Week 7 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Fantasy football IDP rankings and IDP streamers for Week 7 of the 2023 NFL season. Chris's IDP fantasy start em, sit em picks for individual defensive players.

Time flies when you’re having fun, allegedly. Perhaps that’s also occasionally true when you are not having fun, though. How else could one explain how quickly it seems we've reached Week 7 of the NFL season despite countless injuries that only continued to pile up in Week 6? In the past two weeks alone, we've lost Christian McCaffrey, David Montgomery, Anthony Richardson, De'Von Achane, Justin Jefferson, and others to varying degrees of injury.

If you are one of those struggling with injuries this year, Week 7 will likely send you spiraling. The QB position could be particularly decimated this week, which will be devastating in superflex leagues. You’ve already lost Kyler Murray, Aaron Rodgers, Richardson, Daniel Jones, Deshaun Watson, and Justin Fields to injury. Now, on top of that, five more fantasy starters are on bye while Trevor Lawrence and Jimmy Garoppolo are questionable. That’s brutal!

In total, six teams are on vacation this week. For IDP managers, those defensive losses will be tough. However, this week’s defender vacations are surprisingly tame compared to the offensive ones. In total, 21 regular offensive starters are staying home this week (including three QB1s, two WR1s, three WR2s, two RB1s, and two RB2s). Conversely, IDP managers will lose “just” 11 Tier-1 and Tier-2 defenders to bye. That’s not too bad in comparison… right?

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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

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	T.J. Watt (Q)	Steelers	Rams
2	Maxx Crosby	Raiders	Bears
3	Nick Bosa	49ers	Vikings
4	Danielle Hunter	Vikings	49ers
5	Myles Garrett	Browns	Colts
6	Alex Highsmith	Steelers	Rams
7	Aaron Donald	Rams	Steelers
8	Aidan Hutchinson	Lions	Ravens
9	Haason Reddick	Eagles	Dolphins
10	Josh Allen	Jaguars	Saints
11	Chris Jones	Chiefs	Chargers
12	Chase Young	Commanders	Giants
13	Josh Sweat	Eagles	Dolphins
14	Khalil Mack	Chargers	Chiefs
15	Christian Wilkins	Dolphins	Eagles
16	Javon Hargrave	49ers	Vikings
17	Montez Sweat (Q)	Commanders	Giants
18	Kayvon Thibodeaux	Giants	Commanders
19	Rashan Gary	Packers	Broncos
20	Joey Bosa (Q)	Chargers	Chiefs
21	Jaelan Phillips (Q)	Dolphins	Eagles
22	Jonathan Allen	Commanders	Giants
23	Ed Oliver	Bills	Patriots
24	Daron Payne	Commanders	Giants
25	Vita Vea	Buccaneers	Falcons
26	Gregory Rousseau	Bills	Patriots
27	Uchenna Nwosu	Seahawks	Cardinals
28	Byron Young	Rams	Steelers
29	Kwity Paye	Colts	Browns
30	Jalen Carter (Q)	Eagles	Dolphins
31	Carl Granderson	Saints	Jaguars
32	Shaquil Barrett	Buccaneers	Falcons
33	Dexter Lawrence	Giants	Commanders
34	Deforest Buckner	Colts	Browns
35	Leonard Floyd	Bills	Patriots
36	Jonathan Cooper	Broncos	Colts
37	Leonard Williams	Giants	Commanders
38	Preston Smith	Packers	Broncos
39	Nik Bonitto	Broncos	Packers
40	David Onyemata	Falcons	Buccaneers
41	Za’Darius Smith	Browns	Colts
42	Josh Uche (Q)	Patriots	Bills
43	Arik Armstead	49ers	Vikings
44	Cameron Jordan	Saints	Jaguars
45	Zaven Collins	Cardinals	Seahawks
46	Ogbo Okoronkwo	Browns	Colts
47	Dennis Gardeck	Cardinals	Seahawks
48	Calais Campbell (Q)	Falcons	Lions
49	Kingsley Enagbare	Packers	Broncos
50	Yannick Ngakoue	Bears	Raiders

DL Riser of the Week:

Ed Oliver, Buffalo Bills

Oliver leads his team in quarterback pressures, pass rush snaps, and quarterback hits. He's a volume player with good metrics, production, and a solid matchup in Week 7.

The Patriots are PFF’s third-worst graded pass-blocking team, with exactly one offensive lineman earning a positive pass-blocking grade. Their blockers have surrendered 90 pressures on the season, and they're throwing the football at the sixth-highest rate in the league. Whoever is under center for New England should be ripe for the plucking.

