Fantasy Football Rankings 2011: Strategy for Individual Defensive Players (IDP)

I'm on the side of the tracks where I'd rather pass on watching a receiver make a dazzling catch over the middle and watch a free safety annihilate a receiver trying to make a dazzling catch over the middle.

Which is where the excitement of fantasy football IDP leagues comes in.

If you have a fantasy draft coming up containing IDP positions, we have all the strategy and rankings you will need to come out of the draft on top.

FYI, this post is very long. I have broken it down into some main headlines: Standard Scoring Breakdown, IDP Commentary, IDP Overall Draft Strategy, IDP Position Draft Strategy, and IDP rankings.

If you just want the rankings, skip to the end.

Looking for how to draft, find it in the middle. Got it? Wonderful! 

Standard Scoring Breakdown

A basic breakdown is this: IDP scoring is very similar to the offensive scoring. Standard leagues will see a point for every tackle, half point for assisted tackles, two or three points for a sack, three points for fumbles (forced and recovered) and interceptions, and six points for defensive touchdowns. Simple.

A Little Commentary (Mostly for My Sake)

First off, a little commentary on the matter. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about IDP leagues. I like that you are giving attention to the defensive side of the ball. As mentioned above, everyone loves a good hit, and it's good that the public is learning the names of these guys through fantasy football. They deserve it as much or more than their offensive counterparts.

On the other hand, I think the fantasy IDP system still needs some work. Defensive backs are awarded a couple points for interceptions and a point for a tackle. This means that the big-name cornerbacks are actually the worst people to draft. They are so good at their position, no quarterback throws at them, which drastically hurts their fantasy football IDP stats.

Linebackers make the vast majority of their points through tackles. My argument here is that this position might actually be too consistent. Twenty-one linebackers had over 80 tackles last year, meaning that if your league allows you to start one linebacker, chances are that every single fantasy team in that league is going to get similar stats each week. Linebacker is nearly obsolete because you can expect the same statistics week in and week out.

Defensive linemen make a little more sense. You can have elite players here. You have your sack monsters and the run-stuffers. Again you run into a week-to-week consistency and all teams will have about the same stat line, but it is less blatant than at the linebacker position.

Basically, once a scoring system is in place to make IDP leagues more competitive and fair to the star cornerbacks, more people will likely catch on and start playing. That's not to say that drafting for IDP leagues is not difficult. It's extremely difficult. We all know that a game can be decided by a single point, so your draft is very important.

IDP Draft Overall Strategy

It is generally a wise decision to create a starting lineup first. As stated above, while there is a scoring gap between the top tier and second tier, it is not enough to justify taking a Patrick Willis in the first round. Also, throughout the year you will probably have more of a revolving door at IDP positions than you would at offensive ones as the waivers will be full of undrafted players who are scoring highly.

Just like in a regular draft when you wouldn't (with few exceptions) take a defense in the early middle rounds, in standard IDP leagues, you want to wait. Owners that take a defense too early often regret it when the year begins because of injuries to their starting offensive players or if one of your top guys turns out to be a bust. It's good to solidify a little depth before jumping into the defensive players.

When the time comes to select the defensive guys, you want to make sure that the first four you take include two linebackers, one defensive lineman and one defensive back. By setting this guideline you have more freedom to choose the best available player without worrying about which position to take when. As long as those four spots are filled, you are solid.

Here comes the tricky part. Often the pre-ranked defensive players that are made available to you by your fantasy football league service are skewed. It is not as thought out as the offensive side and they will generally focus more on who did well last year. Also, they will tend to have the guys that you don't want (Darrelle Revis, Nnamdi Asomugha) pretty high as well. There are plenty of sites where you can find well thought out IDP rankings. GodHatesLosers is one of them.

IDP Position Draft Strategy

Linebacker: Simply put, this is the position to go after. If your league doesn't have a defensive position breakdown and just allows for IDP players at any position, these are the guys you want. They get the most tackles, the sacks and will put up a number of forced and recovered fumbles with an interception or two.

