IDP

In 2023, Fantasy Sharks and MyFantasyLeague are joining the fray in addressing the changing IDP landscape — with a relatively simple change that more accurately reflects the 21st-century NFL without re-inventing the wheel.

The Divisional Round of the 2023 NFL playoffs is in the books. It was a weekend filled with action—but rather short on surprises. The weekend kicked off with the Jacksonville Jaguars traveling to face the Chiefs in Kansas City. The ...

As has been the case the past few years here at Fantasy Sharks, in order to help you in a final quest for fantasy glory before that long offseason descends upon us, I’ll be publishing IDP rankings each week during the 2022-23 playoffs.

As has been the case the past few years here at Fantasy Sharks, in order to help you in a final quest for fantasy glory before that long offseason descends upon us, I’ll be publishing IDP rankings each week during the 2022-2023 playoffs.

It has been lost in a disastrous season in Houston, but Christian Kirksey has quietly put together his best season in years — he’s 28th in fantasy points among linebackers, and his 119 total tackles are his most in a season since he logged 138 with Cleveland in 2017.

Almost five full seasons into his professional career, Tremaine Edmunds is still just 24 years old. The 6-foot-5, 250 pounder remains one of the most imposing physical specimens in the NFL — he’s built like a defensive lineman but runs like a safety.

At linebacker, 2022 will forever be known as the Year of the Luvu — as in Frankie. OK, it will just be known that way by me — the Carolina linebacker who plays like his hair is on fire quickly became a personal favorite … and a solid weekly starter.

It seems like only yesterday that we were discussing draft strategy. Mulling who to start in Week 1. Pondering how the 2022 season was going to play out. Yet here we are at Christmas time and in the midst of ...

Nicholas Morrow has played nearly every defensive snap for the Bears and has already set a career-high in tackles with 95.. When Sanborn went down last week, Morrow's production spiked to the tune of 11 tackles and a season-high nine solos. If he's available in your league, he shouldn't be.

For most of this season, Eric Kendricks has taken a back seat statistically to newcomer Jordan Hicks. But Hicks was forced from last Sunday’s loss to Detroit with a toe injury, leaving his status for this week’s matchup with an Indianapolis team allowing the most fantasy points to linebackers up in the air.

Josh Uche is admittedly a risk-reward addition in leagues where he's classified as a linebacker, but in sack-heavy formats and IDP leagues where he has EDGE eligibility, the 64% snap count Uche saw in Week 14 makes him one of those rare game-changers still available this late in the year.

Frankie Luvu's 74 total tackles for the season are more than he tallied in 2020 and 2021 combined. He has added a career-high four sacks. He has hit the 10-tackle mark in four separate games this year. And he's sixth in fantasy points per game among linebackers.

For whatever reason, the Browns don't appear to have confidence in Deion Jones as more than a part-time player. If Tony Fields sees a decent snap share this week against a Bengals team that has ranked toward the top of the league in fantasy points per game allowed to linebackers all season long, good things will probably happen.

Jaylon Smith is coming off his best game of the season in terms of both total tackles and snap share. With the Giants about to host a Washington team that ranks fourth in the league in both rushing attempts and fantasy points per game surrendered to linebackers this season, Smith has a real shot at bettering those numbers.

The Jaguars made a switch at inside linebacker last week against the Ravens—after going through a prolonged funk the team swapped out 2022 first-rounder Devin Lloyd for fellow rookie Chad Muma.

The 22nd-ranked linebacker in Fantasy Sharks Default IDP Scoring has posted at least eight total tackles seven times in 10 games, but Sunday’s meeting with a Cincinnati team giving up the most fantasy points per game to linebackers offers David Long a good chance at one of his best lines of the season.

Last week against the Bills, Owusu-Koramoah saw his first game action since injuring his knee back in Week 7, piling up a season-high 12 total tackles while leading all Cleveland linebackers with a 95 percent snap share.

Christian Harris has worked his way into an every-down role for the Texans, playing at least 85 percent of the snaps in three of the past four games. So far, that role hasn't equated to big statistical production, but sooner or later Harris is bound to have a breakout game..

Jayon Brown’s first season with the Las Vegas Raiders has been quite the ride — he opened the season as a starter, got hurt, was a healthy scratch in multiple games and has now been pushed right back into the lineup by the Deablo injury and Martinez’s retirement.

With the stunning retirement of Blake Martinez it would appear to leave Jayon Brown and Denzel Perryman as the Raiders' top two linebackers ahead of a date with a Colts team leading the league in fantasy points per game allowed to linebackers.

Blake Martinez's merits as an NFL player may be the subject of some debate, but what isn't is that when the snaps have been there for Martinez in the past, he has been a highly productive IDP option.

