We’re three weeks into the 2024 season in IDP leagues—and it can be a dangerous time.

We have something of a sample size, but not so much that things can’t still turn around for defensive players who are off to slow starts or for hot starters to cool off. From all indications, New England Patriots defensive tackle Keion White and New York Jets edge-rusher Will McDonald IV appear to be the real deal. But Los Angeles Rams safety Quentin Lake will be hard-pressed to maintain a pace of 10-plus tackles every week.

It's much like the fantasy rosters IDP managers have assembled. Is that 3-0 juggernaut really an unstoppable force or just lucky? Are the frustrated managers sitting at 1-2 or 0-3 really steering sinking ships, or is it just a bad few weeks in a season that will reverse course in a more positive direction?

I’d love to say I knew where the line between real and mirage for every player and fantasy team was, but if I did, I wouldn’t have some of those 1-2 teams (or an 0-3 one that is just—what the what?). All we can do is try to build on what we learn each week, set a solid lineup, and try to stack some wins.

That’s where IDP Studs and Duds here at Footballguys comes in.

Each week during the 2024 season, I’ll point out some Individual Defensive Players who could be set to exceed expectations this week (Studs), as well as some that, for whatever reason, are riskier plays than normal (Duds).

This isn’t necessarily to say that every “Stud” is a must-start (it depends on your other options) or that every “Dud” should be glued to your bench (just that the odds of a letdown week are greater than usual).

Numbers in parentheses denote ranking in fantasy points allowed to that position in 2024 in The Godfather’s Default IDP Scoring. 

STUD OF THE WEEK: EDGE Jaelan Phillips, Miami (vs. TEN) (1)

That Dolphins edge-rusher Jaelan Phillips is playing at all is remarkable, given how late in the 2023 season he tore his Achilles tendon. That he’s playing a full-time role is even more so. Per ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, Phillips is determined to turn the low point of his career into the propellant for the high point.

“Like probably the highest I've been in my NFL career, and then to be humbled just like that, it was devastating,” he said. “But right when that happened, I remembered going to the shower, and I was crying. I just told myself, like, 'This is OK. I'm going to attack this. I'm going to get over this, and this is going to make me stronger at the end of the day.' I really thanked God. I really said thank you. Thank you for giving me this opportunity because I know it's going to make me a monster."

After a sack in the season opener against Jacksonville, Phillips has been invisible the past two weeks—just two assists over the past two games. But Phillips has shown the ability to be an elite edge-rusher, and there isn’t a team in the league that has allowed more fantasy points to his position this season than the Titans.

DUD OF THE WEEK: LB Zack Baun, Philadelphia (at TB) (30)

Baun has been one of this year’s biggest surprise fantasy stars—three games into the season, a linebacker no one really expected to be a starter is playing every down and has more fantasy points than any linebacker in the league. The former Wisconsin standout told reporters that his off-ball role in Philadelphia is a work in progress—but he’s getting better by the week.

“Toughness is not only physical, but it’s mental,” he said. “I think once you master the mental side, the rest of your game can develop. It’s always something I’ve had to work at. I haven’t always been this way, but…yeah…you just grind, you work at it, and just hearing what different coaches want, and it’s always toughness, toughness, it keeps coming. I said that’s the player I need to be, and that’s the player I want to be.”

Let’s get real—no IDP manager is going to sit the highest-scoring linebacker in fantasy football. But no linebacker can keep up Baun’s pace. There are going to be down weeks—especially when the matchups get worse. And there aren’t many worse than this year’s trip to Tampa to take on the Buccaneers and their non-existent run game.

Week 4 IDP Studs