IDP Start-Sit, Studs and Duds: Week 11

The 2025 fantasy football regular season has reached a critical juncture.

In most IDP leagues, just four weeks remain before the playoffs start. The stretch run is upon us. There are some fortunate fantasy managers with eight or nine wins who, barring complete collapse, will make the postseason (All 10-0 managers can get bent—show-offs), but for every one of those, there are three who are hovering around .500.

For all those folks, the next month will determine whether they move on to the playoffs or run of excuses not to hang garland (It's not even Thanksgiving yet. Take a breath.).

The margin for error for many fantasy managers is effectively Gonesville. For some, the playoffs have essentially already started. Start peeling off wins, and an IDP squad can be catapulted into the postseason tournament. But take another loss or two, and the 2025 season will be well and truly wrecked.

Um. Ouch.

With no room for mistakes, every lineup decision becomes all the more important. Every point can be the difference between a win that keeps playoff aspirations intact and a loss that dashes them. It's maddening. It's fantastic.

And IDP Studs and Duds here at Footballguys is here to help lead you into the fray.

Each week during the 2025 season, I'll point out some Individual Defensive Players who could be set to exceed expectations this week (Studs), as well as some that, for whatever reason, are riskier plays than normal (Duds).

This isn't necessarily to say that every "Stud" is a must-start (it depends on your other options) or that every "Dud" should be glued to your bench (just that the odds of a letdown week are greater than usual).

Just two teams are off in Week 11—the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints. It figures that we'd finally get a Zaire Franklin sighting just in time for the Colts to have the week off.

Numbers in parentheses denote ranking in fantasy points allowed to that position in 2025 in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring. 

IDP STUD OF THE WEEK

LB Terrel Bernard, Buffalo (vs. Tampa Bay) (6)

This call will undoubtedly induce a few eye-rolls. In fact, there are shallower IDP leagues where this writer has outright dropped Bernard this year. The reason? He just hasn't played well—an observation shared by anyone with functioning eyes—including Sean Murphy of SB Nation.

As a small linebacker, he needs strong defensive tackle play to keep him clean, but he's consistently made bad reads, over-pursued plays, and found himself out of position in the run game even when Buffalo's defensive front does well," Murphy wrote. "In coverage, which had always been a strength, he looks lost, as he's been a step slow whether in man or in zone this year."

He's not lying—Bernard is LB51 on the season in terms of fantasy points per game. But he didn't magically forget how to play football. He'll be out there for every snap in a plus IDP matchup with the Buccaneers. And after last week's mind-boggling meltdown in Miami, the Bills need this game. Buffalo gets that badly-needed win—and Bernard cracks the top-20 this week.

IDP DUD OF THE WEEK

LB Jack Campbell, Detroit (at Philadelphia) (32)

In his third professional season, Campbell has come into his own—he sits fourth among linebackers in fantasy points entering Week 11. Apparently, he has also drawn the ire of the NFL for the ferocity he has shown trying to punch the ball loose, although Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard told reporters the team isn't about to ask Campbell how to change the way he plays.

"Look at Jack. I mean, they just sent out a memo and the tape," he said. I mean, the way Jack is doing it--it's violent, it's aggressive, and it's the way we play. We won't make excuses, and I hope it continues to show up, and I hope it upticks as we progress in the season. Just the emphasis on punching at the ball. They want you to punch at the ball and not the player, whatever that means."

I think it means you can't punch players. Just saying.

In any event, the 18th overall pick in 2023 could be headed for a down stat line. The Eagles are dead last in fantasy points per game allowed to linebackers, and last week Edgerrin Cooper and Quay Walker of the Green Bay Packers had just seven solos combined against Philly.

WEEK 11 IDP STUDS