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 Brian Burns, Jordyn Brooks, and Tykee Smith. What needs to be shared is who we start and sit out, as well as 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.
Week 11 Byes include just two teams this week: the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints.
***Please note that all rankings are pulled from FantasyPros.com’s current weekly rankings for DL, LB, and DB.
More NFL Week 11 Fantasy Football Advice From IDP+
Week 11 – DL/Edge Starters
Zach Allen – Denver Broncos
Allen has been one of the more consistent DL producers in the league over the last few weeks. He plays nearly 3/4ths of the defensive snaps and is on a streak of 6 straight games of at least .5 sacks. During this stretch, he has posted 18 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 18 QB hits, and 6 passes defended. The Chiefs are the opponent in Week 11, and they give up nearly two sacks a game. The NFL leader in sacks, the Broncos, will make Patrick Mahomes very uncomfortable, and Allen is sure to be a key ingredient to that pressure.
Nic Scourton – Carolina Panthers
Scourton has increased his defensive snaps to nearly 80% over the past couple of weeks. This is because he has posted three sacks in the past four games. Add in 16 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, and 7 QB hits, and you have a starter for your IDP team. The rookie has been posting these impressive stats against the better-ranked teams in points allowed to opposing DE/Edge players; the Bills are 2nd, and the Saints are 9th. Up this week are the 4th-ranked Falcons, who have been very inconsistent and given up 8 sacks in the last 4 games, including 3 last week against the Colts.
Jalon Walker – Atlanta Falcons
Walker has played a team-leading 65% of the defensive snaps in the DE/Edge room over the past two games. In these 2 games combined, he has delivered 11 tackles (8 solo), 3 tackles for a loss, 2 QB hits, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 pass defended. That puts him as the #2-ranked DL over the past two games combined. Ride this hot streak against the Panthers, who have given up 22 sacks this year.
Week 11 – DL/Edge Sits
Will McDonald – New York Jets
Do not believe in McDonald’s Week 10 performance against the Browns. Consider it a mirage as he has come nowhere near that production in six of his other eight games. He has produced just 26 total fantasy points in the 6 games between weeks 2-7. Combined in those 6 weeks, McDonald posted just 4 solo tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 0 sacks, and 0 passes defended. He was playing roughly 60-70% of the defensive snaps. Week 10 was the outlier, not the standard.
Micah Parsons – Green Bay Packers
Parsons is one of the greatest DE/Edge players to play in the NFL, but he is not the greatest IDP fantasy football player to have played. He has scored single-digit fantasy points in 4 games this year, including his last 2 games. Parsons is always ranked in the top ten, and has scored in the top ten maybe twice this year. He has games of 2 or 3 tackles with 0 sacks, and has another game with 5 tackles and 3 sacks. His inconsistency lands him on your bench against the Giants if you have other options.
Week 11 – LB Starts
Cedric Gray – Tennessee Titans
Gray is one of the most underrated stories of the 2025 season. Gray plays over 90% of the defensive snaps and has scored double-digit points in every game since week 4. He has had double-digit tackles in 5 of his last 6 games, including games of 17, 16, and 2 games of 12 tackles. Gray gets to play the Texans and their 23rd-ranked offense in points allowed to opposing LBs. He should post a double-digit tackle, 20+ point day for your squad this week. Gray will probably be a Top 5 LB again, just like he has been since Week 4.
Quincy Williams – New York Jets
Williams was taken out of the starting lineup last week and still played 71% of the snaps. How did Williams respond to the benching? He posted his season best 8 tackles (5 solo), 2 tackles for a loss, 1 QB hit, and 1 sack. In the two games back since being placed on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury, Williams has 15 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 QB hit, 1 sack, and 2 passes defended. This makes him the #7-ranked scoring LB in average score over the past 3 weeks. Start him with confidence.
Teddye Buchanan – Baltimore Ravens
The rookie has been solid all year long with 69 tackles (36 solo), 4 tackles for a loss, 1 QB hit, .5 sack, and 1 forced fumble in his 8 games started of the 9 he has played. His defensive snap count has fluctuated, but his production has not. Since week 2, he has played anywhere from 58-100% of the defensive snaps. His production per game has ranged from 6 to 15 tackles per game. He gets to play against the most generous team in the NFL in points allowed to opposing linebackers, the Browns.
Week 11 – LB Sits
Devin Bush – Cleveland Browns
Bush plays more than 70% of the defensive snaps, with 80-90% being the norm. Bush has had just 5-6 tackles in each of his last 3 games. This week, he will go against the Ravens with Lamar Jackson getting stronger each and every week. His average of 11 points over the past 3 weeks will not help your IDP squad make it to the playoffs. You can leave him on your bench.
Azeez Al-Shaair – Houston Texans
Al-Shaair has reached 20 points scored just once this season and also has three single-digit scoring games. He has just one game with double-digit tackles, which was back in Week 2. This week brings the Titans against the Texans, which the Titans are the 6th stingiest team in the league in points allowed to opposing linebackers. You can keep the #30-ranked LB for Week 11 on your bench.
Week 11 – DB Starts
Quick Tip – When having a hard time deciding on a DB to start, and a rookie CB is one of those players, always choose the rookie CB if they are going against a pass-heavy team.
Talanoa Hufanga – Denver Broncos
Hufanga is the #2-ranked scoring Safety in IDP for the season. He has outscored fellow DBs that are ranked ahead of him this week. The players would include Brian Branch, Derwin James, Kamren Curl, Budda Baker, Quentin Lake, and Kyle Hamilton. Hufanga gets to play the Chiefs this weekend, who give up the 5th most points to opposing Safeties. Start him over everyone not named Tykee Smith. Let his 20 points per game average carry you to another IDP win this weekend.
Cole Bishop – Buffalo Bills
Bishop has scored nearly 30 points in each of his last two contests. Now, he gets the 21st-ranked Buccaneers in points allowed to opposing Safeties. The opportunities will be plentiful for Bishop to keep his 3 game streak of 7 tackles alive and well. The #2-ranked scoring Safety over the past two weeks will outproduce his #20 ranking for Week 11 by at least 10 spots. He can be started with a great deal of confidence.
DaRon Bland – Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys’ defense is really bad, which means more than an average share of plays run against them. They are 29th in scoring allowed to opposing RBs and 31st in scoring allowed to opposing WRs. Trevon Diggs is out with a concussion, which leaves Bland to make a bunch of tackles. Bland has averaged over 30 points per game over the past three outings. That should continue this week as they play the Raiders and their 28th-ranked team in points allowed to opposing CBs. The #2 scoring DB over the past 3 games combined will give another Top 10 performance.
Week 11 – DB Sits
Andru Phillips – New York Giants
Phillips has had his defensive snap count reduced over the last six games. It is a very bad omen when a CB has just one pass defended over his last 250 defensive snaps combined. Somehow, he is ranked #42 in the Week 11 rankings for DB. You need more than just 9.5 points if he is going to be in your starting lineup. Phillips deserves a seat this week and probably for the rest of the season.
Jalen Thompson – Arizona Cardinals
Thompson has been a very large disappointment this season, and especially over his last five games, which have produced a combined average of just 12 points per game. He averaged over 17 points per game last year. Thompson needs to stay on your bench until he breaks out of this low tackle pattern. He is way overvalued with his #17 ranking for Week 11. Sit him with confidence this week.
Thank you for checking out my Week 11 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
