Week 8 IDP fantasy football rankings: Watt, Hutchinson surge

Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV holds No. 1 in my Week 8 individual defensive player ( IDP ) fantasy football rankings after a nine-tackle night in a 20-3 win over the previously unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter jumps from 10th to second overall, and Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson climbs to third. The 49ers, Giants, Saints and Texans are on bye, which sidelines Fred Warner and Will Anderson Jr. You can find my overall IDP and position-by-position rankings tables at the bottom of the article. MORE: Week 8 fantasy football PPR rankings: Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry rise T.J. Watt, Aidan Hutchinson lead DL Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt moves from seventh to first in my defensive line (DL) rankings for Cleveland at Pittsburgh. He spun past the Saints’ right tackle for a second-quarter sack of Tyler Shough and added two quarterback hits in a 16-10 win in Paris. “Good defenses are always sitting on the bench ,” Watt said after Pittsburgh held New Orleans to 18 rushing yards. The Browns have allowed a league-high 25 sacks and the most fantasy points per game (FP/G) to DL (29.6), and both teams are 5-2 and tied atop the AFC North. Hutchinson rises from DL12 to DL2 for Minnesota at Detroit. He sacked Jordan Love for a 10-yard loss and drew a holding penalty in a 20-17 win over Green Bay, and his 48th career sack tied Ezekiel Ansah for fourth in Lions history. The Vikings are 6-0 but have allowed the second-most FP/G to DL (29.4). MORE: Week 8 fantasy football QB start-sit: Murray, McKee, Young, Goff Why are four Steelers in the top six? Steelers outside linebackers Nick Herbig and Alex Highsmith jump from DL25 and DL24 to DL3 and DL4, and defensive tackle Cameron Heyward climbs from DL35 to DL6. Pittsburgh is tied for third in the NFL in sacks, and Cleveland is also without starting right guard Teven Jenkins. Heyward has 17 pressures and five batted passes this season, so the veteran adds tackle and pass-defended upside even in weeks he doesn’t reach Deshaun Watson. Ernest Jones IV tops LB rankings Jones holds at LB1 for Chicago at Seattle on Monday night (8:15 p.m. ET). He led the Seahawks with nine tackles against Kansas City, his third straight game with exactly nine, and he has at least eight tackles in all seven games. His 68 tackles are tied for third in the NFL. “Nobody was down, it was just, ‘ Let’s get to Sunday , let’s go get a win,’” Jones said. The Bears have allowed the fourth-most FP/G to linebackers (20.9). Trotter climbs from LB9 to LB2 for Atlanta at Tampa Bay. The Missouri product led the Buccaneers in tackles in a 43-13 rout at Carolina and leads the team with 62 tackles through six games. His 42.5% run-stop win rate ranks 10th among all players, and the Falcons have allowed the ninth-most FP/G to linebackers (20.6). Why did Devin Bush Jr. climb? Chicago