IDP Start-Sit, Studs and Duds: Week 18

Before we go any further, let's get one thing clear. If you're still playing fantasy football in Week 18, then you are a complete degenerate—and that's meant as a compliment.

Week 18 championship games are madness. Chaos. Chaotic madness. Teams who aren't in the playoffs often sit nicked-up guys who would play if the game mattered even a little. Teams who have clinched playoff seeding sit starters rather than risk injury in a meaningless game. The player pool is a swirling mass of uncertainty—more so than any other week of the year.

It also means an extra week of fantasy football, which is never a bad thing. And it presents an opportunity of sorts for IDP managers. It's easier to overcome being an underdog in a week where matchup plays abound. Of course, those matchup plays are also needed to plug holes created by players sitting out, but hey—no plan is perfect.

IDP Studs and Duds here at Footballguys aims to help every IDP manager every week. So, for one final time before the 2024 campaign is relegated to history, let's get to work.

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. 

IDP Stud of the Week: LB Jack Campbell, Detroit (vs. MIN) (1)

It has been a rollercoaster season for Campbell, who went from draft season breakout candidate to disappointing reserve to part-time linebacker to the green dot defensive signal-caller for a 14-2 Lions team. As Tim Twentyman wrote for the Lions website, Campbell said he's putting everything he has into success in his increased role.

"I'm just continuing to progress and improve and learn," Campbell said. "Especially right now in the position I'm in trying to be a leader. Trying to lead by example but also vocally. Getting guys caught up and in-game trying to make sure everyone knows what they are doing. Just playing within the scheme and not trying to press. All those things have been my focus."

Campbell still ranks outside the top 25 fantasy linebackers for the season, but he has amassed 125 total tackles and ranks well inside the top 20 over the second half of this season. The Vikings have allowed more fantasy points to linebackers than any team in the league, opening the door for the second-year pro to blow up in the season's final contest.

IDP Dud of the Week: LB Jordyn Brooks, Miami (at NYJ) (31)

For the season, Brooks has been everything IDP managers hoped for this year—he's seventh in fantasy points at the position. He has also logged the most tackles by a Dolphins linebacker since Zach Thomas in 2006, and Dolphins linebackers coach Joe Barry told reporters that Brooks is everything a team could as for at the position.

"There are so many things that an inside linebacker has to do now in today's football," he said. "They not only have to play the run, but they obviously have to play the pass. They get matched up on tight ends. They get matched up on running backs. Sometimes they are formationally on a receiver, a slot. In this system we do a lot of things with our linebackers from a pressure standpoint, so you've got to be a good blitzer. You have to be able to beat offensive linemen. You have to be able to beat backs," Barry said. "Those are all things [Brooks has] done very well for us."

It's not easy to consider sitting a top-10 fantasy option. But it will not be easy for Brooks to maintain that level of production this week against the Jets. The New Yok offense seemingly gets worse with each passing week, and no team in the AFC has given up fewer fantasy points to linebackers after 17 weeks.