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

As we witness the "Super Bowl Hangover" claim another victim in the San Francisco 49ers, an interesting myth is circulating in the media. This myth centers on the idea that San Francisco is not to blame for this problem, that fantasy managers could not have planned for it, and that San Fran's misfortune is a confluence of "completely unforeseeable circumstances."

While it’s true that injuries are not entirely predictable, nor is a decline in play based on age, it’s not something “completely unforeseeable,” either. Some of us saw this decline coming a year too early, predicting that the already limited arm of Brock Purdy could struggle after elbow surgery and the rest of the team might succumb to age or injury last season.

Christian McCaffrey, Nick Bosa, Trent Williams, George Kittle, Talanoa Hufanga, and Deebo Samuel Sr. all had long injury histories before this year. CMC, Williams, Deebo, and Kittle are all older players for their positions or play styles, too. Throw in the holdout of Brandon Aiyuk, which many of us worried about, and it’s clear a lot of this was foreseeable.

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Casual IDP Streamers and Fades

Stream: Quinnen Williams, DL, New York Jets

Williams is the 36th-most-rostered DL in fantasy, and he's a surefire starter in any league that requires you to start a DT each week. However, in a week ravaged by byes, you could do worse than Williams if you’re in search of a low-end DL2 streamer in any format.

The Dolphins are middle of the road in most pass-blocking metrics this season. However, they struggle to protect their quarterback from the interior. Miami has surrendered 54 quarterback pressures from the middle this season, along with 10 sacks. That is an area that Williams can attack, offering upside as a shallow league streamer.

Stream: Christian Rozeboom, LB, Los Angeles Rams

The 40th-most-rostered LB in fantasy, Rozeboom is an LB1 for us in a very heavy bye week. He has double-digit tackles in four of his past five games and now has a solid matchup on tap.

Just putting this out there...

Since Week 9, Rams LB Christian Rozeboom is the 10th highest graded LB and graded 3rd in coverage. His average depth of tackle as a run defender of 2.2 yards ranks 8th.

Takes a great angle here on Kamara and displays good pursuit. pic.twitter.com/siQHEPWTwr

— Blaine Grisak 💭 (@bgrisakTST) December 4, 2024

Buffalo is seventh in rush attempts per game this season but is third in that category over its past three contests. While the Bills are often a low-volume offense, which can limit the opportunities opposing defenders get, expect Los Angeles to keep this game interesting. Rozeboom is a borderline LB1 streamer in a harsh week.

Fade: Anfernee Jennings, DL, New England Patriots

This is cheating a bit since Jennings is on bye this week, and thus, he isn't a factor in your weekly lineups already. With that said, pickings are slim on "fades" this week, given that so many key defenders are off the board with byes. Therefore, we are including a player here who is droppable in shallow leagues if you need to add a bye-week streamer.

Jennings is currently the 15th-most-rostered DL in fantasy. It's unclear why that is, as he's never been a prolific fantasy performer, and his draft capital coming out of college wasn't significant. He doesn't even rank top 30 amongst edge-rushers (not including interior defenders) in total pressures, pass-rush win rate, or QB hits.

Considering that Jennings is just DL40 in fantasy points per game this season and little indicates he has the upside to climb beyond that, he is droppable in truly shallow IDP leagues. In a week with so many byes, it is tough to carry defenders on your bench, and Jennings isn't one worth that valuable storage space.

Fade: Reed Blankenship, DB, Philadelphia Eagles

The 13th-most-rostered DB in fantasy, Blankenship sits 47^th in fantasy points per game at his position. He's also questionable to play this week, which could mean limited snaps in a game the Eagles should control. The recent trend of production, the injury, and the matchup are all against him this week.

As we will repeatedly note in this article, this week’s defender pool is devastated by byes. So, it's hard to tell you to sit Blankenship when he’s been good in the past. However, he is one of the better candidates for a fade, given that he has had just one game with more than four fantasy points in his past five games and could see limited snaps.

Premium/Deep League Streamers and Fades

Stream: Chop Robinson, DL/LB, Miami Dolphins

Despite riding a hot streak, we told you to fade Chop Robinson last week. That warning bore fruit, as he totaled zero fantasy points in a rough matchup. He has a stronger matchup this week, though.

The Jets pass blockers are average on the season, sitting at the league median in key metrics like pressures and sacks. However, they just placed Tyron Smith on IR and Morgan Moses has been limited with an injury from Sunday. That means the Jets will rely on a rookie left tackle (Olu Fashanu) and an ailing right tackle this week.

Chop Robinson was even more dominant against the hapless Patriots on Sunday.

He had a mind-boggling 50.0% pass rush win rate, which only Aidan Hutchinson has surpassed in a game this year.

