IDP Start-Sit, Studs and Duds: Week 3

The 2026 IDP season has gone completely according to plan—said no one ever.

The first two weeks of the 2026 campaign have been madness. Chaos. Anarchy. On the defensive line, seeing Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt atop the leaderboard isn't a stunner—he's not unfamiliar to that spot. But the No. 2 edge rusher (Greg Rousseau of the Bills) was barely drafted as a DL2, and the No. 3 one (Lukas Van Ness of the Packers) opened the season on the waiver wire in more leagues than not.

The NFL's leading tackler is a rookie linebacker (Tennessee's Anthony Hill Jr.) who wouldn't even have started the opener had Cedric Gray Jr. not wrecked his UTV over Labor Day weekend. The two highest-scoring safeties were both afterthoughts in most IDP drafts over the summer.

Meanwhile, the number of big names who have started slow is as long as it is depressing. Los Angeles Rams edge rusher Myles Garrett has as many fantasy points as I do (and he's on injured reserve). Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (the first IDP off most boards this year) ranks outside the top-45 at his position. Buccaneers safety Tykee Smith has gone from IDP star a year ago to invisible—The Hollow Man.

Not the worst movie. Also not the best movie.

The thing is, this isn't all that unusual. Two weeks may feel like an eternity to IDP managers who are 0-2, but it's still a small sample size. Sluggish starters will turn things around. Surprise starters will go back to the outhouse from the penthouse as quickly as they made the reverse trip. If there's one thing you can expect in IDP leagues, it's the unexpected.

All we can do is put our heads down, make good use of what little matchup information we have (while trying to discern what is real and what's a mirage), and endeavor to set a winning defensive lineup for Week 3.

That's what we're here to do, with another edition of IDP Studs and Duds here at Footballguys.

Each week during the 2026 season, I'll point out some Individual Defensive Players who could exceed expectations this week (Studs), as well as some that, for whatever reason, are riskier than normal (Duds).

This isn't necessarily to say 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).

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 Jaishawn Barham, Dallas (vs. Baltimore) (1)

Barham was a summer standout for the Cowboys—there was buzz that the rookie could win a starting spot. That isn't how things played out, but with DeMarvion Overshown out with a hamstring injury, Barham has been pressed into duty as the "green dot" linebacker in Dallas. Barham's limited snap share against Washington last week raised some eyebrows, but head coach Brian Schottenheimer told reporters that snap count should increase moving forward.

"Young player, he has been working actually pretty hard on it," Schottenheimer said. "The best way to get in shape is to play, so he's working through that. This guy is really smart, really bright. I don't know how many rookie linebackers in their second game are wearing the green dot."

This week Barham and the Cowboys face a Ravens team in Brazil that is undoubtedly going to hammer away at the Dallas defense with Derrick Henry. Last year, no team in the league gave up more fantasy points to linebackers than Baltimore, and the Ravens have been similarly generous to opposing linebackers so far this season.

IDP Dud of the Week

LB Carson Schwesinger, Cleveland (vs. Carolina) (30)

In just his second professional season, Schwesinger has already become a defensive leader in Cleveland. After tallying 156 total tackles as a rookie, the 2025 Defensive Rookie of the Year drew comparisons to Luke Kuechly—comparisons that Schwesinger was quick to downplay while talking to reporters.

"I have only played one season," he said, "so we may have to chill out on that a little until I do a whole lot more to get to the level that he was at when he was playing. And I think just what he was so good at, I mean basically everything, but he's known for his preparation, and so I think that's a big part of the linebacker position and that's a really big part of what I want to be able to try and emulate when I go out onto the field."

Schwesinger has gotten off to a solid start in the tackle column in Year 2—10 total stops in each of Cleveland's first two games. However, hitting double-digits in stops for a third consecutive week—the Panthers were a terrible fantasy matchup for linebackers last year and are an even worse one in 2026—dead last in fantasy points allowed to the position.

Week 3 IDP Studs