The IDP Fantasy start and sits you need to set your lineups and succeed on Sunday!
This is my weekly start or sit article for your IDP players in fantasy football. Despite there being very little actual information presented, just a start, sit, and what tier of production I expect from the starting player, there is a lot of information that goes into these decisions each week.
I use snap percentages (playing time), past production, tendencies of the opposing offense and probable game flow to decide on these. I just want the reader to know that a lot of time and research goes into this each week so don’t be put off by the bare bones layout here.
I used to do this explaining exactly why each decision is made and the thought process behind it but it was getting so detailed I wasn’t able to finish a start or sit for every team playing each week and only ended up covering some of the games, this way you guys get a read on all of them.
If I don’t mention a specific player it means I don’t have enough of a read on them to make a recommendation one way or the other but odds are I wouldn’t play them. The known IDP producers or potential IDP producers for each team should all be covered here.
Tier one starts = These guys have the best matchups and a history of production along with playing time, they are most likely to have a big game this week.
Tier two starts = Play these guys in deeper leagues, they should get you some points but I wouldn’t expect a massive day out of them.
Sits = Don’t play them they don’t have an ideal matchup or won’t play enough snaps to be effective.
Full transparency I got correct 143 takes and 38 wrong last week for about a 74% success rate, my percent correct each week has been hovering around 70% all year and the lowest has been 66% and the highest 75%. I don’t own a crystal ball, so I’ll never be perfect, but for having a take on literally every single IDP relevant player on every single team every week all year I’d say we’re looking pretty good.
And I’m pretty easily accessible if you want to call me an idiot, (@Orangeman3142 on Twitter). We believe in transparency and owning our mistakes here at IDP Guys as well as never making you go through a paywall for information.
It’s a labor of love here and I would put our team, who together have over 100 years of combined IDP experience, up against anyone or any site out there and bet on us to be more accurate and accessible 10 times out of 10.
Let’s get into it.
Baltimore @ Atlanta
Ravens:
Tier one starts: CJ Mosley (LB) Tony Jefferson (S) *if healthy*
Tier two starts: Terrel Suggs (LB, EDGE) Eric Weddle (S)
Sits: NA
Falcons:
Tier one starts: Deion Jones (LB) *if healthy* DaMontae Kazee (S) Grady Jarrett (DT)
Tier two starts: Foye Oluokun (LB) DaVondre Campbell (LB)
Sits: Falcons cornerbacks, both Lamar Jackson and Joe Flacco don’t complete a ton of passes, I’d stream elsewhere.
Denver @ Cincinatti
Broncos:
Tier one starts: Justin Simmons (S) Bradley Chubb (DE, LB) *tier one as DE, tier two as LB*
Tier two starts: Todd Davis (LB) Von Miller (LB, EDGE) Chris Harris (CB) Derek Wolfe (DE)
Sits: Brandon Marshall (LB) Josey Jewell (LB)
Bengals:
Tier one starts: Jessie Bates (S) Shawn Williams (S) Vontaze Burfict (LB) Nick Vigil (LB) *if healthy*
Tier two starts: Carlos Dunlap (DE) Geno Atkins (DT)
Sits: Jordan Evans (LB) Hardy Nickerson (LB) Vincent Rey (LB) Bengals cornerbacks *Any of those linebackers could play, or they might not, it was Hardy Nickeron 2 weeks ago, Jordan Evans before that and one week ago and Vincent Rey last week, you could start a guy who get’s you nothing I’m staying away from the entire mess. Denver doesn’t complete a ton of passes I would stream corner somewhere else*