DL Disappointment of the Week:

Nik Bonitto, Denver Broncos

As my readers know, I am a big fan of Bonitto and have been since his time at Oklahoma. However, he derives nearly all of his fantasy value from sacks. That could be a problem since his opponent this week is a Packers offense that surrenders just 10.2 quarterback pressures per game.

Green Bay blockers are credited with only five quarterback hits all season, and Jordan Love has been sacked a mere ten times all year. Even with David Bakhtiari out, the Packers' current starting tackles have surrendered two sacks and 22 pressures on the year. That makes Bonitto a very boom-or-bust prospect this week.

Top Fantasy Linebackers of the Week

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Foyesade Oluokun	Jaguars	Saints
2	Zaire Franklin	Colts	Browns
3	Roquan Smith	Ravens	Lions
4	T.J. Edwards	Bears	Raiders
5	Jordyn Brooks	Seahawks	Cardinals
6	Ernest Jones	Rams	Steelers
7	Nick Bolton	Chiefs	Chargers
8	Quay Walker (Q)	Packers	Broncos
9	Cody Barton	Commanders	Giants
10	Terrel Bernard	Bills	Patriots
11	Fred Warner	49ers	Vikings
12	Bobby Wagner	Seahawks	Cardinals
13	Bobby Okereke	Giants	Commanders
14	Alex Singleton	Broncos	Packers
15	Patrick Queen	Ravens	Lions
16	Lavonte David	Buccaneers	Falcons
17	De’Vondre Campbell (Q)	Packers	Broncos
18	Kyzir White	Cardinals	Seahawks
19	Devin White	Buccaneers	Falcons
20	Jordan Hicks	Vikings	49ers
21	Dre Greenlaw (Q)	49ers	Vikings
22	David Long Jr.	Dolphins	Eagles
23	Josey Jewell	Broncos	Packers
24	Divine Deablo	Raiders	Bears
25	Tremaine Edmunds	Bears	Raiders
26	Shaquille Leonard	Colts	Browns
27	Kenneth Murray Jr.	Chargers	Chiefs
28	Devin Lloyd	Jaguars	Saints
29	Alex Anzalone	Lions	Ravens
30	Demario Davis	Saints	Jaguars
31	Robert Spillane	Raiders	Bears
32	Kaden Elliss	Falcons	Buccaneers
33	Pete Werner	Saints	Jaguars
34	Nakobe Dean	Eagles	Dolphins
35	Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah	Browns	Colts
36	Ja’Whaun Bentley	Patriots	Bills
37	Zach Cunningham	Eagles	Dolphins
38	Cole Holcomb	Steelers	Rams
39	Nate Landman	Falcons	Buccaneers
40	Micah McFadden	Giants	Commanders
41	Nicholas Morrow	Eagles	Dolphins
42	Danielle Hunter	Vikings	49ers
43	Derrick Barnes	Lions	Ravens
44	Drue Tranquill	Chiefs	Chargers
45	Jamin Davis	Commanders	Giants
46	Kwon Alexander	Steelers	Rams
47	Ivan Pace Jr.	Vikings	49ers
48	Anthony Walker	Browns	Colts
49	Jerome Baker	Dolphins	Eagles
50	Jahlani Tavai	Patriots	Bills

LB Riser of the Week:

Lavonte David, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Picking David as a riser may seem obvious, given he's historically been a strong fantasy contributor, and he's had two elite fantasy performances in his past three games. However, the veteran entered this season with the needle pointing down for various reasons. Our instinct to fade the aging tackler is likely why he's the 35^th most rostered LB in fantasy and the 36^th most started.

Given how undervalued David still is, it's fair to list him as our Riser of the Week. Even though we were down on him not too long ago, he’s risen to 16^th in this week’s ranks. The primary reason the Nebraska alum sits so high this week is an elite matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Falcons surrender an average of 10.3 standard IDP points per game to opposing LB1s this season. If you factor out Frankie Luvu's minimal output against Atlanta in Week 1, the Falcons are feeding LB1s at a rate of 11.1 standard points. Even better, five LBs have notched double-digit tackles against Atlanta. Considering that premium matchup and David’s recent numbers, he is a borderline LB1.

LB Disappointment of the Week:

Nicholas Morrow, Philadelphia Eagles

In a week with six teams on bye, it's tough to find a real "disappointment" or "fade." Even if this bye week could be worse for defenders, the pool of options is limited, and the standard for a good game is lower.

