Fantasy Football: Week 15 IDP Rankings & Tiers

• Budda Baker’s high-end consistency: Baker has been among the most consistent IDP safeties in recent years, and that has continued this year, leading to a great matchup in Week 15.

• Derrick Brown is a tackling machine: The Carolina Panthers interior defensive lineman has racked up tackles at a rate higher than several full-time linebackers this season and should have no problem doing so again this week.

• 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: 14 minutes

With bye weeks and injuries testing 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.

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LB | ED | DI | S | CB

LINEBACKER

RANK	TIER	NAME	TEAM	OPP	NOTES
1	1A	Roquan Smith	BLT	@ JAX	SNF
2	1A	Foyesade Oluokun	JAX	BLT	SNF
3	1A	T.J. Edwards	CHI	@ CLV
4	1A	Bobby Okereke	NYG	@ NO
5	1B	Ernest Jones	LAR	WAS
6	1B	Bobby Wagner	SEA	PHI	MNF
7	1B	Alex Singleton	DEN	@ DET	SAT
8	1B	Fred Warner	SF	@ ARZ
9	1C	Zaire Franklin	IND	PIT	SAT
10	1C	C.J. Mosley	NYJ	@ MIA
11	1C	Nick Bolton	KC	@ NE
12	1C	Devin Lloyd	JAX	BLT	SNF
13	2A	Logan Wilson	CIN	MIN	SAT
14	2A	Frankie Luvu	CAR	ATL
15	2A	Ivan Pace Jr.	MIN	@ CIN	SAT
16	2A	Patrick Queen	BLT	@ JAX	SNF
17	2B	Azeez Al-Shaair	TEN	HST
18	2B	Terrel Bernard	BUF	DAL
19	2B	Tremaine Edmunds	CHI	@ CLV
20	2B	Quay Walker	GB	TB	Q
21	2C	Quincy Williams	NYJ	@ MIA
22	2C	Dre Greenlaw	SF	@ ARZ	Q
23	2C	Robert Spillane	LV	LAC	TNF
24	2C	Kenneth Murray Jr.	LAC	@ LV	TNF
25	3A	Lavonte David	TB	@ GB
26	3A	Alex Anzalone	DET	DEN	SAT
27	3A	Kaden Elliss	ATL	@ CAR
28	3A	Elandon Roberts	PIT	@ IND	Q/SAT
29	3B	Josh Woods	ARZ	SF
30	3B	Cody Barton	WAS	@ LAR
31	3B	E.J. Speed	IND	PIT	SAT
32	3B	Germaine Pratt	CIN	MIN	SAT
33	3C	Jordyn Brooks	SEA	PHI	MNF
34	3C	Denzel Perryman	HST	@ TEN
35	3C	Demario Davis	NO	NYG
36	3C	Christian Harris	HST	@ TEN
37	4A	Nicholas Morrow	PHI	@ SEA	MNF
38	4A	De'Vondre Campbell	GB	TB
39	4A	Devin White	TB	@ GB	Q
40	4A	Willie Gay	KC	@ NE
41	4B	Zach Cunningham	PHI	@ SEA	MNF
42	4B	Eric Kendricks	LAC	@ LV	TNF
43	4B	Ja'Whaun Bentley	NE	KC
44	4B	Nate Landman	ATL	@ CAR	Q
45	4C	Jack Gibbens	TEN	HST
46	4C	Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah	CLV	CHI
47	4C	Josey Jewell	DEN	@ DET	SAT
48	4C	David Long Jr.	MIA	NYJ
49	5A	Divine Deablo	LV	LAC	TNF
50	5A	David Mayo	WAS	@ LAR	WW
51	5A	Micah McFadden	NYG	@ NO
52	5A	Tyrel Dodson	BUF	DAL
53	5B	Pete Werner	NO	NYG
54	5B	Damone Clark	DAL	@ BUF
55	5B	Markquese Bell	DAL	@ BUF
56	5B	Jahlani Tavai	NE	KC
57	5C	Duke Riley	MIA	NYJ	WW
58	5C	Derrick Barnes	DET	DEN	SAT
59	5C	Anthony Walker Jr.	CLV	CHI
60	5C	Mykal Walker	PIT	@ IND	SAT

