DL Streaming 101: Week 8
Professor IDP looks at the best DE and DT streaming options in your IDP fantasy football leagues for Week 8.
Welcome to the Week 8 edition of DL Streaming 101!
This year we only have one byemageddon and it falls this week with six teams on bye with roughly a dozen viable fantasy defensive linemen not playing in Week 8.
Despite this temporary reduction of the talent pool, there are still plenty of great streaming options. Specifically, I had to narrow down 33 Tier 1 to Tier 3 options to 20 for this week’s article. Highlights include:
A big guy in Minnesota I’ve had my eye on and am ready to pull the trigger
A rookie EDGE in Baltimore who is primed to take advantage of his newfound opportunity
And possibly the dynasty DT1 who is no longer rostered in over half of IDP leagues!
Those names and more are below, but first, let’s look back at what turned out to be a fantastic week for DL streaming. Week 7 was the best this season for DL streamers by several metrics. While the overall average of 12.25 was behind Week 4 (13.5), that week featured a 61.9 point performance by Tuli Tuipulotu, which skewed the data.
In Week 7, of the 19 streamers who did not miss time due to injury, 11 posted a sack. Tier 1 plays led the way with a minimum of 12.5 points (Chris Jones) and an average of 23.39 last week. It wasn’t all the big names that were just barely eligible for this article, either. Very widely available guys like K’Lavon Chaisson, A’Shawn Robinson, Dre’Mont Jones, and Jihad Ward all scored 13 or more fantasy points.
Overall, streaming has now had a 42.1% success rate (streamers scoring over 10 pts) with 12% boom games (over 20 pts), and only 5.3% who would have left you with a 0 for the week. The overall average sits at 9.9, with ideal plays coming in at 15.9, solid at 9.4, and solid (deeper) at 8.3.
Featured DL Streamers
Jalen Carter, DT, PHI (🎓🎓🎓🎓)
Jalen Carter is my dynasty DT1 (Adam’s DT2) and somehow is a streaming option in Week 8. I suppose ‘somehow’ is a bit of a stretch, given Carter is averaging just over six Big 3 fantasy points per game in 2025 and his high watermark is only 11.25 (Week 3). Still, I think the slide in rostership is a bit too extreme.
After two incredible years as a PFF darling, some of Carter’s numbers have come down to Earth in Year 3 with an overall grade of 62.2 and a pass rush grade of 72.7. Three numbers give me optimism as a back-end ideal play this week:
His 21 pressures (including six last week) are tied for the most in the NFL this year without recording a sack. The NFL average in 2025 is seven pressures to one sack.
He is averaging a 94% snap share over his last two games. No lineman (interior or EDGE) has played more total snaps over that span.
His team is taking on the reeling New York Giants in Week 8. The Giants allow the second-most DT fantasy points per game and, per PFF, Jaxson Dart has generated more pressures than any QB in the NFL in 2025 (despite playing only five games).
Jacob Martin, DE, WAS (🎓🎓🎓)
Unlike Carter, who is close to a household name for some good and some bad reasons, Jacob Martin is a name that will probably only jump out to the most degenerate of NFL fans (and/or Temple alums). This lack of name recognition shouldn’t make you shy away from Martin this week as a viable DL streamer.
Sadly, Dorance Armstrong is done for the year in Washington. The vacuum left by Armstrong is likely to be filled by Martin, who saw a season-high 78% snap share in Week 7. While time will tell how substantial a loss this is for the Commanders, the advanced metrics suggest the dropoff might not be precipitous. Martin has a PFF pass rush grade of 75.4 (compared to Armstrong’s 71.2) and only trails Armstrong by six pressures (despite 14 fewer pass rush snaps).
As an added bonus, the Commanders take on the Chiefs on Monday Night Football, and who doesn’t love an MNF streamer sweat!
Joseph Ossai, DE, CIN (🎓🎓🎓)
Fresh off a win over the hated Pittsburgh Steelers, Joseph Ossai and the Bengals face off against the Justin Fields- (or Tyrod Taylor-) led New York Jets. While Trey Hendrickson’s status appears to be up in the air, Ossai is the Bengals EDGE that I would play regardless of his status.