With that in mind, Morrow feels like as good a bet to disappoint as any. He wasn't a starter for Philadelphia to begin the season; those roles belonged to Nakobe Dean and Zach Cunningham. Now, Dean has returned from injury. While Morrow has arguably outperformed Cunningham in recent weeks, he was the one who sacrificed the most playing time once Dean returned.

While it's unclear whether Dean will get his old starting role back anytime soon, reports suggest his 49% snap share in Week 6 was part of the team's plan to ease him back from injury. Dean was a pre-season darling for a reason, and odds are he will see his role continue to grow. If that happens, Morrow’s role will likely continue diminishing. Thus, we anticipate Morrow's fantasy stock will dip as Dean's grows.

Top Fantasy Defensive Backs of the Week

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Derwin James	Chargers	Chiefs
2	Antoine Winfield Jr.	Buccaneers	Falcons
3	Minkah Fitzpatrick	Steelers	Rams
4	Jevon Holland	Dolphins	Eagles
5	Kamren Curl	Commanders	Giants
6	Kyle Hamilton	Ravens	Lions
7	Reed Blankenship (Q)	Eagles	Dolphins
8	Camryn Bynum	Vikings	49ers
9	L’Jarius Sneed	Chiefs	Chargers
10	Jaquan Brisker	Bears	Raiders
11	Grant Delpit	Browns	Colts
12	Kyle Dugger	Patriots	Bills
13	Talanoa Hufanga	49ers	Vikings
14	Julian Blackmon	Colts	Browns
15	Rayshawn Jenkins	Jaguars	Saints
16	Jordan Poyer	Bills	Patriots
17	Josh Metellus	Vikings	49ers
18	Harrison Smith	Vikings	49ers
19	Jessie Bates III	Falcons	Buccaneers
20	Jabrill Peppers	Patriots	Bills
21	Richie Grant	Falcons	Buccaneers
22	K’Von Wallace	Cardinals	Seahawks
23	Darius Slay (Q)	Eagles	Dolphins
24	DeShon Elliott (Q)	Dolphins	Eagles
25	Rasul Douglas	Packers	Broncos
26	Andre Cisco	Jaguars	Saints
27	Brian Branch (Q)	Lions	Ravens
28	Rudy Ford	Packers	Broncos
29	Budda Baker	Cardinals	Seahawks
30	Ryan Neal (Q)	Buccaneers	Falcons
31	Justin Simmons	Broncos	Packers
32	Kenny Moore II	Colts	Browns
33	Jason Pinnock	Giants	Commanders
34	Marcus Williams (Q)	Ravens	Lions
35	Jalen Thompson (Q)	Cardinals	Seahawks
36	Xavier McKinney	Giants	Commanders
37	Trent McDuffie	Chiefs	Chargers
38	Paulson Adebo	Saints	Jaguars
39	Eddie Jackson (Q)	Bears	Raiders
40	Kerby Joseph (Q)	Lions	Ravens
41	Jamal Adams	Seahawks	Cardinals
42	Jordan Fuller	Rams	Steelers
43	James Bradberry	Eagles	Dolphins
44	Jonathan Jones	Patriots	Bills
45	Marco Wilson	Cardinals	Seahawks
46	Julian Love	Seahawks	Cardinals
47	Darnell Savage (Q)	Packers	Broncos
48	Kareem Jackson	Broncos	Packers
49	Devon Witherspoon	Seahawks	Cardinals
50	Asante Samuel Jr.	Chargers	Chiefs

DB Riser of the Week:

Josh Metellus, Minnesota Vikings

Josh Metellus has been a plus pass rusher from the secondary and a premium tackler this season. He ranks seventh at his position in standard IDP points this year, too. However, he's rostered in just 9% of IDP leagues and should have a solid matchup this week against the 49ers.

San Francisco's pass blocking ranks sixth worst in the NFL through six games, and Trent Williams is now gimpy. They could also be without Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel this week, making their offense more predictable. Consider Metellus a DB2 option this week.

DB Disappointment of the Week:

Julian Love, Seattle Seahawks

Love was a very good fantasy contributor last season, and he currently sits 20^th amongst DBs in standard IDP scoring. This is despite Love sitting out half of last week’s game and missing Week 5 with an early bye that most DBs haven’t yet served. That said, the return of Jamal Adams has forced Love into a rotational role that tanks his formerly high fantasy stock.

Last week was the first that Jamal Adams saw a significant number of snaps (85%). As a result, Love was the odd man out, seeing just 44% of the snaps while losing his starter designation. Although the game script will often factor into whether Love can be useful in fantasy, he was DB2 before Adams' return, and now Love will be lucky if he sees enough snaps to be a boom-or-bust DB3. That’s disappointing.

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