Week 4 IDP Hits: Patience for Schwesinger, Panic for Landman

Stick With Schwesinger or Move Him Down?

I can already see and hear your question …

Matt, when are you gonna give it up and move Carson Schwesinger down the rankings?

Good question. And trust me, it’s one all fantasy analyst constantly ask themselves throughout the early part of the season. When do we stick to our preseason expectations and count on the player to rebound, and when do we adjust? And if/when we do adjust, by how much?

The answer differs by player and situation, of course. But few IDPs matter more than Schwesinger in that evaluation process. So let’s try to figure out what’s going on.

Slow-Starting Stud or Half-Year Mirage?

First, let’s get the specifics of what we’re looking at.

Schwesinger sits around 41st in fantasy points per game in balanced-scoring IDP leagues. (The particular spot will differ by format.) Compare that with his No. 11 finish as a 2025 rookie, and we’re talking about a disappointing quarter of the season.

It hurts even worse here, because I projected Schwesinger atop the position heading into the season. Why? Because that’s how he performed over the second half of his debut campaign.

In fact, Schwesinger started last season similarly to how he’s faring this year on the fantasy front. He ranked just 33rd among LBs in points per game through the first eight weeks. Then he led the position in points per game after the Week 9 bye, despite starting that span with a sprained ankle.

Let’s compare the specific numbers from each half of 2025 with the first four games of this season to see what might have changed.

Schwesinger doesn’t have a sack yet this year, but his pressure numbers and pass-rush opportunities point to production coming in that area. His 12 pass rushes Thursday night, according to Pro Football Focus, inflate that average. But that spike also highlights Schwesinger’s week-to-week upside in pass-rush opportunities.

PFF grades say he’s playing significantly worse in run defense and pass rushing so far:

• 81.5 to 54.9 in run-defense grade
• 70.8 to 50.5 in pass rush grade

If that continues, it’ll obviously be tough to count on weekly production from Schwesinger. But there’s reason to believe the second-year, former second-round pick can rebound from that performance, especially when you factor in that he’s adjusting to a new coordinator and new LB partner (Devin Bush out; Quincy Williams in).

Plus no more Myles Garrett occupying the thoughts of opposing coordinators.

Here’s What to Like … and What to Expect

Schwesinger has, at least, tallied 9+ total tackles in three of four contests so far. He’s tied for a decent 14th among LBs in total tackles per game.

That hasn’t translated to much fantasy value because 66% of those tackles have been assists, and Schwesinger has supplied no big plays to juice the scoring.

But his playing time’s there, his role doesn’t appear to have changed, and no other Brown sits within 10 tackles of Schwesinger’s total.

You can expect him to come down a bit in the rest-of-season rankings, and perhaps the Week 5 LB rankings as well. But he also gets a favorable schedule leading up to the Week 11 bye.

I’m still expecting a top-20 season with LB1-level upside the rest of the way.

Landman Should Worry You More

Nate Landman’s another LB not scoring like he did last year.

The Rams’ lead linebacker ranked 19th at the position in fantasy points per game in 2025 (depending on your format) but has fallen outside the top 50 so far this year. His situation looks worse than Schwesinger’s.

Landman’s snap share for this season looks identical to last year’s, but some key differences emerge when you dig a little deeper.

Last season found Landman playing 94.2% of the snaps over 15 of the 17 games. His playing time dropped significantly -- 63% and 73% -- in the two games against Arizona. In hindsight, that might have been a harbinger for this year’s issue.

Rams’ New Sub Package Cuts Into Snap Count

The Cardinals ran last season’s most pass-heavy offense. That’s the only sensible explanation for Landman’s two lowest snap shares coming in those games.

Although this year’s 90.5% snap share through three games looks fine, Landman has dipped from 98.5% in the opener to 84.5% and 88.1% the past two weeks.

That might seem like a minimal change, but those snaps matter when your scoring depends heavily on tackle volume. It matters even more when you don’t start from a true standout position on that front. (Landman finished last season 14th among LBs in total tackles.)

