Here are players to consider starting and sitting this week, along with analysis to help you make your IDP roster decisions.

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Start

Jadeveon Clowney (DL – HOU)
When you know that Clowney is healthy, coming off a bye, and playing against a Redskins team that’s without three starting offensive linemen, you just plug him into your lineup. He’s totaled 5.5 sacks over his last six games and there’s blood in the water. Alex Smith has been sacked three times in each of the last two games.

Matt Ioannidis (DL – WAS)
Ioannidis continues to climb the IDP leaderboard as he now ranks as the No. 16 defensive lineman in the league. He’s racked up 4.5 sacks over the last three weeks, as well as 14 total tackles, providing a solid floor. The Texans allow more points than any other team in the NFL to defensive ends (and defensive lines for that matter), as they’ve allowed 2.2 sacks per game to linemen alone. Keep riding the hot streak in a great matchup.

Chris Jones (DL – KC)
He’s a player who’s been overlooked as one of the elite options among defensive linemen. He’s on a seven-game streak of sacks which has vaulted him all the way up to the No. 7 defensive lineman this year. The Rams have been difficult for many defensive ends to overcome, as they’ve allowed just 11 sacks to them over 10 games, but you ride a pass-rusher when he’s on a hot streak, and Jones is doing it better than anyone in the game right now.

Leighton Vander Esch (LB – DAL)
While Sean Lee remains out with a hamstring injury, Vander Esch is an every-week play. He racked up a career-high 13 tackles in the Week 10 win over the Eagles and has been earning some recommendations for defensive rookie of the year. The Falcons have allowed 18.7 tackles per game to opposing linebackers, but something tells me Vander Esch and the Cowboys linebackers will raise that average this week.

Jatavis Brown (LB – LAC)
With Denzel Perryman out for the season, Brown is going to come across even more tackle opportunities, as he’s totaled 11 total tackles in back-to-back games after topping out at nine tackles over the first six games he played. Most will look at the Broncos and think they don’t allow too many points to linebackers, but Brown totaled 11 tackles in a not-so-great matchup with the Raiders last week.

Tahir Whitehead (LB – OAK)
With the way this game is likely to go, the Cardinals aren’t going to pass the ball more than 25 times, which leads to a whole bunch of rushing attempts from David Johnson. Under Byron Leftwich, he’s touched the ball 48 times, creating a lot of opportunity for the Raiders leading tackler.

Shawn Williams (DB – CIN)
Without A.J. Green on the field, it’s got a trickle-effect down the entire team, as the defense will be on the field a whole lot more. Just last week, they played 74 snaps against the Saints, and now the Ravens come to town, and they run an average of 71.0 plays per game, which is the highest mark in the NFL. He’s now totaled 30 tackles over the last three weeks, providing an ultra-high floor.

Clayton Geathers (DB – IND)
When healthy, Geathers racks up the fantasy points. Over the first four weeks, he tallied 39 total tackles, then got hurt and totaled just six tackles over the next two games he played. He was apparently back at full-strength last week, as he racked up 10 total tackles against the Jaguars. The Titans haven’t been very kind to cornerbacks, but safeties tend to do well against them. With how often the Titans run the ball (29.3 attempts per game ranks 5th-most), Geathers should be able to deliver a top-15 defensive back performance.

Sit

Fletcher Cox (DL – PHI)
When there’s a defensive tackle who’s struggling to get through to the quarterback like Cox is, you often have to let him sit on your bench until he figures it out. He’s recorded just one sack since Week 3 and hasn’t topped three solo tackles in any of those games, either, giving him a low floor. The Saints have been one of the worst matchups in football for defensive linemen, as they’ve allowed just six sacks through nine games. If there’s anyone getting to Drew Brees this week, it’s likely one of the edge rushers, as left tackle Terron Armstead is out.

Linval Joseph (DL – MIN)
The emergence of Danielle Hunter has capped the upside of Joseph, as there’s been just one game this year where he’s reached double-digit scoring. Between Jospeh, Hunter, Weatherly, and Richardson, there’s a whole lot of mouths to feed and the Bears haven’t been a very giving team to defensive linemen, allowing just 9.0 sacks through nine games.

Yannick Ngakoue (DL – JAC)
The Jaguars defense has started to fall apart and every one of them seems to be losing appeal by the week. Ngakoue hasn’t been much of a force as of late, totaling just one sack and four total tackles over the last three games. He’s essentially become a sack-or-bust player and the Steelers have allowed just 9.0 sacks to defensive linemen this season, which is the fifth-fewest. They’ve actually been very similar to the Colts who Ngakoue totaled just two total tackles against.

C.J. Mosley (LB – BAL)
It’s been a season to forget for Mosley, who still ranks outside the top-50 linebackers, though he’s started to come on lately. The issue is that the Bengals only run 58.2 plays per game, which ranks as the fourth-fewest in the NFL. That’s also why they’ve allowed the second-fewest points to opposing linebackers. Despite his recent surge, he should be on your bench this week.

Eric Kendricks (LB – MIN)
Kendricks is a household name, but he ranks just inside the top-50 linebackers this season and he’s about to go into a matchup with the Bears, who allow the fourth-fewest points to linebackers. It’s unlikely that the Bears pound the ball up the middle in what’s expected to be a close game, and the Vikings have allowed their opponents just 61.2 plays per game, while the Bears average just 62.3 plays themselves. That’s a large part of the reason linebackers average just 16.2 total tackles against the Bears per game.

Myles Jack (LB – JAC)
Most expected Jack to take the jump into top-10 linebackers this year, but that hasn’t happened, as he’s totaled 10 tackles just twice and has just 19 total tackles over his last four games combined. The Steelers haven’t been generous to linebackers, either, allowing the ninth-fewest solo tackles at just 13.1 per week. They’ve also allowed just 3.0 sacks to them on the year, so this is not likely the week to get excited about playing him.

Tre Boston (DB – ARI)
Many will look at the 67.7 plays per game against the Cardinals and think it’s a week to start Boston, but this game isn’t likely to go the way most Cardinals games have this year. The Raiders have really struggled against the run as of late and Byron Leftwich has shown his commitment to David Johnson through two games. Expect them to play a ball-control style offense, which will in turn limit the opportunities for Boston and the secondary.

Jeff Heath (DB – DAL)
Coming fresh off an eight-tackle game against the Eagles, some may be thinking they’re sly adding Heath to play him against the Falcons. The issue is that they’ve allowed the fewest points to the safety position this year, and it hasn’t been all that close, as they allow almost three points per game less than the closest team. Heath doesn’t offer any sack potential and he’s intercepted just one pass all season.

Here are my full IDP rankings for the week.

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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.