IDP The Guru and The Godfather: Week 16

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.

It's Week 16 of the 2025 season—and that means in most IDP leagues it's Semifinals Week. Get a victory this week, and it's on to the Championship Game. Come up short, and that's that—the season is over just short of the ultimate goal.

Given that, IDP managers have no margin for error this week. Every lineup decision could be the one that makes or breaks not only Week 16 but the entire season. It's enough pressure to inspire a panic attack.

But instead of freaking out, fantasy managers should chill. They have a secret weapon going into Week 16.

Two of them, in fact.

Inside Out

It's Semifinals Week, and IDP managers need two things this week—advice and some good old-fashioned luck. We can't help with the latter, but we'll start offering the former by throwing a bone to managers in IDP leagues that require defensive tackles and cornerbacks.

Identify one non-obvious start at both of those positions in Week 16.

Guru: I'll stick with the same philosophy on this one that I've subscribed to for the last two months or so: find the top option on the team that is playing the Raiders. This week, that is Tommy Togiai of the Texans. You've heard the spiel before. The Raiders can't block anyone and have given up five sacks (approximately) per game, yadda, yadda. This time, there is a little added juice in that Togiai is a player on the rise over the last several games. He had 10 tackles and a sack against the Chiefs two weeks ago and has been putting up good tackle totals (for a tackle) since week 10. The matchup enhances his shot at a big-play contribution, and he has a pretty safe floor.

Likewise, my top streaming targets at corner over the last few weeks have been whoever gets to play the Bengals. Specifically, whoever will be covering Ja'Marr Chase, if that can be defined. This week, I think that will be Rasul Douglas, though Jack Jones is in play as well, especially if Tee Higgins plays. I don't expect Douglas to necessarily shadow Chase, but he is significantly bigger at 6-foot-2 and 209 pounds and more physical than the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Jones. Chase is a physical receiver, so I think Miami would much rather have Douglas on him, even if it's just to get him on the ground after the catch.  

Godfather: The Guru is trying the old reverse-jinx on me with the Douglas call—we tend to play against one another with some regularity this time of year, and I'm rolling Douglas out against him as my latest "Frankencorner."

The Godfather learned from the best.

The New Orleans Saints aren't exactly an offensive dynamo, but the team has given up the third-most fantasy points to cornerbacks in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring. With Sauce Gardner gone, Brandon Stephens is easily the best cornerback the New York Jets have. That's going to mean a lot of time covering Chris Olave in Week 16. And with Stephens, targets usually mean tackles.

Love the Togiai call too, especially in a week short on solid streaming plays at defensive tackle. Minnesota's Jonathan Allen wasn't supposed to be a dart-throw play—just ask the Vikings. Jalen Redmond is rightfully ranked highly this week against a New York Giants team giving up the second-most fantasy points to interior linemen this year. But Allen is a sneaky-good IDP play as well.

Line Them Up

Now it's time to hit the "Big 3" positions—starting with the defensive line.

Which surprise star on the defensive line is going to wreak havoc in Week 16? Which prominent defensive linemen could go full Krispy Kreme and throw up a donut at the worst possible time?

Guru: I'm rolling with Dallas Turner of the Vikings as my upside edge defender this week. It's been a couple of games since he put a mark in the sack column, but with four in the previous three games, the potential is there. Turner was taking turns starting for Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard, who were in and out of the lineup with minor injuries for a spell. Turner, the former first-round pick, filled in admirably. Now that Greenard has been shut down for the remainder of the season, it is Turner's job. The Vikings don't shuffle a lot of guys in, and will likely run a three-man rotation with Turner and Van Ginkel both working on north of 70% of the snaps. Then, there is the matchup. The Giants were mediocre there early in the year. Since week ten, however, they have allowed the tenth most points to the position. Not stellar but well above average.

I'm nervous about Josh Hines-Allen of the Jaguars in the matchup with Denver. It would be easy to be lured in by his hot streak that included 6.5 sacks over six games, but that streak came to an ugly, abrupt halt when Hines-Allen was a 1-1 bust in the juicy matchup with the Jets last week. He's been streaky throughout his career and has a history of earning the confidence of fantasy managers just in time to sink them in crunch time. Then there are the Broncos, who have allowed the third fewest points to the position on the year.

Godfather: Buffalo Bills edge rusher Greg Rousseau hasn't been able to back up his career year in 2024 this season—after 53 total tackles and eight sacks last year, the fifth-year veteran has managed just four so far this season. But one of those sacks came last week against the New England Patriots, and Rousseau will log his fifth Sunday in a plus IDP matchup with the Cleveland Browns.

Josh Sweat has been a bright spot in a dark season for the Arizona Cardinals—in his first year with the Redbirds, Sweat has tied his career high with 11 sacks and is ranked among the top-15 defensive linemen this season. But Sweat has been invisible of late, managing just a single assist over the past two games combined. That funk won't be broken out of in a bottom-five matchup for edge rushers with the Atlanta Falcons.

Linebackers, Tigers, and Bears—Oh My!