The Pats were sending doubles & chips, and it didn’t matter.pic.twitter.com/SiQ1Q6EoAu https://t.co/e962ZiswdM

— Mike Kennedy (@MikeKennedyNFL) November 27, 2024

While Fashanu had the most upside of any rookie pass-blocker in this year’s NFL Draft, he has been inconsistent in limited snaps this season. He was strong against Seattle but has had several weeks where he graded negatively as a pass-blocker as well. This could be a matchup Robinson takes advantage of, making him a worthwhile streamer.

Stream: Isaiah McDuffie, LB, Green Bay Packers

McDuffie has been played off the field by rookie Edgerrin Cooper, which is no surprise given Cooper’s draft pedigree and athleticism. However, McDuffie has proven that he can still produce when Cooper is out, and that role is available.

With Cooper out again this week, expect McDuffie to fill that void once more in a solid fantasy matchup against Detroit. McDuffie is just the 70th-most-rostered LB in fantasy, but he plays over 70% of the defensive snaps whenever Cooper is out. The Lions are also a premium matchup, as they are third in rush attempts per game this season and they are top-10 in total offensive plays.

Fade: Kamren Curl, DB, Los Angeles Rams

Curl is still the 40th-most-rostered DB in fantasy but he’s 70^th in fantasy points per game. Worse, 68% of his fantasy production came before Week 8. Since then, Curl has averaged just 4.6 fantasy points per game. That rate would be good for DB146 if extended over a full season.

While you may not have much choice but to start Curl this week, he hasn’t inspired much confidence or shown consistency since mid-October. Now, he faces a Buffalo offense that averages the seventh-fewest offensive plays per game and has committed the second-fewest turnovers in the NFL, with just six giveaways in 12 games.

Fade: Za’Darius Smith, DL, Detroit Lions

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, yet again, we cannot outright tell you to sit anyone in a deep IDP league this week. Pickings are slim with at least eight high-end pass-rushers on bye and several other rotational options and streamers out.

Smith's stock is also up after he played a season-high 82% of his team's defensive snaps this season. That's more snaps than he’s seen in Cleveland or Detroit. With Zach Paschal limited, Smith could be in for another heavy workload, too. That workload translated into 1.5 sacks against a prime Bears matchup, but this week's matchup is subprime.

Green Bay remains the top-rated pass-blocking unit in the NFL. It also continues to rank as the second-stingiest offense in terms of sacks allowed. Its lack of passing volume, premium pass-blocking, and Jordan Love's quick trigger all form a tough matchup for opposing pass-rushers. Do not expect another 1.5 sacks for Smith this week.

Defenders Worth Stashing

Ja'Quan McMillian, DB, Denver Broncos

Despite being the 80th-most-rostered DB in fantasy, McMillian has had a deceptively productive season. He is currently DB38 in fantasy points per game, has played over 70% of Denver’s defensive snaps in all but two games, and he’s readily available in 97% of IDP leagues.

While he may only be a deeper league option who is on bye this week, McMillian has proved to be a solid DB3 streamer this year. Keep an eye on him if he's available on waivers next week and you need another DB.

Will McDonald IV, DE, New York Jets

McDonald has proven inconsistent after surging into the season with five sacks in his first three games. It isn't a surprise, given his profile as an undersized but prolific situational pass-rusher coming out of Iowa State. As a result, his fantasy production continues to be boom-or-bust and his roster rate has dropped to DL75 overall.

Jets DE Will McDonald IV is ascending to the level of play expected from the 15th Overall Pick. Had his 3rd multi sack game of the season yesterday, bringing his total up to 10.0. pic.twitter.com/4QRSZLqU8k

— NFL Shock (@NFLShock) December 2, 2024

With that said, McDonald has two prime matchups in his next three games. In Week 15, when most fantasy playoffs start, he faces a Rams offense with the NFL’s second-worst pressure rate and second-lowest pass-blocking grade. Then, he gets a Jaguars squad that has allowed the ninth-most quarterback pressures since Cam Robinson was traded.

Given his availability and schedule early in your fantasy playoffs, McDonald is a worthwhile gamble for lower playoff seeds looking for a lottery ticket on their defense. He is the type of high-upside edge who can help you upset a higher-rated fantasy opponent with a multi-sack performance.

Edgerrin Cooper, LB, Green Bay Packers

We will continue to beat the drum of a raw but talented linebacker who has shown the ability to be the best ‘backer for the Packers when he’s healthy. The rookie is currently the 69th-most-rostered LB in fantasy and is held in fewer leagues than more seriously injured and lesser players like Troy Reeder and Ja’Whaun Bentley.

There is immense upside for Cooper as early as your fantasy playoffs. That makes him worth stashing in all dynasty leagues and in any IDP format that forces you to deploy three or more LBs.

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