

6-points per Defensive Touchdown

4-points per Forced Turnover (FF/INT)

3-points per Sack

2- points per PD, FR, Safety

1-point Solo Tackle

0.5-points Assisted Tackle

Note: These rankings are also based on leagues that start one player at each defensive position (DL, LB, DB) and two DFLEX.

Top Fantasy Defensive Linemen of the Week

DL Riser of the Week:

Dorance Armstrong, Washington Commanders

Armstrong has been a staple at the backend of our DL rankings for years, but his pass rush win rate and pressure rate are both up since joining the Commanders. Better yet, he is DL16 overall in Standard IDP scoring but is the 37th-most rostered DL in fantasy, meaning he is available in a lot of leagues where he is useful.

While Armstrong is questionable to play this week, he is a strong fantasy start if he is cleared for a full workload. The Cowboys attempt the third-most pass attempts per game in the NFL and allow the third-most pressures. While Dak Prescott’s awareness helps him avoid a lot of sacks, Armstrong's chances of bringing his old quarterback down are high.

DL Disappointment of the Week:

Kayvon Thibodeaux, New York Giants

The Broncos are allowing the fewest quarterback pressures and the second-fewest sacks per game this season. While Thibodeaux's pressure rate is up from last year, he is stuck in a thick rotation with Brian Burns and Abdul Carter. That rotation has limited Thibs to just 25.5 pass rush snaps per game over the past two weeks, despite positive game scripts.

With a tough matchup on tap and potentially limited snaps, this Oregon alum is a fade for us in Week 7.

Top Fantasy Linebackers of the Week

LB Riser of the Week:

Blake Cashman, Minnesota Vikings

Cashman was activated off of IR this week, and all reports are that the team expects him to return quickly. In fact, some statements from Minnesota beat writers indicate the defensive leader is on pace to play this week, though the coaches are saying that decision will not be made until Friday.

The former Texan finished last season as LB11 overall in Standard IDP points per game. While many of you carried Cashman through his injury, he is still just the 30^th most rostered LB in fantasy and projects to finish as a mid-tier LB2 the rest of this season. In other words, the Vikings’ defensive leader is available in more leagues than he should be.

LB Disappointment of the Week:

Logan Wilson, Cincinnati Bengals

Wilson has been a fantasy mainstay since we advised you to add him going into Week 2 of the 2022 season. Back then, Wilson was profiled as an underrated coverage option with the potential to collect 150 tackles per season. Unfortunately, Wilson's fantasy window appears to be closing in Cincy.

With little warning, Wilson was effectively benched against the Packers in Week 6. During that contest, he saw just 19% of the defensive snaps. Head Coach Zac Taylor has since indicated this could be permanent, noting that Barrett Carter had earned the snaps he took from Wilson and the team wants to see what Carter can do in the long term.

Top Fantasy Defensive Backs of the Week

DB Riser of the Week:

Minkah Fitzpatrick, Miami Dolphins

Fitzpatrick has been a wildly inconsistent fantasy asset over the past few years, reinventing himself multiple times as a ballhawk, a tackle hoarder, and then as a hybrid option. Throughout those transitions, he has flashed big highs and disappointing lows for fantasy managers.

In his first season back with the team that drafted him, Fitzpatrick has shown more consistency than he did last year. While nabbing two turnovers and five pass deflections this year, he has also managed eight or more tackles in half of his games. Better yet, Fitz has managed at least 5.5 Standard IDP points in all but two games.

This week should be a solid matchup for the Alabama alum, who has put up solid fantasy outings against both run-heavy and pass-oriented offenses. The Browns are running the second-most offensive plays per game, while Dillon Gabriel is routing a significant number of his throws through tight ends and short-area targets that favor Fitzpatrick.

DB Disappointment of the Week:

Marques Sigle, San Francisco 49ers

Beat reporters out of San Francisco were showering Sigle with love the past few weeks, projecting him to keep his massive role even when Malik Mustapha returned. The reports were that San Francisco loved what they'd seen from Sigle and were planning to deploy him with Mustapha. So, the expectation was Sigle’s value would remain steady all year.

Unfortunately, Sigle saw a season low in snaps (60%) upon Mustapha's return last week. Worse, the rookie's snaps inside the box dropped by 75%. However, it was not the punishing tackler Mustapha who stole those key snaps from Sigle, but rather Ji'Ayir Brown. Brown’s usage in the box increased at the exact rate that Sigle’s declined.

While Brown has long been known more for his coverage instincts than his tackling prowess, the 49ers’ decision to swap Brown and Sigle's usage against Tampa Bay is worrisome. Also concerning is the prospect that we could see a fantasy-neutering three-headed rotation once Mustapha is at full health, killing Sigle’s upside in the process.

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