John Norton ("The Guru") and Gary Davenport ("The Godfather of IDP") are two of the most experienced and knowledgeable IDP analysts in the fantasy football industry. Every week during the 2024 season here at Footballguys, The Guru and The Godfather will come together to offer guidance for the week to come.

Week 15 of the 2024 fantasy football season is here—and the fantasy playoffs are here along with it. From here out, losing isn't an option. Defeat ends the season. Victory gets IDP managers one step closer to the ultimate goal.

Given those increased stakes, fantasy managers can use every bit of advice and guidance they can get their hands on.

And The Guru and The Godfather are here to offer up some of both to help folks keep the season going.

Defensive Line Hits (and Misses)

As you may be aware, the playoffs are underway in most IDP leagues. Fantasy managers don't want philosophical pontifications on the nature of fantasy vs. reality vis-a-vis linebackers—they want a trophy to hold over their vanquished foes. So, let's get to it.

One defensive lineman set to surpass expectations. One who won't sniff them. Begin.

Guru: Andrew Van Ginkel of the Vikings is my pick to be the highest-scoring edge defender in week 15, and Jonathan Greenard could be his closest competition. These two have to be licking their chops in anticipation of the matchup with Chicago. Da Bears have given up the most points to edge defenders since week seven and it's not all that close. If I said they were allowing 3.1 sacks per game, everyone would agree that is a lot. Chicago is allowing 3.1 per game just to the edge guys and 4.9 overall. It's not just the sacks, either. Edge defenders have averaged better than nine tackles over that span as well. That is enough to tank in the top third of the league. 

The Bengals are struggling to win games, but it's not because of their offense or offensive line. Edge defenders don't make many tackles against them, so the floor is low. They are even more stingy when it comes to sacks. Over their last seven games, the edge position has dropped Joe Burrow six times. Three of those came in one game against Pittsburgh. In four of those seven contests, the pass rushers were blanked. That doesn't bode well for Harold Landry III of the Titans.

Godfather: Given how mobile Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is and how stout Philly's offensive line is, one might think the team would be a bad matchup for edge rushers. One would be wrong—the Eagles have allowed 36 sacks and the ninth-most fantasy points to defensive ends. We shouldn't have to tell you that T.J. Watt of the Steelers is a must-start (um, always), but batterymate Alex Highsmith is a solid play as well after logging a sack in his return to action last week.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is equally mobile (if not more so), and he is a very hard quarterback to sack—Jackson has been dropped less than 20 times all season long, and Baltimore ranks in the middle of the pack in fantasy points surrendered to defensive ends. New York Giants edge rusher Brian Burns has already been something of a disappointment. That won't change this week.  

Lining Up Linebackers

If you're still alive at this point in the season, your cadre of linebackers is probably pretty solid. But there are exceptions to that rule, and in the playoffs, one bad stat line can torpedo the whole season.

Identify a linebacker outside the top 30 in this week's Footballguys IDP rankings who will blow up in Week 15. And one inside the top 20 that gives you pause.

Guru: I'll roll with Neville Hewitt of the Texans as my high-side guy. This one is not so much due to the matchup as Miami is a middle-of-the-pack when it comes to points allowed to linebackers. I'm high on Hewitt because he's a tackling machine when he gets to play and will contribute in the splash play columns at a high rate as well. Hewitt has three starts on the season with a significant amount of playing time in five. In those games, he has 40 total stops, 3 turnovers, and 3 pass breakups. Two of those games were against the Colts and Jets, who rank 31st and 28th, respectively, in points allowed to linebackers. Hewitt was over 14 points against each of them.

Unlike the Hewitt pick, Quay Walker of the Packers scares me purely because of the matchup. Not only are the Seahawks last in points allowed to linebackers over the second half of the fantasy season, they are averaging three points fewer per game than the 31st-ranked team. That is a HUGE margin by fantasy football standards. The league average of points per game allowed to linebackers is 25.3. Seattle gives up 16.8. At six solo tackles per game, it's a wonder they are even that high.

Godfather: Hewitt has the potential to be remembered fondly in the months to come—getting a guy that productive off the waiver wire this late is how IDP leagues are won.

It has been a disappointing season for the New Orleans Saints, and at 35 years young, Demario Davis is probably nearing the end of the proverbial line. But if this is it for Davis, the two-time Pro Bowler has a chance to out with a bang—this week, the Saints face a Washington Commanders team that ranks inside the top-five in both fantasy points given up to linebackers and in tackle opportunities allowed per game.

The Guru is absolutely right to be afraid of the Seahawks as a fantasy matchup for linebackers, and there's another rotten one coming during the Monday night doubleheader. The Atlanta Falcons have been mired near the bottom of the league in fantasy points allowed to linebackers most of the 2024 season. While Robert Spillane has been exactly the sort of consistent IDP asset we expected this year, the deck is stacked against the seventh-year veteran in Week 15.

Defensive Back Breakdown

Saying defensive backs are inconsistent is a bit like saying the Grand Canyon is a big ditch—accurate but understated. And in the playoffs, games will be won (and lost) by managers who pick the hot hand in a given week.

Warm IDP managers up with a defensive back set to smash in the first round of the playoffs—and cite another who could put the whole season in a deep freeze.

Guru: Grant Delpit of the Browns has been a decent third starter for us on most weeks. This week's matchup with the Chiefs could bring out his best numbers of the season. First, there is the Kelce/Gray factor, which used to just be the Kelce factor. Patrick Mahomes II loves to throw to his tight ends over the middle. That means a lot of coverage for Delpit on the first and second reads. Then there is the Pacheco factor. The Chiefs are a different offense with their power back in the game and will ride that horse hard if/when they are ahead in the second half. That spells a lot of run support opportunities for Delpit. 

