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.

In the majority of fantasy football leagues, Week 15 means it's playoff time. The regular season has come and gone. The teams left are all solid. The matchups left are all difficult. The lineup decisions from here out are that much more important.

Get the right linebackers in the lineup, and it's on to Week 16. Slot the wrong ones, and that's that. Season over.

No pressure.

Table time.

Week 15 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

Atlanta Falcons

If IDP managers were hoping for any sort of clarity from the Atlanta Falcons at linebacker in Week 15, they didn't get it. For the fourth straight game, Kaden Elliss played every snap. But for the second week in a row, no other Falcons linebacker had a 55 percent snap share. In fact, in last week's loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Elliss was the only linebacker on the field even half the time. The Troy Andersen vs. Nate Landman debate is settled. And the answer is neither.

Carolina Panthers

Josey Jewell is officially questionable with a hamstring injury, even though he played through the injury last week, wore the green dot, and was on the field for every one of Carolina's snaps. The bigger takeaway for the Panthers may be that Trevin Wallace's snap count fell below 75 percent for the second time in the last three games. The rookie had his moments this season, and the future could be bright. The present, however, isn't exactly shining.

Dallas Cowboys

Fantasy managers and the Cowboys alike were dealt a massive blow this past week when second-year linebacker DeMarvion Overshown's breakout season ended with him limping to the locker room with what turned out to be a torn ACL. After the injury, rookie Marist Liufau took over Overshown's spot and finished the game with 1.5 sacks, making him a hot name on waiver wires this week. Whether that role carries over into Week 15 could be another matter, though.

Denver Broncos

The good news with linebacker Justin Strnad is that the snaps IDP managers wanted earlier in the season are there. The 28-year-old has been out there over 80 percent of the time each of the past two games and topped 90 percent in Week 13. The bad news as the Broncos come out of their bye week is that Strnad's pre-snap productivity hasn't been close to what it was earlier in the season—he hasn't topped five total tackles in a game since late October.

Green Bay Packers

With rookie Edgerrin Cooper sidelined by a hamstring injury the past few weeks, Isaiah McDuffie moved back into a full-time role. McDuffie made the most of those added snaps, racking up a whopping 25 total tackles over Green Bay's last two games. But as the Packers prepare to face the Seahawks in Seattle, Cooper is back. The rookie's snaps may be scaled back a bit after a multi-week absence, but McDuffie's days as a three-down linebacker are done—again.

Houston Texans

When the Texans return to play in Week 15, it will be short-handed at linebacker—with Azeez Al-Shaair suspended for the next three games, his fantasy season is essentially over. After Al-Shaair was ejected two weeks ago, Henry To'oTo'o took over green dot duties, while veteran Neville Hewitt checked in as the No. 2 linebacker. Hewitt was productive for IDP managers when playing full-time earlier this year, and for IDP teams with holes at the position, he was this week's best-case replacement.

Miami Dolphins

Tyrel Dodson's time as the green dot linebacker in Miami was short-lived—as soon as eighth-year veteran Anthony Walker Jr. recovered from his hamstring injury, Walker was right back out there relaying signals. Walker appeared to aggravate the injury late in last week's win over the New York Jets, which got Dodson back on the field. But Walker isn't on the Week 15 injury report, so it appears he'll be wearing the dot Sunday in Houston.

New York Giants

It has been quite the season in New York—a plane hired by fans to tow a banner that says, "Fix This Dumpster Fire!" pretty much sums it up. The good news just keeps coming—for the second straight week, green dot linebacker Bobby Okereke will sit out this week's visit from the Baltimore Ravens with a back injury. With Okereke out last week, Micah McFadden took over green dot linebacker duties, while rookie Darius Mausau played a season-high 52 snaps (76 percent).

San Francisco 49ers

Any hopes the 49ers would make it back to the Super Bowl this season are toast after Thursday's loss to the Rams, and injuries played a major role in that. But there was actually some good news in that regard Thursday—for the first time since tearing his Achilles tendon in Super Bowl LVIII, Dre Greenlaw was back out there. The 27-year-old played 46 percent of San Francisco's defensive snaps, logging eight total tackles. The question now is whether his playing time ramps up or the Niners play it safe in a lost campaign--even after De'Vondre Campbell effectively quit on the team.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers have been hit hard by injuries at linebacker opposite veteran Lavonte David—with both K.J. Britt (ankle) and J.J. Russell (hamstring) both out last week, third-year-pro Vi Jones drew the start in Week 14, playing 60 percent of Tampa's defensive snaps against the Las Vegas Raiders. Jones finished with five total tackles, so even if he draws another start (Britt is out, Russell is questionable), his IDP value is limited.

Tennessee Titans

Last week's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars was the nadir of a season filled with lows, and the Titans played that game with a pair of reserve linebackers in Luke Gifford and Otis Reed IV. Statistically speaking, the duo acquitted themselves fairly well—Gifford had 11 total tackles and eight solos. But both green dot linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. and Jerome Baker are off the injury report and set to return, so Gifford's moment in the IDP sun was fleeting.

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.