After a slow start, Shaq Thompson’s production has picked up of late — last week against Atlanta, he paced Carolina with 13 total tackles (eight solo). While Carolina is managing Frankie Luvu’s snaps, Thompson isn’t leaving the field — and that should mean big things against a Cincinnati team that leads the league in fantasy points allowed to linebackers.

Things sped up fast for Houston rookie linebacker Christian Harris. In the span of less than a fortnight, Harris went from making his NFL debut in a rotational role to being a full-time starter after Houston parted ways with veteran Kamu Grugier-Hill.

Detroit is expected to have both running back D'Andre Swift and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown back against the Dolphins. Both players are essentially must-starts when healthy, but while the Dolphins have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this year it's still difficult to trust Jared Goff given than his last touchdown pass came in Week 4.

Deion Jones opened the season on Injured Reserve before being dealt a few weeks ago, and last week was his first game action of the season. However, Cleveland can no longer afford to bring him along slowly — with Jacob Phillips (pectoral) landing in Injured Reserve Jones will now be pressed into duty as Cleveland’s middle linebacker and defensive play caller.

There have been flashes, but there has also been plenty of “JOK” getting swallowed up at the point of attack — so much so that not that long ago many expected Owusu-Koramoah to lose playing time to Deion Jones and he was let go in some IDP leagues.

Quincy Williams has now posted Top-20 fantasy numbers in two of the four games in which he has played this year, and Sunday he faces a Denver team giving up the sixth-most fantasy points per game to linebackers this year.

Quincy Williams didn’t just avoid a season-ending injury and a month-long stint on Injured Reserve. He wound up missing just two full games before returning last week to pace the team with 14 total tackles. If an impatient manager cut Williams loose, he’s easily the top waiver priority this week.

Logan Wilson's numbers haven't been especially impressive so far this season—he's topped seven total stops just once in five games. But Sunday's trip to New Orleans sets up well for the third-year pro—the Saints have surrendered the third-most fantasy points to linebackers through five games this season.

So long as Josey Jewell remains sidelined (again) with a sprained knee suffered last week against Indianapolis, Alex Singleton will have a three-down role — and status for IDP managers as a cheap source of Top 30 fantasy numbers.

The 2021 season was a rough one for Zaven Collins — Arizona’s first-round pick last year looked lost much of the year as he acclimated to playing inside linebacker. Now that he has a full off-season under his belt, Collins is intent in showing in 2022 that Arizona’s confidence in his potential was not misplaced.

Denico Autry was a force against his old team last week, piling up a pair of sacks in Tennessee’s Week 4 win over Indianapolis. Now he gets an even better pass-rush matchup — through four games this season, no team in the league has allowed more sacks this season than Washington.

There are any number of reasons why streaming cornerbacks in IDP leagues that require them is the best way to go. It’s a position that is equal parts deep and volatile. Every year, players come from nowhere to crack the ...

Demarcus Lawrence had a huge game a week ago, logging three sacks against the New York Giants. He’ll make it two in a row this week against Washington, who gave up nine sacks to Philadelphia in Week 3.

After missing the first two games of the 2022 season with a calf injury, Josey Jewell made his debut Sunday night against San Francisco, tallying nine total tackles with a sack and a fumble recovery. Back in 2020, Jewell piled up 113 total tackles and was a Top 30 linebacker in Fantasy Sharks Default IDP Scoring. So long as he’s healthy, similar production in 2022 isn’t an unreasonable expectation.

Adoree Jackson hasn’t posted big numbers to date this season — nine total tackles, a pass defensed and a fumble recovery through two games. But he should draw CeeDee Lamb in coverage on Monday night, and two weeks into the 2022 season Lamb has been targeted the 11th-most times of any wideout in the league.

After piling up eight total tackles in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, Brian Burns followed that up with four solos, four QB hits and two sacks in last week's loss to the New York Giants. There's a good chance the hot start bleeds over into Week 3 as through two games the Saints have allowed 10 sacks. No team in the NFC has allowed more.

I can’t pretend that I expected him to lead all Carolina linebackers in snaps through two games. Or that he’d have almost twice as many solos as any other Carolina player. Or that Frankie Luvu would be a Top 25 fantasy linebacker in Fantasy Sharks Default IDP Scoring. If he’s available in your league, scoop him up.

This matchup would be that much better were Dak Prescott not on the shelf with an injured hand, but with Awuzie likely to see plenty of CeeDee Lamb in Week 2, he's still an appealing spot start.

Cole Holcomb’s first outing of the season wasn’t particularly impressive — he managed just two solos and five total tackles in last week’s win over Jacksonville. But this week’s matchup against a Detroit team that led the league in fantasy points allowed to linebackers last season should help the 26-year-old get back on track.