It was another eventful fantasy weekend on both sides of the ball. We'll break down all of the biggest IDP news of the week, highlighting some players who will rise and fall in rankings for Week 5.
Risers
The Chargers suffered their first loss of the season, but that didn't prevent a few of their defensive players from putting together huge performances. Tuipulotu introduced himself to Jaxson Dart with four sacks and five tackles for loss, and also recorded a career-high 10 tackles. This performance obviously skews his season-long paces, but he looks likely to take another step forward in his third pro season. Double-digit sacks looks to be a realistic possibility.
Dye has had the chance to serve as one of the Chargers' primary inside linebackers in the absence of Denzel Perryman (ankle), the latter of whom is currently on IR. Dye hadn't done much with the chance, logging only 11 tackles combined across three games. He surpassed that total with 13 stops against New York and is a fantasy IDP streaming candidate for Week 5 against the Commanders.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson was shockingly released by the Texans early last week, leaving Stewart as the team's free safety opposite Calen Bullock. Stewart's box score wasn't particularly impressive (four tackles), but he logged 89 percent of defensive snaps, and the Titans aren't going to provide many opportunities to opponents due to their poor offensive output. Until we get some clarity on Jimmie
It was another eventful fantasy weekend on both sides of the ball. We'll break down all of the biggest IDP news of the week, highlighting some players who will rise and fall in rankings for Week 5.
Risers
The Chargers suffered their first loss of the season, but that didn't prevent a few of their defensive players from putting together huge performances. Tuipulotu introduced himself to Jaxson Dart with four sacks and five tackles for loss, and also recorded a career-high 10 tackles. This performance obviously skews his season-long paces, but he looks likely to take another step forward in his third pro season. Double-digit sacks looks to be a realistic possibility.
Dye has had the chance to serve as one of the Chargers' primary inside linebackers in the absence of Denzel Perryman (ankle), the latter of whom is currently on IR. Dye hadn't done much with the chance, logging only 11 tackles combined across three games. He surpassed that total with 13 stops against New York and is a fantasy IDP streaming candidate for Week 5 against the Commanders.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson was shockingly released by the Texans early last week, leaving Stewart as the team's free safety opposite Calen Bullock. Stewart's box score wasn't particularly impressive (four tackles), but he logged 89 percent of defensive snaps, and the Titans aren't going to provide many opportunities to opponents due to their poor offensive output. Until we get some clarity on Jimmie Ward's situation, Stewart is a potential starting option.
Reaves began the season primarily contributing on special teams, but the injury to Will Harris (leg) has forced the Commanders to reconfigure their safety corps. Darnell Savage was the presumed winner, but it was instead Reaves, who has now logged 69 and 91 percent of defensive snaps in the last two weeks, respectively. He came away with a season-best eight tackles in Sunday's loss, including an impressive play where he tracked down Bijan Robinson just before the goal line to temporarily prevent a touchdown.
There looks to be a shift in playing time in the New England linebacker corps. Christian Elliss has played only 35 and 57 percent of snaps in the last two weeks, and he's perhaps playing through a shoulder injury he suffered during Week 1. He could arguably be a faller, but he's still recorded at least eight tackles in three of four games, so it's worth seeing how this situation trends. Gibbens is the potential beneficiary in the situation, as he's gone from playing 13 and nine percent of defensive snaps in the first two weeks of the year to 44 and 45 percent in the last two. He logged 12 tackles Sunday against Carolina and was all over the field, and his big plays didn't come solely in garbage time.
Curl has been a mainstay in the Rams' secondary since joining the team in 2024, so his 100 percent snap rate and nine tackles in Week 4 don't come as a big surprise. However, he came away with his first interceptions since the 2020 season and is looking far more comfortable in the second year in this defensive scheme. He was already a strong fantasy IDP option, but Curl looks to be joining the elite tier of DBs in 2025.
The Steelers have given fantasy managers the ultimate roller coaster at inside linebacker. Wilson was projected to be one of the top cover linebackers and staple alongside Patrick Queen in Pittsburgh, but his role was significantly cut in Week 3 as the team sought to shake up an underachieving defense. Wilson was back to an 86 percent snap rate, while Cole Holcomb played sparingly. Perhaps it was due to the pass-heavy game script for Minnesota, but it was a solid showing from Wilson to get back on track.
Fallers
Knight was overtaken by Drake Thomas to start at inside linebacker opposite Ernest Jones, and he ended up with a 31 percent defensive snap rate. That was his lowest mark since Week 9 of his rookie season in 2024. Knight was productive on the surface to begin the season, but his missed tackle rate has nearly doubled from 2024 to 12.1 percent (per PFF). It wouldn't be a surprise to see him take back his typical role at some point later in the season, but he shifts down the rankings for the time being.
Savage is a faller among the secondary shakeup in Washington. He was projected to inherit the snaps of Harris, but he instead only played eight defensive snaps behind Reaves. This could be a situation to monitor, but it has not been a good start to the 2025 season for Savage after he was already released by Jacksonville.
There have been two surprising contributors to the Raiders' defense through four weeks. Devin White has taken over as the quarterback of the Raiders' defense, while Jamal Adams is playing a hybrid slot/weak-side linebacker role. Adams played a season-high 37 defensive snaps in Week 4, with Roberts playing only 13.
Smith is our stand-in faller for the projected elite linebacker group entering the season. Zaire Franklin has been a significant letdown, T.J. Edwards has been hampered by injury, and now Smith is dealing with a hamstring issue. There's no word as to the severity for now, but the fantasy IDP landscape could be in for another significant change early.