After he went 7-4 and 9-4 in the last two weeks, it would be difficult to sit DeShon Elliott of the Steelers. Think about it anyway if you have other quality options. No one has allowed fewer points to the safety position since week seven than the Eagles. Only two safeties have recorded more than four solo stops against them in the last eight games, and the only splash play by a safety over that span was a forced fumble by Quan Martin in week eleven.  

Godfather: Las Vegas Raiders safety Tre'von Moehrig has been a defensive back this season—there have been big weeks and vanishing acts. The fourth-year pro had been slumping since the bye week before pulling out of that funk with eight tackles, half a sack, and a forced fumble. Moehrig should be able to keep the good times rolling on Monday night against a Falcons team surrendering the fourth-most fantasy points to safeties this season.

Brian Branch of the Detroit Lions has become one of the best young safeties in the NFL, and he has been a productive fantasy asset in 2024—he's 10th at the position in fantasy points for the year. But as good as the Buffalo Bills are offensively, the team is a rotten matchup for opposing safeties—30th in fantasy points surrendered to the position. Josh Allen just doesn't make many mistakes throwing the ball.

Sleeper Time

It's naptime a bit earlier than usual in this week's column, and not because it's getting dark earlier (SO many bad metaphors). You both know the drill—a defensive lineman, linebacker, and defensive back who folks in need of a spot starter can roll out with some measure of confidence.

Cue DeMarvion Overshown managers nodding solemnly.

As a manager with several shares of Overshown, I, too, am nodding solemnly.

I don't often make calls based on gut feeling, but my gut is calling loudly about Christian Barmore of the Patriots this week. On paper, the Cardinals are a mediocre matchup for interior linemen. They do, however, lean on the power between the tackles running of James Conner. That opportunity, along with Barmore's talent and his fresh legs, which have just three games on them this year, is the formula for a big game.

I'll stick with the same game for my sleeper linebacker. New England's Jahlani Tavai is already on a roster in most leagues, but Christian Ellis is available in many. Arizona ranks in the top third of the league in points allowed to linebackers since week seven. Most of those points have come via the tackle columns to the tune of 18+ stops per game. Linebackers are no strangers to splash plays in this matchup, though, recording one in every other game. It sure doesn't hurt to have Barmore eating up blockers in front of him either.

I'm going to speculate that Titans safety Daryl Worley is available in about 99% of leagues. He took over as the starting safety for Tennessee in week twelve and is 13-10 in the tackle columns over the last two games. Next on the schedule are the Bengals, who have been the fifth-best matchup for safeties since week seven. Over that span, the safety position is averaging 10-5 with .6 splash plays and 1.5 passes defended.

Godfather: George Karlaftis cracked double-digits in sacks last year, but the Kansas City Chiefs edge rusher has seen a drop in production in his third season in the NFL. Sunday's trip to Cleveland offers real potential for a spike week, though—the Browns lead the AFC in sacks allowed with 53 and have given up the most fantasy points to defensive ends this year.

It may not be entirely fair to call Akeem Davis-Gaither of the Cincinnati Bengals a "sleeper"—in two starts since Logan Wilson went down, Davis-Gaither has logged 22 total tackles. A third big game in a row is coming Sunday against Tennessee—for all their offensive struggles, the Titans have given up the third most fantasy points to linebackers this year.

Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker is the NFC's highest-scoring safety in the NFC and an every-week fantasy must-start. But in Week 15, Jalen Thompson also merits a look from fantasy managers. Thompson has shown the ability in the past to post fat stat lines, especially when the matchup's right. This week's is—the Cardinals face a New England Patriots team allowing the fifth-most fantasy points to safeties in 2024.

Bonus Round

In the playoffs, one player can make all the difference in a matchup. Swing defeat to victory—or victory to defeat. With that in mind, make your case for an IDP you wish you had in your starting lineup—and another on your 39.5-foot pole list.

The guy I want in my lineup this week is Miami Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks. This guy has been a model of consistency. He has at least seven total stops in every game since week two with double-digit points in eight of his last ten games, including each of the last five. He doesn't make many splash plays but has two in the last three weeks. Most importantly, Brooks has a strong matchup with a Texans team that runs the ball early and often and then runs it some more. The average of 11.3 solo tackles by linebackers against them is near the top of the league. I will not be surprised is Brooks racks up double-digit solo stops in this one.  

The New York Jets have had their share of offensive struggles this year, and the loss of running back Breece Hall hasn't helped matters. Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun hasn't come especially close to living up to his draft slot this season, and this lousy matchup could see Oluokun's season end with more of a whimper than a bang.

Godfather: The Godfather will confess that he's not generally a big fan of Chicago Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds—he tends to be overrated both in the NFL and IDP leagues. But that isn't to say that Edmunds isn't a good player, and both he and T.J. Edwards (who is LB18 in the Godfather's Default IDP Scoring) should have solid games against a Vikings team leading the league in fantasy points allowed to linebackers. In their last meeting with Minnesota, the duo combined for 18 total tackles.

The Denver Broncos are a better team in 2024 than most expected, but the Denver offense hasn't been kind to opposing linebackers—27th in fantasy points given up to the position. Zaire Franklin of the Colts is essentially impossible for IDP managers to sit. But if you have a viable alternative for E.J. Speed, this might not be a bad week to pursue it.

John Norton (The Guru) and Gary Davenport (The Godfather of IDP) have over 45 combined years of IDP experience. Follow John on Twitter (still not calling it X, so there) at @JohnPNorton and Gary at @IDPSharks.