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

Stick With Schwesinger or Put Him Down?

I can see and hear your question…

Matt, when are you going to give it up and drop Carson Schwesinger in the rankings?

Good question. And believe me, it’s one of the questions all fantasy analysts keep asking themselves throughout the early part of the season. When do we stick to our preseason expectations and rely on the player to rebound, and when do we adjust? And if/when we adjust, how much?

The answer varies by player and situation, of course. But few IDPs are more important 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 into the details of what we’re looking at.

Schwesinger ranks 41st in fantasy points per game in balanced-scoring IDP leagues. (The specific spot will vary by format.) Compare that to his No. 11 finishes as a 2025 rookie, and we’re talking about a disappointing quarter of the season.

It hurts even more, because I project Schwesinger at the top of the position heading into the season. Why? Because that’s how he performed in the second half of his debut campaign.

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

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

Schwesinger has yet to have a sack this year, but his pressure numbers and pass rush opportunities point to production coming in that area. His 12 pass rushes on Thursday night were, according to Pro Football Focus, that average. But that spike also highlights Schwesinger’s week-to-week increase in pass rush opportunities.

PFF grades say he’s playing 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 will obviously be difficult to expect weekly production from Schwesinger. But there’s reason to believe that the second-year, former second-round pick could rebound from that performance, especially given that he’s adjusting to a new coordinator and new LB partner (Devin Bush out; Quincy Williams in).

And no more Myles Garrett occupying the minds of opposing coordinators.

Here’s What to Like … and What to Expect

Schwesinger has, at least, recorded 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 didn’t translate into much fantasy value as 66% of those tackles were assists, and Schwesinger didn’t make big plays to juice up the scoring.

But his playing time is 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 drop a bit in the rest of the season rankings, and maybe in the Week 5 LB rankings. But he also gets a favorable schedule leading into the Week 11 bye.

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

You Should Be Concerned Landman

Another LB in Nate Landman didn’t score like he did last year.

The Rams’ top linebacker ranks 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 appears to be worse than Schwesinger’s.

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

Last season, Landman caught 94.2% of the snaps in 15 of 17 games. His playing time dropped significantly — 63% and 73% — in the two games against Arizona. In retrospect, this may have been a harbinger for this year’s issue.

Rams’ New Sub Package Cuts Snap Count

The Cardinals ran the top offense last season. That’s the only sensible explanation for Landman’s two lowest snap shares coming into those games.

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

That might seem like small change, but those snaps are important when your scoring depends so much on tackle volume. It’s even more important when you don’t start out in a truly standout position on that front. (Landman finished last season 14th among LBs in total tackles.)

The Rams already used “dime” packages (six DBs) at the high league level last year. This season saw a new wrinkle on that front, with LA mixing in more packages without LBs on the field.

Landman’s 90.5% snap share overall shows that’s only a small part of the defensive plan, but it’s enough to knock his fragile scoring profile from serviceable every week 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.

Last Year’s Breakout Titan’s Role Was Even Worse

Cedric Gray quickly became a necessity for our IDP lineups in his second NFL season. That seems to make the 23-year-old (through Oct. 30) an easy bet among the top LBs on the board this year. But that bet appears to have 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 the play-calling duties in his absence and impressed enough that he wasn’t relinquishing them.

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

I’m still betting on Gray passing Barton at some point. The latter played starting opportunities in Seattle, Washington, and Denver before landing in Tennessee.

But when that will happen and how much playing time that means 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 haven’t boosted him up much in our rankings yet.

There are two reasons:

1. Miller is heavily reliant on scoring in a big Week 1.
2. His snap shares define constant limitations.

Miller had 10 tackles (7 solo), a sack, and a forced fumble in the win over the Browns. The next two weeks brought only 7 total tackles and no more than 4 solo. His snap rate in three games is gone:

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

Watch Saints LBs This Week

We know New Orleans will be without LB Kaden Elliss this Sunday with a calf injury. The team could also miss LB Pete Werner, who is questionable after missing all three days of practice 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 the third time Stutsman hit 40% in a game.

Stutsman came in as an intriguing prospect who put up strong numbers in three starting seasons at Oklahoma and then earned a 90th-percentile speed score at the Combine.

He will be interesting to watch Monday night against the Falcons. But a starting backup LB who has not had more than 8 total tackles in a pro game thus far would carry a lot 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 will be at least in this Sunday’s game against the Cowboys. We’ll see more of that after he misses a full week of practice.

Who was left out of the lineup? Let’s see.

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

However, Hansen has never posted more than 3 solo tackles in a game, and entered Sunday questionable with a knee issue. He finished the week with a full practice Friday, at least, and will appear in line to play.

LB EJ Speed ​​is on the PUP list, and LB Jake Hummel is on IR, so rookie Wade Woodaz will likely start next to Hansen against the Cowboys. The fourth-round pick posted solid cross-category numbers at Clemson but was blocked the next two years behind Al-Shaair and To’oTo’o.

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

Want to Know Who’s Starting?

The information is cool, but we’re all just trying to figure out who to put in our fantasy football lineups each week.

Wondering who makes sense for you in Week 2? Check your Team Dashboard for custom lineup advice. And if you’re in a place where you just can’t decide, check out the Who Gets Started tool.