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

November 16, 2023

Fantasy football IDP rankings and IDP streamers for Week 11 of the 2023 NFL season. Chris's IDP fantasy start em, sit em picks for individual defensive players.

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 just three players in our weekly IDP rankings, the Colts five, the Patriots two, and the Falcons four. That’s a loss of 3.5 defenders per team due to bye, which is negligible when you consider we lost 26 IDP-ranked starters in Week 7.

Things are further improved when you consider that of the defenders on bye, only one (Franklin) ranks in the top ten at his position most weeks. Deforest Buckner is a DT1, and Paulson Adebo is a CB1, but in leagues that don't use those designations, you won't miss them too badly. As a result, this week’s rankings will be deep, and some good players will be crowded off the list because the Week 11 bye is being unusually kind to us this year.

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

Boye Mafe, Seattle Seahawks

Mafe was a pre-season sleeper for me, and I recommended you stash him early in the season. Few of us could have expected he would notch a sack in seven straight games, though. The metrics suggest he can continue to be a solid fantasy DL going forward, even if this streak doesn't keep up.

Mafe is 23^rd in Pass Rush Win Rate amongst defensive linemen with more than 200 pass rush snaps. He also grades as PFF’s 34^th best pass rushing DL. Mafe is also a reliable tackler, notching five or more tackles in half of his games this season. Those rates are all signs of progress for a raw prospect coming out of Minnesota. Plus, the Rams are allowing pressure on 34% of dropbacks since Week 4, which helps.

DL Disappointment of the Week

Chase Young, San Francisco 49ers

Let's start with the positives. In Young's first game with San Francisco, he played most of the defensive snaps. He subbed out on obvious running downs and managed just one tackle, but he also collected a half-sack and forced a fumble that didn't count. It was a promising first showing on a favorable fantasy front.

Now for the downside. Young played 79% over Jacksonville’s left side. This is consistent with his usage all season, lining him up over the left tackle on most downs. This week that means he pulls Tristan Wirfs duty. Add to that the fact Young is still learning a new defensive scheme and could keep subbing out on running downs, and there's downside that drops the former Buckeye lower than usual.

Top Fantasy Linebackers of the Week

LB Riser of the Week

Elandon Roberts, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers

This marks two straight weeks that an injury to a Steelers LB has elevated the next man up, making them our riser of the week. We noted last week that Roberts was the more consistent tackler, but Kwon Alexander was designated as the defensive playcaller and leader after Cole Holcomb's injury. Well, Alexander is now headed for IR, and Roberts is up.

The former Dolphin has played 50% or more of Pittsburgh's defensive snaps three times this season. He has eight or more tackles in each of those contests. On Sunday, he saw nearly 100% of the defensive snaps, which should continue given the dearth of healthy talent that Pitt has at linebacker. That should be an attractive role for fantasy since the Steelers (17.3 ppg) never blow out opponents, and thus the run game is always an option.

LB Disappointment of the Week

Jack Sanborn, Chicago Bears

Listing Sanborn as a “disappointment” is a bit of a misnomer since he’s a good player with a good matchup against the Lions on tap. However, Tremaine Edmunds has been upgraded to Questionable, and some Bears pundits think he will play. Edmunds’ return would spell a significant drop in Sanborn’s playing time, even if Edmunds is limited.

Sanborn has only one game with five or more tackles when Edmunds and T.J. Edwards are both healthy. He’s seen over 60% of the snaps just once in those situations, as well. That means if Edmunds is practicing in full on Friday, Sanborn will be difficult to trust in most fantasy formats. However, if Edmunds sits this week out, Sanborn jumps back into the LB2 conversation.

Top Fantasy Defensive Backs of the Week

DB Riser of the Week

Kerby Joseph, DB, Detroit Lions

Joseph is on a heater, notching a turnover or double-digit tackles in three straight games. He is an every-down starter on a strong Lions defense that should put pressure on a Bears team allowing 12.6 pressures per game. For perspective, consider that Chicago attempts the sixth-fewest passes per game, meaning their quarterbacks are under pressure 42% of the time.

The Lions should jump out to an early lead in this one, meaning the Bears will have to throw to catch up. That could also mean Justin Fields throwing with protection on his injured finger. Joseph has a decent chance to get a turnover in this one.

DB Disappointment of the Week

Jaylon Johnson, Chicago Bears

Detroit is the seventh most pass-oriented offense in the NFL. Some of that is attributable to Jahmyr Gibbs being used in the passing game and some to do with the team losing David Montgomery for a spell. Whatever the reason, the Lions have been above league-average in pass attempts all year. So, it is surprising that Jared Goff has the lowest Turnover Worthy Play percentage amongst all starting NFL quarterbacks.

In fact, Goff has committed a turnover-worthy play on just 1.7% percent of his plays, totaling six all year. That's staggeringly low. What's worse, Jaylon Johnson plays 91.5% of his snaps out wide, while Detroit's top pass catchers run most of their routes away from Johnson's side. Thus, Johnson's floor and ceiling are both low this week. His teammate, Kyler Gordon, is rostered in fewer leagues and has a much better matchup.

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