IDP Fantasy Football Primer for 2026

One could argue that true ball-knowers play IDP. Imagine watching an NFL game and ignoring 11 of the 22 guys on the field. It wouldn't be you.

That's why you're here.

I've spent the last year building out a full IDP projection system from the ground up, covering all five defensive positions across all 32 teams. That work started as weekly tackle projections for our betting subscribers, and it's changed how I understand and watch football. Now I'm applying that same modeling to fantasy rankings and projections, and it's given me a much sharper view of where the value actually lies at each position heading into 2026.

Check out the brand-new 2026 IDP Projections here.

We'll have cheat sheets for draft day ready soon as well. Those will account for tiers and VONA (Value Over Next-Best Available), so you can execute when you're on the clock come draft day.

What's Different About This Year's Numbers?

I want to take a minute to talk about this because it's the reason I'm more confident in this year's rankings than anything I've put out before.

For a few years now, part of my job during the season has been to project tackles and assists weekly for our betting subscribers. That's a different discipline from which most fantasy rankings are built.

When you're setting a number for how many tackles a player is going to have on Sunday, you can't hide behind "he's a good player." You have to know how often he's actually on the field, what down and distance he sees, how his defense is schemed, how the opposing offense is likely to attack him, and how that specific stadium's scorekeeper tends to hand out tackles versus assists. Get any of that wrong, and the number is wrong, every week, in a way that shows up immediately.

This offseason, I took that entire process and built it out into a full season-long system covering every meaningful player at all five defensive positions, across all 32 teams, over a thousand players deep.

The core idea is simple, even though the machinery behind it isn't. The sportsbook markets play a role here, too. Having spent years pricing props against real money, I use that same market information as a gut check on the fantasy projections, so the numbers aren't just my own opinion dressed up as a model.

On top of the raw projections, I've layered on a market comparison piece. I'm tracking where ADP currently has each player versus where my model has him, so I can flag actual value, not just vibes about who "feels" underrated. When you see me point to a specific player as a value later in this piece, that's coming from a real gap between what the market is paying and what my numbers say he's worth, plus a read on how much you actually lose by waiting another round to get him.

None of this stays frozen on draft day, either. The same engine updates weekly all season, matchup by matchup, so the rankings and the tools built on top of them keep working long after your draft is over.

I've built rankings before. I haven't built anything like this before. If you put in the time with these tools this year, I think the edge you get relative to anything else out there, on 4for4 or otherwise, is going to be the biggest gap I've ever been able to hand you.

That edge will carry over to the betting side, too, so upgrade your subscription to our betting tier if you haven't already.

But what if you're new? How Does One "IDP"??

That's a great question. The more I've researched this over the years, the more I've realized there's no consensus way to play IDP fantasy. There are no standard roster requirements and no standard scoring system.

That makes catering advice to you, the reader, a bit challenging, but it's also a great thing since playing fantasy with an IDP element is completely customizable.

If you're in a long-time home league that feels a bit stale, IDP is a great wrinkle to add to spice things up.

If you're looking to start a new keeper or dynasty league, add IDP spots!

Expand your knowledge of the game and change how you watch it.

Because you will watch the game in an entirely new way, and it'll help you be a better offensive fantasy player along the way.

If you're just getting started, there are a few key points to consider when determining how to get into an IDP league or how best to apply my advice to your specific league.

Lineup Requirements

How 'in the weeds' do you and your leaguemates want to get? Regardless of the answer to that question, make sure you're crystal clear on your league's settings so you're prepared to draft.

At the most basic level, IDP began with three positions: Defensive Line (DL), Linebacker (LB), and Defensive Back (DB)

If you're looking to just dip your toes into the IDP pool, start here. Set your league up to require one of each, and if you're feeling crazy, allow for a FLEX or two like you would in an offense-only league.

But are you BASIC??

You're a 4for4 subscriber, so you're likely more advanced and more knowledgeable than most. There are two ways to expand on this basic setup.

The first would be to require more starters for each of the three positions, bringing a deeper pool of players into the fold.

