It’s Halloween, and with eight weeks gone in the 2024 fantasy football season, many IDP managers are living in a horror movie—better or worse.

What? I’m trying to get into the spirit of the holiday. Get it? “Spirit?” Ha! I kill me!

Some are Jason Voorhees, quietly stalking their prey (Fun fact—he stopped running and started walking in Friday the 13th: Part IV.). Every week, their team finds a hapless victim and hacks them to bits.

Others are every idiot character in a horror movie ever. They trip on tree roots. Can’t start the car. Stop running to hide somewhere. Or have sex (guaranteed to get you dead in a slasher movie). Every week brings another mistake. Another grisly death.

Then there are those who aspire to be a Final Girl, whether it’s Laurie Strode (Halloween) or Nancy Thompson (A Nightmare on Elm Street). They may be a little beaten, a little bloodied, and scared witless, but they are doing their level best to survive the murderous rampage and make the fantasy playoffs.

This column is a machete of IDP goodness. A chainsaw of fantasy advice. The weapon you need to dispatch your opponent and move on to the next sequel. This is IDP Studs and Duds at Footballguys.

Yep. Just jammed that metaphor in there. Also, candy corn is an abomination.

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).

Two teams are on a Week 9 bye—the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers. No T.T. Watt or Fred Warner, which for some is more terrifying than anything in The Exorcist.

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: EDGE Khalil Mack, LA Chargers (at Cleveland) (1)

Mack is one of the best pass rushers of his generation—the 33-year-old’s 105 career sacks and Defensive Player of the Year Award all but guarantee he’ll be enshrined in Canton one day. While talking to reporters, Mack admitted that reaching triple digits in sacks was an achievement that mattered to him.

"I felt like I would look on Twitter and people would be like, '17 sacks (in 2023), but he had six in one game'. It's like, damn, is that a bad thing? Maybe I shouldn't have gotten six in one game. Maybe I should've did three," Mack said. "Ultimately getting to that 100, it's special in the grand scheme of things when you understand everybody is not fortunate enough to play 10 years in this league and had great teammates like I have had and been able to do and accomplish some of the things that I have.”

Mack hasn’t been nearly as prolific at getting to the quarterback in 2024—just 3.5 sacks in his first seven games. But this week Mack and the Chargers get the pass rush matchup that makes everyone look good. The Browns don’t just lead the league in sacks allowed. They lead the league in that category by 10.

IDP Dud of the Week: LB DeMarvion Overshown, Dallas (at Atlanta) (32)

Overshown has been a rare bright spot in a disappointing season in Dallas—the second-year pro’s athleticism and range have earned him a full-time role opposite Eric Kendricks. However, while Overshown has played well, the defense as a whole has not—and per Patrik Walker of the team’s website, that doesn’t sit well with the youngster.

“When you've got a defensive coordinator like Coach [Mike] Zimmer, you know he's got the answers to the test," Overshown said. "We've just got to be about our business, and we have to hold ourselves accountable to do what he's telling us to do, [but] we're losing sight of that in the game. And once we start off slow, we're not picking it back up. We've got to come out there and start off fast — attacking them and not getting attacked."

A certain IDP analyst who shall remain nameless (Good-looking guy. Smart, too) may have talked Overshown’s IDP “sleeper” appeal up over the summer, and he has responded—he’s a top-25 fantasy linebacker over the last month. But both he and Kendricks will likely disappoint in Week 9—the Falcons have just been a terrible IDP matchup for linebackers all season long.

Week 9 IDP Studs

EDGE Dante Fowler Jr., Washington (at NYG) (2): It’s Fowler who has emerged as Washington’s most effective edge rusher in 2024. This week, he gets a fantastic IDP matchup with a bad Giants O-Line that leads the NFC in sacks given up with 26.

