Week 16 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football (2025) - Defense Positional Rankings for LB, DL, DB

December 17, 2025

Fantasy football IDP rankings and IDP streamers for Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season. Chris's IDP fantasy start 'em, sit 'em picks for individual defensive players.

If you’re reading this, odds are you advanced to the next round of your fantasy playoffs or are still competing in a long round. Either way, that is good news! Now for the bad news.

The IDP world has lost several key contributors over the past three weeks. The biggest loss was Micah Parsons’ torn ACL this past Sunday. Despite starting the season injured, Parsons closes the year as the 13th highest scoring DL in Standard IDP Scoring. This comes the same day that Jonathan Greenard went down for the year and a week after Brian Branch went on IR.

The silver lining to all of this is that over half of your league has been eliminated. So, the competition for waiver wire defenders should be muted, and the path to a quality streamer may be clearer than it would be early in the season. However, the downside is that waivers should be thin on defenders who can capably replace the upside of Parsons or Branch this late in the 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:

Abdul Carter, New York Giants

Carter finally had the blowup game we were all waiting for, generating a whopping 18.25 Standard IDP points against the Commanders. His pass rush win rate was also his second-highest of the season, despite the fact that he faced an offense that surrendered the sixth-fewest quarterback pressures in the NFL.

While the matchup wasn’t terrible, with Washington at league median in sacks allowed, this was a noteworthy performance because we finally saw an elite defensive prospect play up to his potential. It is hard to imagine the Giants putting Carter back at interior linebacker this year, and next week they face a Vikings offense surrendering the fifth-most sacks per game.

DL Fade of the Week:

Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, Jacksonville Jaguars

The Broncos continue to have the highest-graded pass-blocking unit in the NFL, surrendering the fewest quarterback pressures and sacks in the league. It is worth noting that Parsons played 40 snaps against this offense, including 23 pass rush sets, and registered zero quarterback hits against the Broncos before going down last week.

While many of you will still need to start Hines-Allen, as he has been on a roll of late, Walker is benchable in most formats, and both should sit if you can afford it. This matchup has been pass-rush kryptonite all season long.

Top Fantasy Linebackers of the Week

LB Riser of the Week:

Divine Deablo, Atlanta Falcons

Since Jacoby Brissett took over as Arizona’s starting quarterback, Trey McBride is averaging 10.9 targets per game. Better yet, the injury to Bam Knight means that scatback Michael Carter will be taking an increased number of snaps, and the running game should be run through screens and dump-offs even more frequently.

Deablo is Atlanta’s highest graded defender in coverage this season, by a good margin. That includes all the Falcons’ defensive backs. He is frequently used in coverage of tight ends, specifically, and that should pay dividends against the Cardinals. Deablo could see double-digit targets against McBride, who helped Azeez Al-Shaair to 12 tackles last week.

LB Fade of the Week:

Robert Spillane, New England Patriots

Despite being listed as “Active” against the Bills, Spillane saw zero snaps. After the game, Head Coach Mike Vrabel stated this was a purposeful decision to help Spillane’s injured foot continue to heal.

The fact that Spillane was active this past weekend suggests he may be close to a return, but his lack of usage despite being active must concern his fantasy managers. How can you know if, or how much, the former Steeler will play next weekend? Even if the team lists him as a full participant, can you trust that he will see full snaps in your playoff semifinals?

While Spillane has certainly had his share of big games this year, he is LB27 in total points and LB13 in roster rate. Thus, his production was already not keeping up with his fantasy usage. Now, you throw in the fact that it is hard to trust Spillane’s usage, and it’s easy to fade him out of our LB3 tier this week, despite his potential for a big performance against the Ravens if he plays.

Top Fantasy Defensive Backs of the Week

DB Riser of the Week:

Dane Belton, New York Giants

We sang Belton’s praises earlier this year, when he subbed in for an injured Tyler Nubin. Now, the Giants have finally designated the Iowa alum as a starter. Since becoming a starter in Week 11, Belton has averaged a whopping 9.25 Standard IDP points per game.

J.J. McCarthy is averaging the fifth-highest turnover-worthy play rate in the NFL, and Minnesota is averaging the most turnovers in the NFL. Plus, as we mentioned earlier, Minny is surrendering the fifth-most sacks per game. Belton has shown the ability to force fumbles, create sacks, and he has the potential to continue a scalding hot streak against the generous Vikings.

DB Fade of the Week:

Kevin Winston Jr., Tennessee Titans

Winston Jr. was on a tear over the past four weeks, averaging ten points per game in his past three full contests. The rookie was a strong prospect coming out of Penn State who jumped into our DB2 tier based on his increased usage and improved play over the past month.

Unfortunately, Winston was injured against the 49ers, and his season is likely done. For fantasy purposes, the third-most-added DB last week is now droppable. We mention this because Winston’s injury is not well known, and, as of this writing, reporters are indicating there is hope he can return. We are not expecting a return, though, so he is only a dynasty option right now.

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