The other would be to break up defensive linemen and defensive backs into more specific positional requirements that better reflect their positions.

Defensive Tackle/Interior Defensive Linemen

Defensive End/EDGE

Linebacker

Cornerback

Safety

IDP Stats and Scoring Options

The most common stats used are:

• Tackles
• Sacks
• Pass Breakups
• Interceptions
• Forced Fumbles
• Fumble Recoveries
• Touchdowns

How are they scored? Well, that depends on your league's scoring format.

Tackles

Tackles can be broken down into solo tackles, assists, or combined as total tackles, which include both solo tackles and assists. The determination of these tackle categories is made by the official scorer at the stadium where the game is taking place.

It is worth noting that different scorekeepers have different tendencies in how they award tackles, and we actively exploit this when betting on tackle performance week to week.

In certain scoring formats, tackles for loss are even more valuable, as they include every tackle a defensive player makes behind the opponent's line of scrimmage, including sacks.

Sacks

Like tackles, sacks are awarded at the mercy of the stadium scorekeeper and can be solo or split between two players. More advanced IDP formats incorporate quarterback hits, hurries, and pressures. I'm all for it, as it provides a better representation of a player's impact than the binary yes/no outcome of a sack.

Pass Breakups

You'll see this as "pass defended" in some places, but it's pretty straightforward. When a player in coverage defends a pass and knocks it away, preventing it from being completed, it's ruled a pass breakup (PBU). Just like sacks can also be tackles for loss and a quarterback hit, interceptions are typically scored as both an interception AND a PBU.

Fumbles

I believe forced fumbles should be worth more fantasy points than fumble recoveries, but you can take that up with your commissioner. Forced fumbles should also count, regardless of whether or not the defensive team recovers them.

Touchdowns

Another pretty straightforward one. This should be a 6-point play for any defensive score. What about special teams touchdowns? It's a great question and one that you and your leaguemates should discuss before starting your IDP league.

What Scoring System Should I Use?

Perhaps we'll evolve to a universally accepted standard scoring over time, but in the meantime, let's explore what's currently out there.

The most important piece of advice is the most obvious: understand your league's scoring system before you draft. Because there are more variations than your standard PPR, half-PPR, or standard options on the offensive side, it's important to take a moment to understand what your league is doing before you're on the clock.

Balanced Scoring

Defensive linemen (DL), particularly EDGE rushers, are the priority in balanced scoring, but the entire design is to flatten scoring across positions. Keep an eye out for platforms that classify EDGE rushers like T.J. Watt as both DL and LB, as this provides more flexibility for your roster and is a positive feature. We're seeing more platforms move to 'True Position' as it pertains to positional eligibility, which is ideal.

Ideally, your league's balanced scoring settings would adjust for position. Tackle rates and interception opportunities are not created equally, so let's not score them that way! And let's use more positions, too!

Most leagues are broken down into DL, LB, and DB, but I'm of the belief that if you're prepared, you're more likely to benefit from your leaguemates having to make more decisions.(And let's be honest, you're reading this IDP Primer, so you're actively trying to prepare.) Breaking up defensive linemen into defensive tackles (DT) and defensive ends/EDGE rushers (DE) is ideal. The same applies to defensive backs, as the way cornerbacks (CBs) and safeties (S) score fantasy points can vary significantly.

Tackle-Heavy Scoring

If it were up to me, some iteration of tackle-heavy scoring would be the universal scoring format. I'm biased, but tackling is the most bankable skill that a defensive player can show as it relates to fantasy points. Elite EDGE rushers can collapse the pocket and put pressure on the quarterback at an elite rate, but unless they get the quarterback to the ground, that snap is likely a zero in the fantasy point column. Don't get me wrong, pressures are important, just like quarterbacks avoiding sacks are important, but this is fantasy football, and we're an end-game business.

In a tackle-heavy format, linebackers are king. With sub-packages like dime and nickel becoming more and more common, there are fewer linebackers on the field than ever before. Traditional 4-3 fronts with three linebackers are basically extinct, even on early downs, and the number of true every-down linebackers keeps shrinking, even if the year-over-year drop isn't always as steep as it looks. That's exactly why my model treats snap share as the single most important lever at the position.

