Fantasy Football: Week 8 IDP Rankings & Tiers

• Tennessee Titans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair becomes a must-start: Al-Shaair is coming off back-to-back strong games and draws another great matchup to keep it rolling in Week 8.

• Big bounce-back game for Kamren Curl: Curl was quiet in Week 7, but his deployment is among the best for IDP safeties this season. He faces a team that has allowed the most tackles to the safety position this season.

• 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

No NFL teams are on a bye in Week 8, giving fantasy football managers plenty of options to choose from for those IDP starting lineups. Dive in to find the best matchups and players to consider for this coming week.

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

Jump to a Position:

LB | ED | DI | S | CB

LINEBACKER

RANK	TIER	NAME	TEAM	OPP	NOTES
1	1A	Zaire Franklin	IND	NO
2	1A	Roquan Smith	BLT	@ ARZ	Q
3	1A	Foyesade Oluokun	JAX	@ PIT
4	1A	Kyzir White	ARZ	BLT
5	1B	Bobby Okereke	NYG	NYJ
6	1B	Quincy Williams	NYJ	@ NYG
7	1B	Alex Singleton	DEN	KC
8	1B	Bobby Wagner	SEA	CLV
9	1C	Fred Warner	SF	CIN
10	1C	Lavonte David	TB	@ BUF	TNF
11	1C	Azeez Al-Shaair	TEN	ATL
12	1C	Quay Walker	GB	MIN
13	2A	Terrel Bernard	BUF	TB	TNF
14	2A	C.J. Mosley	NYJ	@ NYG
15	2A	Frankie Luvu	CAR	HST	Q
16	2A	Dre Greenlaw	SF	CIN
17	2B	T.J. Edwards	CHI	@ LAC	SNF
18	2B	Jordan Hicks	MIN	@ GB
19	2B	Drue Tranquill	KC	@ DEN	WW
20	2B	Patrick Queen	BLT	@ ARZ
21	2C	Kenneth Murray Jr.	LAC	CHI	SNF
22	2C	Cole Holcomb	PIT	JAX
23	2C	Logan Wilson	CIN	@ SF
24	2C	Robert Spillane	LV	@ DET	MNF
25	3A	Ernest Jones	LAR	@ DAL	Q
26	3A	Jordyn Brooks	SEA	CLV	Q
27	3A	Tremaine Edmunds	CHI	@ LAC	SNF
28	3A	Henry To’oTo’o	HST	@ CAR
29	3B	Devin White	TB	@ BUF	TNF
30	3B	Germaine Pratt	CIN	@ SF
31	3B	Nate Landman	ATL	@ TEN
32	3B	Pete Werner	NO	@ IND
33	3C	Jamin Davis	WAS	PHI
34	3C	Devin Lloyd	JAX	@ PIT
35	3C	Josey Jewell	DEN	KC
36	3C	Eric Kendricks	LAC	CHI	SNF
37	4A	Jack Gibbens	TEN	ATL
38	4A	Alex Anzalone	DET	LV	MNF
39	4A	Damone Clark	DAL	LAR
40	4A	Luke Masterson	LV	@ DET	WW/MNF
41	4B	De'Vondre Campbell	GB	MIN	Q
42	4B	Demario Davis	NO	@ IND	Q
43	4B	Ja'Whaun Bentley	NE	@ MIA
44	4B	Zach Cunningham	PHI	@ WAS
45	4C	Shaquille Leonard	IND	NO
46	4C	Kaden Elliss	ATL	@ TEN
47	4C	Micah McFadden	NYG	NYJ
48	4C	Josh Woods	ARZ	BLT
49	5A	Nakobe Dean	PHI	@ WAS
50	5A	Anthony Walker Jr.	CLV	@ SEA	Q
51	5A	Willie Gay	KC	@ DEN
52	5A	Tyrel Dodson	BUF	TB	WW/TNF
53	5B	David Mayo	WAS	PHI	WW
54	5B	Christian Rozeboom	LAR	@ DAL
55	5B	Jack Campbell	DET	LV	WW/MNF
56	5B	Jerome Baker	MIA	NE
57	5C	Denzel Perryman	HST	@ CAR
58	5C	Blake Cashman	HST	@ CAR
59	5C	Kwon Alexander	PIT	JAX
60	5C	David Long Jr.	MIA	NE	Q

Kyzir White (LB4) is coming off a quiet game with just five total tackles. He did, however, add two tackles for loss and a pass breakup while playing 100% of the defensive snaps. These games happen all the time for linebackers, especially against non-optimal opponents — as the Seahawks were last week. This week, White draws a matchup against the Ravens, who are the most optimal opponent for linebacker tackles, giving up 20.6 per game to the position. This is a great boost for White, who is the lone every-down linebacker on a zone-heavy defense in Arizona, making him a top-tier start this week.

