Week 16 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football (2024) - Defense Positional Rankings for LB, DL, DB

The 2024 fantasy playoffs got off to an auspicious start with the Rams vs. 49ers contest. While anyone who has played fantasy for some time has undoubtedly suffered disappointment in the playoffs, this game was the precursor to a truly painful week for many. Unfortunately, it was a dud that few saw coming.

Both the Rams and 49ers came in last week with offenses in the top half of points per game and defenses in the bottom half. Brock Purdy looked to be getting his mojo back, Cooper Kupp had three or more catches in 15 straight games, and George Kittle was TE3 in fantasy -- none of those weapons performed, with Purdy and Kupp single-handedly killing many playoff squads.

On defense, things weren’t much better. While the Rams offense ranks last in pass-blocking this year and bottom-5 in pressures allowed, Nick Bosa and Leonard Floyd combined for zero sacks. Meanwhile, Deommodore Lenoir had two PDs on the first drive and not much after. Despite a fine paper matchup, it was a disappointing start to fantasy's playoffs.

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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

Za’Darius Smith, Detroit Lions

The Bears still lead the NFL in sacks and pressure rate allowed. Caleb Williams has increased his quick throws since Chicago switched offensive coordinators, but he still holds the ball too long on too many plays.

Lions DB 25 Jamal Adams with his first snap in Detroit. Blitzes from the slot and the motor is running hot while he operates. Great coverage downfield and DE 99 Za'Darius Smith powers his way to the QB. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/wsS8lpTphs

— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) December 11, 2024

While Smith's playing time in Detroit isn't ideal, the matchup is. The former Brown logged his best game of the season against Chicago a few weeks ago, and it was no fluke. The Bears are a high-volume pass offense whose starting offensive tackles alone are credited with 12 sacks and 50 quarterback pressures surrendered.

Although Smith isn’t a tremendous long-term play, odds are you have one or two weeks left in your playoffs. If you’re reading this, it means you are still involved and need a streaming option. You could do worse than this NFC North journeyman going against the Bears.

DL Disappointment of the Week

Montez Sweat, Chicago Bears

Instead of Disappointment of the Week, Sweat could easily be labeled as the Disappointment of the Year. It's a painful admission, considering yours truly loved his profile coming out of college and the flashes of dominance he’s shown throughout his career. His spike in performance last year was particularly inspiring.

Unfortunately, Sweat’s physical and public profile amount to far more than his production this season. Despite his place as DL103 in fantasy points per game, he remains the 35th-most-rostered DL in fantasy. Some of us may be to blame since it's difficult to drop him entirely from our rankings thanks to his past production and skill set.

Sadly, it's virtually impossible to consider the former Commander a DL3 this week. His production simply doesn't merit it. That's especially concerning in this matchup with the Lions, whom he scored just 0.5 fantasy points against in Week 13. While Detroit is middle of the pack in terms of pass-blocking grades, its tackles are strong.

Taylor Decker has allowed six sacks on the season, while Penei Sewell is responsible for zero. Sweat typically only spends 14.7% of his time lined up over the left side where Decker plays, meaning he typically would see Sewell most of the game. However, the Bears did purposefully help Sweat avoid Sewell in their last meeting ... but it didn’t help.

Top Fantasy Linebackers of the Week

LB Riser of the Week

Akeem Davis-Gaither, Cincinnati Bengals

Since Logan Wilson went on IR, Davis-Gaither has started and played nearly every defensive snap for the Bengals. Wilson is likely out again this week, leaving Davis-Gaither in line for another strong fantasy start.

Akeem Davis-Gaither picks off Patrick Mahomes! pic.twitter.com/wa1u5e6s3Y

— Barstool ‘Neers (@NeersBarstool) September 15, 2024

The Appalachian State alum averages 11.3 tackles and 8.83 fantasy points per game in Wilson’s absence. Projecting that performance over a full season, that pace would make him LB14 overall. His starting pace is ahead of linebackers like Robert Spillane and Ernest Jones IV, and it’s on pace with Wilson’s performance before the injury.

With Dorian Thompson-Robinson having been announced as the Browns starter this week, offensive volume and the potential for turnovers should both drop … but not by as much as you’d think. DTR has three NFL starts under his belt. In those starts, he averages 36 pass attempts and two turnovers per game.

LB Disappointment of the Week

Tyrel Dodson, Miami Dolphins

Dodson remains the 40th-most-rostered LB in IDP leagues, with his roster rate dipping just 1.5% last week despite him losing his starting job. He quickly earned and saw only 9% of the defensive snaps. In his past two games, he has seen just six total defensive snaps.

Things got worse for Dodson this week, as he saw zero snaps on defense but a healthy role on special teams. This is concerning because Miami gave him a healthy 48 snaps in Week 12 before starting him and giving him 100% of the snaps in Week 13. However, he has barely seen the field since then.

Like Jerome Baker, we were low on Dodson after his midseason trade. A spike in usage and production after the trade made us second-guess our low expectations, but things have ultimately played out as we expected. Dodson doesn’t merit rostering, whether you’re a contender in redraft leagues or are planning ahead in dynasty.

Top Fantasy Defensive Backs of the Week

DB Riser of the Week

Dane Belton, New York Giants

A fourth-round pick in this year’s draft, Belton has slid into the full-time role that Tyler Nubin was manning before his injury. While the sample size is small, Belton is putting up even better numbers than Nubin did. In six quarters as a starter for Big Blue, the Iowa product is averaging a whopping 13 tackles and 16 fantasy points per game.

Dyontae Johnson's sack in the 1st Q. Excellent pursuit by the 2nd year UDFA.

Watch how quick Dane Belton (24) jumps the drag from the TE. He's going right well before "handoff."

Elite reactive quickness and coverage by Belton forced Sudfeld to hold onto the ball too long. pic.twitter.com/NYjReNMXpY

— Nick Falato (@nickfalato) August 9, 2024

While Belton’s current fantasy pace is unsustainable, fantasy’s DB1 (Brian Branch) is averaging just 9.5 fantasy points. Belton doesn’t need to average 16 points to be relevant. At half his current pace, Belton would be a strong DB1 all year long. At one-third his current pace, he is a viable streamer in an injury-plagued Week 16 DB pool.

DB Disappointment of the Week

DeShon Elliott and the Pittsburgh Steelers Secondary

There's an above-average chance that Elliott doesn't play this week, as beat writers in Pittsburgh are skeptical that he will return this week after sitting out Week 15. However, the coaching staff is holding out hope he will play and he is listed as questionable as of this writing.

Whether or not Elliott plays, the entire Steelers secondary is a tough unit to trust this week. Lamar Jackson has the second-lowest turnover-worthy-throw rate in the NFL this season. Worse, Baltimore is averaging the fourth-fewest pass attempts per game. So, Jackson's volume is low, and his rate of interceptable balls is also incredibly low.

Baltimore is also in the bottom half of the league in offensive plays per game, while the Steelers offense is likely to be missing George Pickens. Russell Wilson and this offense should continue to struggle to move the ball without Pickens. That would mean the Ravens can maintain an early lead and run the clock out, keeping volume low.

Anything can happen in a Steelers vs. Ravens matchup, as the teams have let their dislike for one another fuel some unexpectedly competitive games in the past. However, the metrics don't favor playing Elliott, who is the 11th-most-rostered DB despite his injury, or his secondary mates in this low-volume rivalry.

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