Week 12 IDP Fantasy Football Rankings

Chris Gregory gives his IDP rankings and the top streamers to start along with defensive players to sit for Week 12 of the 2021 fantasy football season.

Thanksgiving without football is something many of us have never had to experience. The Detroit Lions have been Turkey Day mainstays since 1934, and the Dallas Cowboys since 1966. So few of us have even experienced a Thanksgiving without pigskin…and yet some have mixed feelings about the fantasy implications of three games on Thursday. This isn’t to say we don’t all love having football on this hallowed day, and to suggest otherwise would be blasphemy on the level of saying Die Hard isn’t a Christmas movie or that soup is a meal. It is just that having six teams play this early in the week will result in an inevitable problem for many fantasy managers. Namely, the crowded Thanksgiving docket could force some to compromise their roster by starting healthy Thanksgiving players over superior players who are questionable for Sunday.

The perfect example of this sort of enigma would be if you have Devin White as your starting LB. White is questionable going into the weekend, and your best backup option may be someone who plays on Thursday (like Demario Davis or Tremaine Edmunds). While White is by far the superior option to those players, you could be forced to play Davis/Edmunds for fear White won't play and then you’ll be stuck. Another example would be if T.J. Watt is your top DL, but you have an attractive backup like Micah Parsons or Cameron Jordan playing on Thanksgiving Day. Like with White, you may be forced to bench the better player (Watt) for one you know will play. It's a tough thing to stomach, subbing out a star because you have to play it safe.

If you ask us, people struggling with these types of situations must carefully measure their options. Remember that most IDP managers will be looking at second-tier replacements for Watt or White regardless of when you decide to replace them, and understanding that truth should give you flexibility. You see the distance between tier-one (Watt, White, etc.) and tier-two (Davis, Edmunds) defenders is much larger than the gap between any other tiers in IDP. Thus, you would be doing yourself a disservice if you committed to benching Watt or White this early in the week by starting tier-two players on Thursday. Of course, if you have another top-tier defender like Parsons or Denzel Perryman to replace your questionable starter, go ahead and play them just to be safe. However, if you don’t have such attractive options, then you’re best served waiting on Watt or White with the waiver wire as a backup option…. And with that said, let’s get to our IDP rankings, shall we?

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Top-30 Fantasy Defensive Linemen of the Week

DL Streamer of the Week: Alex Highsmith, Pittsburgh Steelers

Highsmith is finally hitting the stride we hoped he would this pre-season, notching double-digit tackles in Week 10 and collecting 1.5 sacks against the Chargers last week. His performance against a solid Chargers offensive line without the help of T.J. Watt was particularly encouraging, seeing him cause issues for Justin Herbert and Los Angeles’ run game repeatedly.

Highsmith has a solid matchup against Riley Reiff this week, who the Steelers' pass rusher should face on approximately 79% of his snaps. Reiff has a below-average pass-blocking grade with PFF on the season, and he's getting beaten by pass rushers on approximately 6% of his snaps. While Reiff remains a good run blocker, he has given up at least three pressures in half of his contests to date. The surging Highsmith should be able to capitalize on Reiff’s inconsistency while playing a variety of positions in the Steelers’ scheme, making for a solid potential outing against an offense averaging over 64 offensive plays at home.

DL Fade of the Week: Deforest Buckner, Indianapolis Colts

On talent alone, Buckner remains one of the five best interior defenders in the NFL. He still has elite length, above-average pass rush moves, good quickness, and he remains a solid run defender. He simply hasn’t been producing consistent fantasy numbers this year, or really at any time since joining the Colts.

This week provides a particularly tough matchup for the slumping (for fantasy purposes) Colts. The interior blockers for the Buccaneers' offensive line have given up a total of just four sacks and eight quarterback hits all season. This interior simply doesn't let defensive tackles get to Brady on passing downs, and Tampa throws the ball more than any team in the league. We keep fading interior defenders against this unit for a reason, and those fades keep working out. Buckner is someone many people are starting, and he is likely to disappoint.

