IDP Start-Sit, Studs and Duds: Week 5

The second month of the 2026 IDP season is about to get underway. And for many fantasy managers, their campaigns are already at a crossroads.

Sure, it's great to be chugging along at 4-0 or 3-1. To have rostered breakout players like Buffalo Bills edge rusher Greg Rousseau, Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Nakobe Dean, and Green Bay Packers safety Evan Williams. To be piling up fantasy points and rolling to victory on the regular.

The thing is, for every victory there's a defeat. For every manager who is rolling, there's one that is reeling. Teams that drafted Denver Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto, Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger, and Los Angeles Rams safety Kam Curl have been left holding the proverbial bag. Their teams are sitting at 1-3 or (sigh) 0-4, and they feel like a big fat loser.

Well, buck up, reelers! And buckle down, rollers! For as terrible or wonderful as the season has gone so far, we're still only four weeks in. Slow starts can be turned around. Hot starts can fall apart. IDP managers have to keep their heads on a swivel and be ready to rock each and every week.

As always, IDP Studs and Duds here at Footballguys is here to help.

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).

This is also the first of the bye weeks—yippee. The Carolina Panthers and the Kansas City Chiefs are off—no Devin Lloyd or Nick Bolton at linebacker in Week 5.

Numbers in parentheses denote ranking in fantasy points allowed to that position in 2026 in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring. 

IDP Stud of the Week

LB Zaire Franklin, Green Bay (vs. Chicago) (4)

The Packers suffered a significant injury at linebacker last week, losing Edgerrin Cooper to a torn Achilles tendon. That injury thrusts Isaiah McDuffie into the starting lineup—and jacks up the pressure on Franklin to hold the defense together. While addressing the media, Green Bay defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said he's confident Franklin is up to the task.

"Z does an unbelievable job," Gannon said. I thought he's been playing very well. He's making plays for us. He's running the show. Obviously, you guys know he's the green dot. We put a lot on his plate, and he handles it well, and I think he's doing some really good things in the run and pass game."

Franklin's first month with the Packers hasn't been especially impressive, although his numbers have perked up the past two weeks. That upswing will continue and then some this week at Lambeau Field against the Bears—Chicago is averaging just under 40 carries per game on the ground.

IDP Dud of the Week

LB Anthony Hill Jr., Tennessee (vs. Houston) (30)

Hill has been on quite the rip over the first month of his NFL career—after being pressed into action by injury in Week 1, Hill quickly became Tennessee's "green dot" linebacker and piled up 42 total tackles—good for third in the NFL. Will Lomas of Titan Sized wrote that Hill is a player on track to be Robert Saleh's latest star at linebacker.

"There is still a long way to go before Hill can draw comparisons to former Saleh linebackers like Dre Greenlaw, C.J. Mosley, or Fred Warner," he wrote, "but he is starting off strong in this defense, and the coaching staff clearly believes he is going to be a great linebacker in the NFL. Not only are they saying that, but they are backing it up by giving him the reps he needs to develop into an elite player."

Hill has been productive for IDP managers this season as well—he has been a top-20 fantasy option. But Hill's production has quietly dropped each and every week this season, and this week he takes on a team struggling in a big way to run the ball while allowing the third-fewest fantasy points to linebackers.

Week 5 IDP Studs