Los Angeles @ Detroit
Rams:
Tier one starts: Aaron Donald (DE) N’Damakong Suh (DT) Cory Littleton (LB) John Johnson (S)
Tier two starts: Micheal Brockers (DE) Dante Fowler (DE) Marc Barron (LB) Marcus Peters (CB) Aquib Talib (CB) *if healthy*
Sits: Ramik Wilson (LB) LaMarcus Joyner (S) *inconsistency*
Lions:
Tier one starts: Jarrad Davis (LB) Damon Harrison (DT)
Tier two starts: Glover Quinn (S) Quandre Diggs (S) Darius Slay (CB) Ezekiel Ansah (DE)
Sits: NA
Arizona @ Green Bay
Cardinals:
Tier one starts: Chandler Jones (DE) Budda Baker (S) Antoine Bethea (S) Patrick Peterson (CB)
Tier two starts: Robert Nkemdiche (DT) Gerald Hodges (LB) Hasaan Redick (LB) Tre Boston (S) Markus Golden (DE)
Sits: Deone Buchanon (LB)
Packers:
Tier one starts: Blake Martinez (LB) Jaire Alexander (CB)
Tier two starts: Mike Daniels (DT) Kenny Clark (DT) Antonio Morrison (LB)
Sits: Green Bay safeties *inconsistency in both playing time and production, total flop for all of them last week*
Buffalo @ Miami
Bills:
Tier one starts: Tremaine Edmunds (LB) Jordan Poyer (S)
Tier two starts: Matt Milano (LB) Trent Murphy (DE) Jerry Hughes (DE)
Sits: Micah Hyde (S) Shaq Lawson (DE) Lorenzo Alexander (LB)
Dolphins:
Tier one starts: TJ McDonald (S) Kiko Alonso (LB)
Tier two starts: Raekwon McMillan (LB) Reshad Jones (S) Minkah Fitzpatrick (S)
Sits: Xavien Howard (CB) *not an ideal matchup for corner streaming* Jerome Baker (LB) *huge slump* Davon Godchaux (DT) *he’s a futures option for dynasty, it’s not happening this year*
Chicago @ New York
Bears:
Tier one starts: Khalil Mack (DE, LB) *tier one as DE, two as LB* Roquan Smith (LB) Akiem Hicks (DE)
Tier two starts: Danny Trevethan (LB) Eddie Jackson (S) Adrian Amos (S) Kyle Fuller (CB) Prince Amukamara (CB)
Sits: NA
Giants:
Tier one starts: Landon Collins (S) Alec Ogletree (LB) Janoris Jenkins (CB)
Tier two starts: Curtis Riley (S) Olivier Vernon (DE)
Sits: NA
Carolina @ Tampa Bay
Panthers:
Tier one starts: Luke Kuechly (LB) Eric Reid (S) Kawan Short (DT) James Bradberry (CB)
Tier two starts: Thomas Davis (LB) Mike Adams (S) Mario Addison (DE)
Sits: NA
Bucs:
Tier one starts: Jason Pierre Paul (DE) Gerald McCoy (DT) Justin Evans (S) *if healthy* LaVonte David (LB)
Tier two starts: Jordan Whitehead (S) Brent Grimes (CB) Adarius Taylor (LB) Carl Nassib (DE)
Sits: NA
Indianapolis @ Jacksonville
Colts:
Tier one starts: Darius Leonard (LB) Clayton Geathers (S)
Tier two starts: Anthony Walker (LB) Kenny Moore (CB) Jabaal Sheard (DE)
Sits: Margus Hunt (DE) Denico Autry (DT)
Jags:
Tier one starts: Telvin Smith (LB) Calais Campbell (DE)
Tier two starts: Yannick Ngakoue (DE) Barry Church (S) Jalen Ramsey (CB) AJ Buoye (CB) Myles Jack (LB)
Sits: NA
Cleveland @ Houston
Browns:
Tier one starts: Myles Garrett (DE) Joe Schobert (LB) Denzel Ward (CB)
Tier two starts: Larry Ogunjobi (DT) Emanuel Ogbah (DE) Jamie Collins (LB) Damarious Randal (S)
Sits: Jabril Peppers (S)
Texans:
Tier one starts: JJ Watt (DE) JaDaveon Clowney (DE, LB) *tier one as DE, two as LB) Zach Cunningham (LB) Tyrann Mathieu (S)
Tier two starts: Bernardrick McKinney (LB) Justin Reid (S)
Sits: Whitney Mercilus (LB) DJ Reader (DT)
New York @ Tennessee
Jets:
Tier one starts: Jamal Adams (S) Avery Williamson (LB)
Tier two starts: Darron Lee (LB) Marcus Maye (S) Leonard Williams (DE)
Sits: NA
Titans:
Tier one starts: Jurell Casey (DT) Wesley Woodyard (LB) Kevin Byard (S)
Tier two starts: Kenny Vaccaro (D) Jayon Brown (LB)