EDGE Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati (vs. LV) (5): Hendrickson is well on his way to another fine season, with seven sacks over his first eight games. He’ll notch another Sunday against a Raiders team that has allowed 25 sacks in 2024—fourth-most in the NFL.

EDGE Harold Landry III, Tennessee (vs. NE) (15): The Patriots are only a middle-of-the-pack IDP matchup in terms of fantasy points given up to defensive linemen, but only the Cleveland Browns have surrendered more sacks this season.

LB Daiyan Henley, LA Chargers (at CLE) (1): Henley played 100 percent of the defensive snaps last week for the second time this season. He has posted at least 11 total tackles in both of those games.

LB Bobby Okereke, NY Giants (vs. WAS) (5): Last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, IDP managers finally got the Okereke they drafted back in September. He’ll make it two big stat lines in a row in a plus fantasy matchup with the Commanders.

LB E.J. Speed, Indianapolis (at MIN) (4): Speed got off to a hot start this season but cooled off, in part due to an injury. Look for the sixth-year veteran to get hot again this week in a top-five fantasy matchup for his position.

S Coby Bryant, Seattle (vs. LAR) (4): Bryant has been solid in two starts at safety so far this season, and now he gets a top-five IDP matchup with a Rams team that just got Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back.

S Camryn Bynum, Minnesota (vs. IND) (6): Bynum hasn’t been able to back up last year’s huge numbers so far in 2024. But he’ll turn back the clock a year Sunday night in a favorable fantasy matchup with the Fighting Joe Flaccos.

S Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore (vs. DEN) (5): Hamilton is a classic example of a player whose NFL and IDP impact don’t always mesh. But the young safety is going to come up big at home against the Broncos—including an interception. Book it.

Week 9 IDP Duds

EDGE Odafe Oweh, Baltimore (vs. DEN) (31): Oweh and Kyle Van Noy have been solid in getting after quarterbacks this season. But despite fielding a rookie quarterback, the Buffalo Bills are the only team that has surrendered fewer sacks than the Broncos in 2024.

EDGE Montez Sweat, Chicago (at ARI) (16): Sweat was big last week against the Commanders—four total tackles, three quarterback hits, and a sack. But Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray has been dropped just 11 times all season long.

EDGE Byron Young, LA Rams (at SEA) (29): Young has flashed at times in his second season, but he has the look of a matchup-dependent DL2. This week’s trip to Seattle isn’t a good one—the Seahawks have allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points per game to defensive ends this year.

LB Demario Davis, New Orleans (at CAR) (27): Davis continues to play at a high level, but from a matchup perspective, it doesn’t get much worse than the Panthers, who have allowed the third-fewest tackle opportunities per game this year.

LB Ivan Pace Jr., Minnesota (vs. IND) (28): With Blake Cashman sidelined by injury, Pace has hit double-digits in tackles in two straight games. That streak ends Sunday night against the Colts and their up-and-down offense—and offense with a new quarterback.

LB Christian Rozeboom, LA Rams (at SEA) (29): With Troy Reeder on injured reserve, Rozeboom has become a full-time linebacker for the Rams. Unfortunately, against the Seattle Seahawks, snaps haven’t equated to stats this season.

S Grant Delpit, Cleveland (vs. LAC) (32): Delpit’s problem this week isn’t the all-encompassing cloud of despair hovering over the Browns. It’s the worst IDP matchup in the league for safeties with the visiting Chargers.

S Kyle Dugger, New England (at TEN) (29): Maybe it’s being forced into making the defensive play calls. Maybe it’s the never-ending minor injuries. Maybe it’s just defensive backs. But the numbers just haven’t been there with Dugger, and it isn’t likely to change against Tennessee’s pathetic offense this week.

S Antoine Winfield Jr., Tampa Bay (at KC) (27): Winfield is one of the NFL’s best safeties, and he has been a top-five fantasy option since returning from injury. But even in a year where Patrick Mahomes II is turning it over, the Chiefs remain a lousy IDP matchup for safeties.

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.