No matter the position in fantasy football, playing time is one of the biggest drivers of success. In IDP leagues, a lot of linebackers shuffle on and off the field, but a precious few are full-time, three-down linebackers, and those players have the most opportunities for fantasy success.

Each week in this space, we’ll take a look at the linebacker situations around the league to identify the key playing time considerations and shifting jobs for IDP fantasy players to take advantage of. Check out the chart at the bottom for the full breakdown. First, a few notes on some standout situations.

New Orleans Saints — A.J. Klein saw the field just a little more after not getting his usual workload against the Bucs. But his usage only went from 42% to 57%. Kiko Alonso continued to get more snaps and played more than Klein for the second week in a row.

Jacksonville Jaguars — Quincy Williams was back in action after missing a few weeks due to injury and played every single snap.

Tennessee Titans — Jayon Brown has been dealing with a hamstring injury and missed Week 10 before the Titans bye week, but he did return and play almost every single snap against the Jags in Week 12.

Dallas Cowboys — Leighton Vander Esch has a neck injury and did not play against the Patriots. This left room for Sean Lee’s role increase to 68% up from 37%, and for Joe Thomas to get his highest workload since Week 3 with 47%.

Denver Broncos — Malik Reed has seen a slight dip in playing time over the last few weeks. He saw the field less than Jeremiah Attaochu, who had his first decent workload of the season against the Bills. He played 54% of snaps after only playing as many as 11 snaps per game all season.

Los Angeles Rams — Samson Ebukam didn’t play much in Week 11 against the Bears. He only played 19 snaps, which is his smallest workload of the season, but his playing time shot back up to about 57% of snaps in week 12.

Miami Dolphins — Raekwon McMillan returned after missing Week 11 and saw the field on 88% of snaps.

Philadelphia Eagles — Nigel Bradham reunited with his team following a lengthy absence. After not playing since Week 6, he jumped right back into his every-down role. The workload for Kamu Grugier-Hill was scaled back to about 34%, his lightest snap count since before Bradham’s injury.

San Francisco 49ers — Azeez Al-Shaair did not play in Week 11 after being ruled out with a concussion, but he was back on the field in Week 12 and played in his regular Base package role.

Check below for the breakdown for each team.

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