Linebackers put up the most consistent numbers week in and week out. With the top guys, you can expect to get 10-12 points every single game. There is not a huge difference between the middle linebackers and the outside linebackers so don't worry too much about that. Treat the linebacker like you would the running back. When people start picking up defensive players, take a linebacker first and second.

Defensive Line: All you care about here should be sacks and tackles. Every season new players emerge at this position to make a huge fantasy football impact. You do have a top tier, but it would be wise to wait it out as you can find tons of sleepers in the later rounds.

Defensive Backs: Avoid the big-name cornerbacks. You are looking for the little guy when it comes to fantasy football corners. They may not be a top-paid back, but they are the ones getting thrown to meaning more tackles. A good bet is to look at the top scorers from last year and get ideas from those statistics.

Looking at defensive backs as a whole though, it's a smart move to go with safeties. They are far more consistent game-to-game than cornerbacks and produce higher tackle numbers while still contributing to interceptions and sacks. Playing it safe is a good call here and stick to safeties.

IDP Rankings

(Player Name, Fantasy Points Last Season)

Defensive Line

1. Justin Tuck, 89
2. Jared Allen, 84
3. Ndamukong Suh, 82
4. Trent Cole, 73
5. Terrell Suggs, 81
6. Robert Mathis, 69
7. Julius Peppers, 76
8. Mario Williams, 42
9. Charles Johnson, 77
10. James Hall, 87
11. John Abraham, 67
12. Justin Smith, 77
13. Osi Umenyiora, 86
14. James Hall, 87
15. Haloti Ngata, 57
16. Elvis Dumervil, 0 (due to injury, 88 in 2009)
17. Gerald McCoy, 34
18. Jason Babin, 75
19. Calais Campbell, 58
20. Israel Idonije, 58
21. Dwight Freeney, 56
22. Kyle Williams, 65
23. Kyle Vanden Bosch, 47
24. Glenn Dorsey, 55
25. Chris Long, 52

Linebackers

1. Jerod Mayo, 120
2. Patrick Willis, 119
3. James Laurinaitis, 108
4. Paul Posluszny, 107
5. Jon Beason, 102
6. Lawrence Timmons, 116
7. Curtis Lofton, 110
8. Clay Matthews, 97
9. Chad Greenway, 114
10. James Harrison, 117
11. Derrick Johnson, 113
12. Ray Lewis, 120
13. DeMarcus Ware, 93
14. Desmond Bishop, 91
15. Stephen Tulloch, 113
16. Rolando McClain, 64
17. Barrett Ruud, 101
18. D.J. Williams, 108
19. DeMeco Ryans, 34
20. Jonathan Vilma, 92
21. London Fletcher, 105
22. Brian Urlacher, 114
23. David Harris, 78
24. Bradie James, 91
25. Lance Briggs, 94

Defensive Backs

1. LaRon Landry, 75
2. Tyvon Branch, 96
3. Eric Berry, 106
4. T.J. Ward, 106
5. Bernard Pollard, 98
6. Roman Harper, 104
7. Eric Weddle, 95
8. Donte Whitner, 104
9. Charles Tillman, 100
10. Quintin Mikell, 100
11. Yeremiah Bell, 96
12. Patrick Chung, 90
13. Kerry Rhodes, 108
14. Troy Polamalu, 88
15. Charles Woodson, 109
16. Cortland Finnegan, 101
17. Oshiomogho Atogwe, 86
18. Adrian Wilson, 88
19. Michael Huff, 106
20. Brent Grimes, 96
21. Devin McCourty, 105
22. Antoine Winfield, 97
23. Joe Haden, 86
24. Dawan Landry, 97
25. Nick Collins, 81

Overall, if you are in an IDP league, have some fun with it. Chances are that after reading this you will have a head start on others in your league. Keep it simple. When in doubt, look to sack totals and rest assured that if you make some bad picks, there will be extra talent on the wire for you to pick up.

For expert one-on-one fantasy football advice and more articles like this one, including breakdowns on offensive position rankings, fantasy draft strategy, player profiles, fantasy football sleepers and busts, and much more, visit GodHatesLosers.blogspot.com. Incomparable Fantasy Info So You Stop Sucking.