Week 17 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

As we enter Week 17, most analysts operate under the assumption that this is the last week for almost all of your leagues. I've told you before that most savvy fans and fantasy commissioners purposefully avoid their fantasy titles being decided in Week 18. While there are more teams playing for something than there used... Read More

Week 16 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

It's a well-accepted fact amongst fantasy analysts that fans do not care about our fantasy teams. The average fan worries only about their team(s) and could be bored to tears when an analyst goes off about how close they were to a win or how bad their luck was on a given weekend. However, there... Read More

Week 15 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Many fantasy leagues have started their fantasy playoffs already, and most others will this week. Most of us avoid Week 18 as a matter of practice and optimize playoff seeding based on the depth of our leagues. But not all commissioners know how to maximize their playoff settings. Some commissioners are new and just don’t... Read More

Week 14 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

This week could see several prominent IDP names come off of IR, further crowding position groups as we get six teams back from a bye. The instinct of many will be to grab these big names from waivers the second they are activated. Some players merit such a move, while others won’t in standard or... Read More

Week 13 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Let us begin this grueling fantasy week with a moment of silence for my pre-season pick for this year’s IDP Breakout: Jaelan Phillips. While the former Hurricane was electric this weekend and showed signs of being what we thought he could in recent weeks, he struggled with injuries throughout the season before losing the rest... Read More

Week 12 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Thanksgiving week is a time to be thankful. It's a time to be together, appreciative, and watch poorly acted and historically inaccurate 3rd grade plays. As a result, every football analyst and talking head will do a bit about what they are thankful for this week. In fact, all of us with a blog, article,... Read More

Week 11 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

There are four NFL teams on bye in Week 11. That is usually a prescription for heavy roster turnover and triage in fantasy circles. However, this bye week is uniquely tame. While this bye is taking the NFL’s leading tackler (Zaire Franklin) away from us, the losses could be far worse. The Saints typically have... Read More

Week 10 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

I'll begin with a disclaimer: I know this article is about defense and IDP rankings. Arthur Smith is obviously an offensive-minded coach whose decisions/mistakes largely impact offensive players. That said, we are all fantasy football fans, and Smith routinely does or says things that put him in the crosshairs of fantasy and regular football fans... Read More

Week 9 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Am I the only one who feels the number of noteworthy injuries in the NFL is increasing despite almost every rule being geared toward player safety? The data and reports are mixed on this subject, but the optics are there. For example, the NFL reports that concussions have steadily declined since 2015, but CBS reported... Read More

Week 8 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

It's Week 8, and it’s a bit of a unicorn because… there are no teams on bye! Now, I know what you're asking. If there is this perfectly good week sitting right in the middle of the schedule where no teams are off, why on earth were there teams on bye in Weeks 5 and... Read More

Week 7 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Time flies when you’re having fun, allegedly. Perhaps that’s also occasionally true when you are not having fun, though. How else could one explain how quickly it seems we've reached Week 7 of the NFL season despite countless injuries that only continued to pile up in Week 6? In the past two weeks alone, we've... Read More

Week 6 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to begin this week by returning to a favorite topic of mine: Arthur Smith. The former Titans’ coordinator has been a whipping post of mine for some time, but he’s earned praise from some analysts as a “gamer” who wins despite his offense (his specialty) struggling to score touchdowns.... Read More

Week 5 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

It's Week 5 in the NFL, which means the first round of byes is here. That brings questions for all of us. Chief among those questions is, "Why does any NFL team need a bye this early in the season?" It's a valid question, especially since the NFL added an extra game in 2021. Odds... Read More

Week 4 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Week 3 was a nice recovery from the sleight before it, where my risers and fades had more misses than not. Of course, any streamer recommendations are aimed at little-rostered or seldom-started players, so those calls will always have hits and misses. That is the nature of elevating waiver options and fading regular starters. However,... Read More

Week 3 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

While Week 2 was rough for some of my streamer picks, it ultimately served as a reminder of how unreliable metrics can be year-to-year. As I’ve said before, coaching staff and offensive line changes happen every season, and the smallest move can change everything. If a team loses one guard, the whole line can suffer.... Read More

Week 2 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

Week 1 of the NFL season is under our belts. The opening weekend had its usual share of surprises, such as Puka Nakua exceeding our wildest expectations. It also had its fair share of unsurprising outcomes, as some players and teams met our expectations to a T. For example, as we expected, Chris Jones missed... Read More