Prior to Azeez Al-Shaair‘s (LB11) Week 7 bye, he posted back-to-back 15-tackle games and earned his way into must-start territory as the Titans' lone every-down linebacker. Al-Shaair becomes even more enticing this week against the Falcons, who have allowed 19.3 tackles per game to opposing linebackers, which is tied for the fourth most in the league heading into Week 8.

Dorian Williams and Tyrel Dodson (LB51) can be avoided this week, especially with no teams on a bye. There are better available options to trust in starting lineups. After seemingly securing an every-down role in Week 6, Williams was subsequently benched in Week 7 for Dodson due to poor play. It remains to be seen whether the team goes back to Williams this week or if Dodson will be the starter going forward. So for now, IDP managers should find better options.

EDGE DEFENDER

RANK	TIER	NAME	TEAM	OPP	NOTES
1	1A	Micah Parsons	DAL	LAR
2	1A	Maxx Crosby	LV	@ DET	MNF
3	1A	Nick Bosa	SF	CIN
4	1A	Myles Garrett	CLV	@ SEA
5	1B	T.J. Watt	PIT	JAX
6	1B	Haason Reddick	PHI	@ WAS
7	1B	Josh Allen	JAX	@ PIT
8	1B	Aidan Hutchinson	DET	LV	MNF
9	1C	Josh Sweat	PHI	@ WAS
10	1C	Danielle Hunter	MIN	@ GB
11	1C	Kayvon Thibodeaux	NYG	NYJ	Q
12	1C	Brian Burns	CAR	HST	Q
13	2A	Alex Highsmith	PIT	JAX
14	2A	Jaelan Phillips	MIA	NE
15	2A	Rashan Gary	GB	MIN
16	2A	Trey Hendrickson	CIN	@ SF
17	2B	Joey Bosa	LAC	CHI	SNF
18	2B	Chase Young	WAS	PHI
19	2B	Montez Sweat	WAS	PHI
20	2B	DeMarcus Lawrence	DAL	LAR
21	2C	Carl Granderson	NO	@ IND
22	2C	Will Anderson Jr.	HST	@ CAR
23	2C	Sam Hubbard	CIN	@ SF
24	2C	Za'Darius Smith	CLV	@ SEA
25	3A	Khalil Mack	LAC	CHI	SNF
26	3A	Harold Landry III	TEN	ATL
27	3A	Kwity Paye	IND	NO
28	3A	Bradley Chubb	MIA	NE
29	3B	Jermaine Johnson	NYJ	@ NYG
30	3B	Greg Rousseau	BUF	TB	TNF
31	3B	George Karlaftis	KC	@ DEN
32	3B	Byron Young	LAR	@ DAL
33	3C	Odafe Oweh	BLT	@ ARZ	WW
34	3C	Samson Ebukam	IND	NO
35	3C	Denico Autry	TEN	ATL
36	3C	Cameron Jordan	NO	@ IND
37	4A	Jonathan Greenard	HST	@ CAR
38	4A	Andrew Van Ginkel	MIA	NE
39	4A	Jonathon Cooper	DEN	KC
40	4A	Preston Smith	GB	MIN
41	4B	Travon Walker	JAX	@ PIT
42	4B	Shaquil Barrett	TB	@ BUF	TNF
43	4B	Randy Gregory	SF	CIN
44	4B	Michael Hoecht	LAR	@ DAL
45	4C	Mike Danna	KC	@ DEN
46	4C	Tuli Tuipuloto	LAC	CHI	SNF
47	4C	Yannick Ngakoue	CHI	@ LAC	SNF
48	4C	Darrell Taylor	SEA	CLV	WW
49	5A	Charles Omenihu	KC	@ DEN
50	5A	Leonard Floyd	BUF	TB	TNF
51	5A	Boye Mafe	SEA	CLV
52	5A	Anfernee Jennings	NE	@ MIA
53	5B	Jadeveon Clowney	BLT	@ ARZ
54	5B	Ogbo Okoronkwo	CLV	@ SEA	Q
55	5B	Lorenzo Carter	ATL	@ TEN
56	5B	Dayo Odeyingbo	IND	NO
57	5C	Cameron Thomas	ARZ	BLT
58	5C	Deatrich Wise Jr.	NE	@ MIA	Q
59	5C	Brandon Graham	PHI	@ WAS
60	5C	Bud Dupree	ATL	@ TEN

