Week 8 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football (2024) - Defense Positional Rankings for LB, DL, DB

For those expecting Haason Reddick to immediately return to his former IDP glory now that his contract is resolved, be cautious. Remember, he hasn’t ever practiced with the Jets and hasn’t been conditioning with them, either. These are concerning facts, which are aggravated by the struggles of other players who have held out in recent seasons.

Brandon Aiyuk, Ja'Marr Chase, and CeeDee Lamb all had extended holdouts this offseason. Each superstar struggled early, with only Chase returning to form. Their struggles are not unique, either. Melvin Gordon, Le'Veon Bell, Deebo Samuel Sr., Larry Johnson, and Vincent Jackson all experienced statistical declines after holdouts, with Johnson and Jackson suffering injuries.

What’s troubling about all of the holdouts we just cited is that each of them was younger than Reddick during their holdouts. Worse, of those holdouts, only Bell joined a new system or team after his hiatus. The long history of struggles after holdouts is not a good sign for Reddick, and the fact he’s joining a new team should keep him on waivers in all but the deepest IDP leagues.

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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 only one player at each defensive position (DL, LB, DB) and two DFLEX.

Top Fantasy Defensive Linemen of the Week

DL Riser of the Week

Odafe Oweh, Baltimore Ravens

Oweh is the 66th-most rostered DL in fantasy, but he is 44^th in fantasy points per game. That alone means there's a gap between where he's rostered and what he's producing. On top of that, Oweh’s advanced metrics are impressive. He ranks 18^th in pass rush grade overall, plus he’s top 30 in pressure and pass rush win rate.

Odafe Oweh hitting a VICIOUS spin aligned as the 4-tech.

Kicking him inside on pass downs is a great idea. pic.twitter.com/tfigX5x7lJ

— Spencer Schultz (@ravens4dummies) January 11, 2023

Things are particularly good for Oweh this week, as he takes on a Browns offense that leads the NFL in sacks allowed. It’s unclear who will start at quarterback for Cleveland or whether it will be better at avoiding sacks than Deshaun Watson. However, Browns blockers give up 16.8 pressures per game and should be playing from behind early.

DL Disappointment of the Week

Josh Hines-Allen, Jacksonville Jaguars

Josh Hines-Allen made my preseason disappointments column in 2023. It was a tough move I had to make after years of devotion, during which I had repeatedly ranked him based on his metrics and potential rather than his fantasy output. Naturally, after making that tough call, the edge-rusher went out and had a career year in every way imaginable.

Fast forward to this year, which has been a return to the norm for the Kentucky alum. While the superstar still has a top-20 pass rush win rate and a top-10 pass rush grade, he is once again not producing for fantasy. Despite being the second-most rostered DL in IDP, he is tied for 63^rd in Standard IDP scoring and he isn’t converting pressure to sacks.

It’s hard to know if Hines-Allen will come out of this slump in 2024, even if the advanced pass rush metrics suggest he should. Three times in his career he has posted plus pass rush metrics without eclipsing eight sacks in a season. Plus, he’s only topped 70 tackles or two forced turnovers twice in his career.

Worse, the Jags’ star pass-rusher now faces a Packers offense that surrenders just 8.8 pressures per game. It’s a bad matchup for a slumping player who is rostered and started as a DL1 in a majority of leagues. That spells disappointment.

Top Fantasy Linebackers of the Week

LB Riser of the Week

Payton Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers

We told you this offseason, it's only a matter of time before the Steelers figure out that Wilson is their best overall linebacker. While his playing time still doesn't reflect that fact, Wilson has made a solid argument for more playing time over the past four weeks.

Payton Wilson's sideline speed is fun to watch. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/pwBaFsBbML

— Tommy Jaggi (@TommyJaggi) October 21, 2024

In Week 4, we finally saw Wilson get his defensive snaps over 50%. He responded with six total tackles. He has exceeded that snap rate in two of his past three games, collecting nine and then 10 tackles in those contests.

While you still cannot trust Wilson as a starting LB in most IDP leagues, you have to expect Pittsburgh will start rewarding the athletic rookie with more playing time eventually. As the most gifted and versatile interior tackler on a strong Pittsburgh defense, he is a worthy bench stash if you have the space and the patience.

LB Disappointment of the Week

C.J. Mosley, New York Jets

Mosley made our fade list last week, and now we bump him down to our disappointment section. Why? Well, to put it bluntly, Mosley simply isn’t playing enough to be started or even rostered in as many leagues as he is.

Two weeks ago, Mosley played a mere 12% of New York’s defensive snaps. Despite that fact, the Alabama alum was the 23rd-most-started LB in fantasy last weekend. He rewarded that devotion by playing just 32% of New York’s defensive snaps. Meanwhile, Jamien Sherwood continued to play every snap and lead the team in tackles.

Today, Mosley is the 20th-most rostered LB in fantasy. Players like Sherwood, Ivan Pace Jr., Nakobe Dean, and Cody Barton are rostered in significantly fewer leagues. Each of those players is a safer bet to get real snaps and real production this weekend. Mosley is not a safe bet to get either, and he won’t be until we see it happen.

Top Fantasy Defensive Backs of the Week

DB Riser of the Week

Malik Mustapha, San Francisco 49ers

This isn't the first time Mustapha has earned a mention in our 2024 IDP columns. His role on the 49ers defense has been increasing and the injury to Talanoa Hufanga cemented a healthy snap share. The only thing left was for him to stay healthy and produce in that role.

49ers rookie Malik Mustapha running the alley like a bat out of hell. Fourth-round pick out of Wake Forest has flashed as a rookie. pic.twitter.com/taLdSLj3dI

— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) October 20, 2024

Produce in that role is exactly what Mustapha did against the Chiefs. Last weekend, the rookie was fifth in the NFL in tackles. That kind of production is repeatable as long as the Wake Forest alum keeps playing the Hufanga role. Mustapha is a thick and bruising tackler who can collect takedowns and force fumbles.

DB Disappointment of the Week

Alontae Taylor, New Orleans Saints

Taylor has been a fantasy revelation from the slot this year, averaging the fifth-most fantasy points per game amongst all DBs. Some of that is due to the volume he sees playing slot where he covers tight ends, slot receivers, and helps in run support.

However, the Saints have announced that Taylor will take Paulson Adebo's spot on the outside now that Adebo is injured. Adebo played 85.7% of his snaps at the wide left corner position this year, which is a spot Taylor will now man. While Adebo did collect ample fantasy stats in that spot, the matchup for Taylor's first start there is not ideal.

The Chargers offense averages the fourth-fewest pass attempts per game in the NFL this season. Worse, Chargers receivers are averaging just 15.2 targets per game, with over 1/3 of those going to the slot. With Taylor now playing outside, where he should mostly face Quentin Johnston and his 4.4 targets per game, the volume could be very low.

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