Fantasy Football: Week 6 IDP Rankings & Tiers

• Sorting out changing linebacker rooms: The Texans, Jaguars, Bills and Saints all had slight shakeups to their linebacker rotations heading into this week.

• Haason Reddick heating up: After a slow start, Reddick now has three sacks in two games and draws another positive matchup in Week 6.

• Dominate your fantasy league in 2023: For up-to-date fantasy draft rankings and projections, check out PFF’s fantasy rankings tool!

Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes

With bye weeks and injuries beginning to test the depth of fantasy football rosters, checking in on weekly rankings to find all the players to target and avoid each week becomes all the more crucial.

Check the PFF.com rankings page for any updates closer to game time.

Jump to a Position:

LB | ED | DI | S | CB

LINEBACKER

Henry To’oTo’o (LB19) stands out as the safest bet among the Texans’ linebackers heading into this week, as he’s played more than 95% of the team’s defensive snaps in each of the past three weeks. Denzel Perryman (LB37) and Blake Cashman (LB54) are two other options. It’s possible that Perryman sees an increase in snaps this coming week after seemingly being eased back into action last week and playing only 46% of the defensive snaps while Cashman played 96%. The safest bet is to avoid the Texans’ linebackers outside of To’oTo’o this week until we get a clearer picture of their deployment.

Devin Lloyd (LB30) is considered questionable at the moment but could return this week with the Jaguars returning from London. Lloyd sat out that trip with a thumb injury. Chad Muma (not ranked) didn’t play a full-time role in Week 5 even without Lloyd in the lineup and has been one of the league’s lowest-graded linebackers this season (35.2), ranking 84th out of 85 qualifying players at his position. It feels more than likely that Lloyd will step back into his starting spot while Muma plays the role of backup as long as Lloyd is healthy.

Pete Werner (LB42) had been averaging 98% of the team’s defensive snaps heading into Week 5 but dipped to just 57% last week — and not just due to the Saints blowing out the Patriots. Werner has potentially lost that every-down role for the time being. A sub-75% snap share would push Werner much further down the rankings in a man-heavy defense that is already not yielding high tackle efficiency to the linebacker position. Werner can be avoided where possible this week while we wait for more information.

EDGE DEFENDER

Haason Reddick (ED10) has been heating up in recent weeks, coming up with three sacks in the past two games. Reddick now draws a strong matchup against Zach Wilson and the Jets in Week 6. The Jets are likely to turn to Max Mitchell at right tackle after placing Alijah Vera-Tucker on injured reserve this week. Mitchell has played 19 pass-blocking snaps and has managed just a 34.2 pass-blocking grade, which is the lowest on the team. Wilson is also a top-10 most-sacked quarterback this season (14).

Jaelan Phillips (ED14) has played only one full game this season, which was back in Week 1, and while it was a productive fantasy performance, his start to a potential breakout season hasn’t quite gone as imagined. That being said, Phillips has the chance to return this week and immediately make up for lost time in a positive matchup against the Panthers, who rank 28th in pass-blocking grade (47.1), and Bryce Young, who has taken 12 sacks on the year. If Phillips can’t go, then Andrew Van Ginkel (ED30) would jump up the ranks, as he’s been effective in Phillips' stead this season.

INTERIOR DEFENDER

Justin Madubuike (DT18) has gotten off to a strong start this season with 2.5 sacks, 13 total tackles and 13 pressures. The Titans’ interior offensive line has been charged with allowing five sacks this season, the sixth most in the league, and Ryan Tannehill has the fourth-highest pressure-to-sack conversion rate (27.0%). Madubuike has averaged a career-high 69% of the defensive snaps in 2023 and should continue to play a high volume of snaps this week with a chance to be fantasy-relevant once again.

SAFETY

Jayron Kearse (S12) draws one of the better matchups for safeties this season against the Chargers and has seen one of the better IDP deployments for the position — both of which should boost his production. Kearse has played 43% of his defensive snaps lined up in the box this season, and while he hasn’t had a huge game just yet, this week is a potential blow-up game for the Cowboys’ safety.

Julian Love (S22) has been one of the most productive IDP safeties so far this season, but we still need to figure out what the Seahawks’ defense will look like with Jamal Adams (S39) expected back in the lineup since we saw just four snaps of that in Week 4. It’s possible that Adams will absorb a lot of the prime IDP deployments that have helped Love’s production. It’s also possible that Adams will cut into Love’s overall playing time, or vice versa. So, for this week, we’ll approach this group with caution until it’s a bit clearer.

CORNERBACK

Marco Wilson (CB12) has been one of the most targeted cornerbacks in the league this season (fourth), which has led to strong fantasy production, including 28 total tackles on the year. Wilson faces off against the Rams this week, one of the best matchups for cornerbacks to produce tackles this year. Los Angeles is yielding 16.3 tackles per game heading into Week 5 (second most). Wilson can continue to be fired up in a strong matchup.

Brandon Stephens (CB18) has emerged as one of the most productive IDP cornerbacks this season and hasn’t missed a snap through the first five games, making him a safe option once again this week. The Titans aren’t a great matchup for cornerbacks, but Stephens has found ways to be productive regardless of matchup, keeping him among the top 20 cornerback options this week.

KEY

• DNP: Did not participate in team's most recent practice due to injury
• LP: Limited participation in team's most recent practice due to injury
• D: Player is doubtful to play due to injury
• Q: Player is questionable to play due to injury
• TNF: Player is playing on Thursday Night Football. Set lineups accordingly.
• SNF: Player is playing on Sunday Night Football. Set lineups accordingly.
• MNF: Player is playing on Monday Night Football. Set lineups accordingly.
• UK: Player is playing on Sunday morning’s London game. Set lineups accordingly.
• WW: Potential waiver-wire target (see Weekly IDP Fantasy Report).