Bears linebacker Devin Bush Jr. jumps from LB31 to LB5 for Chicago at Seattle. T.J. Edwards has missed two straight games with a hamstring injury, and the Bears need more from Bush without him. Coverage was a problem in a 30-24 win over New England, as Bush allowed six receptions on six targets for 81 yards and a 30-yard touchdown. But Seattle converted 11 of 16 third downs against Kansas City, which means longer drives and more tackle chances, and the Seahawks have allowed the second-most FP/G to linebackers (21.2). MORE: Week 8 waiver wire FAAB: Omar Cooper Jr., Jonah Coleman are top adds Quentin Lake tops DB rankings Los Angeles Rams safety Quentin Lake climbs from fifth to first in my defensive back (DB) rankings for the Chargers at Rams. He led the Rams with seven tackles in a 35-21 win at Las Vegas and has at least six tackles in every game this season. The Chargers have allowed the second-most FP/G to DB (37.3). Rams safety Kam Curl jumps from DB21 to DB3 in the same matchup. He played all but one defensive snap against the Raiders and has 34 tackles through seven games. Why is Derwin James at DB4? Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. debuts in the top five after missing three straight games with a hamstring injury. Head coach Jim Harbaugh named James among the players the 0-6 Chargers hope to have back after the bye, and the Florida State product worked on a side field during Tuesday’s bonus practice. The Rams have allowed the most FP/G to DB (37.9), so James carries top-five upside if he’s cleared. Check his injury designation before lineups lock. —  Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter  — Tap the rankings arrow you want to see below, and they will appear. You can open and close the ranking lists to make them easier to view. Overall IDP Rankings Fantasy Football Week 8 IDP Rankings Rank Player Team Position Opponent 1 Ernest Jones IV SEA LB vs CHI 2 Josiah Trotter TB LB vs ATL 3 Aidan Hutchinson DET DE vs MIN 4 Zack Baun PHI LB @ WAS 5 Roquan Smith BAL LB @ BUF 6 Quentin Lake LAR S vs LAC 7 Nick Emmanwori SEA S vs CHI 8 Nakobe Dean LV LB @ NYJ 9 Devin Bush Jr. CHI LB @ SEA 10 Evan Williams GB S vs CAR 11 Anthony Hill Jr. TEN LB @ CIN 12 Barrett Carter CIN LB vs TEN 13 Payton Wilson PIT LB vs CLE 14 Alex Singleton DEN LB vs KC 15 Nate Landman LAR LB vs LAC 16 Jamien Sherwood NYJ LB vs LV 17 Xavier Watts ATL S @ TB 18 Kam Curl LAR S vs LAC 19 Caleb Downs DAL S vs ARI 20 Demetrius Knight Jr. CIN LB vs TEN 21 Blake Cashman MIN LB @ DET 22 Budda Baker ARI S @ DAL 23 Demario Davis NYJ LB vs LV 24 Jacob Rodriguez MIA LB vs NE 25 Quay Walker LV LB @ NYJ 26 Jaishawn Barham DAL LB vs ARI 27 Kendal Daniels ATL S @ TB 28 Trenton Simpson BAL LB @ BUF 29 DeMarvion Overshown DAL LB vs ARI 30 Jessie Bates III ATL S @ TB 31 Dillon Thieneman CHI S @ SEA 32 Derwin James Jr. LAC S @ LAR 33 D’Marco Jackson CHI LB @ SEA 34 Julian Love SEA S vs CHI 35 Devon Witherspoon SEA CB vs CHI 36 Jihaad Campbell PHI LB @ WAS 37 Jordyn Brooks MIA LB vs NE 38 T.J. Watt PIT LB vs CLE 39 Patrick Queen PIT LB vs CLE 40 Kyle Hamilton BAL S @ BUF 41 Shemar James DAL LB vs ARI 42 Keisean Nixon GB CB vs CAR 43 Harold Perkins Jr. ATL LB @ TB 44 Alex Anzalone TB LB vs ATL 45 Cameron Heyward PIT DT vs CLE 46 Tyrice Knight SEA LB vs CHI 47 Carson Schwesinger CLE LB @ PIT 48 Sonny Styles WAS LB vs PHI 49 Terrel Bernard BUF LB vs BAL 50 Omar Speights LAR LB vs LAC 51 Dane Belton NYJ S vs LV 52 Minkah Fitzpatrick NYJ S vs LV 53 Foyesade Oluokun JAC LB vs IND 54 Christian Elliss NE LB @ MIA 55 Leonard Williams SEA DT vs CHI 56 Xavier McKinney GB S vs CAR 57 Quincy Williams CLE LB @ PIT 58 Amani Hooker TEN S @ CIN 59 Robert Spillane NE LB @ MIA 60 Jeremy Chinn LV S @ NYJ 61 Dorian Williams BUF LB vs BAL 62 Nick Bolton KC LB @ DEN 63 Daiyan Henley LAC LB @ LAR 64 Dallas Turner MIN DE @ DET 65 Jack Campbell DET LB vs MIN 66 Devin Lloyd CAR LB @ GB 67 Cedric Gray TEN LB @ CIN 68 Frankie Luvu WAS LB vs PHI 69 Alex Highsmith PIT LB vs CLE 70 Jeffery Simmons TEN DT @ CIN 71 Kevin Winston Jr. TEN S @ CIN 72 Mack Wilson Sr. ARI LB @ DAL 73 Tykee Smith TB S vs ATL 74 Eric Kendricks LAR LB vs LAC 75 Nick Herbig PIT LB vs CLE 76 Ventrell Miller JAC LB vs IND 77 Justin Strnad DEN LB vs KC 78 A.J. Haulcy IND S @ JAC 79 Drue Tranquill KC LB @ DEN 80 Jack Gibbens ARI LB @ DAL 81 Andrew Van Ginkel MIN LB @ DET 82 Eric Wilson MIN LB @ DET 83 Bobby Okereke CAR LB @ GB 84 Joshua Metellus MIN S @ DET 85 Akeem Davis-Gaither IND LB @ JAC 86 Maxx Crosby LV DE @ NYJ 87 Jalen Ramsey PIT CB vs CLE 88 Brandon Jones DEN S vs KC 89 Chamarri Conner KC S @ DEN 90 Brian Branch DET S vs MIN 91 Jordan Battle CIN S vs TEN 92 Derrick Barnes DET LB vs MIN 93 Quinnen Williams DAL DT vs ARI 94 Chuck Clark DET S vs MIN 95 Cooper DeJean PHI CB @ WAS 96 Jaquan Brisker PIT S vs CLE 97 Isaiah McDuffie GB LB vs CAR 98 Laiatu Latu IND DE @ JAC 99 Zach Allen DEN DE vs KC 100 George Karlaftis III KC DE @ DEN 101 Dexter Lawrence II CIN DT vs TEN 102 Ty’Ron Hopper GB LB vs CAR DL Rankings Fantasy Football Week 8 DL Rankings Rank Player Team Opponent 1 T.J. Watt PIT vs CLE 2 Aidan Hutchinson DET vs MIN 3 Nick Herbig PIT vs CLE 4 Alex Highsmith PIT vs CLE 5 Byron Young LAR vs LAC 6 Cameron Heyward PIT vs CLE 7 Lukas Van Ness GB vs CAR 8 Leonard Williams SEA vs CHI 9 Dallas Turner MIN @ DET 10 Austin Booker CHI @ SEA 11 Greg Rousseau BUF vs BAL 12 Andrew Van Ginkel MIN @ DET 13 Elijah Ponder NE @ MIA 14 Aaron Donald LAR vs LAC 15 Mason Graham CLE @ PIT 16 Josh Hines-Allen JAC vs IND 17 Jared Verse CLE @ PIT 18 DJ Wonnum DET vs MIN 19 Alim McNeill DET vs MIN 20 Isaiah McGuire CLE @ PIT 21 Montez Sweat CHI @ SEA 22 Zach Sieler MIA vs NE 23 Travon Walker JAC vs IND 24 Byron Murphy II SEA vs CHI 25 Josh Uche MIA vs NE 26 Josaiah Stewart LAR vs LAC 27 Jeffery Simmons TEN @ CIN 28 Maxx Crosby LV @ NYJ 29 David Bailey NYJ vs LV 30 DeMarcus Lawrence SEA vs CHI 31 Chop Robinson MIA vs NE 32 Jalen Redmond MIN @ DET 33 Jalen Carter PHI @ WAS 34 Gabe Jacas NE @ MIA 35 Maliek Collins CLE @ PIT 36 Devonte Wyatt GB vs CAR 37 Milton Williams NE @ MIA 38 Derick Hall SEA vs CHI 39 Yaya Diaby TB vs ATL 40 Quinnen Williams DAL vs ARI 41 Deone Walker BUF vs BAL 42 Jaishawn Barham DAL vs ARI 43 Bradley Chubb BUF vs BAL 44 Donovan Ezeiruaku DAL vs ARI 45 Ed Oliver BUF vs BAL 46 Derrick Brown CAR @ GB 47 Dre’Mont Jones NE @ MIA 48 Boye Mafe CIN vs TEN 49 Laiatu Latu IND @ JAC 50 Tuli Tuipulotu LAC @ LAR 51 Zach Allen DEN vs KC 52 Jaelan Phillips CAR @ GB 53 Princely Umanmielen CAR @ GB 54 Dexter Lawrence II CIN vs TEN 55 George Karlaftis III KC @ DEN 56 Nik Bonitto DEN vs KC 57 Kwity Paye LV @ NYJ 58 Patrick Jones II CAR @ GB 59 Kingsley Enagbare NYJ vs LV 60 Trey Hendrickson BAL @ BUF 61 Rashan Gary DAL vs ARI 62 Jonathan Greenard PHI @ WAS 63 Malcolm Koonce LV @ NYJ 64 Khalil Mack LAC @ LAR 65 Vita Vea TB vs ATL 66 Arnold Ebiketie PHI @ WAS 67 Jermaine Johnson II TEN @ CIN 68 Akheem Mesidor LAC @ LAR 69 Nnamdi Madubuike BAL @ BUF 70 Rueben Bain Jr. TB vs ATL 71 K’Lavon Chaisson WAS vs PHI 72 Jonathan Allen CIN vs TEN 73 Grover Stewart IND @ JAC 74 Jaylahn Tuimoloau IND @ JAC 75 Adetomiwa Adebawore IND @ JAC 76 Mike Green BAL @ BUF 77 Josh Sweat ARI @ DAL 78 Jonathon Cooper DEN vs KC 79 Malachi Lawrence DAL vs ARI 80 Dorance Armstrong Jr. WAS vs PHI 81 Will McDonald IV NYJ vs LV 82 Daron Payne WAS vs PHI 83 Chris Jones KC @ DEN LB Rankings Fantasy Football Week 8 LB Rankings Rank Player Team Opponent 1 Ernest Jones IV SEA vs CHI 2 Josiah Trotter TB vs ATL 3 Zack Baun PHI @ WAS 4 Roquan Smith BAL @ BUF 5 Devin Bush Jr. CHI @ SEA 6 Nakobe Dean LV @ NYJ 7 Nate Landman LAR vs LAC 8 Kendal Daniels ATL @ TB 9 Anthony Hill Jr. TEN @ CIN 10 Barrett Carter CIN vs TEN 11 Payton Wilson PIT vs CLE 12 Alex Singleton DEN vs KC 13 Jamien Sherwood NYJ vs LV 14 Jaishawn Barham DAL vs ARI 15 Demetrius Knight Jr. CIN vs TEN 16 DeMarvion Overshown DAL vs ARI 17 Trenton Simpson BAL @ BUF 18 Demario Davis NYJ vs LV 19 Blake Cashman MIN @ DET 20 Jihaad Campbell PHI @ WAS 21 Jacob Rodriguez MIA vs NE 22 Quay Walker LV @ NYJ 23 D’Marco Jackson CHI @ SEA 24 Shemar James DAL vs ARI 25 Harold Perkins Jr. ATL @ TB 26 Alex Anzalone TB vs ATL 27 T.J. Watt PIT vs CLE 28 Terrel Bernard BUF vs BAL 29 Tyrice Knight SEA vs CHI 30 Patrick Queen PIT vs CLE 31 Omar Speights LAR vs LAC 32 Jordyn Brooks MIA vs NE 33 Sonny Styles WAS vs PHI 34 Carson Schwesinger CLE @ PIT 35 Foyesade Oluokun JAC vs IND 36 Rashan Gary DAL vs ARI 37 Dorian Williams BUF vs BAL 38 Jeremiah Trotter Jr. PHI @ WAS 39 Christian Elliss NE @ MIA 40 Quincy Williams CLE @ PIT 41 Robert Spillane NE @ MIA 42 Daiyan Henley LAC @ LAR 43 Cedric Gray TEN @ CIN 44 Noah Sewell CHI @ SEA 45 Frankie Luvu WAS vs PHI 46 Alex Highsmith PIT vs CLE 47 Nick Bolton KC @ DEN 48 Eric Kendricks LAR vs LAC 49 Samson Ebukam ATL @ TB 50 Nick Herbig PIT vs CLE 51 Teddye Buchanan BAL @ BUF 52 Cody Barton TEN @ CIN 53 Ventrell Miller JAC vs IND 54 Jack Campbell DET vs MIN 55 Devin