DL Streaming 101: Week 17
Professor IDP shares his full list of 94 fantasy-viable defensive lineman to help you with your waiver and starting lineup decisions.
If you are still reading this article, that means you are still alive in your playoffs (and likely playing for a championship)… congratulations!
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Given we are in crunch time, I’ll largely save the analysis of past weeks and the season for a year-end article, but here are some quick hitters after a great week for streaming:
DL Streaming Average (Big 3 Scoring): 9.1 (season), 9.5 (Week 16)
Average by Tier: 🎓🎓🎓🎓 = 14, 🎓🎓🎓 = 8.6, 🎓🎓 = 8.3
Hit Rates: Players over 10 = 38.1%, Players over 20 = 9.9%
Since this is crunch time, and Christmas Week so I won’t be able to respond to as many comments/DMs, I’m presenting a list of all 94 DL that I have rated as 🎓🎓 or better in Week 17. If a player was out in Week 16, I did not include them below in an abundance of caution. Please be sure to check the health status of any of the players below before committing! This week’s highlight players are defensive linemen who I will be starting in one or more championship matchups this week.
Featured DL Plays
Abdul Carter, DE, NYG (🎓🎓🎓🎓)
New York Giants rookie Abdul Carter is heating up at the right time with sacks in three straight games and 10+ Big 3 fantasy points in four straight games. This hot streak should come as no surprise, given how highly touted Carter was coming out of Penn State and his unsustainably poor ratio of one sack to 38 pressures through Week 12.
Carter has played 89% or more snaps in three of five games since teammate Kayvon Thibodeaux was lost to injury, including a 90% share in Week 16. This volume, combined with exceptional pass-rush play with a PFF grade of 83 on the season, has been inching Carter closer to my ideal plays for a few weeks now.
His Week 17 matchup is what puts him over the top and lands him as my DL11. The Giants take on the reeling Las Vegas Raiders, who allow a league-high 41.83 fantasy points to opposing edge rushers and have averaged 57.99 since Week 12. Carter will primarily draw left tackle Stone Forsythe on Sunday afternoon. Forsythe grades as the 72nd (out of 80) pass blocker for his position, which bodes well for Carter to continue his sack streak.
Christian Barmore, DT, NE (🎓🎓🎓)
Simply put, Christian Barmore is due for a big game with at least one sack. For the season, 52 players have posted 40 or more quarterback pressures. The average number of sacks for players in this group is just over eight. The average pressure-to-sack ratio is 8.4:1. Barmore has 45 pressures on the season (40th in the NFL) but has posted only one sack (tied for 192nd in the NFL). These aren’t ‘fluke’ pressures either, as Barmore has a 69.9 pass rush grade per PFF. Something has got to give, and with a name like Christian, Christmas Week seems like the perfect time for his bad luck to end.
The Patriots face the New York Jets in Week 17. The Jets have been a plus matchup for opposing interior defenders all season, rating as the third-best fantasy matchup. Last week, the Jets gave up one sack each to Nathan Shephard and Jonah Williams of the New Orleans Saints. With rookie Brady Cook tapped to get the start once again in Week 17 and the Patriots fighting for the AFC East crown, expect plenty of opportunities for Barmore to get home and reward fantasy managers who have been patient (like this one) with a big game at a clutch time of the year.
Osa Odighizuwa, DT, DAL (🎓🎓)
Like Barmore, Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa is a big swing for championship week. I love setting up ‘safe points’ in my LB and DB and taking big swings on the DL, and so I’m playing Odighizuwa in two leagues that are 1) DT-required and 2) modified best ball (so I can keep 3 active while only two will count).
Odighizuwa is also vastly underperforming in the sack category with three sacks on 49 pressures despite a 72.2 pass-rush grade. Based on the aforementioned ratio, he should be sitting between six/seven sacks. Two factors lead to Odighizuwa being a tier below Barmore for me:
Odighizuwa has only played 70% or more snaps in one game over the past six, whereas Barmore has been over 72% of snaps each of those weeks.
The Cowboys play the Washington Commanders on Christmas Day, who are the ninth-worst fantasy matchup for opposing defensive tackles in 2025 (compared to Barmore drawing the third-best).
Good luck, and if you have any questions about deep DL plays, my office is always open by commenting on this article or reaching out on Twitter (@ProfessorIDP).
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