IDP Rankings for 2023 Fantasy Football Drafts (Individual Defensive Players) - Nick Bosa, Bobby Wagner, Aaron Donald, more

Hey, Rotoballers! Welcome back for more fantasy football rankings. Today, we will review our NFL team's updated 2023 fantasy football IDP rankings (top 150) for IDP formats. Most standard fantasy leagues require fantasy managers to start team defenses, but IDP league formats are gaining popularity recently. For anyone not familiar with fantasy football IDP leagues, this type... Read More

Week 1 IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football - Positional Rankings for Linebacker, Defensive Line, Defensive Back

The NFL season starts in less than a week, which is an exciting time for most. However, the beginning of the year can be nerve-wracking if you rostered injured superstars like Cooper Kupp or Jonathan Taylor. IDP fans may have it even worse. Nick Bosa and Chris Jones managers don't just worry about whether their... Read More

IDP Draft Sleepers for 2023 Fantasy Football - Individual Defensive Players to Target include Emmanuel Forbes, Divine Deablo, more

Playing fantasy football in an IDP league can be complicated. You have to draft both sides of the ball, and going after defensive players could cause you to miss some of the offensive players you are targeting. On the other hand, if you ignore IDPs, you will miss out on stars like T.J. Watt and... Read More

IDP Rookie Sleepers for Fantasy Football Defensive Players - Brian Branch, Emmanuel Forbes, Jalen Carter, more

A dozen defensive players were drafted in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Can some of them help your IDP team this season? Typically, cornerbacks are the most productive in their rookie seasons. Last year, we saw Sauce Gardner and Tariq Woolen make big impacts in IDP leagues, with Roger McCreary, Kader Kohou,... Read More

Will Bobby Wagner Be An IDP Superstar Again In Seattle? Fantasy Football Outlook

Bobby Wagner has been one of the most reliable linebackers in the NFL for 11 straight years. Every single year of his career, Wagner has tallied over 100 combined tackles. Since 2015, no player has had more tackles than Wagner. He played for the Seattle Seahawks for 10 seasons, making eight Pro Bowls and six... Read More

IDP Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 18

Going into Sunday night, I had the introduction for this article already written. I was going to dive into Week 18 matchups that would and wouldn't lose starters to the Sit Bug and bemoan leagues that don't wrap up a week or two early. None of that matters too much right now. Watching Damar Hamlin... Read More

IDP Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 17

The multitude of things that can change or go wrong late in the NFL season is often overlooked, especially in fantasy projections. By Week 14 or 15, we have the majority of a season under our belts, so we get cocky about our projections and what teams are. However, this past weekend we saw what... Read More

IDP Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 16

In the NFL, safety should come first. Player health is incredibly important, especially cognitive and mental health. So, it's the right decision whenever a team follows caution and rules a player out for head injuries or otherwise. The fact that teams are doing so more often does significantly complicate fantasy matchups, though. This is why... Read More

IDP Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 15

“I’m interested in (insert player name). What do you want for him? Get back to me ASAP!” It's a common fantasy inquiry most of us receive every year, especially in the last weeks before the trade deadline. People identify players you have that they want, and they tell you to make an offer, asking you... Read More

IDP Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 14

According to a study done in 2019 by Statista, Daily Fantasy Football generated $2.91 billion in revenue in 2019. A more recent article from Forbes estimates that 32 million Americans play fantasy football every year, spending an average of $70 billion on direct expenditures (tournament fees, dues, etc.) and indirect expenditures (tv packages, research, etc.)... Read More

IDP Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 13

Occasionally, there are injuries to the offensive side of the ball that are of particular note for IDP managers. For example, earlier this season, we gave a detailed account of Taylor Lewan's injury and the impact it would have on an already struggling Titans offensive line. As we predicted, since that time, Tennessee's pass blocking... Read More

IDP Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 12

We all know this week is a big one in America. It is the week to celebrate a break in our dietary restrictions and a liberation from the expectation that we work on Thursdays! It is the time when people ignore their gluten intolerance, shed their diabetic precautions, and our livers forgive our trespasses. That’s... Read More

IDP Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 11

We've discussed Shaquille Leonard a lot in this space, but with good reason. IDP has always struggled to find transcendent talents you can rely on every week, but Leonard was just that for three seasons. He was our no-doubt top overall defender for three straight offseasons as a result, with few players having the potential... Read More