Elandon Roberts (LB28) played on short rest in Week 14 despite being questionable heading into the game. Roberts has been the most efficient tackling linebacker this season (minimum of 25% of snaps), racking up tackles at a 16.9% rate. Roberts comes in a bit lower this week, as the Steelers deployed him for only 81% of defensive snaps in Week 14, which could have been because of his injury, but this isn’t out of the ordinary for the team's linebackers. Even when everyone is healthy, the Steelers have sometimes not deployed a full-time linebacker, which is a risk to consider here in Week 15. Roberts should still lead the team's linebackers in snaps in a favorable matchup against the Colts, who are yielding the fourth-most tackles per game to the linebacker position (18.0). But Roberts does come with the risk of not playing a full workload, so he’s more of a high-upside, high-risk play this week.

Jordyn Brooks (LB33) has been a solid IDP all season, delivering a respectable 14.2% tackle efficiency (tied for 17th), despite not playing a full-time role for almost the entire season. This past week, Brooks played 85% of defensive snaps, which is less than ideal but the norm for him in 2023. Brooks has typically been able to deliver on that slightly lower snap share, but it is worth noting that he’s dealing with an injury. This week’s matchup against the Eagles is also slightly below average for linebacker tackle opportunities. The Eagles rank 24th in yielding tackles per game to linebackers (15.5), and that figure is down to 12.7 over their past three games. Brooks should be on the fringe of starting in IDP lineups this week.

Deeper IDP leagues could have a solid non-full-time linebacker option in Jack Gibbens (LB45) this week. Gibbens had seen his playing time drop as he split reps with Monty Rice in Weeks 9-13, but with Rice’s release before Week 14, Gibbens’ snap share was at 72% this past week. Gibbens has earned the seventh-best tackle efficiency at the position (15.3%) and draws an above-average Week 15 matchup against the Texans, who are yielding 16.9 tackles per game to the linebacker position (tied for 11th).

EDGE DEFENDER

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

Andrew Van Ginkel (ED14) hasn’t recorded a sack since Week 5, but he is playing the best football of his career this season and draws a great matchup to potentially break that streak in Week 15. Van Ginkel has earned an 87.9 pass-rush grade, which ranks eighth at his position, and has averaged 81% of the team’s defensive snaps over the past two weeks with Jaelan Phillips on injured reserve. Van Ginkel should line up against Jets right tackle Max Mitchell, who owns a 47.5 pass-blocking grade (74th) for most of this game. Jets quarterback Zach Wilson owns the seventh-worst pressure-to-sack conversion rate (23.6%) in the league, making Van Ginkel’s matchup that much better.

Jonathan Greenard (ED19) just took advantage of a great matchup in Week 14 against the Jets, delivering two sacks, and now draws another great matchup against the Titans, who have had significant issues at their tackle positions. Greenard should mostly line up against Jaelyn Duncan, who owns a 46.8 pass-blocking grade, which ranks 75th among 88 qualifying offensive tackles. Greenard has done a very nice job of converting pressures to sacks this season, already with 10 sacks on the year, and should have a shot to add to that total in Week 15.

INTERIOR DEFENDER

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

Derrick Brown (DT6) is racking up tackles at an incredible pace for an interior defensive lineman, currently sitting at a career-high 74 for the season. He is on pace for almost 100 total tackles this year. Helping Brown’s case this week is that he faces the Atlanta Falcons, who have yielded 21.8 tackles per game to the defensive line position (second most) this season. Brown’s 11.3% tackle rate is easily the best among defensive linemen this season (minimum of 50% of snaps) and is even better than some starting linebackers, including Kaden Elliss (11.0%), Nicholas Morrow (10.3%), Pete Werner (10.2%), Demario Davis (10.1%) and Devin White (9.1%). Brown also has just one sack on the year, but his 33 pressures and 77.1 pass-rush grade indicate that he’s a better pass rusher than his sack totals indicate.

