Week 12 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Thanksgiving week is a time to be thankful. It's a time to be together, appreciative, and watch poorly acted and historically inaccurate 3^rd grade plays. As a result, every football analyst and talking head will do a bit about what they are thankful for this week. In fact, all of us with a blog, article, or social media account are culturally obligated to bore you with our thanks for family or friends. Right? So, without further ado, I will do… the exact opposite.

One thing I am not thankful for is injuries. As I stated earlier in the season, the NFL’s constant rule changes to keep players safer haven't seemed to make a huge impact. I noted multiple sources in that article that stated injuries are stagnant or up in recent years. Perhaps the reason is players are contorting themselves into odd positions to avoid penalties? Or perhaps it’s that players sit out injuries they used to play with because player health is a higher priority?

Whatever the reason, fans of defense are in a hard spot. We want NFL players to be safe. As human beings and fantasy managers, we are invested in their health. However, we also want defenses to have a real chance. We don’t want every tackle to be regulated out of the league. While we’re sympathetic to injuries like Mark Andrews’, some of us don’t want the NFL to become a flag football league. If defenders can still tackle in 2030, I will be grateful for that.

• Quarterback fantasy football rankings
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• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• Superflex fantasy football rankings
• IDP fantasy football rankings
• 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:

Harold Landry III, Tennessee Titans

Harold Landry III is the 30^th most rostered DL in fantasy. One reason for that is his inconsistency. He ranks just 30^th amongst fantasy edge rushers in standard IDP points, and he has five games with fewer than three solo tackles and zero big plays (i.e., sacks, forced turnovers, etc.). He has been on a tear of late, though, and he has a plus matchup in Week 12.

In his past five games, Landry is averaging 6.4 standard IDP points per game. That would put him 15^th amongst fantasy DLs if he maintained that average all season. He also gets the Panthers this week. Carolina averages the fifth-most pass attempts in the NFL and allows the fourth-most sacks.

DL Disappointment of the Week:

Leonard Floyd, Buffalo Bills

Floyd is having a career season and is coming off his best game of the year. He's tied for eighth in sacks, too. That said, he doesn't make our rankings this week because of his matchup.

The Eagles allow pressure off the edge on just 11.5% of their dropbacks. They are also below average in pass attempts per game, averaging 34 per contest. Floyd plays about half his team's snaps, concentrating almost exclusively on third downs and obvious passing situations. His fantasy volume is also highly sack-dependent. The former Ram may not have many fantasy opportunities in this matchup.

Top Fantasy Linebackers of the Week

LB Riser of the Week:

Cody Barton, LB, Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders opened Cody Barton’s window to return from IR on Monday. That's great news for IDP managers, since Barton was an LB1 in the right matchups before being injured. While his return could be bad for Jamin Davis, who has finally started to live up to his draft capital, Barton's consistency will be a welcome return.

We aren't ranking Barton this week because it's still too early to tell if he will be active on Thursday. The short window this week suggests it's unlikely. If he is active on Thanksgiving, it should mean Washington is confident in his health since they won't take advantage of the long week afterward. Thus, Barton would jump into the LB2 conversation if active.

LB Disappointment of the Week:

Jack Gibbens, Tennessee Titans

Gibbens is currently the 40^th most rostered LB in fantasy, but through Week 8 he was playing like a top 25 LB. However, that production and his playing time have tanked in recent weeks. Gibbens has played on fewer than 50% of Tennessee’s defensive snaps in two straight games, and he’s totaled just nine total standard IDP points across his past three contests.

To make matters worse, this week Gibbens sees a Panthers offense that ranks at the top of the NFL in pass rate. This should mean Gibbens will have a chance at a sack, but you can't trust his role or playing time to be consistent. He's a big boom-or-bust option and is rostered in too many leagues given his recent role on defense.

Top Fantasy Defensive Backs of the Week

DB Riser of the Week:

Ji’Ayir Brown, San Francisco 49ers

Brown made my list of defenders to add last week. So did YaYa Diaby, who also had a good Week 11. Now Brown finds himself as a likely starter for the 49ers, with Talanoa Hufanga tearing his ACL against Tampa.

With Hufanga out, Brown took on a starter’s role. He was burned immediately for a deep touchdown, but his ball skills took over after that. The Penn State product played less than two quarters, but he deflected three passes and intercepted a ball in the endzone. That production is consistent with a player who tied for the NCAA lead in INTs two years ago.

Even better, Brown should face either Geno Smith with a bruised elbow or Drew Lock on Thanksgiving night. Either of those passers could be ripe for another interception, and both should continue to attack the young rookie. Brown is a big riser in our rankings this week and for the rest of the season.

Note: It was tough competition this week for our DB Riser. Jordan Battle is arguably just as big a riser as Brown, if not higher. I went with Brown because his role is more secure, while Battle could continue to battle (see what I did there?) Nick Scott for snaps. Battle will be covered in our IDP streamers article.

DB Disappointment of the Week:

Nick Scott, Cincinnati Bengals

With Jordan Battle ascending, Scott is descending. The former Ram hasn't been particularly effective on film all year, and against Baltimore he saw his snap share drop to 17%. That's a big fall from a guy with several fantasy-relevant performances early in the year.

While it’s possible Battle’s increased snaps were simply a warning for the veteran, it seems unlikely. The rookie played very well against the Ravens, giving Zac Taylor little reason not to start him next week. Scott cannot be trusted, even in deep formats, this week. That is noteworthy since he logged 34 tackles in his first four games with Cincinnati.

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