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Fantasy Football: Week 8 IDP rankings and tiers

  • A late IDP breakout star in the Steel City: Myles Jack is on pace for a career year, but could his role limit his outlook going forward?
  • Pass-rush showdown in Motown: Two of the top up-and-coming edge defenders in the league face off in Detroit with positive matchups for both sides.
  • A full-time role doesn’t always mean fantasy gold: Jerome Baker has played well over 90% of his team’s defensive snaps this season, but his production has been a disappointment — and there is a reason for it.
Estimated Reading Time: 12 mins

The fantasy football season has reached the point in the year where fantasy managers can start to feel whether their teams are ready to make a push and compete for a championship or if it’s time to start shooting for the moon with lineup decisions to turn this season around. Either way, locking into the happenings and rankings every week is a surefire way to minimize the room for error and make that push to the playoffs.

Check the PFF.com rankings page for any updates closer to game time.


JUMP TO A POSITION:
LB | ED | DI | S | CB

LINEBACKERS

RANK TIER NAME TEAM OPP NOTES
1 1A Jordyn Brooks SEA NYG
2 1A Roquan Smith CHI @ DAL
3 1A Devin White TB BLT TNF
4 1A Foyesade Oluokun JAX DEN
5 1B C.J. Mosley NYJ NE
6 1B Micah Parsons DAL CHI
7 1B Zaire Franklin IND WAS
8 1B Cole Holcomb WAS @ IND
9 1C De’Vondre Campbell GB @ BUF SNF
10 1C Devin Lloyd JAX DEN
11 1C T.J. Edwards PHI PIT
12 1C Bobby Wagner LAR SF
13 2A Christian Kirksey HST TEN
14 2A Myles Jack PIT @ PHI
15 2A Mykal Walker ATL CAR
16 2A Lavonte David TB BLT TNF
17 2B Josey Jewell DEN @ JAX Q
18 2B Jordan Hicks MIN ARZ
19 2B Eric Kendricks MIN ARZ
20 2B Fred Warner SF @ LAR
21 2C Tremaine Edmunds BUF GB SNF
22 2C Pete Werner NO LV
23 2C Matt Milano BUF GB SNF
24 2C Demario Davis NO LV
25 3A Shaquille Leonard IND WAS Q
26 3A Divine Deablo LV @ NO
27 3A David Long TEN @ HST
28 3A Rashaan Evans ATL CAR
29 3B Zaven Collins ARZ @ MIN
30 3B Patrick Queen BLT @ TB TNF
31 3B Shaq Thompson CAR @ ATL
32 3B Dre Greenlaw SF @ LAR Q
33 3C Nicholas Morrow CHI @ DAL
34 3C Logan Wilson CIN @ CLV Q/MNF
35 3C Leighton Vander Esch DAL CHI
36 3C Deion Jones CLV CIN WW/MNF
37 4A Ernest Jones LAR SF
38 4A Quay Walker GB @ BUF SNF
39 4A Malcolm Rodriguez DET MIA
40 4A Germaine Pratt CIN @ CLV MNF
41 4B Alex Anzalone DET MIA
42 4B Frankie Luvu CAR @ ATL
43 4B Kyzir White PHI PIT
44 4B Isaiah Simmons ARZ @ MIN
45 4C Ja’Whaun Bentley NE @ NYJ
46 4C Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah CLV CIN MNF
47 4C Christian Harris HST TEN WW
48 4C Bobby Okereke IND WAS
49 5A Cody Barton SEA NYG
50 5A Kwon Alexander NYJ NE WW
51 5A Zach Cunningham TEN @ HST Q
52 5A Jamin Davis WAS @ IND
53 5B Quincy Williams NYJ NE
54 5B Denzel Perryman LV @ NO
55 5B Jerome Baker MIA @ DET
56 5B Jonas Griffith DEN @ JAX
57 5C Devin Bush PIT @ PHI
58 5C Anthony Barr DAL CHI
59 5C Jaylon Smith NYG @ SEA
60 5C Tae Crowder NYG @ SEA

Myles Jack (LB14) has been an efficient IDP this season. If not for him playing less than 85% of the team’s defensive snaps in back-to-back weeks because Pittsburgh deploys situation-specific linebackers, he’d be ranked even higher. With Jack coming off the field on the majority of crucial downs, there’s just slightly less opportunity for a shot at a big play or more tackles — but he has still made the most of his time early on. Jack currently ranks fifth among linebackers in making first contact with the ball carrier and sixth in tackle efficiency. The Eagles are the most run-heavy offense in the league, averaging 37.5 rushing attempts per game, which is an excellent matchup for opposing linebackers, putting Jack in line for another efficient week.

Patrick Queen (LB30) has strung together a series of strong IDP performances, but there’s still cause for concern as far as sustaining that production. Queen currently ranks 64th in tackle efficiency among linebackers who have played at least 100 defensive snaps, which is in large part due to his blitz-heavy role, leading all linebackers in pass-rush attempts (56). This has allowed him to recoup some fantasy value on the back of three and a half sacks this season, but this is far from the most stable stat to bank on each week. This week's he's up against Tom Brady, who owns the fastest time to throw in the league (2.25 seconds). That will it more difficult for Queen to get home in Week 8.

Jerome Baker (LB55) is the only full-time linebacker who sits well below all the other full-time linebackers in the rankings, which is in large part due to the Miami defense. Like Patrick Queen, Baker spends a good deal of his snaps rushing the passer as a blitzer, but he also plays in one of the most man-heavy defensive coverage schemes in the league. Both of those factors significantly hamper linebacker tackling efficiency and are a massive reason why Baker ranks 82nd among 85 qualifying linebackers in tackle efficiency (5.9%) so far this season.


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