Think of these alpha linebackers like you would workhorse running backs a decade ago. Whether it's offense or defense, nothing matters more in fantasy than opportunities, and it doesn't require a lot of mental gymnastics to realize that linebackers who rarely come off the field are extremely valuable. Everydown players like Fred Warner (SF), Jack Campbell (DET), and Cedric Gray (TEN) sit at the top of my board this year because they can fill up the stat sheet and rarely, if ever, come off the field.

The increase in sub-packages changes the calculus of other positions as well. With more defensive backs on the field, certain styles of defense lean heavily on defensive backs, particularly safeties, who can play near the line of scrimmage and drop in coverage when needed. If a defensive unit overplays its hand pre-snap, smart offensive coordinators and quarterbacks will often audible out of a disadvantageous look. We also see a number of teams play Cover-1 or single-high safety looks, with the free safety back in coverage and the strong safety in a more traditional linebacker spot pre- and post-snap.

Box safeties who play hybrid roles for their teams get closer to the line of scrimmage, which increases their opportunities for tackles and overall disruption, which leads to fantasy points. Projecting some of the other stats that tend to be more defensive back-focused, like interceptions and touchdowns, is a fruitless labor year-to-year, which is why you see so much turnover in defensive back rankings from one year to the next.

Big Play Scoring

You'll see this referred to as Impact, Big Play, or Splash Play Scoring. Big3 scoring is a popular variation of this as well, and it powers the site's rankings. In this format, elite linebackers are devalued a bit, as the scoring is designed to bring EDGE rushers and defensive backs closer to the median output of your high-volume tacklers by raising the impact of sacks and interceptions. I like the idea of valuing sacks, forced fumbles, and pass breakups in a way that reflects their impact on a game, but there's a lot of variance here, and that's a lot less appealing to me.

Finding what works for you and your leaguemates is what's important, though, and the ability to customize scoring is another example of why IDP is such a great addition to the fantasy game. In any iteration of this scoring format, the elite EDGE rushers are king. In the same way that a 60-yard touchdown gets rewarded three times in a PPR league, with points for the catch, yards, and score, a sack can also earn you points for a quarterback hit and a tackle for loss in some versions of Big Play Scoring.

Off-ball linebackers who get tasked with rushing the quarterback more than your standard off-ball linebacker get a boost in this format. Interior defensive linemen are also more valuable here, since pocket-collapsers who rack up a higher-than-average rate of tackles for loss get paid twice for the same play.

This is the best scoring format for elite cornerbacks, but it's still not a position I'd focus on. In fact, if your league only requires you to fill a defensive back position instead of being broken up into cornerback and safety, I'd consider avoiding cornerback altogether. Elite coverage corners are often avoided by opposing quarterbacks, which creates far fewer opportunities for them to make splash plays in this scoring format. The best corners in the league simply have far fewer chances to break up and pick off passes because of how fantastic they are in coverage.

Draft Strategy

The main question for folks new to the IDP space is how to incorporate defensive players into your draft strategy. Without knowing your league settings, I'd still go into a redraft league prioritizing offense. We all know that traditional home leagues have a lot more variance than industry mock drafts and best ball ADP shows, so come prepared with positional rankings and tiers you trust. Taking the first IDP player is a game of chicken, and it's not uncommon to see a run once the floodgates open, so tiers will help you determine whether or not to jump into the IDP run or let it pass. Personally, I'm not looking to jump into the IDP player pool until the middle rounds or until the players in my top tiers are flying off the board, whichever comes first.

Here are a few broad general rules that I think can be helpful:

If you're drafting the basic three positions (DL, LB, and DB), you can likely avoid most perimeter cornerbacks and any interior DL outside the top five or six, and you should prioritize EDGE rushers. Make that DL a DE/EDGE, and your defensive back should be a safety or a nickel cornerback in most leagues.

