“Are there too many IDP starting lineup decisions for you this week? Can’t decide which linebacker or edge rusher to start? Which safety gets the nod this week?”
This will not be the typical ‘obvious starters’ type of article. Always start your studs like Max Crosby, Carson Schwesinger, and Derwin James. What needs to be shared is who we start and who we sit out of the not-so-obvious players. You will not see many of the top-10 players listed in these articles because we are all already familiar with starting these players.
The byes don’t start until Week 5. It is time to start your season off correctly with a win in Week 1.
***Please note that all rankings are pulled from FantasyPros.com’s current weekly rankings for DL, LB, and DB.
Week 1 – DL/Edge Starters
Edge – Chase Young – New Orleans Saints
Young might have found his happy place in New Orleans. After a very disappointing first 3 1/2 years with the Washington Commanders, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2024 3rd-round draft pick. The Commanders selected Young with the second overall pick in 2020 out of Ohio State. He delivered 2 1/2 sacks and 10 tackles in 9 games with the 49ers, which led the 49ers not to want to re-sign him. The Saints then signed Young to a 3-year, $51 million contract. He played 17 games with zero starts and produced the second-best tackle season of his career with 31 tackles and 5.5 sacks.
2025 was his breakout year. Young missed the first five games of the 2025 season with a calf injury. In his 12 games from Week 6 on, he started all 12 while playing 70-80% of the defensive snaps. Young produced 38 tackles (22 solo), 11 tackles for a loss, 15 QB hits, 10 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, and 4 passes defensed in those 12 games. Week 1 has Young playing against the Detroit Lions in Detroit. Jared Goff was the 8th-most-sacked QB in 2025, with 38 sacks allowed. Young is the #21-ranked DL for Week 1. He can be started with zero hesitation in Week 1.
Edge – Chop Robinson – Miami Dolphins
Expect the third-year breakout for Robinson this year. He has 4 starts in his first two years and has compiled 47 tackles (26 solo), 12 tackles for a loss, 21 QB hits, 10 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 5 passes defensed. The first-round pick in 2024 has been set up to succeed by the subtraction of his veteran competition. Bradley Chubb signed a free-agent contract with the Buffalo Bills. Jaelan Phillips was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles and then signed a free-agent contract with the Carolina Panthers.
Week 1: The Dolphins travel to the Las Vegas Raiders. The most-sacked QB in the NFL last year was Geno Smith. Smith has moved on and been replaced by Kirk Cousins, who is even less mobile. Robinson will be a very nice play against the Raiders.
Week 1 – DL/Edge Sits
Edge – Nick Bosa – San Francisco 49ers
Bosa is coming off of a torn ACL in September of 2025. He is going against the Los Angeles Rams, who gave up the least amount of sacks in 2025. Bosa has been practicing in full and has been cleared to play. The percentage of defensive snaps is unknown, as is the soreness of the knee. His highest tackle total in any season of his career was just 53 tackles. He is not going to score a lot if he doesn’t produce the sack. The risk outweighs the reward here for the #9-ranked DL for Week 1.
Week 1 – LB Starts
LB – Sonny Styles – Washington Commanders
Styles is my first of two rookie linebackers to make the start list. Styles was the seventh overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and has drawn rave reviews from many watchers. The opportunities will be there for Styles to accumulate tackles against the Eagles in Week 1. The Eagles produced the 11th-highest rush attempts in 2025. Styles is a tackling machine, having produced 182 tackles in his junior and senior seasons combined, which consisted of 30 games.
He is the #23-ranked linebacker for Week 1 and should have no problem beating that and possibly posting a top-12 score. Start him with a great deal of confidence in this plus matchup.
LB – Jacob Rodriguez – Miami Dolphins
Rodriguez has the same advantages as Styles for Week 1. He gets to play next to Jordyn Brooks and collect multiple tackles against the Raiders’ running game. The Dolphins released 2025 starter Tyrel Dodson, which opened up the position and snaps for Rodriguez. Rodriguez was an animal in college during his final two years with Texas Tech. He posted an incredible 255 tackles during his final two seasons, which consisted of just 27 games.
Rodriguez is taking over the 910 defensive snaps from the 2025 season. He is the #48-ranked linebacker for Week 1 and should be his lowest ranking of the season. Start him with a great deal of confidence against the Raiders and their QB, who will use the dump-off passes, and a weak running game.
Week 1 – LB Sits
LB – Tremaine Edmunds – New York Giants
Edmunds has not hit 70 solo tackles since 2021. He has posted double-digit tackles in just 5 games over the last two seasons. In Week 1, the Giants face the Dallas Cowboys, who had the second-highest number of pass attempts in 2025. In the past 2 seasons combined, Edmunds has posted 6 QB hits, 2 sacks, 17 passes defensed, and 5 interceptions. His statistics when playing against opposing passing offenses don’t give us a great deal of confidence for Week 1 of the 2026 season.
Edmunds being ranked the #13 linebacker for Week 1 just doesn’t make sense for the most overranked IDP player in the NFL. Leave him on your bench if you have other options.
Week 1 – DB Starts
S – Kevin Winston – Tennessee Titans
Winston is a second-year Safety that started six games last year as a rookie. During those six games, he had four games of 100% defensive snaps. His production included 32 tackles (19 solo), 4 tackles for a loss, 3 QB hits, 1 sack, and 2 passes defensed. His Week 1 opponent is the New York Jets. The Jets have Geno Smith as their QB, who was the most-sacked QB in 2025 with the Raiders. Smith also had the most interceptions thrown in 2025. The Jets had the seventh-lowest number of pass attempts last season, so the tackle opportunities for Winston will be available.
Winston is the #35-ranked DB for Week 1 and should have no trouble beating that ranking by a substantial amount.
S – Dillon Thieneman – Chicago Bears
The 1st-round Safety produced an average of 100 tackles per season during his three-year college career. The Bears’ 2025 Safeties posted almost 250 tackles combined. All three of the 2025 Bears’ Safeties are on different teams in 2026. All of the stars are aligning for Thieneman to have an incredible rookie season. His Week 1 opponent is the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers gave up 35 sacks and 12 interceptions in 2025. They did pass slightly more than they ran the ball, so the opportunities will be plentiful for points to be scored by Thieneman.
His #38 ranking of DBs will be the lowest of the season after his performance in Week 1. Start him with a tremendous amount of confidence.
Week 1 – DB Sits
S – Tre’Von Moehrig – Carolina Panthers
Moehrig gets to play the Chicago Bears in Week 1. The Bears are a high-powered offense that is not scared to throw the ball. They were 10th in passes attempted in 2025 and now have Luther Burden and Colston Loveland with experience. Moehrig gets his IDP points by tackling. His statistics in the pass defense area leave a lot to be desired. In 2025, Moehrig had a total of 3 sacks, 2 passes defensed, and 1 interception. That is it.
Moehrig is the #7-ranked DB for Week 1. He might not even be a top 20 after the Bears get done with him. If you have other options, you should use them.
Thank you for checking out my Week 16 IDP Start/Sit Advice article! You can read all of my articles on my IDP+ author page. Be sure to follow me on X at @OldMan_FF and @IDP_Plus (we have offense, too), and please consider becoming a subscriber. Week 4 IDP Start Sit