Josh Allen (ED7) draws a favorable matchup against the Steelers, who rank 31st in the league in pass-blocking grade (38.6). Allen is in the midst of a career year in terms of pass-rush metrics, earning an 85.0 pass-rush grade through seven weeks that ranks 11th among edge defenders and posting a career-high 18.2% pass-rush win rate.

Kayvon Thibodeaux (ED11) enters this week red-hot, as he’s delivered 5.5 sacks in five games and now draws a strong matchup against the Jets, who rank 26th in pass-blocking grade (53.3), and Zach Wilson, whose pressure-to-sack conversion rate is a bottom-10 mark in the NFL (21.3%). Thibodeaux is also averaging a very high 88% of defensive snaps on the year, putting him in a great spot to get plenty of sack opportunities this week.

INTERIOR DEFENDER

RANK	TIER	NAME	TEAM	OPP	NOTES
1	1A	Chris Jones	KC	@ DEN
2	1A	Jeffery Simmons	TEN	ATL
3	1A	DeForest Buckner	IND	NO
4	1A	Quinnen Williams	NYJ	NYG
5	1B	Aaron Donald	LAR	@ DAL
6	1B	Jalen Carter	PHI	@ WAS
7	1B	Javon Hargrave	SF	CIN
8	1B	Christian Wilkins	MIA	NE
9	1C	Dexter Lawrence	NYG	NYJ
10	1C	Jonathan Allen	WAS	PHI
11	1C	David Onyemata	ATL	@ TEN
12	1C	Leonard Williams	NYG	NYJ
13	2A	Derrick Brown	CAR	HST
14	2A	Arik Armstead	SF	CIN
15	2A	Ed Oliver	BUF	TB	Q/TNF
16	2A	Osa Odighizuwa	DAL	LAR
17	2B	Grady Jarrett	ATL	@ TEN
18	2B	Daron Payne	WAS	PHI
19	2B	Dre'Mont Jones	SEA	CLV
20	2B	Justin Madubuike	BLT	@ ARZ
21	2C	Kenny Clark	GB	MIN
22	2C	DJ Reader	CIN	@ SF
23	2C	Zach Sieler	MIA	NE
24	2C	Zach Allen	DEN	KC
25	3A	Jarran Reed	SEA	CLV
26	3A	B.J. Hill	CIN	@ SF
27	3A	Harrison Phillips	MIN	@ GB
28	3A	Christian Barmore	NE	@ MIA	Q
29	3B	Dalvin Tomlinson	CLV	@ SEA
30	3B	Vita Vea	TB	@ BUF	Q/TNF
31	3B	Larry Ogunjobi	PIT	JAX
32	3B	Fletcher Cox	PHI	@ WAS
33	3C	Roy Robertson-Harris	JAX	@ PIT
34	3C	Maliek Collins	HST	@ CAR
35	3C	Nathan Shepherd	NYJ	@ NYG
36	3C	Devonte Wyatt	GB	MIN	Q

Jalen Carter is the clear favorite to win Defensive Rookie of the Year, and it’s easy to see why. He sports a 90.0 pass-rush grade in Year 1, which ranks third at his position. He has also totaled 27 pressures (fourth) and 3.5 sacks this season. Carter draws the ultimate matchup for pass-rushers in Week 8, going against Sam Howell, who has taken more sacks (40) and allowed a higher pressure-to-sack conversion rate (33.1%) than any quarterback in the league. After highlighting Dexter Lawrence last week and his delivering two sacks on the day, expect a similar performance from Carter in Week 8.