Elite EDGE rushers and every-down linebackers rule the day, regardless of the scoring landscape you're facing.

Fill your defensive back requirement with a safety, ideally a strong safety who plays in the box rather than a free safety, who's often the furthest defender from the ball when it's snapped.

If you break up the positional requirements to include interior defensive linemen and cornerbacks, prioritize them in that order and behind the other three positions (EDGE, LB, and S). There are a few interior defensive linemen who are true difference-makers, but if you don't get one, you can punt on the position and draft one late.

Employ that same strategy with cornerbacks. If you can't get one of the top options like Devon Witherspoon or Kamari Lassiter, treat it like the kicker position and draft one at the very end of your draft. You can, and likely should, stream these positions.

Positional Targets

Give me some names, Noonan! Who should I be drafting?!?!

Elite EDGE is still the class of the player pool. My board is fronted by Myles Garrett, now in Los Angeles with the Rams, along with Maxx Crosby, Brian Burns, Aidan Hutchinson coming back healthy, and Will Anderson Jr. That's the tier I'm building a roster around if I get the chance, because sack production at the top of the position is skill-driven and there's a real cliff once you get past it.

Behind them, the every-down linebacker tier is deeper than people think and consistently underpriced relative to what it produces.

Detroit linebacker Jack Campbell spearheads that group, followed by friend of the program, Cleveland's Carson Schwesinger, and elite per-snap tackle producers, Jordyn Brooks (MIA) and Cedric Gray (TEN).

At defensive tackle, Jeffrey Simmons (TEN) and DeForest Buckner (IND) are the two true difference-makers who combine real pass rush with a heavy tackle floor. After that tier, I'm comfortable punting the position and streaming matchups, same as I'd treat a cornerback.

At safety and cornerback, I want box safeties and slot corners over perimeter corners every time. Guys who play closer to the line of scrimmage rack up tackles at a rate that boundary corners simply can't match, no matter how good they are in coverage. If your league forces you to roster one, wait and let the tackle volume come to you. Second-year Swiss Army Knife Nick Emmanwori (SEA) is the top cornerback on the board and a worthy early reach if you want to start a run at the position.

A Few Other Names to Target

I'll have more on this in the coming weeks, but you deserve a few names for sticking around this long.

DeMarvion Overshown (LB, DAL) is the one. He's going as a fringe LB2/3 type in most rooms, but my model has him producing like a top-tier option if projecting a full-time role, and the drop-off behind him at the position is the steepest of anyone outside the top tiers. If he's still sitting there in the middle rounds, take him. Divisional foe, Jihaad Campbell (PHI), is also set up to emerge this season, with a clear role and path to playing time now that Nakobe Dean (LV) left in free agency.

At defensive tackle, Jalen Redmond (MIN) is the value play at a position I'm otherwise telling you to punt. The market has him priced like a depth piece. My numbers have him closer to a low-end starter with real sack juice mixed in, which is rare for a guy going this late.

Rookie linebacker CJ Allen (LB, IND) sits atop a shallow depth chart in Indianapolis and is likely the signal-caller for that unit. Less of a screaming market inefficiency than Overshown or Redmond, more a "don't be the one who lets him slide."

YaYa Diaby (TB) and Odafe Oweh (WAS) are both showing value at a position where I normally tell you to pay full price. Diaby's going outside the top 25 EDGE options, and my model has him solidly inside it. Oweh signed with the Commanders this offseason after a strong finish to the 2025 season. His arrow is pointing up.

At defensive back, where I'm normally steering you toward streaming, two names stand out because they're not costing you anything on draft boards at all right now.

Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (S, ARZ) grades out well as a replacement for Jalen Thompson (DAL) in Arizona, with tackle volume that would be plenty to start in most leagues.

At corner, Cooper DeJean should offer roster flexibility this year because he'll likely play some snaps at safety in base looks after playing primarily in the slot last season.

I'll have full cheat sheets and tiers out over the next few weeks. For now, know this: prioritize elite DL early, treat linebacker as a value position with real depth, and draft your defensive backs late.