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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.
Hard though it may be to believe, Week 16 has arrived—and with it Round 2 of the playoffs. IDP managers who have made it this far are just a couple of wins away from a championship. But those wins won't be easy to come by. Those managers need every point they can get.
Every-down linebackers tend to produce them.
Table time.
NOTES
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens appear to have made a change at the second linebacker spot opposite Roquan Smith. After holding that job for much of the season, Trenton Simpson saw just five snaps, while Malik Harrison actually played two more snaps than Smith. Harrison's not especially easy to trust in a must-win week, but for some IDP managers, he at least presents an option who should be on the field a decent amount.
Carolina Panthers
Before anyone runs off to the waiver wire to grab Luther Lavay, it's worth pointing out that he's the character played by Lawrence Taylor in Any Given Sunday. The Panthers have placed both Trevin Wallace and Claudin Cherelus on injured reserve, leaving the team decimated next to green dot linebacker Josey Jewell. Special-teamer Jon Rhattigan would seem the next man up, but starting him in a playoff game is six exits past desperation on the IDP freeway.
Denver Broncos
The good news for Broncos linebacker Justin Strnad is that he saw a snap share north of 80 percent for the fourth straight game. The bad news is that over that same four-game stretch, Strnad has topped five total tackles once—including just four stops in Thursday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. IDP managers with Strnad on the roster who survive Week 16 should feel free to cut the 28-year-old loose.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers have rolled out their fair share of off-ball linebackers this season, and in Week 15, the carousel kept spinning—after green dot linebacker Quay Walker left last week's win over Seattle with an ankle injury, veteran journeyman Eric Wilson assumed signal-calling duties for the Pack. Wilson has shown the ability to post a big stat line from time to time in the past, and he's one of the more appealing waiver wire options of Week 16.
Houston Texans
Week 15 saw the season debut for the Texans of Christian Harris, who played 82 percent of the team's defensive snaps opposite green dot linebacker Henry To'oTo'o and finished with eight total tackles. Unfortunately, Harris also picked up an ankle injury in the game that leaves him questionable for Saturday's trip to Kansas City. Harris is tentatively expected to play, but there's more than a little risk involved.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts will be taking on the Tennessee Titans short-handed at linebacker Sunday—E.J. Speed has already been ruled out with a knee injury. When Speed missed a game earlier this season, Grant Stuard was an every-down player and exploded for 19 total tackles against the Miami Dolphins. But the return of rookie Jayon Carlies clouds the situation next to green-dot linebacker Zaire Franklin—and could result in Stuard's snaps being capped.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers got veteran linebacker Denzel Perryman back last week—and reverted to the rotation that has infuriated IDP managers all season long. Youngster Daiyan Henley played all 64 snaps and wore the green dot, but no other Chargers linebacker played 60 percent of the defensive snaps, and after a nice run of production Troy Dye was on the field for all of one defensive snap in the contest.
New York Giants
The Giants will once again be without green-dot linebacker Bobby Okereke this week—he will miss another game with a nagging back injury. In Week 15, Micah McFadden took over the defensive signal calls, while rookie Darius Muasau also played in a three-down role. Neither linebacker was all that impressive on the stat sheet a week ago, but for some IDP managers, any every-down player merits a look.
San Francisco 49ers
Well, Dre Greenlaw's first game back with the Niners was…something. Greenlaw played 31 snaps before exiting the game with knee soreness, at which point Dee Winters came in for a handful of snaps before himself leaving with an injury. At that point, veteran De'Vondre Campbell, who has spent much of the season as San Francisco's No. 2 linebacker, refused to play. Greenlaw will likely play as many snaps as his body will let him in Week 16. Campbell's NFL career is even more likely over.
Tennessee Titans
Have you ever wanted to be an NFL linebacker? If so, you should give the Titans a call—they're hiring. Green dot linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. is a game-time decision with a hamstring injury. Luke Gifford has already been ruled out with a concussion. And Jerome Baker was a healthy scratch last week. When Gifford left last week, it was rookie James Williams, and not fellow first-year pro Cedric Gray, who entered the game. But if Murray also sits this week, how the Titans deploy their linebackers is legitimately anyone's guess.
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.