SAFETY

RANK	TIER	NAME	TEAM	OPP	NOTES
1	1A	Derwin James Jr.	LAC	CHI	SNF
2	1A	Kamren Curl	WAS	PHI
3	1A	Budda Baker	ARZ	BLT
4	1A	Kyle Dugger	NE	@ MIA
5	1B	Dax Hill	CIN	@ SF
6	1B	Jevon Holland	MIA	NE	Q
7	1B	Jaquan Brisker	CHI	@ LAC	Q/SNF
8	1B	Julian Blackmon	IND	NO
9	1C	Jalen Pitre	HST	@ CAR
10	1C	Grant Delpit	CLV	@ SEA
11	1C	Camryn Bynum	MIN	@ GB
12	1C	Jamal Adams	SEA	CLV
13	2A	Antoine Winfield Jr.	TB	@ BUF	TNF
14	2A	Kyle Hamilton	BLT	@ ARZ
15	2A	Vonn Bell	CAR	HST	Q
16	2A	Jayron Kearse	DAL	LAR
17	2B	Kevin Byard	PHI	@ WAS
18	2B	Minkah Fitzpatrick	PIT	JAX
19	2B	Jabrill Peppers	NE	@ MIA
20	2B	Jessie Bates III	ATL	@ TEN
21	2C	Richie Grant	ATL	@ TEN
22	2C	Jordan Fuller	LAR	@ DAL
23	2C	Justin Reid	KC	@ DEN
24	2C	Tyrann Mathieu	NO	@ IND	Q
25	3A	Rayshawn Jenkins	JAX	@ PIT
26	3A	Harrison Smith	MIN	@ GB
27	3A	Nick Scott	CIN	@ SF
28	3A	Xavier McKinney	NYG	NYJ
29	3B	Reed Blankenship	PHI	@ WAS	Q
30	3B	Amani Hooker	TEN	ATL
31	3B	Jordan Whitehead	NYJ	@ NYG
32	3B	Brian Branch	DET	LV	MNF
33	3C	Talanoa Hufanga	SF	CIN
34	3C	Rudy Ford	GB	MIN
35	3C	Jordan Poyer	BUF	TB	TNF
36	3C	Josh Metellus	MIN	@ GB
37	4A	Jimmie Ward	HST	@ CAR
38	4A	Sam Franklin Jr.	CAR	HST
39	4A	Ryan Neal	TB	@ BUF	TNF
40	4A	Marcus Maye	NO	@ IND
41	4B	Geno Stone	BLT	@ ARZ
42	4B	Justin Simmons	DEN	KC	Q
43	4B	Jalen Thompson	ARZ	BLT	Q
44	4B	Jason Pinnock	NYG	NYJ
45	4C	Jonathan Owens	GB	MIN	WW
46	4C	Tracy Walker III	DET	LV	MNF
47	4C	Tre'von Moehrig	LV	@ DET	MNF
48	4C	DeShon Elliott	MIA	NE
49	5A	Elijah Hicks	CHI	@ LAC	SNF
50	5A	Terrell Edmunds	TEN	ATL
51	5A	Kerby Joseph	DET	LV	MNF
52	5A	Donovan Wilson	DAL	LAR
53	5B	Russ Yeast	LAR	@ DAL
54	5B	Marcus Epps	LV	@ DET	MNF
55	5B	Micah Hyde	BUF	TB	TNF
56	5B	Tashaun Gipson Sr.	SF	CIN
57	5C	Percy Butler	WAS	PHI
58	5C	Andre Cisco	JAX	@ PIT	Q
59	5C	Julian Love	SEA	CLV
60	5C	Rodney Thomas II	IND	NO

Kamren Curl (S2) had an unusually quiet Week 7, with just three total tackles on the day, but he played 100% of the defensive snaps, which should calm the nerves of fantasy managers panicked by the box score. Curl has played 43% of his defensive snaps in the box this season, which is about as ideal of a deployment as we can ask for from an IDP perspective. He also draws a matchup against the Eagles this week, who are averaging the most tackles allowed to the safety position this season (18.1), making it a great bounce-back spot for Curl.

