Week 10 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football (2024) - Defense Positional Rankings for LB, DL, DB

One persistent issue that constantly influences our IDP rankings and streamer advice is, “Are you in a deep or shallow league?” The idea of deep vs. shallow is a concept that routinely impacts our IDP advice. A majority of IDP leagues are not so deep that you’d ever start Stephon Gilmore… but how do we help the people who are? Better yet, how do we define a deep or shallow league?

For our purposes, “shallow leagues” are the most common IDP setups. These are serious leagues that like defenders but want offensive stars to remain the focus. In these setups, you typically see four or five starting defenders, with defenders sitting on only the longest benches. You also see scoring set out as we have it below, so defenders rarely outscore QBs, RBs, or WRs.

As for “deep leagues,” this term could refer to a variety of setups. For the truly hardcore, you might see 32-man leagues that start full 11-man defenses. More commonly, you may see leagues that start eight tacklers each week with scoring that keeps defenders on par with RBs and WRs. While 32-man leagues are uncommon, we try to help those in typical deep leagues each week.

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• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

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:

Dante Fowler Jr., Washington Commanders

It's foolhardy to expect an edge rusher to have a career year in his age-30 season, but that's nearly the pace Fowler is on. The former top-5 NFL Draft pick has just one double-digit sack season in his career, but he is on pace for a career-high 12 sacks this year. Better yet, he's secured six quarterback takedowns in his past five games.

The potential for a breakout has always been there since Fowler came out of Florida, but injuries and inconsistent play have limited his snaps and production throughout a tumultuous career. So, are we predicting he will finally become what the Jaguars drafted him third overall to be in 2015?

Dante Fowler has been huge the last few weeks. Game Changer! #RaiseHail pic.twitter.com/WEnbEknRoQ

— 𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓡𝓸𝓫 🇺🇸 (@WFTRob) November 3, 2024

The short answer is, no, we are not predicting that. However, his potential to outperform his current fantasy standing is high. The former Gator is currently the 83^rd most rostered DL in fantasy, but he’s actually DL17 in fantasy ppg. Better yet, he’s playing in a familiar and effective scheme and has a plus matchup against the Steelers on tap.

DL Disappointment of the Week:

Matthew Judon, Atlanta Falcons

We warned you to fade Judon this offseason, but he remained a high-end DL2 pick in most IDP drafts this year. He had us sweating our fade of him with a solid start to the year, but the former Patriot hasn’t registered a sack since Week 2.

Perhaps more concerning is that Judon has hovered around the 50% defensive snap rate in two of his past three games. When asked about Judon playing a season-low snap count this weekend, Atlanta Head Coach Raheem Morris said it was about "finding ways to be more productive."

While Judon has a good matchup against the Saints this week, his playing time and metrics are both bad. It’s also concerning that his coach thought the defense might be more productive if Judon played less. Judon remains the 30^th most rostered DL in IDP, which means he’s over-rostered and over-started.

Top Fantasy Linebackers of the Week

LB Riser of the Week:

Devin Bush, Cleveland Browns

A former top-10 draft pick who has flashed but never been consistent in terms of fantasy or NFL production, Bush is a “riser” only in the short term. He is difficult to trust on a week-to-week basis, but his playing time and role should be solid until Jordan Hicks and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah return.

With Owusu-Koramoah on IR and Hicks persistently missing time, Bush has seen his playing time and production spike. As long as both of Cleveland’s starters remain out, he should continue to see consistent playing time on a talented defense that faces offenses who are usually trying to run out the clock with a lead.

Since Cleveland is on bye, the demand for Bush will be low on waivers. Because of the bye, he won’t even show up at the top of your queue. Thus, IDP managers in deep leagues can easily stash him this week if you need a streamer with a quality matchup in Week 11 since Bush and the Browns face the Saints and their short-game-oriented offense.

LB Disappointment of the Week:

Jerome Baker, Tennessee Titans

As we saw with Ernest Jones IV and his short foray in Tennessee, this Titans coaching staff is not quick to stick newly added linebackers into the starting lineup. Jones only saw 46% of the defensive snaps in his first game with the Titans, but Jerome Baker’s situation is worse.

Jerome Baker with the sack on Cam Newton! 💪🌰 pic.twitter.com/Ue0wVyztpR

— Barstool Ohio State (@BarstoolOSU) September 13, 2020

In two games with Tennessee, Baker has seen exactly zero snaps. Jack Gibbens and Kenneth Murray Jr. seem entrenched ahead of him on the depth chart. Gibbens and Murray haven’t given the Titans reason to rush Baker into a key role, either. In fact, it’s unclear whether Baker was anything more than a depth throw-in to the Jones trade.

While it may seem obvious to bench Baker, many IDP managers haven’t yet. He is currently the 38^th most rostered LB in fantasy. He was also the 39^th most started last weekend when he started in more leagues than Christian Rozeboom, Edgerrin Cooper, and Daiyan Henley. Baker shouldn’t start over those guys, even if he plays more.

Top Fantasy Defensive Backs of the Week

DB Riser of the Week:

Demani Richardson, Carolina Panthers

A largely unknown undrafted free agent, Richardson started the season without much playing time. That has changed in the last two weeks, as the Texas A&M product has put together back-to-back double-digit tackle performances.

It’s hard to completely trust an undrafted rookie after just two games, especially given it took two injuries for him to see the field. However, it’s also hard to see him coming off the field when he’s producing like this. Richardson is rostered in just 2% of IDP leagues and has a positive matchup coming up against the Giants, so he’s a riser for us.

DB Disappointment of the Week:

Trevon Diggs, Dallas Cowboys

Diggs has historically been reliant on interceptions and tipped passes for fantasy production, though his tackle numbers have improved slightly this season. However, Diggs remains inconsistent in run support and struggles to take down runners one-on-one, which could be a problem against the Eagles.

Throw it where they ain't, @KirkCousins8 💰

FOX | NFL+ pic.twitter.com/5GoEGj1N5Q

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) November 3, 2024

Philly’s offense is bottom of the NFL in pass attempts per game this season. Worse, they have averaged just 19.7 pass attempts over their past three games. The former NFC Champs’ recent winning formula revolves around establishing the run and playing solid defense to protect a lead. They should be able to continue that formula this week.

With Dak Prescott “likely” headed to IR and CeeDee Lamb also questionable to play, it seems unlikely a hampered Dallas offense will pose a big threat for Philly. This should be another game where the Eagles establish a lead early and nurse it with the run game. That should spell low volume for Diggs.

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