The Rams already used “dime” packages (six DBs) at a league-high rate last year. This season has seen a new wrinkle on that front, with L.A. mixing in more packages with no LBs on the field at all.

Landman’s 90.5% snap share overall shows that’s just a small part of the defensive plan, but that’s enough to knock his fragile scoring profile from usable weekly in 2025 to forgettable in 2026.

He’s not a “must” drop, but you can dump the Rams LB for a more attractive waiver option without worry.

The Role’s Even Worse for Last Year’s Breakout Titan

Cedric Gray quickly became indispensable for our IDP lineups in his second NFL season. That seemed to make the 23-year-old (until Oct. 30) an easy bet among the earliest LBs off this year’s board. But that bet already appears lost.

Gray was in line to start the opener until he suffered a concussion in an off-roading accident the weekend before the season. Rookie Anthony Hill took over play-calling duties in his absence and impressed enough that he ain’t giving them up.

Gray, meanwhile, has played just 39.5% and 46.9% of snaps the past two weeks, trailing LB Cody Barton as well.

I’d still bet on Gray passing Barton at some point. The latter played his way out of starting opportunities with Seattle, Washington, and Denver before landing in Tennessee.

But when that will happen and how much playing time it’ll mean for Gray is impossible to know. So let’s just avoid Titans LBs not named Hill.

Playing Time for Jags LB Limits His Utility

Ventrell Miller’s top-12 position in total fantasy points and points per game through three weeks might have you wondering why I’m not boosting him much in our rankings yet.

There are two reasons:

1. Miller’s scoring leans heavily on a big Week 1. 
2. His snap shares point to continued limitations.

Miller racked up 10 tackles (7 solo), a sack, and a forced fumble in the win over the Browns. The next two weeks each brought just 7 total tackles and no more than 4 solos. His snap rates through three games have gone:

• 64.7%
• 75.8%
• 73.0%

Week 1 showed us that Miller can deliver fantasy points on that level of usage, but that’s not enough playing time to make him trustworthy weekly in most IDP leagues.

Keep an Eye on Saints LBs This Week

We know New Orleans will go without LB Kaden Elliss this Sunday because of a calf injury. The team might also miss LB Pete Werner, who’s questionable after missing all three practice days with a shoulder injury.

We’ll see about Werner’s status, but the whole scenario should give us our biggest look to date at second-year LB Danny Stutsman.

The fourth-round pick from 2025 played a career-high 64.3% of the snaps last week. That marked just the third time that Stutsman has reached 40% in a game.

Stutsman arrived as an intriguing prospect who delivered strong numbers across three starting seasons at Oklahoma and then notched a 90th-percentile speed score at the Combine.

He’ll be interesting to watch Monday night against the Falcons. But starting a backup LB with no more than 8 total tackles in a pro game to date would carry plenty of risk for most IDP managers.

Houston Rookie Looks Like Next Man Up

The Texans lost another LB to injury when Azeez Al-Shaair injured his groin last week. He’ll sit out at least this Sunday’s game against the Cowboys. We’ll see beyond that after he missed the full practice week.

Who’s that leave in the lineup? We’ll see.

Jake Hansen’s been the second most used LB so far at 69% playing time. He played 88.3% in Week 2 and every snap last week after Henry To’oTo’o went down in the opener.

Hansen has yet to post more than 3 solo tackles in a game, though, and enters Sunday questionable with a knee issue. He finished the week with a full Friday practice, at least, and appears in line to play.

LB E.J. Speed’s on the PUP list, and LB Jake Hummel's on IR, so rookie Wade Woodaz appears likely to start next to Hansen against the Cowboys. The fourth-round pick posted solid cross-category numbers at Clemson but sits blocked over the next couple of years behind Al-Shaair and To’oTo’o.

We’ll find out about his short-term fantasy viability Sunday, but I wouldn’t plan to use a Houston LB this week if you can help it.

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