IDP Start-Sit, Studs and Duds: Week 10

We're 10 weeks into the 2024 IDP season. The fringe of the stretch run. This is where it gets real.

Sure, at this point in the season, a few fortunate (or unfortunate) IDP managers are cruising toward the playoffs or just about out of it. It's great to be 7-2. Not so much if you're 2-7.

But for most IDP squads, this is the time of year when it all comes together—or falls apart. If you're 6-3, there's still time for things to go sideways (That's me. The eternal optimist.). If you're 3-6, there's little margin for error.

Stack some wins, and it's on to the fantasy playoffs. Spend too much time on the wrong side of the scoreboard, and when the regular season ends, that's it—no more fantasy football until 2025.

The stakes are getting higher each and every week. For some IDP managers, the playoffs have effectively started. Setting the best possible lineup is paramount. Critical. Important even.

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).

Four teams are on a Week 10 bye—the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Las Vegas Raiders and Seattle Seahawks. No Myles Garrett, Quay Walker, Maxx Crosby, or Julian Love this week—which is unfortunate.

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: LB Daiyan Henley, LA Chargers (vs. TEN) (2)

Entering his second professional season, there was optimism that Henley would take on a larger role in the Los Angeles defense after playing sparingly as a rookie. For his part, the third-round pick out of Washington State told reporters that he wanted to show he could be counted on in a full-time role.

"I put in the extra work to do it, I've spent more time in the building, and I try to make sure I spend more time on my body alone," Henley said. "I want to be the guy they can look at and know he's out there for the right reasons; he's out there cause he wants to be on that field. When I say for the right reasons, I mean for that win, for the team, for that aspect of it. I feel like that's my next step. I have to earn it first. Nothing is done without the work and the effort put into it."

It took a while, but that full-time role finally came for Henley—last week marked the third time this season that he has been an every-down player for the Bolts. In all three of those contests, Henley has eclipsed double-digits in tackles, including a season-high 14 in last week's win over the Cleveland Browns.

IDP Dud of the Week: LB Demario Davis, New Orleans (vs. ATL) (32)

That Davis is still playing at a high level at 35 is fairly remarkable for a linebacker. This marks his 13th season and one of the more frustrating of his long career. But as Davis told reporters, right now his only priority is trying to put an end to the team's longest losing streak of the 21st century.

"The difference in success and failure is the person kept going. That's it," Davis said. "Everybody is going to have highs, everybody is going to have lows; that's part of being a human being. And that's what we've got – right now in this game we're having a low. There has to be urgency to get it fixed, because the football that we're putting out right now doesn't have to be what we put on display. We can change that. It's just going to be about getting in, doing the work, and putting it on display."

The odds of Davis and the Saints ending that streak this week against the NFC South-leading Falcons isn't great. Neither are the odds that Davis has a good game—the Falcons are dead last in fantasy points per game allowed to linebackers this year, regularly holding players well below their season averages.