Top-30 Fantasy Linebackers of the Week

LB Streamer of the Week: Alex Anzalone, Detroit Lions

Anzalone isn’t anything special, but he’s been reliably boring this year. That's great for fantasy streaming purposes in the right matchup. Anzalone has seen 100% of his team's defensive snaps in all but one contest this year, and he's managed five or more solo tackles in 40% of his contests. His stats and production won’t wow you, like we said, but his role is predictable.

Chicago just so happens to be the right matchup to try Anzalone as an injury or bye week streamer, too. The Bears are the NFL's most run-heavy offense, and you should expect them to try to establish the traditional run game even more with Andy Dalton under center. The Bears' offensive line ranks dead last in the NFL Adjusted Sack Rate and in the bottom half in run blocking efficiency. Considering Chicago's offensive tendencies and the lack of pressure they will feel to keep up with Detroit's struggling offense, Anzalone should provide a solid fantasy floor in tackle-premium formats this week.

LB Fade of the Week: C.J. Mosley, New York Jets

A reliable LB2 option for a good chunk of this season, Mosley has been steady but unimpressive in plus matchups the past two weeks. The primary concern for those playing Mosley is that he hasn’t made many big plays this year with just one sack, one forced turnover, and one PD all season. That means he is dependent on volume and tackles to give you upside most weeks, and his matchup this week doesn’t bode well for volume.

The Texans run the second-fewest plays per game in the NFL, and they have been the most pass-oriented offense the past three weeks. While Houston’s passing attack does focus primarily on short throws and screens with Tyrod Taylor under center, their lack of volume and the unpredictable nature of the screen game make it hard to project big stats for Mosley this week.

While the Jets' defensive leader is still a high-end LB3 and could provide you with more than you need, more question marks are surrounding him than usual. There are higher upside plays than this one, making him a risky play if you need a huge game from your LB.

Top-30 Fantasy Defensive Backs of the Week

DB Streamer of the Week: Eric Murray, Houston Texans

Since Lonnie Johnson switched to a full-time corner spot, Murray has seen his fantasy stock rise. Over the past two weeks, this former Chief has seen his snap percentage increase to nearly 100%, and his tackle rate hovers around 9.5 per game. He has thrived in his new role so far, leading the Texans’ secondary in fantasy points two weeks straight, and now the Minnesota grad has a tremendous matchup with the Jets ahead of him.

New York is expecting Zach Wilson to return this weekend and lead the NFL's second-most pass-heavy offense once again. The BYU product has proven to be one of the most generous passers in the NFL when it comes to turnovers and bad plays, ranking seventh-worst in on-target percentage and averaging over two turnovers per game before he went down early in Week 7. This week will be Wilson's first back from injury, and his blockers won't be any better than they were when he went down against the Patriots, so this game has the potential to get ugly. Expect Murray, and the Houston secondary as a whole, to see increased opportunities for turnovers and tackles against the Jets this week.

DB Fade of the Week: Trevon Diggs, Dallas Cowboys

As you well know, Diggs can make your fantasy week with just one play. On the year, he's easily topped the fantasy CB position and is a regular starter in most formats. His big-play upside is so high that many of you will roll with him each week, even when the matchup doesn't merit it. This may be the week to bench him if you can, however.

Diggs often thrives on passes forced his way and has been known to shadow an opponent’s leading receiver, but he rarely travels into the slot. In fact, the Alabama product has spent just 7.6% of his snaps in the slot this season. That is a problem when you consider the Raiders’ best pass catcher (Darren Waller) spends 81.3% of his time in the slot or inline, meaning he could avoid Diggs for a majority of Turkey Day. What’s worse, the Raiders’ leading wide receiver (Hunter Renfrow) spends 59.2% of his time in the slot as well.

Given how much the conservative Derek Carr likes to target interior receivers, Dallas could be forced to either mash Diggs into a situation he isn't comfortable or waste him on the edge. Either way, it should be easy for Carr and his 14.9% Bad Throw rate (ninth-best in the NFL) to avoid Diggs if he wants to. That spells limited opportunities for the boom-or-bust corner. Consider this superstar to be a high-end DB3 this week, but his potential for those big plays he’s famous for is much lower than usual.

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