Lloyd CAR @ GB 56 Mack Wilson Sr. ARI @ DAL 57 Josh Woods ATL @ TB 58 Justin Strnad DEN vs KC 59 Shaun Dolac LAR vs LAC 60 Andrew Van Ginkel MIN @ DET 61 Jack Gibbens ARI @ DAL 62 Eric Wilson MIN @ DET 63 Jacob Martin TEN @ CIN 64 Drue Tranquill KC @ DEN 65 Kaleb Elarms-Orr BUF vs BAL 66 Del’Shawn Phillips LAC @ LAR 67 Dallas Turner MIN @ DET 68 Bobby Okereke CAR @ GB 69 Akeem Davis-Gaither IND @ JAC 70 Troy Dye LAC @ LAR 71 Tommy Eichenberg LV @ NYJ 72 Oren Burks CIN vs TEN 73 Derrick Barnes DET vs MIN 74 Gabe Jacas NE @ MIA 75 Jackson Woodard MIA vs NE 76 Isaiah McDuffie GB vs CAR 77 Cody Simon ARI @ DAL 78 Ty’Ron Hopper GB vs CAR 79 Malcolm Rodriguez DET vs MIN 80 Jaylon Carlies IND @ JAC 81 Germaine Pratt IND @ JAC 82 Austin Ajiake IND @ JAC DB Rankings Fantasy Football Week 8 DB Rankings Rank Player Team Opponent 1 Quentin Lake LAR vs LAC 2 Nick Emmanwori SEA vs CHI 3 Kam Curl LAR vs LAC 4 Derwin James Jr. LAC @ LAR 5 Xavier Watts ATL @ TB 6 Evan Williams GB vs CAR 7 Caleb Downs DAL vs ARI 8 Kendal Daniels ATL @ TB 9 Julian Love SEA vs CHI 10 Devon Witherspoon SEA vs CHI 11 Jessie Bates III ATL @ TB 12 Kyler Gordon CHI @ SEA 13 Budda Baker ARI @ DAL 14 Dillon Thieneman CHI @ SEA 15 Keisean Nixon GB vs CAR 16 Kyle Hamilton BAL @ BUF 17 Dane Belton NYJ vs LV 18 C.J. Henderson ATL @ TB 19 Minkah Fitzpatrick NYJ vs LV 20 Xavier McKinney GB vs CAR 21 Antonio Johnson JAC vs IND 22 Kamren Kinchens LAR vs LAC 23 Amani Hooker TEN @ CIN 24 Javon Bullard GB vs CAR 25 Jeremy Chinn LV @ NYJ 26 A.J. Haulcy IND @ JAC 27 Grant Delpit CLE @ PIT 28 Tykee Smith TB vs ATL 29 Kevin Winston Jr. TEN @ CIN 30 DaRon Bland DAL vs ARI 31 Jacob Parrish TB vs ATL 32 Nick Scott CAR @ GB 33 Tre’von Moehrig CAR @ GB 34 Joshua Metellus MIN @ DET 35 Cam Bynum IND @ JAC 36 Brandon Cisse GB vs CAR 37 Jalen Ramsey PIT vs CLE 38 Will Lee III CAR @ GB 39 Ronnie Hickman Jr. CLE @ PIT 40 Antoine Winfield Jr. TB vs ATL 41 Brian Branch DET vs MIN 42 Chamarri Conner KC @ DEN 43 Justin Walley IND @ JAC 44 Brandon Jones DEN vs KC 45 Marlon Humphrey BAL @ BUF 46 Zyon McCollum TB vs ATL 47 Malik Muhammad II CHI @ SEA 48 Dante Trader Jr. MIA vs NE 49 Jordan Battle CIN vs TEN 50 Chuck Clark DET vs MIN 51 Byron Murphy Jr. MIN @ DET 52 Tyson Campbell CLE @ PIT 53 Jaquan Brisker PIT vs CLE 54 Keionte Scott TB vs ATL 55 Treydan Stukes LV @ NYJ 56 Michael Taaffe MIA vs NE 57 Amik Robertson WAS vs PHI 58 Akayleb Evans CAR @ GB 59 Malaki Starks BAL @ BUF 60 Mansoor Delane KC @ DEN 61 Nick Cross WAS vs PHI 62 Cooper DeJean PHI @ WAS 63 L’Jarius Sneed KC @ DEN 64 Kevin Byard III NE @ MIA 65 D.J. Reed Jr. DET vs MIN 66 Cole Bishop BUF vs BAL 67 DeShon Elliott PIT vs CLE 68 Nohl Williams KC @ DEN 69 Ifeatu Melifonwu TB vs ATL 70 Dax Hill CIN vs TEN 71 Jeremy Reaves WAS vs PHI 72 Roger McCreary DET vs MIN 73 Craig Woodson NE @ MIA 74 Carlton Davis III NE @ MIA 75 Marcus Jones NE @ MIA 76 Riley Moss DEN vs KC 77 Quinyon Mitchell PHI @ WAS 78 Andrew Mukuba PHI @ WAS 79 Christian Benford BUF vs BAL