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. Every week during the 2024 season here at Footballguys, The Guru and The Godfather will come together to offer guidance for the week to come.

It's Thanksgiving Week. And as IDP managers try to navigate their way through a refrigerator full of leftovers they also have to navigate the final few weeks of the fantasy regular season. Some are looking for a first-round playoff bye. Others are scrambling to make the postseason at all.

No matter the situation, every IDP manager wants the same thing in Week 13—a victory.

The Guru and the Godfather are here to help them get one.

The Danger Zone

In Lucky Week 13, plenty of IDP managers are in the Danger Zone. The season has taken them right into the Danger Zone.

Sorry. Couldn't be helped.

With many teams in must-win mode, pick a matchup play at each main spot (DL, LB, DB) outside the top 30 in Footballguys IDP rankings at their position set to smash expectations and help IDP teams get that victory.

GURU: I'm feeling Colts edge rusher Kwity Paye this week. The Patriots are not exactly a stellar matchup for edge defenders, but they are not a bad one either. New England has given up at least one sack to an edge defender in every game since Week 5. Paye, on the other hand, has been hot recently. After missing a couple of games and working through an injury, he is 13-2-4 with a forced fumble over the last four weeks, including a season-high 6-1-2 in week eleven. I like his chances of adding to the sack total in this one.

Blake Cashman of the Vikings is in a tackle slump since returning from injury in Week 10, but he does have a couple of sacks over the last three games. I think he gets back on track this week against the Cardinals. Arizona doesn't give up many big plays to linebackers. On the other hand, the position averages 11 tackles and 9 assists per game against them. Factor in the Ivan Pace Jr. injury, lowering the level of competition for tackles, and Cashman has a golden opportunity to shine.

Christian Izien of the Buccaneers has burned some managers this year. When he has a big role, this guy puts numbers on the stat sheet. The key is making sure he will have a big role. When everyone is healthy, Izien is the Buccaneers' sixth defensive back. Tampa Bay will be without Jordan Whitehead this week, and it's looking like Tyree Smith may not go either. That means Izien will see plenty of action against a Falcons offense that is the fourth-best matchup for corners and ranks fourteenth against safeties. I expect Izien to work over the slot where he was a solid 5-5 last week.

GODFATHER: Dante Fowler Jr. of the Washington Commanders (DL42) hasn't done a lot in the tackle column this season—just 28 total tackles and 17 solos for the season. But Fowler's 8.5 sacks in 2024 are his most in a season since his 11.5 sack campaign with the Rams in 2019, and this week, Washington takes on a Tennessee Titans team that has surrendered 31 sacks this year.

Not that long ago, Denver Broncos linebacker Cody Barton (LB38) looked to be the odd man out at linebacker for the Broncos. Multiple injuries later, Barton is Denver's defensive signal-caller. The sixth-year veteran hasn't done a lot of late, amassing just 10 total tackles over the past two games. But this week the Broncos face a Cleveland Browns team that has given up the most fantasy points per game in the AFC to linebackers in 2024.

Carolina Panthers safety Jordan Fuller (NR) has spent more of the 2024 campaign off the field than on it, but he was back on the field for the Carolina Panthers last week, posting five solos in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. This week, the Panthers face a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that has surrendered the fourth-most fantasy points per game to safeties this season.

Defensive Line Discussion

At this point, I think just about everyone knows the drill from here—it's defensive lineman time. Name a tackle or edge-rusher headed for a massive week—and a big name set for an ill-timed letdown week.

GURU: Nik Bonitto has stolen the show with an impressive season in Denver. I like him this week as well, but it is Jonathon Cooper that I want to call out. Cooper is in a mini-slump, doing next to nothing over the last two games, but he has 46 combined stops and 7 sacks on the season. He is overdue for a big game, and a matchup with the Browns is a prime opportunity to have one. Since week five, Cleveland has allowed an average of 10.6 combined tackles, 2.1 sacks, and half a turnover to the edge position.

It's been a season of peaks and valleys for Myles Garrett. He has ten sacks on the year but eight of them have come in three games. In matchups with the Giants, Commanders, Ravens, and Saints, Garrett combined for one tackle and one assist. He has not recorded sacks in back-to-back games since weeks one and two. Coming off last week's three-sack explosion, he faces a tough matchup with a Denver offense that allows fewer than two sacks per game and has surrendered the third-fewest points to edge defenders on the season.    

GODFATHER: Here we go—the Guru took my guy (Cooper).

C.J. Stroud has been a significant disappointment for fantasy managers this season—in part because he has been sacked 40 times—the fourth-most allowed by a team this season. There hasn't been much to celebrate in Jacksonville this year, but edge-rusher Travon Walker has had his moments—his 7.5 sacks leads the team. The third-year pro will add to that total Sunday.

As I pretend the Guru did not besmirch the good name of Myles Garrett with his foul heresy, I'll point out that the Arizona Cardinals have given up just 20 sacks this season and has allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to defensive linemen this season. That doesn't bode well for Andrew Van Ginkel of the Vikings, who leads all defensive linemen in fantasy points for the season.