It's championship week, at least for the vast majority of fantasy football players. Your lineup decisions are tougher than ever, as you must weigh which is more important: upside or safety. If you are looking for a few tackles to avoid a goose egg in the points column, there are plenty of options out there that are familiar to you already. For those who need a big game to boost an otherwise sketchy offensive lineup, I will highlight those players below in the streamers/players to watch section. Last week, I recommended K.J. Wright (two INT), Justin Simmons (one INT, eight tackles), and Jonathan Allen (one fumble recovery, nine tackles). Who could pay off big in the most important week of the fantasy season? Let's find out.

Serious fantasy football players know that the game isn't played on offense alone. While team defenses are a staple of the game, being able to identify value with individual defensive players (IDP) takes it to the next level. RotoBaller has you covered when it comes to IDP rankings. Expert analysts Pierre Camus and Justin Carter will bring you their top-100 consensus IDP rankings throughout the 2019 season, so check here for the latest weekly updates.

Players are classified by major position group (DL, LB, DB) to simplify things for you. We've also tiered these rankings to give you an idea of relative importance and will analyze a few key players to watch. Check out our rankings page for the offensive players right here.

Top 100 Individual Defensive Players - Week 16

Tier Rank Player Name Position 1 1 Darius Leonard LB 1 2 Joe Schobert LB 1 3 Bobby Wagner LB 1 4 Cory Littleton LB 1 5 Jordan Hicks LB 1 6 Blake Martinez LB 2 7 Luke Kuechly LB 2 8 Fred Warner LB 2 9 Budda Baker DB 2 10 Zach Cunningham LB 2 11 T.J. Watt LB 2 12 Danielle Hunter DL 3 13 Cameron Jordan DL 3 14 De'Vondre Campbell LB 3 15 Aaron Donald DL 3 16 Eric Reid DB 3 17 Donald Payne LB 3 18 Demario Davis LB 3 19 Nick Bosa DL 4 20 Shaquil Barrett LB 4 21 Devin White LB 4 22 Jayon Brown LB 4 23 Todd Davis LB 4 24 Jaylon Smith LB 4 25 Cameron Heyward DL 4 26 Tracy Walker DB 4 27 Joey Bosa DL 4 28 K.J. Wright LB 4 29 Justin Houston DL 4 30 Yannick Ngakoue DL 5 31 Lavonte David LB 5 32 Logan Ryan DB 5 33 Jordan Poyer DB 5 34 Melvin Ingram DL 5 35 DeForest Buckner DL 5 36 Nick Kwiatkoski LB 5 37 Derwin James DB 5 38 Harrison Smith DB 5 39 Tremaine Edmunds LB 5 40 Deion Jones LB 5 41 Calais Campbell DL 5 42 Devin Bush LB 5 43 Jonathan Allen DL 5 44 Taylor Rapp DB 6 45 Jessie Bates III DB 6 46 Jason Pierre-Paul DL 6 47 Demarcus Lawrence DL 6 48 Rashaan Evans LB 6 49 Bud Dupree LB 6 50 Dre Greenlaw LB 6 51 A.J. Johnson LB 6 52 Landon Collins DB 7 53 Matt Milano LB 7 54 Frank Clark DL 7 55 Chandler Jones LB 7 56 Eric Weddle DB 7 57 Jahlani Tavai LB 7 58 Eric Kendricks LB 7 59 Matt Ioannidis DL 7 60 Antoine Bethea DB 7 61 Carlos Dunlap DL 7 62 Chris Jones DL 7 63 Justin Simmons DB 7 64 Harold Landry LB 7 65 Arik Armstead DL 7 66 Robert Quinn DL 7 67 Trey Flowers DL 7 68 Khalil Mack LB 7 69 James Burgess LB 7 70 Tyrann Mathieu DB 7 71 Nick Vigil LB 7 72 Maxx Crosby DL 8 73 Sam Hubbard DL 8 74 Jerome Baker LB 8 75 Jamie Collins LB 8 76 Minkah Fitzpatrick DB 8 77 Neville Hewitt LB 8 78 Sean Lee LB 8 79 Nigel Bradham LB 8 80 Kevin Byard DB 8 81 Shawn Williams DB 8 82 Joe Walker"}">Joe Walker LB 8 83 Anthony Walker LB 8 84 Thomas Davis LB 8 85 Marlon Humphrey DB 8 86 Alec Ogletree LB 8 87 Matt Judon LB 8 88 Germaine Pratt LB 8 89 Patrick Peterson DB 8 90 Mario Addison DL 8 91 Tahir Whitehead LB 8 92 Jon Bostic LB 8 93 Mark Barron LB 8 94 Jarran Reed DL 8 95 Tavon Wilson DB 9 96 Erik Harris DB 9 97 Micah Hyde DB 9 98 Brandon Graham DL 9 99 Everson Griffen DL 9 100 Jamal Adams DB

