Data & Matchup Driven IDP Cheatsheet for Week 8 Fantasy Football

Dive into this data-packed, matchup-driven IDP cheatsheet for Week 8 to uncover which defensive players are being targeted most — and how to turn that into a fantasy football edge.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebackers Lavonte David (54) and Sirvocea Dennis (8) against the New York Jets prior to the game at Raymond James Stadium. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The defensive side of a football game is neglected in the fantasy market, with available stats formatted in an easy-to-follow roadmap to show good and poor matchups. Pro Football Reference provides a baseline of player information to help game managers get a feel for defenses' strengths and weaknesses.

LB SirVocea Dennis gave up six catches for 81 yards on six targets to the Lions. As a result, he took over the league lead in yards allowed (455) despite facing only 33 passes on the year. Receivers have caught 90.9% of their targets against him while gaining 15.2 yards per catch.

Offenses continue to attack S Isaiah Pola-Mao due to him allowing 12.79 fantasy points per game in PPR formats. He’s given up a league-high five touchdowns, with receivers catching 22 of their 31 targets for 375 yards. 

2025 NFL Defenders Who Allow The Most Receiving Yards

Here are the top 15 defensive players who gave up the most receiving yards this year:

Shawn Childs

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Before this year, I compiled a Google Sheet with the 2024 advanced defensive statistics from Pro Football Reference. The goal was to gain a deeper understanding of the defensive side of the ball in weekly WR/CB matchups and identify potential DFS starters. Finding defensive statistics is a challenge on the free open market, as many outlets score plays differently on the defensive side of the ball.

Here’s a link to my preseason write-up on the data provided by Pro Football Reference, and a description of my added fantasy stat breakdowns: 

2025 Fantasy Football IDP Cheat Sheet: Defensive Stats And Insights You Need

2025 NFL Tackle Leaders

LB Jordyn Brooks continues to lead the league in combined tackles (75), with four players remaining within 10 tackles.

• Bobby Wagner, Washington Commanders (73)
• Jamien Sherwood, New York Jets (70)
• Cedric Gray, Tennessee Titans (70)
• Nathan Landman, Los Angeles Rams (67)

2025 NFL Sack Leaders

New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns (0) celebrates his sack of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (not pictured) during the first quarter at MetLife Stadium. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

LB Brian Burns and LB Byron Young took over first place in sacks (9) after Nik Bonitto (8) failed to tackle Jaxson Dart for a loss in Week 7. Aidan Hutchinson (6) and Dorance Armstrong (5.5) round out the top five.

NFL Defenders To Exploit in Fantasy Football

Nine players allowed four receiving touchdowns.

• Tyson Campbell, Cleveland Browns (22/376/4)
• Brandon Stephens, New York Jets (26/296/4)
• Zyon McCollum, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (23/246/4)
• Donovan Wilson, Dallas Cowboys (12/149/4)
• Craig Woodson, New England Patriots (14/196/4)
• Kevin Byard, Chicago Bears (14/217/4)
• Kool-Aid McKinstry, New Orleans Saints (23/347/4)
• Jourdan Lewis, Jacksonville Jaguars (26/155/40
• Christian Benford, Buffalo Bills (21/198/4)

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Note: the IDP scoring in the above grid is only based on the stats provided by Pro Football Reference.

I used these scoring values to create IDP totals:

• Tackle (1.5 fantasy points) – Pro Football Reference only offered combined tackles, so I treated two assisted tackles as a full tackle
• Sacks (4.0 fantasy points)
• Interceptions (5.0 fantasy points)

These are the scoring data points that I’m lacking:

• Tackle for a loss: 2 points
• Forced fumble: 4 points
• Fumble recovery: 4 points
• Defended Passes: 1.5 points
• Defensive touchdown: 6 points
• Safety: 2 points