RADIO
One of the great things about implementing IDP in fantasy football is that it balances out some of the insanity that the offensive players produce in some weeks. If you started a lineup with Jimmy Garoppolo, Raheem Mostert, Boston Scott, A.J. Brown, Darius Slayton, and Noah Fant then you undoubtedly crushed your opponent while a team consisting of Aaron Rodgers, Alvin Kamara, Saquon Barkley, Davante Adams, Julio Jones, and Mark Andrews would be out of the playoffs. If you made it this far, good luck in Week 15 and here's hoping that defense helps guide your way!
Serious fantasy football players know that the game isn't played on offense alone. While team defenses are a staple of the game, being able to identify value with individual defensive players (IDP) takes it to the next level. RotoBaller has you covered when it comes to IDP rankings. Expert analysts Pierre Camus and Justin Carter will bring you their top-100 consensus IDP rankings throughout the 2019 season, so check here for the latest weekly updates.
Players are classified by major position group (DL, LB, DB) to simplify things for you. We've also tiered these rankings to give you an idea of relative importance and will analyze a few key players to watch. Check out our rankings page for the offensive players right here.
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Top 100 Individual Defensive Players - Week 15
| Tier | Rank | Player Name | Position |
| 1 | 1 | Darius Leonard | LB |
| 1 | 2 | Bobby Wagner | LB |
| 1 | 3 | Joe Schobert | LB |
| 1 | 4 | Blake Martinez | LB |
| 1 | 5 | Luke Kuechly | LB |
| 1 | 6 | Jordan Hicks | LB |
| 1 | 7 | Fred Warner | LB |
| 1 | 8 | Cory Littleton | LB |
| 1 | 9 | Deion Jones | LB |
| 2 | 10 | Eric Reid | DB |
| 2 | 11 | Demario Davis | LB |
| 2 | 12 | T.J. Watt | LB |
| 2 | 13 | Jaylon Smith | LB |
| 2 | 14 | Budda Baker | DB |
| 2 | 15 | Zach Cunningham | LB |
| 3 | 16 | Aaron Donald | DL |
| 3 | 17 | Danielle Hunter | DL |
| 3 | 18 | Jayon Brown | LB |
| 3 | 19 | Nick Bosa | DL |
| 3 | 20 | Devin White | LB |
| 3 | 21 | Vonn Bell | DB |
| 3 | 22 | Cameron Heyward | DL |
| 3 | 23 | Logan Ryan | DB |
| 4 | 24 | Cameron Jordan | DL |
| 4 | 25 | Landon Collins | DB |
| 4 | 26 | Joey Bosa | DL |
| 4 | 27 | Shaq Thompson | LB |
| 4 | 28 | Eric Kendricks | LB |
| 4 | 29 | Calais Campbell | DL |
| 4 | 30 | De'Vondre Campbell | LB |
| 4 | 31 | Rashaan Evans | LB |
| 5 | 32 | Brandon Graham | DL |
| 5 | 33 | Khalil Mack | LB |
| 5 | 34 | Devin Bush | LB |
| 5 | 35 | Todd Davis | LB |
| 5 | 36 | Tracy Walker | DB |
| 5 | 37 | Jamie Collins | LB |
| 5 | 38 | Jordan Poyer | DB |
| 5 | 39 | Melvin Ingram | DL |
| 5 | 40 | A.J. Johnson | LB |
| 5 | 41 | Harrison Smith | DB |
| 5 | 42 | K.J. Wright | LB |
| 6 | 43 | Lavonte David | LB |
| 6 | 44 | DeForest Buckner | DL |
| 6 | 45 | Arik Armstead | DL |
| 6 | 46 | Taylor Rapp | DB |
| 6 | 47 | Justin Houston | DL |
| 6 | 48 | Minkah Fitzpatrick | DB |
| 6 | 49 | Derwin James | DB |
| 6 | 50 | Bud Dupree | LB |
| 6 | 51 | Tremaine Edmunds | LB |
| 7 | 52 | Demarcus Lawrence | DL |
| 7 | 53 | Nick Vigil | LB |
| 7 | 54 | Justin Simmons | DB |
| 7 | 55 | Yannick Ngakoue | DL |
| 7 | 56 | Neville Hewitt | LB |
| 7 | 57 | Shaquil Barrett | LB |
| 7 | 58 | Matt Milano | LB |
| 7 | 59 | Jason Pierre-Paul | DL |
| 7 | 60 | Maxx Crosby | DL |
| 7 | 61 | James Burgess | LB |
| 7 | 62 | Harold Landry | LB |
| 7 | 63 | Sean Lee | LB |
| 7 | 64 | Jessie Bates III | DB |
| 7 | 65 | Robert Quinn | DL |
| 7 | 66 | Jonathan Allen | DL |
| 7 | 67 | Antoine Bethea | DB |
| 8 | 68 | Jerome Baker | LB |
| 8 | 69 | Thomas Davis | LB |
| 8 | 70 | Benardrick McKinney | LB |
| 8 | 71 | Shawn Williams | DB |
| 8 | 72 | Donald Payne | LB |
| 8 | 73 | Jadeveon Clowney | DL |
| 8 | 74 | Kyle Fuller | DB |
| 8 | 75 | Dre Greenlaw | LB |
| 8 | 76 | Drue Tranquill | LB |
| 8 | 77 | Nick Kwiatkoski | LB |
| 8 | 78 | Chandler Jones | LB |
| 8 | 79 | Carlos Dunlap | DL |
| 8 | 80 | Mario Addison | DL |
| 8 | 81 | Anthony Walker | LB |
| 8 | 82 | Za'Darius Smith | LB |
