Fantasy Football: Week 12 IDP rankings and tiers

• What to think of Demario Davis: Davis leads all linebackers with 6.5 sacks, but is there a reason for concern going up against the 49ers this week and for the rest of the season.
• Denver’s king of efficiency: Alex Singleton doesn’t care about his less-than-ideal snap share — he’s going to be IDP-relevant no matter what.
• Young edge rushers on the rise: Both Brian Burns and Montez Sweat are on pace to greatly exceed their best career seasons and are ranked accordingly.

Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes

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JUMP TO A POSITION:

LB | ED | DI | S | CB

LINEBACKERS

Alex Singleton (LB21) has been one of the most efficient linebackers this season in terms of making tackles, and he’s done so in a limited role on the Broncos defense. While Singleton played 100% of defensive snaps in a couple games, he has been a part-time player for most of the year. He has played just 59% of the team’s total defensive snaps and is in line for a similar share again this week, but he’s one of the few players who can produce well above his expected tackle total based on his snap share.

The average tackle rate for linebackers this season is 13.3%, and Singleton is producing a 21.5% tackle efficiency — the highest among all linebackers who have played at least 100 defensive snaps. Singleton’s low snaps would typically be a concern for others at his position, but he has been a consistent outlier where he can produce at a high rate despite an unideal snap share.

Demario Davis (LB38) has been much less efficient as a tackler than Singleton, but he’s made up for it by leading all off-ball linebackers in sacks (6.5). Like the situation with Zaven Collins (LB34) mentioned last week, unstable big plays are covering for what has otherwise been inefficient production. Davis’ tackle efficiency (8.6%) ranks 97th of 98 qualifying linebackers this season, which could come into play this week against the 49ers.

The 49ers are among the best in the league in sacks allowed per game (1.8) and rank inside the top 12 in rushing attempts per game (28.1) which is going to significantly limit Davis’ ability to add to his sack total this week. Davis will have to rely on making tackles, which has typically been the job of the Saints’ secondary linebacker, Kaden Elliss (LB26) or Pete Werner.

EDGE DEFENDERS