Week 15 IDP Start Em, Sit Em - Streamers and Fades for Fantasy Football Defensive Players

The end of the fantasy regular season brings with it many things. Some are good, like feelings of accomplishment or disappointment, or a merry Christmas joy that overcomes your bitter sense of failure… if you're that kind of sickeningly optimistic person. However, one negative issue that always comes around this time of year is the […]

Week 15 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Many fantasy leagues have started their fantasy playoffs already, and most others will this week. Most of us avoid Week 18 as a matter of practice and optimize playoff seeding based on the depth of our leagues. But not all commissioners know how to maximize their playoff settings. Some commissioners are new and just don’t […]

Week 14 IDP Start Em, Sit Em - Streamers and Fades for Fantasy Football Defensive Players

For the select people who read the introduction to my articles, I will begin by apologizing. A severe case of COVID has limited my loquaciousness this week, meaning the one guy who prints off my articles and posts them in his work locker with hearts drawn around them will be disappointed. To you, Carl, I […]

Week 14 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

This week could see several prominent IDP names come off of IR, further crowding position groups as we get six teams back from a bye. The instinct of many will be to grab these big names from waivers the second they are activated. Some players merit such a move, while others won’t in standard or […]

Week 13 IDP Start Em, Sit Em - Streamers and Fades for Fantasy Football Defensive Players

Perspective means a lot in sports, as in many areas of life. An example of this would be Shaquille Leonard. We mention him here frequently because he remains a legend in many IDP circles. Even this year he's been a pretty productive tackler, despite limited snaps and conflicts with his team/coaching staff. So, obviously a […]

Week 13 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Let us begin this grueling fantasy week with a moment of silence for my pre-season pick for this year’s IDP Breakout: Jaelan Phillips. While the former Hurricane was electric this weekend and showed signs of being what we thought he could in recent weeks, he struggled with injuries throughout the season before losing the rest […]

Week 12 IDP Start Em, Sit Em - Streamers and Fades for Fantasy Football Defensive Players

IDP managers have been hit with an onslaught of defender headlines as we hit mid-week of the Thanksgiving season. As of Tuesday, multiple impact fantasy defenders have been lost this week for various reasons. These aren’t minor losses, either. They are significant losses with long-term ramifications. Some of them we saw coming, and some we […]

Week 12 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Thanksgiving week is a time to be thankful. It's a time to be together, appreciative, and watch poorly acted and historically inaccurate 3rd grade plays. As a result, every football analyst and talking head will do a bit about what they are thankful for this week. In fact, all of us with a blog, article, […]

Week 11 IDP Start Em, Sit Em - Streamers and Fades for Fantasy Football Defensive Players

Injuries in the NFL can be a tricky thing. On a purely human level, they are always bad. We don't like seeing any person get hurt. It can change their lives in innumerable ways, usually negatively. So, as human beings, we don't like to see injuries happen. However, there are occasions where injuries lead to […]

Week 11 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

There are four NFL teams on bye in Week 11. That is usually a prescription for heavy roster turnover and triage in fantasy circles. However, this bye week is uniquely tame. While this bye is taking the NFL’s leading tackler (Zaire Franklin) away from us, the losses could be far worse. The Saints typically have […]

Week 10 IDP Start Em, Sit Em - Streamers and Fades for Fantasy Football Defensive Players

We are entering that fantasy phase where some teams must plan for next year. Some squads have been hit with injuries, others bad luck. Whatever the reason, hundreds of managers in long-term keeper or dynasty leagues have a 2-7 or 3-6 record. This leaves you with little hope of contention and the startling reality of […]

Week 10 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

I'll begin with a disclaimer: I know this article is about defense and IDP rankings. Arthur Smith is obviously an offensive-minded coach whose decisions/mistakes largely impact offensive players. That said, we are all fantasy football fans, and Smith routinely does or says things that put him in the crosshairs of fantasy and regular football fans […]

Week 9 IDP Start Em, Sit Em - Streamers and Fades for Fantasy Football Defensive Players

The NFL's trade deadline was again a noteworthy affair, which is thankfully becoming a regular occurrence. While the offensive moves at the deadline were limited, there were several major moves on the defensive side of the ball. That's music to many IDP managers' ears. For fantasy purposes, we saw four trades that likely impacted IDP […]

Week 9 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Am I the only one who feels the number of noteworthy injuries in the NFL is increasing despite almost every rule being geared toward player safety? The data and reports are mixed on this subject, but the optics are there. For example, the NFL reports that concussions have steadily declined since 2015, but CBS reported […]

Week 8 IDP Start Em, Sit Em - Streamers and Fades for Fantasy Football Defensive Players

The NFL's trade deadline is fast approaching, and that is finally starting to mean something. After a near century of stagnant deadline behavior from NFL teams, we are starting to see contenders make a mid-season push with trades. It's a refreshing change of pace, even if it often results in a waste of money and […]

