IDP Rankings
Now while we don’t purport to have the IDP acumen of our friends over at Pro Football Focus we have an initial IDP ranking for those of you who participate in leagues with IDP roster spots. IDP is increasing in popularity for fantasy football every year and has replaced D/ST and kickers in many leagues while some leagues use a combination of both. If you really want to get your knowledge cemented try out an all IDP custom league.
We suggest waiting on IDP selections in most leagues unless you play in a league with IDP experts. Commonly the avid fantasy football player still does not have a firm grasp on IDP and will still opt for brand names over production and potential. The only position it may not pay to wait for is defensive end where a Houston Texan is swatting his way into the Hall of Fame.
JJ Watt aka JJ Swat remains fantasy football’s top IDP option as he is to DE/DL what Jimmy Graham is to tight ends this year, two tiers ahead of everyone else at his position. Watt is a pure football beast and was a joy to have on rosters last year. To land JJ this year however you will have to take the plunge much earlier as the cat is out of the bag after Watt posted a sensational linebacker level 69 solo tackles with 12 assisted tackles, a thrilling 20.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and a unreal 14 pass deflections. I’ll stop talking about him because this is not a JJ Watt article. Watt is an IDP1 even in leagues that only ask for flex IDP slots. Other elite options include Jason Pierre-Paul, Cameron Wake, Calais Campbell, Jared Allen, Chandler Jones, Julius Peppers, Charles Johnson, Michael Johnson, Mario Williams and the constantly overlooked Greg Hardy. Geno Atkins remains the top defensive tackle option in fantasy football.
Luke Kuechly is this year’s consensus top linebacker after putting on a show for the Carolina Panthers last year with a bonkers 165 total tackles. The Panthers have got even better up front adding some defensive tackles and this should allow Luke even more room to terrorize the opposition. WWE Hall of Famer’s Animal of the Legion of Doom/Road Warriors son James Laurinaitis remains the number two option in fantasy at the linebacker position, followed by Navarro ‘I wreak havoc because you focus on Willis’ Bowman, Derrick Johnson and Bobby Wagner. My favorite sleepers at the position are players that were injured last season and are out of the non IDP aficionados mind such as Sean Lee, Brian Cushing, Desmond Bishop and D’Qwell Jackson. Other elite names to remember include Patrick Willis, sophomore sensation Lavonte David and Paul Posluszny.
Defensive back is the only position where there is not a general consensus about who the number one option is with Morgan Burnett, Eric Berry, Harrison Smith, Mark Barron, Tyvon Branch, Eric Weddle and Charles Tillman all being viewed as elite options. Defensive back is deep and has a lot of upside DB2’s. I like teams with very talented second corners as they will often get a lot of work and rack up tackles such as Janoris Jenkins of the Rams who plays across from Cortland Finnegan.
