IDP Start-Sit, Studs and Duds: Week 14

The grand finale is here—at least after a fashion.

In most IDP leagues, Week 14 is the end of the regular season. Come next week, half of the league (at least) won't be playing anymore this year. The season will have ended in failure. Months of preparation followed by months of team management will have amounted to jack squat.

Frowny-face. Maybe time for some good old-fashioned day-drinking.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, there are the teams that have sailed through the regular season. This week, the stakes are either taking next week off with a Round 1 bye or…nothing. It's a coronation. A celebration. Party time before the second season begins.

Then there is a third group. A group that is equal parts excited and freaked out. For them, this week means everything. Win, and it's on to the playoffs and a chance to win the championship. Lose, and the season ends in (in some ways) even more disappointing fashion than going 4-10.

For that last group, the pressure in Week 14 done been turnt up. To 11. At the risk of sounding melodramatic (for the first time ever), every lineup decision that those managers make this week could be the difference between playing in Week 15 or being out of excuses to stay in the den all day.

IDP Studs and Duds at Footballguys is here to make sure you don't have to talk to your kids just yet.

It's better for both sides, really.

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).

Week 14 is the last of the bye weeks—the Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers are all off. The list of (healthy) IDP standouts on those teams isn't especially long, but every hole in the lineup is a problem this week.

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 Payton Wilson, Pittsburgh (at Baltimore) (2)

It has been quite the ride for Wilson in 2025—the second-year pro opened the year as an every-down player but started losing snaps to veteran Cole Holcomb as the season wore on. But while speaking with reporters, head coach Mike Tomlin said that he's been impressed by Wilson's growth in 2025.

"It's a reasonable expectation, a second-year player who played a lot last year, made some plays last year," Tomlin said. "It's a natural progression (when) you've got a good relationship with the game, you work the way that he works, and you have the talent that he has, I don't think anybody is surprised by the impact and the general trajectory."

Wilson has only played about 70 percent of the defensive snaps this year, but he leads the Steelers with 103 total tackles and is on pace to threaten the franchise record for stops. Coming off a 14-tackle effort against the Bills last week, Wilson faces a Ravens team in Week 14 that leads the AFC in fantasy points per game allowed to linebackers.

IDP DUD OF THE WEEK

EDGE Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas (vs. Denver) (31)

Breaking news—it has been another terrible season for the Las Vegas Raiders, who have won two games all year and have lost six in a row and all five games since their bye week. However, as Tristian Kuhn wrote for Silver and Black Pride, while the Raiders aren't winning, veteran edge-rusher Maxx Crosby has been on quite the rip.

"In other 'advanced' metrics, Crosby has seen his run stop win rate over the last five games rise from 36.8% to 44% which now leads the NFL at EDGE," Kuhn said. "Crosby also has posted 37 run stop wins in his last five games, giving him 93 on the season, which is more than 35 than the next closest edge rusher (Rams Jared Verse). As a pass rusher, Crosby saw his win rate rise from 13.1% before the bye week to 17.8% currently, including three straight games with a win rate over 18%. Despite the Raiders' struggles as a defense and in their pass rush situations, Crosby has seen his pressure rate rise as well."

That tear has moved Crosby into third place among all edge-rushers, trailing only Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns and Brian Burns of the New York Giants. But the Denver Broncos have been the nightmare matchup for the position this year—Bo Nix has been sacked an NFL-low 14 times this season.

WEEK 14 IDP STUDS