Week 8 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

It's Week 8, and it’s a bit of a unicorn because… there are no teams on bye! Now, I know what you're asking. If there is this perfectly good week sitting right in the middle of the schedule where no teams are off, why on earth were there teams on bye in Weeks 5 and […]

Week 7 IDP Start Em, Sit Em - Streamers and Fades for Fantasy Football Defensive Players

As we enter Week 7 of the NFL season, we are nearing the mid-point of the fantasy sleight. Thus, now is a good time to take stock of the IDP waiver landscape. Specifically, what players are woefully under-rostered in IDP leagues. To do this, we will remember that some teams have already had bye weeks, […]

Week 7 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Time flies when you’re having fun, allegedly. Perhaps that’s also occasionally true when you are not having fun, though. How else could one explain how quickly it seems we've reached Week 7 of the NFL season despite countless injuries that only continued to pile up in Week 6? In the past two weeks alone, we've […]

Week 6 IDP Start Em, Sit Em - Streamers and Fades for Fantasy Football Defensive Players

In this week’s IDP rankings article, I lampooned Arthur Smith as an offensive coach who can’t score points and gets bailed out by his defense and soft schedule. Today, I'd like to touch on another offensive coach who some are giving too much credit this week. That coach is Nathaniel Hackett. While the Jets rightly […]

Week 6 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to begin this week by returning to a favorite topic of mine: Arthur Smith. The former Titans’ coordinator has been a whipping post of mine for some time, but he’s earned praise from some analysts as a “gamer” who wins despite his offense (his specialty) struggling to score touchdowns. […]

Week 5 IDP Start Em, Sit Em - Streamers and Fades for Fantasy Football Defensive Players

As we enter Week 5 and the first round of byes, it is a good time to take stock of what IDP managers could be doing better. After all, we are here to advise the masses, aren't we? One way to help IDP managers improve, especially in shallow formats, is to consider the problems with […]

Week 5 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

It's Week 5 in the NFL, which means the first round of byes is here. That brings questions for all of us. Chief among those questions is, "Why does any NFL team need a bye this early in the season?" It's a valid question, especially since the NFL added an extra game in 2021. Odds […]

Week 4 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Week 3 was a nice recovery from the sleight before it, where my risers and fades had more misses than not. Of course, any streamer recommendations are aimed at little-rostered or seldom-started players, so those calls will always have hits and misses. That is the nature of elevating waiver options and fading regular starters. However, […]

Week 4 IDP Start Em, Sit Em - Streamers and Fades for Fantasy Football Defensive Players

Entering this season, IDP managers faced a down year in individual defensive player rankings. Specifically, it was a season without a clear and unquestioned top-overall defender who should be drafted before all others. Shaquille Leonard was once this type of fantasy defender, but he lost that crown to injury and competition on his own team. […]

Week 3 IDP Start Em, Sit Em - Streamers and Fades for Fantasy Football Defensive Players

There is one thing that new IDP managers should remember as in-season moves and injuries start to rack up. That is defensive news travels slower than offensive news does. Just think about how many alerts you got when Kareem Hunt signed, or Cam Akers was traded. These running backs couldn't find a field last week, […]

Week 3 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

While Week 2 was rough for some of my streamer picks, it ultimately served as a reminder of how unreliable metrics can be year-to-year. As I’ve said before, coaching staff and offensive line changes happen every season, and the smallest move can change everything. If a team loses one guard, the whole line can suffer. […]

Week 2 IDP Start Em, Sit Em - Streamers and Fades for Fantasy Football Defensive Players

With a week under our belts, injuries are already taking hold of fantasy and NFL teams. Aaron Rodgers is the most obvious name on that list, but several IDP-relevant players also came up limping in Week 1. The most concerning defender on the injury list is Jalen Pitre, our second-ranked DB entering the season. Pitre […]

Week 2 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Week 1 of the NFL season is under our belts. The opening weekend had its usual share of surprises, such as Puka Nakua exceeding our wildest expectations. It also had its fair share of unsurprising outcomes, as some players and teams met our expectations to a T. For example, as we expected, Chris Jones missed […]

Week 1 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

The NFL season starts in less than a week, which is an exciting time for most. However, the beginning of the year can be nerve-wracking if you rostered injured superstars like Cooper Kupp or Jonathan Taylor. IDP fans may have it even worse. Nick Bosa and Chris Jones managers don't just worry about whether their […]

IDP Positional Rankings for 2023 Fantasy Football Drafts - Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back (Individual Defensive Players)

With the 2023 NFL season just a couple of weeks away, now is a fine time to renew my IDP positional rankings series. Every year, I will designate the top players at each defensive position in fantasy football and give you weekly analysis based on their matchups. We will do the same here but with […]