Welcome to The Fantasy Football Universe Fantasy Football IDP Matchup Guide (Week 5). This column will not tell you specifically who you should start or sit with, rather it will show you which players have the best and worst matchups from there. This isn’t meant to convince you to sit your studs in favor of streaming options it’s intended to help you determine which lower-ranked players could be streaming options best on a favorable matchup and which studs could be in for a down week based on a bad matchup.
*The information average of the team logo indicates the team and their matchup. I chose to list it by team instead of by players due to the wide variety of options at each position. Instead of “Sauce Gardner” it will simply say “Jets DB”. It’s up to you to decide which player from that position you like best. The other reason for this is due to the nature of the position. Some defenders will shadow a specific player while others will stay on their side of the field. This can be unpredictable and is open to interpretation and personal preference. The number next to that position group indicates their opponent’s matchup against that position. 1 indicates the best fantasy matchup for that position, while 32 indicates the worst.
The information under the team logo shows their opponent and the deviation from the average points allowed to that position.
Defensive Lineman Matchups
Start of the Week: Zach Sieler of the Miami Dolphins is my defensive lineman start of the week for the second consecutive week as he gets yet another juicy matchup. Sieler has totaled 13 tackles, one sack, and one interception to date and has been a reliable asset for IDP managers. This week, he gets a matchup with the New England Patriots who rank as the best matchup for opposing defensive lineman. The Patriots are allowing 46.4% more production to linemen than the league average and will make for a prime spot for Sieler to put up a monster game.
Sit of the Week: Will Anderson of the Houston Texans is my defensive lineman sit of the week. On the year, Anderson has 10 tackles and 2,5 sacks and has been fairly consistent. This week, however, he gets a matchup with the Buffalo Bills who rank as the worst matchup for opposing defensive linemen. The Bills are limiting linemen to 46.0% below the league average in fantasy points and will make for a rough week for the stud defender.
Linebacker Matchups
Start of the Week: Bobby Wagner of the Washington Commanders is my linebacker start of the week. He faces the Cleveland Browns in Week 5, who rank as the best matchup for opposing linebackers. The Browns are allowing 42.6% more fantasy points to the position than the league average and should allow for another big game for Wagner. He has racked up 38 tackles and 0.5 sacks this season and has been one of the only bright spots in this Commander’s defense. It’s another great week to fire up Wagner in this one.
Sit of the Week: YaYa Diaby of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is my linebacker sit of the week. He faces the Atlanta Falcons this week who rank as the worst matchup for opposing linebackers as they have limited the position to 43.2% less fantasy points than the league average. Diaby has played well to this point in the season, but there are better streaming options this week and he should be avoided where possible.
Defensive Back Matchups
Start of the Week: Kevin Byard of the Chicago Bears is my defensive back start of the week. He faces the Carolina Panthers in Week 5 who rank as the best matchup for opposing defensive backs. The Panthers are allowing 27.0% more fantasy points to the position than the league average and should allow Byard to be a DB1 on the week. Byard has 26 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble on the season and will put up an elite statline in this prime matchup.
Sit of the Week: Kamari Lassiter of Houston is my defensive back sit of the week. He faces the Buffalo Bills in Week 5, who rank as the worst matchup for the position. Lassiter has struggled to start his rookie season playing opposite Derek Stingley. He has been targeted frequently and has been beaten regularly. The Bills are allowing 21.9% fewer fantasy points per game to opposing defensive backs than the league average and will be another week to avoid Lassiter. There will be better weeks for the youngster, but he still has some growing to do before he can be trusted in your IDP lineup.
If you enjoyed this week’s Fantasy Football IDP Matchup Guide, check out our weekly Sit & Start column to see all the players we are targeting and fading this week, and head over to The FFU YouTube Channel to see our daily videos.
