It’s Halloween, and with eight weeks gone in the 2024 fantasy football season, many IDP managers are living in a horror movie—better or worse.

What? I’m trying to get into the spirit of the holiday. Get it? “Spirit?” Ha! I kill me!

Some are Jason Voorhees, quietly stalking their prey (Fun fact—he stopped running and started walking in Friday the 13th: Part IV.). Every week, their team finds a hapless victim and hacks them to bits.

Others are every idiot character in a horror movie ever. They trip on tree roots. Can’t start the car. Stop running to hide somewhere. Or have sex (guaranteed to get you dead in a slasher movie). Every week brings another mistake. Another grisly death.

Then there are those who aspire to be a Final Girl, whether it’s Laurie Strode (Halloween) or Nancy Thompson (A Nightmare on Elm Street). They may be a little beaten, a little bloodied, and scared witless, but they are doing their level best to survive the murderous rampage and make the fantasy playoffs.

This column is a machete of IDP goodness. A chainsaw of fantasy advice. The weapon you need to dispatch your opponent and move on to the next sequel. This is IDP Studs and Duds at Footballguys.

Yep. Just jammed that metaphor in there. Also, candy corn is an abomination.

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).

Two teams are on a Week 9 bye—the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers. No T.T. Watt or Fred Warner, which for some is more terrifying than anything in The Exorcist.

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

IDP Stud of the Week: EDGE Khalil Mack, LA Chargers (at Cleveland) (1)

Mack is one of the best pass rushers of his generation—the 33-year-old’s 105 career sacks and Defensive Player of the Year Award all but guarantee he’ll be enshrined in Canton one day. While talking to reporters, Mack admitted that reaching triple digits in sacks was an achievement that mattered to him.

"I felt like I would look on Twitter and people would be like, '17 sacks (in 2023), but he had six in one game'. It's like, damn, is that a bad thing? Maybe I shouldn't have gotten six in one game. Maybe I should've did three," Mack said. "Ultimately getting to that 100, it's special in the grand scheme of things when you understand everybody is not fortunate enough to play 10 years in this league and had great teammates like I have had and been able to do and accomplish some of the things that I have.”

Mack hasn’t been nearly as prolific at getting to the quarterback in 2024—just 3.5 sacks in his first seven games. But this week Mack and the Chargers get the pass rush matchup that makes everyone look good. The Browns don’t just lead the league in sacks allowed. They lead the league in that category by 10.

IDP Dud of the Week: LB DeMarvion Overshown, Dallas (at Atlanta) (32)

Overshown has been a rare bright spot in a disappointing season in Dallas—the second-year pro’s athleticism and range have earned him a full-time role opposite Eric Kendricks. However, while Overshown has played well, the defense as a whole has not—and per Patrik Walker of the team’s website, that doesn’t sit well with the youngster.

“When you've got a defensive coordinator like Coach [Mike] Zimmer, you know he's got the answers to the test," Overshown said. "We've just got to be about our business, and we have to hold ourselves accountable to do what he's telling us to do, [but] we're losing sight of that in the game. And once we start off slow, we're not picking it back up. We've got to come out there and start off fast — attacking them and not getting attacked."

A certain IDP analyst who shall remain nameless (Good-looking guy. Smart, too) may have talked Overshown’s IDP “sleeper” appeal up over the summer, and he has responded—he’s a top-25 fantasy linebacker over the last month. But both he and Kendricks will likely disappoint in Week 9—the Falcons have just been a terrible IDP matchup for linebackers all season long.