IDP The Guru and The Godfather: Week 6

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. Each week during the regular season, they gather to answer the most looming questions facing IDP managers that week.

We aren't even halfway through the 2026 fantasy football season, but this is already a critical point in the campaign for many IDP managers. Teams hovering around .500 are looking to build momentum. Winning squads are trying to reach full juggernaut status. Losing ones are trying to keep things from becoming completely unglued.

The Guru and the Godfather are like epoxy—combine the two, and it forms an unbreakable bond of victory and dominance.

Was almost able to type that without laughing out loud. Almost.

Never Too Early to Overreact

Five weeks into the season, there have been a number of IDPs who have either wildly exceeded expectations or haven't sniffed meeting them.

Which early star would you be most motivated to sell before reality comes crashing down? Which slow-starter would you be most willing to buy at a discount before a potential bounceback?

Guru: I'm looking to sell Jihaad Campbell of the Philadelphia Eagles before Jeremiah Trotter Jr. bumps him down the depth chart. There was talk heading into the season that Trotter was challenging for the starting job. He was working with the starters, ahead of Campbell at times, all summer. When Trotter had a shot to get on the field a couple of weeks back, he exploded. Meanwhile, Campbell hasn't been bad, but he's not progressing as fast as the coaching staff would like. The bottom line is that, in my opinion, Trotter is the better player at this time. Adding fuel to the fire, the announcers for the Week 5 game were talking as if Trotter was set to be the starter for that game before he was ejected for the tussle on the kickoff. There might be nothing to it, but it seems to me the writing is on the wall.   

I'm giving an honorable mention to Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher Alex Highsmith, whose picture is showing up on milk cartons after his three-game vanishing act, but the guy I want to talk about is Tennessee Titans linebacker Cedric Gray. The Titans have a logjam at linebacker. They have established that Anthony Hill Jr. is their centerpiece going forward. Gray had a great 2025. He is 24 years old and under contract through the 2027 season. Right now, he is seeing limited snaps as the team's third linebacker, which means he can be had for a song. The only thing keeping him out of a three-down role is journeyman rent-a-backer, Cody Barton. The trade deadline is November 10. If a contending team is hit by injury at the position, Barton would be a solid option. He would come relatively cheap and is a dependable veteran player. The Titans would do well to move him and get help for the future.

Godfather: I'm not sure if The Guru is rubbing salt in the wound of my 1-4 King's Classic Dick Butkus Division team (which has Highsmith) or not. Either way, sigh.

Over the first three weeks of the 2026 season, Buffalo Bills edge rusher Greg Rousseau racked up six sacks—two in each contest. Despite two straight games without getting to the quarterback, he still has more fantasy points in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring than every defensive lineman not named Will Anderson Jr. However, Rousseau has also never had more than eight sacks in five professional seasons, and his IDP value right now is as high as it's ever going to get.

To be clear, this writer never expected Chicago Bears linebacker Devin Bush to back up the top-15 fantasy numbers he posted a year ago with the Cleveland Browns. But I also didn't expect the Bears linebackers to go full David Copperfield and vanish from the face of the earth. That lack of production from the entire linebacker corps isn't sustainable. With T.J. Edwards hurt, Bush is the top linebacker on the team this week against a Falcons team that ranks second in the league in rushing attempts. And he's free right now. Forget a season-long turnaround. Just give me a week. Daddy needs a W.

De-Lights on the D-Line

Time to get down to the business of winning.

Which under-the-radar defensive lineman is going to do more sacking than the Visigoths in 410 AD and blow up in Week 6? Which big-name at the position is about to, much like Rome, go down in flames?

Guru: Kudos to the narrator for twisting the Visigoths into a fantasy football article.

 After his two-sack performance against the Packers last week, I'm not sure if Austin Booker of the Bears still qualifies as under the radar. He was still a free agent in most leagues until this week, so I'm rolling with him.  Booker has 4 sacks over the last four games. The last time Booker failed to get to the quarterback in a game was week three, when he went 3-1 with a forced fumble. If you had the foresight to pick him up earlier, or were able to land him in this week's waivers, get him into your lineup against a Falcons offense that's allowing an average of 11.5 tackles and 2 splash plays to the edge position.

Having considerable stock in Tuli Tuipulotu, I seriously hope to be wrong on this one. The pass rush is one of the few things that is working for the winless Chargers. Unfortunately, no one's pass rush has worked against the Chiefs thus far. The few sacks they have allowed have gone mostly to interior guys. The edge position has half a sack total and has recorded mediocre tackle numbers against them over four games.  

Godfather: You ain't wrong on Tuipulotu, hoss—sadly. This isn't his week.

While we're being depressing, let's talk about Danielle Hunter of the Houston Texans. While Anderson has been on a rampage, Hunter has just been OK—12 total tackles and three sacks over the season's first five games. Now Hunter and the Texans have to cross the Atlantic to take on a Jaguars team that has allowed the third-fewest fantasy points per game to edge rushers this season.

On the happier, smiley-face pancakes with whipped cream side of things, Baltimore Ravens edge rusher Tavius Robinson came through last week as a spot-starter up front against the Atlanta Falcons with three total tackles and a sack. The 27-year-old is going to run it back this week in Cleveland and then some—the Browns lead the league in sacks allowed and fantasy points per game surrendered to edge rushers.

Chronic Back(er) Pain