Sits: Titans cornerbacks, Jets won’t complete a lot of passes I would stream elsewhere
Kansas City @ Oakland
Chiefs:
Tier one starts: Kendal Fuller (CB)
Tier two starts: Anthony Hitchens (LB) Chris Jones (DE) Eric Berry (S) *if healthy*
Sits: Everyone else, Raiders offense isn’t good at all, I expect the Chiefs to own time of possession and their IDP to have limited chances to make plays
Raiders:
Tier one starts: Tahir Whitehead (LB)
Tier two starts: Maurice Hurst (DT)
Sits: Everyone else *massive inconsistency*
Minnesota @ New England
Vikings:
Tier one starts: Linval Joseph (DT) Danielle Hunter (DE) Everson Griffen (DE) Harrison Smith (S) Eric Kendricks (LB)
Tier two starts: Sheldon Richardson (DT) Trae Waynes (CB) Andrew Sendejo (S) *if healthy*
Sits: NA
Patriots:
Tier one starts: Trey Flowers (DE)
Tier two starts: Kyle Van Noy (LB) Patrick Chung (S) Devin McCourty (S)
Sits: Everyone else *massive inconsistency in both playing time and production*
San Francisco @ Seattle
49ers:
Tier one starts: DeForest Buckner (DT) Fred Warner (LB) Jaquiski Tartt (S)
Tier two starts: Elijah Lee (LB) Solomon Thomas (DE) Richard Sherman (CB)
Sits: NA
Seahawks:
Tier one starts: Bobby Wagner (LB) Bradley McDougald (S) Frank Clark (DE)
Tier two starts: KJ Wright (LB) Jarran Reed (DT) Tedric Thompson (S)
Sits: NA
Los Angeles @ Pittsburgh
Chargers:
Tier one starts: Derwin James (S) Joey Bosa (S) Melvin Ingram (DE) Jatavis Brown (LB)
Tier two starts: Desmond King (CB) Adrian Phillips (S) Jahleel Addae (S)
Sits: Hayes Pullard (LB)
Steelers:
Tier one starts: Cameron Heyward (DT, DE)
Tier two starts: Jon Bostic (LB) Vince Williams (LB) Terrel Edmunds (S) Sean Davis (S) TJ Watt (LB, EDGE) Stephon Tuitt (DE)
Sits: NA
Washington @ Philadelphia
Redskins:
Tier one starts: Mason Foster (LB) Ha Ha Clinton Dix (S)
Tier two starts: Zach Brown (LB) Josh Norman (CB) Ryan Kerrigan (LB, EDGE)
Sits: DJ Swearinger (S)
Eagles:
Tier one starts: Nigel Bradham (LB) Malcolm Jenkins (S) Fletcher Cox (DT) Jordan Hicks (LB) *if healthy*
Tier two starts: Micheal Bennett (DE) Brandon Graham (DE) Chris Long (DE) Kamu Gruger Hill (LB) *if Jordan Hicks doesn’t play* Corey Graham (S)
Sits: Eagles cornerbacks, not an ideal matchup
***Obviously if any of these players are inactive or injured before their game don’t play them, this article is usually written days ahead of each teams game and things change constantly in regards to injury and suspensions and the like. Make sure you check ESPN’s inactive list that drops at 11:30AM Eastern Time every Sunday morning for the latest and best information on injury status before the games kick off***
If you have any questions feel free to hit me up on Twitter (@Orangeman3142) or use the “contact us” box on the website idpguys.org. Good luck in your matchups this week and keep an eye out for my instant reaction & defensive waivers segment coming out next week starting Tuesday and continuing throughout the week. I break down every single teams IDP situation with snap counts, production and analysis.
And make sure you catch the podcast dropping Tuesday where we discuss this week in all things IDP from week thirteen as well as some offensive and defensive waivers and the latest IDP news and notes to keep you up to speed with all things IDP.
Our team of writers has been doing this for a long time, many of us since 2004 or earlier and altogether we have over 100 years of IDP experience combined. Between all of us we’ll find you the help or advice you need to get your team ready for the playoff push and win your IDP league.
All that and more, and never behind a paywall, at idpguys.org.
