Week 15 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football (2025) - Defense Positional Rankings for LB, DL, DB

December 10, 2025

Fantasy football IDP rankings and IDP streamers for Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season. Chris's IDP fantasy start 'em, sit 'em picks for individual defensive players.

With the fantasy playoffs finally here for a vast majority of you, it bears repeating that no fantasy ranking system fits every single league, situation, or team. As we’ve stated before, these rankings are based on our Standard IDP Scoring. That means that traditional tackle-oriented linebackers are worth more in our rankings, while edge rushing LBs may be higher in Big Play Premium.

However, the biggest reason this fact bears repeating right now is that many fantasy managers forget to manage based on their specific situation. Every week, without fail, fans DM us with start/sit questions but they don’t state their scoring system, lineup structure, or the odds of their weekly matchup. Knowing these facts is key to giving advice.

Some of you are lined up in the first round against the top-scoring team in your league. That may mean you need a miracle to win. In those situations, you are ignoring floor and chasing upside. However, those in the opposite positions must appreciate a safe floor, knowing they are strongly favored to win. Our rankings consider both factors but lean more towards floor at the top.

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:

George Karlaftis III, Kansas City Chiefs

Karlaftis is the beneficiary of our weekly Chargers bump for pass rushers this week. The Purdue product’s pass rush production has fallen off a cliff since Week 5, averaging just 2.7 Standards IDP points per game in his past seven games. However, Los Angeles is the offense that raises sinking pass rushers.

As we’ve noted in the past, the Chargers are surrendering the third-most quarterback pressures per game, and their offensive line potentially lost another tackle when Trey Pipkins III went down on Monday. With Joe Alt and Pipkins healthy, the Chargers surrendered a sack every 20 quarterback dropbacks, and that rate should continue to get worse with them gone.

DL Fade of the Week:

Micah Parsons & Rashan Gary, Green Bay Packers

While it’s nearly impossible to bench Parsons in most formats, he and Gary are both fades against Denver. The Broncos continue to surrender the fewest quarterback pressures and sacks this season, despite attempting the fifth-most passes in the league. As a result, Parsons barely cracks our DL1 tier this week… but he does crack it, because his pressure rate is so elite.

Top Fantasy Linebackers of the Week

LB Riser of the Week:

DeMarvion Overshown, Dallas Cowboys

Going into the fantasy playoffs, it will be tough to trust Overshown in your starting lineup. His usage has been inconsistent, and his production has been disappointing. However, there are signs that the ultra-athletic linebacker is close to breaking out after experiencing an expected slump early in his return from major knee surgery.

The biggest reason for optimism is Overshown’s consistently increasing usage since his return, with the Texas alum seeing a season-high 75% of the snaps against Detroit. With that increased usage against the Lions, Overshown registered a season high in tackles and total fantasy points while finishing second on the team in takedowns.

With his advanced metrics also pointing up, there is reason to hope this former Longhorn will eek over the 80% snap threshold this coming week. That should raise his fantasy floor, allowing truly needy playoff teams to take a gamble on his upside against a Vikings offense that is increasingly relying on the run game and short/intermediate throws to protect J.J. McCarthy.

LB Fade of the Week:

Nick Bolton, Kansas City Chiefs

A vast majority of IDP leagues can utilize just two linebackers per week, one in their LB slot and another in their D-Flex. Thus, a vast majority of leagues will see 24 linebackers playing at any one time, with the demand for “safe” or lower Tier Two linebackers going down once the playoffs start. That means many IDP managers can afford to cut a guy like Bolton right now.

Consider that Bolton is the ninth most rostered linebacker in fantasy, but he ranks as the LB30 in fantasy points per game. Worse, the three teams that Bolton has on his fantasy playoff schedule all rank in the bottom half of the NFL in rush attempts and fantasy points surrendered to linebackers this season.

Linebackers like Cedric Gray, Devin White, Bobby Okereke, and Barrett Carter are all rostered in fewer leagues than Bolton but have better schedules or better production. Check your league’s waiver wire to see if one of these better options is available, because it could net you several valuable points in your playoff matchup.

Top Fantasy Defensive Backs of the Week

DB Riser of the Week:

Jessie Bates III, Atlanta Falcons

Bates III is just the 30th most rostered DB in fantasy right now, but he’s totaled six or more tackles in five of his last seven contests. Better yet, Baker Mayfield is averaging the third-most turnover-worthy throws this season, and he fed Bates six targets in their first matchup.

While this game could get out of hand if Kirk Cousins continues to struggle, neither Atlanta nor Tampa Bay has shown the ability to run away with wins this year. Bates should also spend over half of his time in the box, meaning he will still have a higher than usual floor if the Bucs manage to run the clock out.

DB Fade of the Week:

Jalen Ramsey, Pittsburgh Steelers

Ramsey has seen a sharp uptick in his fantasy roster rate and start percentage over the past few weeks, which coincides with his usage in the box and at free safety rising after DeShone Elliott’s injury. Since that injury, Ramsey has averaged seven fantasy points per game, and his roster rate has jumped to DB22 overall.

Unfortunately, the Dolphins are not the ideal matchup for Ramsey or his fantasy managers. While Tua Tagovailoa is averaging the fifth-most turnover-worthy plays of any starting quarterback this season, Miami has actively been taking the ball out of their quarterback’s hands the past four weeks.

Since the Dolphins began their recent four-game win streak, they have attempted the fewest throws in the NFL. Worse, Tagovailoa’s turnover-worthy play rate has been cut in half during that span, with the Alabama alum averaging just 1.5 turnover-worthy plays in those wins.

With Pittsburgh and Miami both bottom four in offensive plays run, this game has a scary script.

LIKE ROTOBALLER?

CLICK HERE, ENTER ROTOBALLER.COM, THEN CHECK THE BOX

More IDP Fantasy Football Analysis

Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!