RADIO
If you're still in it to win it, you're going to need some extra help in Week 17. Defensive players are less prone to rest for the playoffs since they're usually on the giving end of punishing tackles but there are some players that have been shut down for the year. Let's look at the final IDP weekly rankings for the 2019 season and highlight some streamers that could help you bring home a title.
Serious fantasy football players know that the game isn't played on offense alone. While team defenses are a staple of the game, being able to identify value with individual defensive players (IDP) takes it to the next level. RotoBaller has you covered when it comes to IDP rankings. Expert analysts Pierre Camus and Justin Carter will bring you their top-100 consensus IDP rankings throughout the 2019 season, so check here for the latest weekly updates.
Players are classified by major position group (DL, LB, DB) to simplify things for you. We've also tiered these rankings to give you an idea of relative importance and will analyze a few key players to watch. Check out our rankings page for the offensive players right here.
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers won two writing awards and received 12 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. A big congrats to our very own Byron Lindeque (Golf) and Jordan McAbee (NASCAR) for both winning Writer Of The Year awards! Be sure to follow RotoBaller's analysis and advice all year long, and win more. Win More With RotoBaller!
Top 100 Individual Defensive Players - Week 17
| Tier | Rank | Player Name | Position |
| 1 | 1 | Darius Leonard | LB |
| 1 | 2 | Joe Schobert | LB |
| 1 | 3 | Bobby Wagner | LB |
| 1 | 4 | Cory Littleton | LB |
| 1 | 5 | Luke Kuechly | LB |
| 1 | 6 | Blake Martinez | LB |
| 1 | 7 | Fred Warner | LB |
| 2 | 8 | Jordan Hicks | LB |
| 2 | 9 | Budda Baker | DB |
| 2 | 10 | Jaylon Smith | LB |
| 2 | 11 | Zach Cunningham | LB |
| 2 | 12 | Demario Davis | LB |
| 2 | 13 | Eric Reid | DB |
| 2 | 14 | Cameron Jordan | DL |
| 2 | 15 | Donald Payne | LB |
| 2 | 16 | T.J. Watt | LB |
| 3 | 17 | Devin White | LB |
| 3 | 18 | Aaron Donald | DL |
| 3 | 19 | Logan Ryan | DB |
| 3 | 20 | Tremaine Edmunds | LB |
| 3 | 21 | Danielle Hunter | DL |
| 3 | 22 | Cameron Heyward | DL |
| 3 | 23 | Nick Bosa | DL |
| 3 | 24 | Tracy Walker | DB |
| 4 | 25 | Lavonte David | LB |
| 4 | 26 | Todd Davis | LB |
| 4 | 27 | De'Vondre Campbell | LB |
| 4 | 28 | Jayon Brown | LB |
| 4 | 29 | Justin Houston | DL |
| 4 | 30 | Joey Bosa | DL |
| 4 | 31 | Nick Kwiatkoski | LB |
| 4 | 32 | Jordan Poyer | DB |
| 5 | 33 | Yannick Ngakoue | DL |
| 5 | 34 | Derwin James | DB |
| 5 | 35 | DeForest Buckner | DL |
| 5 | 36 | K.J. Wright | LB |
| 5 | 37 | Devin Bush | LB |
| 5 | 38 | Deion Jones | LB |
| 5 | 39 | Harrison Smith | DB |
| 5 | 40 | Jessie Bates III | DB |
| 5 | 41 | Melvin Ingram | DL |
| 5 | 42 | A.J. Johnson | LB |
| 5 | 43 | Sean Lee | LB |
| 6 | 44 | Carlos Dunlap | DL |
| 6 | 45 | Dre Greenlaw | LB |
| 6 | 46 | James Burgess | LB |
| 6 | 47 | Demarcus Lawrence | DL |
| 6 | 48 | Frank Clark | DL |
| 6 | 49 | Calais Campbell | DL |
| 6 | 50 | Taylor Rapp | DB |
| 6 | 51 | Matt Milano | LB |
| 6 | 52 | Jonathan Allen | DL |
| 6 | 53 | Bud Dupree | LB |
| 7 | 54 | Eric Kendricks | LB |
| 7 | 55 | Antoine Bethea | DB |
| 7 | 56 | Arik Armstead | DL |
| 7 | 57 | Harold Landry | LB |
| 7 | 58 | Shawn Williams | DB |
| 7 | 59 | Minkah Fitzpatrick | DB |
| 7 | 60 | Rashaan Evans | LB |
| 7 | 61 | Sam Hubbard | DL |
| 7 | 62 | Trey Flowers | DL |
| 7 | 63 | Shaquil Barrett | LB |
| 7 | 64 | Chris Jones | DL |
| 7 | 65 | Robert Quinn | DL |
| 7 | 66 | Jason Pierre-Paul | DL |
| 7 | 67 | Maxx Crosby | DL |
| 7 | 68 | Jamie Collins | LB |
| 7 | 69 | Neville Hewitt | LB |
| 7 | 70 | Mark Barron | LB |
| 7 | 71 | Nick Vigil | LB |
| 7 | 72 | Justin Simmons | DB |
| 7 | 73 | Nigel Bradham | LB |
| 7 | 74 | Kevin Byard | DB |
| 7 | 75 | Chandler Jones | LB |