SAFETY

RANK	TIER	NAME	TEAM	OPP	NOTES
1	1A	Derwin James Jr.	LAC	@ LV	TNF
2	1A	Antoine Winfield Jr.	TB	@ GB
3	1A	Jaquan Brisker	CHI	@ CLV
4	1A	Budda Baker	ARZ	SF
5	1B	Kamren Curl	WAS	@ LAR
6	1B	Jessie Bates III	ATL	@ CAR
7	1B	Kyle Dugger	NE	KC
8	1B	Minkah Fitzpatrick	PIT	@ IND	SAT
9	1C	P.J. Locke	DEN	@ DET	Q/SAT
10	1C	Josh Metellus	MIN	@ CIN	SAT
11	1C	Kevin Byard	PHI	@ SEA	MNF
12	1C	Camryn Bynum	MIN	@ CIN	SAT
13	2A	Dax Hill	CIN	MIN	SAT
14	2A	Rayshawn Jenkins	JAX	BLT	SNF
15	2A	Reed Blankenship	PHI	@ SEA	Q/MNF
16	2A	Jordan Poyer	BUF	DAL
17	2B	Geno Stone	BLT	@ JAX	Q/SNF
18	2B	Jamal Adams	SEA	PHI	MNF
19	2B	Jordan Whitehead	NYJ	@ MIA
20	2B	Ji'Ayir Brown	SF	@ ARZ
21	2C	Jordan Fuller	LAR	WAS
22	2C	Justin Reid	KC	@ NE
23	2C	Xavier McKinney	NYG	@ NO
24	2C	Julian Blackmon	IND	PIT	SAT
25	3A	Harrison Smith	MIN	@ CIN	SAT
26	3A	Jalen Pitre	HST	@ TEN
27	3A	Vonn Bell	CAR	ATL
28	3A	Jonathan Owens	GB	TB
29	3B	Jevon Holland	MIA	NYJ	Q
30	3B	Jordan Howden	NO	NYG
31	3B	John Johnson III	LAR	WAS
32	3B	Donovan Wilson	DAL	@ BUF
33	3C	Marcus Epps	LV	LAC	TNF
34	3C	Tyrann Mathieu	NO	NYG
35	3C	Justin Simmons	DEN	@ DET	SAT
36	3C	Darnell Savage	GB	TB
37	4A	Kerby Joseph	DET	DEN	SAT
38	4A	Jordan Battle	CIN	MIN	SAT
39	4A	Jabrill Peppers	NE	KC
40	4A	Alohi Gilman	LAC	@ LV	TNF
41	4B	Tony Adams	NYJ	@ MIA
42	4B	Eddie Jackson	CHI	@ CLV
43	4B	Jimmie Ward	HST	@ TEN
44	4B	Jason Pinnock	NYG	@ NO
45	4C	Xavier Woods	CAR	ATL
46	4C	Brian Branch	DET	DEN	SAT
47	4C	Marcus Williams	BLT	@ JAX	SNF
48	4C	Amani Hooker	TEN	HST
49	5A	Tashaun Gipson Sr.	SF	@ ARZ
50	5A	Andre Cisco	JAX	BLT	Q/SNF
51	5A	Jayron Kearse	DAL	@ BUF
52	5A	Jalen Thompson	ARZ	SF
53	5B	DeShon Elliott	MIA	NYJ	Q
54	5B	Tre'von Moehrig	LV	LAC	TNF
55	5B	Malik Hooker	DAL	@ BUF
56	5B	Mike Edwards	KC	@ NE
57	5C	Taylor Rapp	BUF	DAL	Q
58	5C	K'Von Wallace	TEN	HST
59	5C	Percy Butler	WAS	@ LAR
60	5C	Quandre Diggs	SEA	PHI	MNF

Budda Baker (S4) continues to be one of the most consistent tacklers at the safety position. Baker currently ranks tied for ninth among safeties (minimum of 50% of snaps) in tackle efficiency (11.2%) and has hit double-digit tackles in two of his eight games this season. Baker missed a chunk of time earlier in the year, but since returning to the lineup in Week 7, he ranks fifth among safeties in total tackles (54). Baker draws the best matchup of the week for his position, going against the San Francisco 49ers, who have yielded 16.6 tackles per game to opposing safeties (first) in 2023.

Brian Branch (S46) falls way down the rankings this week after playing only 52% of defensive snaps in Week 14. Branch was deployed only when the Bears' offense was in 11 personnel. This hasn’t been a typical game plan for Branch’s utilization this season, and it isn't something worth gambling on in the fantasy playoffs, which is why he falls out of playable territory in most leagues for this week. The Broncos, Detroit's Week 15 opponent, are also well below average in their deployment of 11 personnel (54%), so if this is going to be the norm for Branch, it isn’t nearly enough snaps when there are so many every-down safeties to plug into lineups and find off the waiver wire.

