IDP Start-Sit, Studs and Duds: Week 10

The farther we get into the fantasy football season, the less margin for error some fantasy managers have. And with Week 10 here, it's getting late early for that bunch.

For whatever reason, things haven't gone according to plan. For some, it's injuries; for others, it's players who haven't come close to meeting expectations; and for some poor schlubs, it's a combo platter of both. And it has them sitting at 4-5…or worse.

For them, danger lurks at every bend in the trail that is the season. Around one, there is quicksand. Around the next, giant flesh-eating ants. Lions. Tigers. Bears. Flying monkeys. The whole nine yards.

You're in the jungle, baby…

Take many more losses, and you're gonna die.

Sure, every IDP manager wants to set the best lineup possible. But for the teams who are clinging to playoff hopes by a thread, it has gone well past "want"—they need to hit on lineup decisions.

They are in the right place, because this author has never been wrong in this column except for the times that I was—and those were totally not my fault.

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).

Week 10 is another four-team bye week. The Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are all off. No Dillon Thieneman, Alex Singleton, Zack Baun, or Josiah Trotter this week.

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

EDGE Danielle Hunter, Houston (at Cleveland) (1)

Over 11 years in Minnesota and Houston, Hunter has been a force—he's sitting on 118.5 career sacks and posted at least 10.5 sacks in four straight seasons from 2022 to 2025. As the team's website pointed out, Hunter's career could one day land the 32-year-old in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"Selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft with the 88th pick overall, Hunter entered the NFL as the youngest player in the league but finished his first season with 6.0 sacks, second among all rookies," they said. "He set the NFL record for most sacks (46.0) by a player prior to turning 25 years old, and became the youngest player in NFL history to reach 50 career sacks at 25 years and 40 days old, surpassing Robert Quinn's previous record."

Hunter has actually been quiet (by his standards) this season—he's on pace to record just 8.5 sacks for the season, and he has less than half as many sacks as teammate Will Anderson Jr., but if ever there was a week for Hunter to get home, it's Sunday against a Cleveland Browns team that has allowed a staggering 38 sacks this season.

IDP Dud of the Week

LB Kaden Elliss, New Orleans (vs. Carolina) (31)

Elliss' first season back in the Big Easy has been something of a bumpy one—the 31-year-old missed three games and hadn't had a double-digit tackle game heading into last week's tilt with the Cleveland Browns. That dry spell ended in a big way in Week 9, and as John Sigler wrote for Saints Wire, Elliss looked like the defensive centerpiece the Saints signed him to be.

"You can see how badly the Saints missed Elliss for a couple of weeks before the bye week," Sigler said. "He led the team with eleven tackles (eight solo), two tackles for loss, four quarterback hits and a sack. Elliss is unique in that he mostly rushes the quarterback from the interior, using his greater speed to cut past slower guards while overwhelming blockers in the backfield with his size. This was a huge game for him."

Elliss was seventh among all linebackers in fantasy points a week ago, but the odds of a repeat are low in this week's "big" NFC South showdown with the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers rank 23rd in rushing, 31st in rushing attempts, and 31st in fantasy points per game allowed to linebackers this season.

Week 10 IDP Studs