IDP managers have reached the point in the season where Living The Stream is both 12 kinds of not ideal and potentially critical—in equal measure.

There are those lucky few who get to roll out the same defensive starters every week. Their IDPs have met or even exceeded expectations this season. Their lineup has stayed healthy; they've watched as their IDPs ravaged their opponents like Genghis Khan rolling across a steppe in 1204.

Come for the IDP advice. Stay for the bad historical metaphors.

But they are just that—the lucky few. Many other IDP managers are dealing with an injury. Or trying to upgrade over a disappointing player. Or both. And for every one of those IDP managers, there are two who also have precious little margin for error. The line has been crossed where the next loss could be the one that sinks the 2024 campaign.

Quite a few IDP managers have little recourse but to Live the Stream. Worry about Week 11 when it gets here. Live in the now.

EDGE Charles Harris, Carolina (vs. NY Giants)

There hasn’t been much that has gone right for the Carolina Panthers this year—on either side of the ball. Things haven’t gone especially well for edge rusher Charles Harris; the former first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2017 has spent much of his career bouncing around the NFL.

After spending most of the summer looking for work, Harris landed in Carolina just after the season began—and over the last two months, he has become arguably the best edge rusher the Panthers have. And last week against the Saints, Harris had his best game with the team, posting six total tackles, a sack, and two tackles for loss.

In words that are very rarely written, the Panthers are going for their second consecutive win this week in Germany against the Giants. They are also taking on a New York team that has allowed the second-most sacks in the NFC and the most fantasy points per game in that conference to defensive ends this season.

EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu, LA Chargers (vs. Tennessee)

Tuipulotu has been thrust into a significant defensive role in each of his two professional seasons by injuries to veteran edge rusher Joey Bosa—and in both seasons, the former USC standout has stepped up when called upon. While speaking to reporters, Tuipulotu said that with every snap of experience, it gets easier for him to do his job and make opposing quarterbacks miserable.

"I've felt way more relaxed," Tuipulotu said. "I think I have a little bit more confidence going in. Especially when everyone around you has confidence also, the leaders, you go out there and just play ball. You know your guys got you, and I got them too. A lot of confidence.”

Tuipulotu did last week what a great many pass rushers have done this season—went ballistic against the Cleveland Browns, to the tune of six total tackles and 2.5 sacks. Bosa is healthy but not anywhere close to 100 percent—just 19 snaps last week. And while the Titans aren’t as good a matchup for defensive ends as the Clowns (who is?), the team has surrendered the sixth-most fantasy points to defenses this season.

LB Kwon Alexander, Denver (at Kansas City)

There was a time that Alexander appeared to be a star in the making—in his second season, the 30-year-old led the NFL with 108 solos. Alexander’s career since then has been a decade-long journey of injuries and six NFL teams. His odyssey brought him to Denver this season, and Alexander told reporters that the Broncos have been a great fit for him.

“It’s about the scheme and who is going to rock with you. I was just trying to find the right fit and the Denver Broncos were the right fit, so I’m blessed,” Alexander said. “Everything has been smooth. Everything has been legendary. Just working day by day.”

Alexander might well be happy because his snap count has steadily climbed since being elevated to the active roster. Alexander played more than twice as many snaps last week than Justin Strnad, and if that trend continues, he could be a sneaky-good spot-start for IDP managers in a top-10 fantasy matchup for his position with the undefeated Chiefs.

LB Jack Campbell, Detroit (at Houston)

Campbell is the Lions linebacker that IDP pundits love, and the Lions don’t—at least not enough to give the second-year pro the every-down role so many expected. Those tides may be changing, though—Campbell was on the field for over 90 percent of Detroit’s defensive snaps last week, and head coach Dan Campbell (no relation) has steadily praised the youngster this season.

“Jack's proven himself. Jack continues to get better," Campbell said. "He understands the defense. He communicates well. He's gotten better in the pass game, he's aggressive in the run game. Runs coast-to-coast. All-out effort, goes after the football.”

I can’t believe I’m doing this—it’s Charlie Brown barreling full-speed at the football in a week where many IDP managers can’t afford to have Lucy pull the football away. But the Texans would be well-advised to lean on Joe Mixon this week, and Houston has allowed the sixth-most fantasy points per game to linebackers this season.

S Justin Reid, Kansas City (vs. Denver)

Reid has become something of the elder statesman in Kansas City’s secondary, which is something of an odd role for a 27-year-old. But as Reid told reporters, the Chiefs are a team that consistently gets players ready to step into that sort of role when called upon.

“We have a team that truly prepares the next man; we help the next man. We’re all in,” he said. “We communicate daily. We talk about, ‘What if this happens? What if that happens?’ [For] the next man, we take time after practice — we meet up on our own time — [and] we still talk coverage. It works. Guys are confident out there. We pride ourselves on our physicality — that across the board, [our] DBs tackle. We are physical. We’re going to play press coverage — and we’re going to make it tough on you. You’ve got to find the ways to beat us.”

Reid has long been a matchup-dependent defensive back for a while now—a player whose NFL impact and IDP impact don’t necessarily come together. This week’s AFC West with the tilt offers the opportunity for the two worlds to collide—the Broncos have given up the fourth-most fantasy points per game to safeties this year.

S Tykee Smith, Tampa Bay (vs. San Francisco)

The Tampa Bay pass defense hasn’t been especially good this year—no team in the NFC has surrendered more passing yards per game this season. But when on the field, rookie Tykee Smith has impressed—just like Tampa assistant general manager Jason Spytek expected him to from the moment the former Georgia standout was drafted.

"We require a lot of our DBs here," Spytek told reporters. "I think a lot of NFL teams do. It's a really hard position to play. But in particular here, we stress them mentally, we stress them physically with the amount we blitz. They have to be resilient and want to make plays on the ball when they have a chance, and from that aspect, Tykee does all those things at a really high level."

Smith missed some time with a concussion, but he was back on the field last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, amassing nine total tackles, eight solos, a pass defenses, and a forced fumble. This week, the Buccaneers face a San Francisco 49ers team surrendering the most fantasy points per game to safeties—and Smith could easily post his second big stat line in a row.

Gary Davenport (“The Godfather of IDP”) is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow him on Twitter (Can’t make him call it X) at @IDPSharks.