| 8 | 83 | Everson Griffen | DL |
| 8 | 84 | Kevin Byard | DB |
| 8 | 85 | Tahir Whitehead | LB |
| 8 | 86 | Chris Jones | DL |
| 8 | 87 | Jarrad Davis | LB |
| 8 | 88 | Grady Jarrett | DL |
| 8 | 89 | Matt Ioannidis | DL |
| 8 | 90 | Josh Allen | DL |
| 8 | 91 | Trey Flowers | DL |
| 9 | 92 | Frank Clark | DL |
| 9 | 93 | Tavon Wilson | DB |
| 9 | 94 | Von Miller | LB |
| 9 | 95 | Alec Ogletree | LB |
| 9 | 96 | Ryan Kerrigan | LB |
| 9 | 97 | Jurrell Casey | DL |
| 9 | 98 | Bruce Irvin | DL |
| 9 | 99 | Preston Smith | LB |
| 9 | 100 | Malcolm Jenkins | DB |
Streamers/Key Players to Watch
K.J. Wright (LB, SEA) @ Carolina - A dislocated finger isn't expected to keep Wright out of Week 15, which is good for the Seahawks, who look to rebound from a disappointing loss to the Rams. It's especially good for IDP owners, as opposing linebackers rack up more fantasy points against the Panthers than any other team. Wright has played more than 90% of defensive snaps in five straight games and in 11 of 13 games on the year. A double-digit combined tackle total is a reasonable expectation.
Justin Simmons (S, DEN) @ Kansas City - If your league counts passes defended (PD) for anything more than a single point, Simmons should have been on your radar or in your lineup at some point. He ranks ninth with 13 PD on the year, including three last week at Houston. Kansas City will always air it out and will especially need to do so with so many injuries at running back, assuming the Broncos can challenge them enough in this contest. The Chiefs allow the eighth-most fantasy points per game to safeties, reinforcing the fact that Simmons is a high-floor play in a critical week.
Jonathan Allen (DE, WAS) vs Philadelphia - Allen hasn't been taking the quarterback down at a high rate but he did register five solo stops for the third time this season in Week 14. While Carson Wentz has only been sacked eight times over the last three weeks, that was a result of him facing defenses like the Giants, Dolphins, and Seahawks, all bottom-10 in sack totals. Lane Johnson is still hurt, as is every single WR on the roster. Add that to the fact the Eagles run the third-most plays and give up the fourth-most fantasy points to defensive linemen and Allen seems like a great DL option.
Antoine Bethea (S, NYG) vs Miami - His huge game against the Eagles on Monday night with 10 solo tackles pushed him up to 14th in the league in that category. This game could be ugly on both sides of the ball but there's always individual fantasy value when bad teams clash. In this case, Bethea is likely to tally several stops again and has a strong chance to come away with a big play as well since the Dolphins are thin at the skill positions (more so than usual).
Dre Greenlaw (LB, SF) vs Atlanta - Since Week 10, when Kwon Alexander was put on IR, Greenlaw has stepped up to compile at least seven combined tackles in every game. There isn't much else to his game just yet - he's posted just one sack, one INT, and two PD on the year - so target him if you're looking for a high-floor LB in deeper leagues. The Falcons have been running the ball more lately with Devonta Freeman back and will out of necessity with Calvin Ridley out. Greenlaw is an easy linebacker pickup that is widely available at 3% ownership if Fred Warner (51% owned) is already taken.
Trey Flowers (DE, DET) vs Tampa Bay - Flowers has been on a mission to take down QBs lately. Maybe that BS Roughing the Passer call a few weeks ago fired him up. He's collected at least one sack in five of the last seven games. Jameis Winston is the third-most sacked passer in the NFL but it would be even better if he doesn't play due to his fractured thumb. Flowers could get a chance to chase down Ryan Griffin, who at age 30 just saw the first on-field action of his career in Week 14. Standing 6'5" with a 40-yard dash time in the 4th percentile, a start by Griffin should mean an automatic plug-and-play for the top Lions defensive lineman.
Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.