Streamers/Key Players to Watch

Donald Payne (LB, JAX) @ Atlanta - It's been a rough year for the Jags as a franchise and their once-vaunted defense has fallen to a bottom-10 unit in points allowed, yards allowed, interceptions, and passes defended. If there's been a bright spot, it's the play of rookie Josh Allen and the emergence of third-year linebacker Donald Payne. He has taken over for Myles Jack (IR - knee) and been even better from a fantasy standpoint. Whereas Jack averaged six tackles per game (four solo), Payne has averaged a staggering 14 combined tackles and eight solo tackles per game in his three starts, playing in every single snap except one. He isn't just a high-floor LB option, he's a high-ceiling tackle machine.

Jason Pierre-Paul (DE, TB) vs Houston - JPP has become a forgotten man since moving to Tampa and missing the first half of the year. He picked up 3.5 sacks in his first six games of the year but has gone without one the last two weeks. Although Houston's O-line has been better this season, they are still 11th in sacks allowed and always a good chance for pass rushers to accumulate stats. In a game with a 49.5 O/U that is one of the highest of the week, there should be plenty of pass attempts for JPP to do his thing.

Jahlani Tavai (LB, DET) @ Denver - With Jarrad Davis on IR, it's Tavai's turn to step up. Much like Payne, he has taken advantage of his opportunity except that he is a rookie trying to make a favorable impression for a struggling franchise. A second-round pick out of Hawaii, Tavai has the athleticism to do more than just tackle ball-carriers. He showed as much with an interception last week, and a forced fumble and two sacks earlier in the year. Denver doesn't give up a ton of points to linebackers but they may keep the ball on the ground more after last week's rough start by Drew Lock. Any starting MLB is worth a look in IDP leagues but Tavai is a sleeper that can be freely added.

Marlon Humphrey (CB, BAL) - In his third season, Humphrey has emerged as a Pro Bowl player, mainly thanks to the fact he's in Baltimore. Not that he isn't deserving but his stats don't jump off the page and he doesn't even grade out as a top-20 CB according to PFF. That aside, he's largely gone unnoticed outside of the deepest IDP leagues where a CB is required because he has just two interceptions. Well, this is a great week for another as he faces Baker Mayfield and will likely get Damion Ratley opposite him while Marcus Peters squares off with Odell Beckham Jr. Let's face it, this Browns team is ready to throw in the towel and the Ravens Defense deserves a lot of attention in fantasy.

Tyrann Mathieu (S, KC) @ Chicago - This is a good time to try the Honey Badger in your lineup. Big plays and turnovers are hard to predict but we know the Bears allow the sixth-most points to safeties on the season and Mathieu has come away with a pick in two of the last four games. The Bears are out of the playoff hunt whereas the Chiefs are fighting for a top seed. At the very least, a defended pass or two with a few tackles seem to be in the works. The ceiling here is much higher though, making him a potential boom pick. Plus, how can you not trust a player who posts this before gameday?

I’m up and going get what’s mines. Watch me catch the sun. — Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) December 20, 2019

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