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.
It's Week 13, which means the fantasy postseason is right around the corner. In order for many IDP managers to even make those playoffs, they have to keep winning. Take another loss, and the 2024 season ends in disappointment.
IDP managers need to milk every possible point from their starting lineups. And to do that at linebacker, they need to know which guys aren't coming off the field.
Table time.
Week 13 Green Dot and Three-Down Linebackers
NOTES
Atlanta Falcons
Troy Andersen appears to finally be over the knee injury that has cost the third-year veteran so much of the 2024 season—Andersen is off the injury report entirely. The bigger question is whether that matters to IDP managers. It's possible Andersen could reclaim his spot as Atlanta's No. 2 off-ball linebacker at some point. But based on what we have seen and heard, it's more likely that Nate Landman will maintain the spot he's held most of the season, relegating Andersen to IDP irrelevance.
Baltimore Ravens
With Roquan Smith out last week, the Ravens turned to safety Kyle Hamilton as the green dot play-caller against the Chargers, and the team platooned its linebackers. That wasn't surprising—what was the snap counts for those linebackers, with Malik Harrison out-snapping both Chris Board and (surprisingly) Trenton Simpson. Harrison piled up 13 total tackles in the game, but it appears that could have been a one-week one-off—Smith could return in Week 13. The question is how the snaps will be divided opposite him.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills are arguably the NFL's hottest team—and they could be getting a key defender back soon. Matt Milano hasn't played in an NFL game since early October—of 2023. His season last year was cut short by a broken leg, and a torn triceps in camp has kept the eighth-year veteran off the field this year. However, Milano is back practicing and could play Sunday night against the San Francisco 49ers. It may take him a while to ramp up to 100 percent, but Dorian Williams' IDP value now appears to have an expiration date.
Carolina Panthers
Speaking of expiration dates, rookie Trevin Wallace appears to have hit his. Temporarily thrust into a green-dot role earlier this season, the rookie has seen his playing time (and production) fall off of late. Last week, Wallace played in just 62 percent of the defensive snaps—his lowest snap share since Week 4. Wallace hasn't had three solos in a game in a month, leaving Josey Jewell as the only IDP-relevant linebacker on the Panthers roster at present.
Denver Broncos
Justin Strnad's snap share in Denver has become almost impossible to predict ahead of time. Before last week, Strnad hadn't topped 70 percent since Week 6. But in last week's win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Strnad topped 80 percent for the first time this season and played a season-high 63 snaps overall. It would be encouraging if it were not for the wild variance with Strnad from one week to the next—variance that makes him hard to trust in a must-win week.
Detroit Lions
Well, so much for "Rodrigo" season. In Thursday's win over the Chicago Bears, Malcolm Rodriguez tore his ACL, putting an end to his short tenure as an every-down linebacker in Detroit. The Lions have been blasted by injuries at linebacker, to the extent that the Lions signed veteran Kwon Alexander off of Denver's practice squad. Zeke Turner saw most of the work on Thanksgiving and appears first in line to replace Rodriguez, but Ben Niemann, David Long Jr., or even Alexander could factor in the weeks to come.
Houston Texans
In Week 11, something odd happened in Houston: Devin White outsnapped youngster Henry To'oTo'o with a ratio of almost 2-to-1. That appears to have been an aberration whose only purpose was to give IDP managers the yips. Last week against Tennessee, To'oTo'o was right back in an every-down role, missing just four of a possible 67 snaps. That full-time role only equated to five total tackles though, so there are still concerns with the second-year pro.
Los Angeles Rams
Snap counts for the Rams linebackers have rather vacillated a lot since green dot linebacker Troy Reeder was hurt earlier in the season. That continued last week—while safety Quentin Lake continued making the play calls, both rookie Omar Speights (77 percent) and veteran Christian Rozeboom (75 percent) saw what's at least the periphery of a three-down role. Rozeboom is getting more base work, while Speights is seeing more time in passing subpackages. It's a situation that will likely continue to vary from week to week based on game flow.
Miami Dolphins
The Motown merry-go-round isn't the only linebacker carousel in the NFL right now—there has been a parade of names opposite Jordyn Brooks in Miami. The latest is Tyrel Dodson, who opened the season as Seattle's green dot linebacker before being unceremoniously released earlier in the season. Anthony Walker Jr.. suffered a serious hamstring injury in Week 11 against the Patriots, and Dodson has played every defensive snap as Miami's defensive signal-caller since. It's a role he should maintain for the foreseeable future.
Minnesota Vikings
There is no shortage of NFL teams who have been hit hard by injuries at linebacker, and the Vikings are no exception—the team got back Blake Cashman just in time for Ivan Pace Jr. to go down with an injured hamstring. The Vikings were already playing as many dime looks as any team in the league, and with Pace hurt, that needle could tilt even farther. Cashman is likely the only linebacker in the Twin Cities of real interest to IDP managers—and his tackle numbers haven't been great since he returned a few weeks ago.
New York Jets
There hasn't been much go right for the Jets in 2024, but the play of Jamien Sherwood has been a bright spot—the 24-year-old has filled in admirably for C.J. Mosley and ranks fifth among all fantasy linebackers in points since Week 4. The (potential) problem is that Mosley is ready to return to action. Given how well Sherwood has played, there's no need to rush Mosley back. But there's a real chance Sherwood's snaps could be scaled back when IDP managers can least afford it.
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.
