John Norton ("The Guru") and Gary Davenport ("The Godfather of IDP") are two of the most experienced and knowledgeable IDP analysts in the fantasy football industry.
This gets said every year, but 2025 feels like the weirdest year in IDP in recent memory. The highest-scoring players in terms of fantasy points per game at each position are all guys who were nowhere near the top of the rankings over the summer. The players who were (on average) have disappointed (across the board).
It's been madness. Chaos. The IDPocalypse
The Guru and the Godfather are doing their best to keep a level head. To guide you through this surreal IDP hellscape as we hit Week 9.
Or at least they will be once Davenport stops screaming.
Surprise, Surprise
The first eight weeks of the 2025 season have featured no shortage of surprises in IDP leagues—for better and for worse.
Which player has been the most pleasant surprise for you? Who has been the biggest defensive disappointment? And will either reverse their current trajectory this year?
Guru: Devin White of the Las Vegas Raiders is far and away the most pleasant surprise for me this season. After watching him fade, fall out of grace, and eventually get the boot out of Tampa Bay, and then flop horribly with the Texans in 2024, I was sure he was washed up. Then came the flashback to my youth when the Raiders would build championship-caliber teams out of scraps and reclamation projects that no one else would touch. I have no idea what went on behind the scenes, but I am glad that White's career is back on track, especially since he is with the Raiders. For those who don't know me, I am a Bengals fan by birth and a Raiders fan by choice. Fortunately for me, that meant I was quick to move on from White when he started showing signs of a renaissance. He's on a roll now and showing no signs of slowing down.
The first Guru and The Godfather question after Week 1 was something like, "Which high-profile player who flopped in Week 1 are you the least concerned about?" My answer was Zaire Franklin of the Colts. Talk about a swing and a miss… This guy has gone from the IDP penthouse to the IDP outhouse in a hurry. There is no point in going through the cause of his downfall. Suffice it to say, there is no reason to expect anything to change over the second half of the season.
Godfather: Cause? There's like four of them. Or 24. Who knows. All that matters is that Franklin is LB46 in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring through eight weeks. And that's not getting it done.
The problem is, he's hardly alone among disappointing linebackers. Azeez Al-Shaair of the Houston Texans is LB44. Terrel Bernard of the Buffalo Bills is LB55. Never mind all the players who are either hurt now or out for the season. The biggest defensive disappointment to me? The carnage at IDP's most important position.
In the interest of not gushing about Los Angeles Rams edge-rusher Byron Young (Who is the highest-scoring defensive lineman in terms of fantasy points per game) again, I'll single out rookie linebacker Barrett Carter of Cincinnati as my pleasant surprise. More than a few eyebrows went up when Al Golden benched long-time green-dot linebacker Logan Wilson for Carter, but over the last three weeks, Carter has averaged 10 stops a game, posted 25 solos, and ranks eighth in fantasy points among linebackers. Getting guys like that off waivers wins leagues.
On to Cincinnati
OK, enough rumination. Let's get to winning games.
Which lower-end defensive lineman will rise up as a solid fantasy start in Week 9? Which high-end starter is most likely to leave IDP managers throwing things and saying naughty words?
Guru: If you look at the overall points for edge defenders, Tuli Tuipulotu doesn't fall under the description of "lower-end" defensive linemen. On the other hand, if you take away his one huge game, he barely makes the list at all. I'll stop short of predicting another four-sack performance from him, but a matchup with the Titans should help him make some noise this week. Tennessee has given up an average of 3.4 sacks per game since week three and has allowed the fourth-most points to edge defenders on the season.
As I was creating my projections for Week 9, I realized there are several top-shelf edge defenders with lousy matchups this week. Carl Granderson versus the Rams, Will Anderson Jr. against Denver, etc. The one that strikes me as the guy who could have people wanting to rage-quit is T.J. Watt versus the Colts. One of the biggest factors in the surprise emergence of Daniel Jones is the fact that he's not getting hit or even pressured much. Indianapolis has allowed two or fewer sacks in seven games and just five to the edge position on the season. Add the fact that Pittsburgh has not been playing "Steeler-like" defense in recent weeks, and managers with Watt might want to have something soft lying around to take out their frustration on this week.
Godfather: As much as I'd like to scream "Wrong!" about Watt, I can't—and I need a solid showing from him in at least one league. Won't get it. But I need it.
No team in the league has surrendered more fantasy points per game to edge-rushers than the Minnesota Vikings, so Aidan Hutchinson's first game with a bag should be a fun one. But batterymate Al-Quadin Muhammad could also get home against the team surrendering the most sacks in the NFC.
Since Norton decided to be super-helpful and just rattled off names of downer D-linemen (that I could have used), I'll have to try extra hard. Or I could just mention Danielle Hunter, who plays opposite Anderson in H-Town. Frankly, neither Texans edge-rusher is lighting it up—more than one player has more sacks individually than the duo combined.
It's not going to get any easier Sunday against the Broncos—Bo Nix has been sacked all of eight times in eight games this year.
Linebacker Lunacy
Continue reading this content with a ELITE subscription.
An ELITE subscription is required to access content for IDP (individual defensive players) leagues. If this league is not a IDP (individual defensive players) league, you can edit your leagues here.