Julian Blackmon (S8) is in a similar boat as Curl, in that he has been quiet as of late as a tackler but is getting some of the best usage for an IDP safety this season. Blackmon has played 46% of his defensive snaps in the box this season but has been held to five or fewer tackles in each of the past three games. All three of those games came against below-average opponents in allowing tackles to the safety position, and two of them (Tennessee and Jacksonville) are among the bottom five squads in giving up tackles to opposing safeties. Blackmon should be able to get back on track this week, thanks to his ideal usage and a matchup against the Saints — a top-12 team in giving up tackles to the safety position this season.

CORNERBACK

RANK	TIER	NAME	TEAM	OPP	NOTES
1	1A	Trent McDuffie	KC	@ DEN
2	1A	Deommodore Lenoir	SF	CIN
3	1A	Kader Kohou	MIA	NE	Q
4	1A	Kenny Moore II	IND	NO
5	1B	Michael Davis	LAC	CHI	SNF
6	1B	Jamel Dean	TB	@ BUF	TNF
7	1B	Jerry Jacobs	DET	LV	Q/MNF
8	1B	Devon Witherspoon	SEA	CLV
9	1C	L'Jarius Sneed	KC	@ DEN
10	1C	Carlton Davis III	TB	@ BUF	TNF
11	1C	DaRon Bland	DAL	LAR
12	1C	Nate Hobbs	LV	@ DET	Q/MNF
13	2A	Darious Williams	JAX	@ PIT
14	2A	Marshon Lattimore	NO	@ IND
15	2A	Tyrique Stevenson	CHI	@ LAC	SNF
16	2A	D.J. Reed	NYJ	@ NYG	Q
17	2B	Charvarius Ward	SF	CIN
18	2B	Kyler Gordon	CHI	@ LAC	SNF
19	2B	Sauce Gardner	NYJ	@ NYG	Q
20	2B	Asante Samuel Jr.	LAC	CHI	SNF
21	2C	Tyson Campbell	JAX	@ PIT	Q
22	2C	Pat Surtain II	DEN	KC
23	2C	Brandon Stephens	BLT	@ ARZ
24	2C	Xavien Howard	MIA	NE	Q
25	3A	Taron Johnson	BUF	TB	TNF
26	3A	Levi Wallace	PIT	JAX	Q
27	3A	Darius Slay	PHI	@ WAS
28	3A	Marco Wilson	ARZ	BLT
29	3B	J.C. Jackson	NE	@ MIA
30	3B	Deonte Banks	NYG	NYJ
31	3B	Byron Murphy Jr.	MIN	@ GB
32	3B	Patrick Peterson	PIT	JAX
33	3C	Derion Kendrick	LAR	@ DAL
34	3C	Tavierre Thomas	HST	@ CAR
35	3C	Kendall Fuller	WAS	PHI
36	3C	Christian Benford	BUF	TB	TNF
37	4A	Paulson Adebo	NO	@ IND
38	4A	Cam Taylor-Britt	CIN	@ SF
39	4A	Roger McCreary	TEN	ATL	Q
40	4A	Rasul Douglas	GB	MIN
41	4B	Stephon Gilmore	DAL	LAR
42	4B	CJ Henderson	CAR	HST
43	4B	Sean Murphy-Bunting	TEN	ATL
44	4B	Greg Newsome II	CLV	@ SEA
45	4C	Martin Emerson Jr.	CLV	@ SEA
46	4C	Akayleb Evans	MIN	@ GB
47	4C	Jaylon Johnson	CHI	@ LAC	SNF
48	4C	Cobie Durant	LAR	@ DAL

Jamel Dean (CB6) has been one of the more efficient tacklers at the cornerback position this season (11.1%) and now draws a great matchup against the Bills on Thursday night. Buffalo has yielded 15.6 tackles per game to the cornerback position, which is the third-best mark in the league for Dean and Carlton Davis (CB10) to take advantage of this week.

Tyrique Stevenson (CB15) is a great streaming option this week against the Chargers, who rank just behind Buffalo in tackles yielded to opposing cornerbacks per game (15.5) this season. Stevenson has been picked on by opposing offenses, ranking among the five most-targeted cornerbacks on the year (48), which includes 17 targets thrown his way last week — the most faced by any player in one game this season.

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).