Outside of Hendrickson, the Bengals have had a mediocre (at best) pass rush. Of Ossai, Myles Murphy, and Shemar Stewart, the former has been the most productive and (for now) seems to have the trust of new DC Al Golden. Ossai has 19 QB pressures, 14 combined tackles, and leads the team in EDGE snaps. When the full complement of pass rushers was available (Weeks 1+2), Ossai was the clear #2 in snaps, averaging 64% with the versatile Stewart playing the next highest at 45%.
The Jets are a great matchup for opposing EDGEs, allowing an average of 37.63 points per game (4th highest in 2025). If Hendrickson plays, he should feast on this passing game, and Ossai should still get a full meal. If Hendrickson is out again, Ossai looked primed to move up to the big kid table.
Chase Young, DE, NO (🎓🎓🎓)
From a current Commander to a former one in Chase Young (now with the New Orleans Saints). While Young has not lived up to his potential coming out of Ohio State and winning Defensive Rookie of the Year, he has had 21 sacks over his past three seasons. While not a reliable week-to-week play, he has demonstrated the ability to score and will have opportunities in Week 8.
In two games this season, Young has played 55-68% of snaps. While not ideal, the performance has been impressive with Young ranking as PFF’s 9th highest graded EDGE on the season overall and 14th as a pass-rusher. His eight pressures on only 36 pass rush snaps suggest significant upside and one of his sack weeks in the near future.
While his grades elevate him in the streaming rankings this week, his matchup does give reason for concern. The Saints take on the Buccaneers, who allow the 6th fewest points to opponents’ EDGEs this season. Making matters worse, Young takes almost all of his snaps from the right side of the defense, meaning he will draw All-World left tackle Tristan Wirfs. Still, in a week with six teams on bye, there are certainly worse options.
Jalen Redmond, DT, MIN (🎓🎓🎓)
Vikings defensive tackle Jalen Redmond has been on my radar multiple times this season, thanks to big games in Weeks 2 (19.9 points) and 4 ( 25.05). With Minnesota on bye in Week 5, Redmond is a must-play given this is an even-numbered week.
Kidding aside, it has been Redmond’s snaps, not his performance, that have held me back from recommending him. Redmond has 3 games under 60% of snaps this season, but had a season-high 74% share in Week 7. Week 7 also marks the second game in a row where Redmond out-snapped Javon Hargrave.
With apparent snap clarity, a run defense grade of 69.6 (0 missed tackles), a pass rush grade of 71.1 (12 pressures, 3 sacks), and a favorable matchup (LAC allows the most fantasy points per game to DT), Week 8 seems like the time to start Redmond in DT-required leagues.
Mike Green, DE, BAL (🎓🎓)
With Odafe Oweh off to the Los Angeles Chargers, rookie Mike Green’s snap share jumped 17% to 77% in Week 6. The Ravens appear to be in freefall, which is an opportune time to see what you have in a first-year player.
Unfortunately, Green did not make the most of his expanded opportunity in Week 6. He ended the day with one solo tackle, two assists, and no pressures but did have his best graded game as a pro (65 overall).
The case for optimism for Green comes from the fact that his disappointing Week 6 was against the third-worst fantasy matchup for EDGEs (the Los Angeles Rams), whereas this week, he faces the ninth-best matchup in the Chicago Bears (nearly a 15-point per game difference).
If you enjoy this series, please consider filling out the 2025 State of IDP survey here. This year’s survey is a new, shorter format that you only need to fill out once (goodbye, one survey per league!) and contains only five questions. It is the data we received from past surveys that has partially helped to shape this article from DT streaming to DL streaming (given how many leagues use DL vs separate DT and DE).
Good luck, and if you have any questions about deep DL plays, my office is always open on Twitter (@ProfessorIDP).
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Nailed it with Chaisson last week. Thanks!