| 8 | 76 | Anthony Walker | LB |
| 8 | 77 | Everson Griffen | DL |
| 8 | 78 | Matt Ioannidis | DL |
| 8 | 79 | Khalil Mack | LB |
| 8 | 80 | Mychal Kendricks | LB |
| 8 | 81 | Jon Bostic | LB |
| 8 | 82 | Eric Weddle | DB |
| 8 | 83 | Ryan Anderson | LB |
| 8 | 84 | Tavon Wilson | DB |
| 8 | 85 | Thomas Davis | LB |
| 8 | 86 | Brandon Graham | DL |
| 8 | 87 | Justin Reid | DB |
| 8 | 88 | Joe Walker | LB |
| 8 | 89 | Jerome Baker | LB |
| 9 | 90 | Landon Johnson | LB |
| 9 | 91 | Jamal Adams | DB |
| 9 | 92 | Ronnie Harrison | DB |
| 9 | 93 | Alec Ogletree | LB |
| 9 | 94 | Tahir Whitehead | LB |
| 9 | 95 | Bradley McDougald | DB |
| 9 | 96 | Cole Holcomb | LB |
| 9 | 97 | Chauncey Gardner-Johnson | DB |
| 9 | 98 | Grady Jarrett | DL |
| 9 | 99 | Stephon Gilmore | DB |
| 9 | 100 | Damontae Kazee | DB |
Streamers/Key Players to Watch
James Burgess (LB, NYJ) vs Buffalo - It didn't take until Week 17 for the Jets to resort to backup defenders, especially at linebacker. Burgess has filled in admirably, logging 100% of the snaps on defense for the past eight games. In that span, he's collected 66 tackles (42 solo). The Bills haven't declared their starters out for this game but it wouldn't be surprising to see Josh Allen or other players rest in the second half. Buffalo is locked into the #5 seed and has nothing to play for realistically, other than the satisfaction of beating their division and in-state rival. Burgess should have a high floor in terms of tackles.
Ryan Anderson (LB, WAS) @ Dallas - Veteran pass-rusher Ryan Kerrigan is on IR, which has led third-year player Anderson to log over 80% of the team's defensive snaps the last two weeks. Since Week 12, he's earned his first three career starts and has recorded four sacks, six QB hits, and four forced fumbles. With nearly every member of Washington's secondary injured, the Skins could make a point of applying constant pressure through the pass rush. The matchup isn't ideal but Anderson does have sack upside and is available off waivers nearly everywhere.
Robert Quinn (DE, DAL) vs Washington - The move from Dwayne Haskins to Case Keenum isn't necessarily a boon to Dallas pass rushers. Haskins was sacked 29 times in seven starts whereas Keenum was sacked 12 times in his seven starts. Still, Washington allows the sixth-most sacks in the league, Morgan Moses has been limited in practice, and this team is ready to throw in the towel on another disappointing season. Quinn has been quiet lately but finally jumped back into fantasy relevance against Philly with five solo tackles, a forced fumble, and his first sack since Week 12. Dallas needs to win and will be in full attack mode, so employ Quinn as a DL2 in deeper leagues.
Damontae Kazee (S, ATL) @ Tampa Bay - No team gives up more fantasy points to safeties than Tampa Bay and no quarterback gives a defender a better chance for a pick than Jameis Winston. Kazee has his only three INT of the year in the past six games, which is disappointing after tying for the league lead with seven last year. He didn't get one of those turnovers in the previous meeting between these teams but he did collect nine combined tackles. Kazee is a high-upside safety in a week where Landon Collins is out, Jamal Adams is questionable, and Earl Thomas is resting.
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (S, NO) vs Carolina - IDP staple Vonn Bell looks like he'll miss another game and Marcus Williams could as well. For what it's worth, Gardner-Johnson is also battling a knee injury but he's at least gotten a full practice in and should be starting against Will Grier and the Panthers. The floor here lies in the number of times he'll be tackling Christian McCaffrey; he's tallied eight combined tackles in each of the past two games as a starter. The ceiling comes with big-play potential against a rookie QB who will be without his top wideout, D.J. Moore.
Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.