CORNERBACK

RANK	TIER	NAME	TEAM	OPP	NOTES
1	1A	Trent McDuffie	KC	@ NE
2	1A	Kenny Moore II	IND	PIT	SAT
3	1A	Taron Johnson	BUF	DAL
4	1A	Nate Hobbs	LV	LAC	TNF
5	1B	DaRon Bland	DAL	@ BUF
6	1B	L'Jarius Sneed	KC	@ NE
7	1B	Brandon Stephens	BLT	@ JAX	SNF
8	1B	Benjamin St-Juste	WAS	@ LAR
9	1C	Martin Emerson Jr.	CLV	CHI
10	1C	Kyler Gordon	CHI	@ CLV
11	1C	Devon Witherspoon	SEA	PHI	Q/MNF
12	1C	Roger McCreary	TEN	HST
13	2A	Darious Williams	JAX	BLT	SNF
14	2A	Kendall Fuller	WAS	@ LAR
15	2A	Deommodore Lenoir	SF	@ ARZ
16	2A	Rasul Douglas	BUF	DAL
17	2B	Alontae Taylor	NO	NYG
18	2B	Mike Hilton	CIN	MIN	SAT
19	2B	Marlon Humphrey	BLT	@ JAX	SNF
20	2B	Charvarius Ward	SF	@ ARZ	Q
21	2C	Derion Kendrick	LAR	WAS
22	2C	Jerry Jacobs	DET	DEN	SAT
23	2C	Byron Murphy Jr.	MIN	@ CIN	SAT
24	2C	Chidobe Awuzie	CIN	MIN	SAT
25	3A	Darius Slay	PHI	@ SEA	MNF
26	3A	Denzel Ward	CLV	CHI
27	3A	Paulson Adebo	NO	NYG
28	3A	Ahkello Witherspoon	LAR	WAS
29	3B	Tyrique Stevenson	CHI	@ CLV
30	3B	Carlton Davis III	TB	@ GB	Q
31	3B	D.J. Reed	NYJ	@ MIA
32	3B	Jamel Dean	TB	@ GB	Q
33	3C	J.C. Jackson	NE	KC
34	3C	Sean Murphy-Bunting	TEN	HST
35	3C	Kader Kohou	MIA	NYJ
36	3C	James Bradberry	PHI	@ SEA	MNF
37	4A	Fabian Moreau	DEN	@ DET	SAT
38	4A	Jalen Ramsey	MIA	NYJ
39	4A	DJ Turner II	CIN	MIN	Q/SAT
40	4A	Carrington Valentine	GB	TB
41	4B	Joey Porter Jr.	PIT	@ IND	SAT
42	4B	Steven Nelson	HST	@ TEN
43	4B	Greg Newsome II	CLV	CHI
44	4B	Ja'Quan McMillian	DEN	@ DET	SAT
45	4C	A.J. Terrell	ATL	@ CAR
46	4C	Pat Surtain II	DEN	@ DET	SAT
47	4C	Stephon Gilmore	DAL	@ BUF
48	4C	Cameron Sutton	DET	DEN	SAT

Rams cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (CB28) is coming off a decent week where he delivered four solo tackles and an interception against the Ravens. Witherspoon draws a strong Week 15 matchup against the Commanders, who are yielding the sixth-most tackles per game to the cornerback position (14.1). The team is also led by the league’s most pass-heavy quarterback, Sam Howell. Witherspoon has never tallied more than four tackles in a game this season, which is why he comes in at the CB3 range of the rankings and is more of a streaming option as opposed to a must-start IDP.

Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson (CB33) stands out as another deep streaming option against the Kansas City Chiefs, who have yielded 14.2 tackles per game to the position, which is the fifth-highest rate in the league. Jackson is only a streaming option for deeper leagues since his snap share varies wildly. That being said, Jackson has averaged 92% of the team’s defensive snaps over the past three weeks, which keeps him in play as an IDP option for those in need.

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.
SAT: Player is playing on Saturday. 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).