In IDP leagues, no position is more important than linebacker—the reality is that in most leagues, if you don't have a strong group of linebackers, you're done. Roasted. All over but the crying. Linebackers are usually the highest-scoring and most consistent players in fantasy. By a wide margin.
The reason for that is tackles. Linebackers who rack up big-time tackle numbers have both a high fantasy ceiling and a high floor. And while talent is, of course, a factor in which linebackers pile up gaudy numbers of stops, there's another major consideration—opportunity.
The key to opportunity for most linebackers is simply being on the field. Snaps. It's hard to tackle a guy from the sideline—unless you are Mike Tomlin.
That joke stays in this column for eternity. Forever.
The problem is that in this day of nickel sets as the base defense, the age of three off-ball linebackers on the field most of the time is long since over. As a matter of fact, with many NFL teams playing either more dime or three-safety looks, there are quite a few situations in which just one off-ball linebacker is on the field for a team.
Often, that lone linebacker is wearing a sticker on his helmet—the green dot that signifies that the player is wearing the helmet communicator on defense and making the defensive play calls. That player very rarely leaves the field, and while teams sometimes use a safety in that capacity, the overwhelming majority of NFL teams give that assignment to a linebacker.
With the number of every-down linebackers decreasing by the year, knowing who those green dot linebackers are is valuable information for IDP managers. In order to provide those managers with that information, once again in 2024 at Footballguys, we'll be maintaining an updated list of both who is wearing the green dot for all 32 NFL teams and who the other three-down linebackers are.
There will also be notes to keep fantasy managers apprised as to why any changes to the list happened--whether due to injury or performance, the dot can (and will) change hands.
The 2024 fantasy football season has flown by—hard to believe that it's already Week 12. It's also hard to believe that the linebacker landscape has changed since Week 1. In IDP-Land, a canyon can appear in your lineup over the course of just a few weeks. So can a mountain. And you need a topographical map like this to keep your season climbing.
Even by my standards, that metaphor felt forced. Oh well.
Table time.
Week 12 Green Dot and Three-Down Linebackers
Note: Here at Footballguys, we set the benchmark for three-down linebackers at a 75 percent snap share. Linebackers listed with an asterisk (*) may not hit that benchmark on a weekly basis this season.
Notes
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens may travel to Los Angeles for a big game with the Chargers without a key defender—green-dot linebacker and defensive leader Roquan Smith has yet to practice this week and appears to be the wrong side of questionable for Monday night's contest. After Smith left last week's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, safety Kyle Hamilton took over play-calling duties, while fifth-year veteran Malik Harrison saw a bump in playing time.
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland linebackers have been a carousel all season long (again), but for now, at least, there appears to be some stability. Veteran Jordan Hicks is back and has assumed play-calling responsibilities. Mohamoud Diabate isn't playing every snap, but he's been on the field enough (81 percent a week ago), to be considered a three-down player. Even Devin Bush has surpassed a 55 percent snap share in the past two games.
Detroit Lions
Well, Jack Campbell season is officially here—although it took a serious injury to lock the second-year pro in as not only an every-down player but Detroit's green dot linebacker. With Alex Anzalone done for the year after breaking his arm, third-year pro (and favorite of IDP dorks everywhere) Malcolm Rodriguez has taken over as Detroit's second off-ball linebacker, and if last week is any indication, "Rodrigo" will be stepping into a three-down role down the stretch.
Green Bay Packers
Sunday's matchup between the Packers and 49ers is a big game for both teams—and one that the home team will play shorthanded at linebacker. Fresh off playing 71 percent of the defensive snaps two weeks ago, rookie Edgerrin Cooper will miss Week 12 after suffering a hamstring injury at practice Wednesday. With Cooper out, we'll likely see a return to Green Bay's LB deployment early in the season, with Isaiah McDuffie joining Quay Walker as a three-down linebacker.
Houston Texans
Every once in a while, NFL teams throw IDP managers a curveball. The Houston Texans did so in last week's win over the Dallas Cowboys—after playing at least 80 percent of the snaps in every game in which he was healthy this year but one, Henry To'oTo'o's playing time plummeted to just 26 snaps a week ago, with recent addition Devin White spending almost the entire second half as Houston's No. 2 LB. The situation is too volatile this week to really trust either player in IDP leagues, but it appears that the pendulum is swinging White's way.
Los Angeles Rams
Maybe it's the water at SoFi stadium, but the Rams are steadily joining the Chargers in the Land of Linebackers IDP Managers Can't Trust. After two games as a full-time player, Christian Rozeboom hasn't posted a 65 percent snap share in either of the last two games—although he did post 11 tackles last week. Rookie Omar Speights also saw his playing time decrease from 74 percent two weeks ago to just 55 percent in Week 11. At least the Bolts have Daiyan Henley.
Miami Dolphins
For now, at least, journeyman Anthony Walker Jr. looks to be locked in as the green dot linebacker in Miami—a role he has now held for the last three games. However, this is a Dolphins team that has already released David Long Jr. and picked up Tyrel Dodson during the 2024 season. Dodson was Seattle's leading tackler and defensive signal-caller before his surprising release, and while he's not a great linebacker, a compelling argument can be made that he's better than Walker. Change could be coming here—soon.
New England Patriots
There probably hasn't been a team in the league this year that has seen more players wear the green dot defensively this season than the Patriots, and that list got longer last week. For most of the game, Jahlani Tavai wore the helmet communicator. But in some subpackages, Christian Elliss assumed those responsibilities. Tavai saw a far higher snap share (89 percent) and remains the only three-down linebacker for the Pats.
Seattle Seahawks
It's not that often that you see a team that's in the thick of the playoff chase blow up their linebacker corps during the season, but the Seahawks did—and last week against rival 49ers last week, it appeared to pay off. After releasing Tyrel Dodson, the Seahawks turned green dot duties over to the recently-acquired Ernest Jones IV, while rookie Tyrice Knight took over as the No. 2 linebacker. Knight played 81 percent of the defensive snaps and finished the game with 10 total tackles.
Tennessee Titans
Jack Gibbens, we hardly knew you. After a two-week tear of 29 total tackles, Gibbens' time in the IDP sun ended early and brutally last week in the form of a fractured ankle. That injury opened the door for Jerome Baker, who was acquired from Seattle as part of the Ernest Jones IV trade, to step into an every-down role opposite green dot linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. Baker has multiple 100-tackle seasons on his NFL resume, so he could win back some IDP favor over the stretch run.
Gary Davenport (“The Godfather of IDP”) is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow him on Twitter (Can't make him call it X) at @IDPSharks.
