Finger On The Pulse: Understanding The IDP Picture

By: Paul Hickey

July 31, 2008

Year in and year out, fantasy football owners that play in individual defensive player formats, are tempted to take high-priced linebackers in the mid-rounds of their drafts, to ensure some point production. This is not the smartest way to win an IDP league, however, and can be especially difficult for IDP beginners to grasp.

Let me help break this down for you. Before I get onto my soapbox about not drafting high priced defensive players (especially linebackers) early in drafts, it's important to draw some parallels that IDP newbies may understand right off the bat.

In short, defensive ends are like running backs - the good ones are few and far between. Many of them are not consistent at all, and many split time. There are literally only about five of them that are worthy of taking before round 12 in a 25-plus round IDP seasonal draft. Pause. Most leagues award big points for big plays, such as sacks, interceptions, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries. Usually, points awarded for these "game-changing" plays are more than the amount of points awarded for tackles. However, a defensive end, who can consistently pick up sacks, and tackles, is the ultimate secret weapon in fantasy football leagues that require starters at defensive line (which most IDP leagues do).

With that said, Houston's Mario Williams is our number one defensive player heading into 2008. He, along with Minnesota's Jared Allen, New York's Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora, Washington's Jason Taylor and Green Bay's Aaron Kampman, are the top individual defensive players in leagues that require starters at defensive line. Despite the fact that linebackers score more points, it's much easier to find a low-priced LB to plug in instead of paying an arm and a leg for a top flight middle linebacker like Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Jon Beason, David Harris or Brian Urlacher. Guys like Barrett Ruud, E.J. Henderson, Paul Posluszny, Jonathan Vilma and countless others all cost way less, and many sleepers emerge throughout the year.

So, if defensive ends are like the running backs of the defense, it's very safe to say that linebackers are like the quarterbacks of the defense. They are devalued because there are so many of them that are capable of racking up a solid amount of tackles on a weekly basis. If you miss on a top flight guy, you can find a guy like Demorrio Williams in 2005, Derrick Brooks in 2006 or Kirk Morrison in 2007, who can produce for you.

Even guys like Gary Brackett, Will Witherspoon, Angelo Crowell and Paris Lenon can keep your team competitive enough to win weekly match-ups, at 10 percent of the price of one of the flashy LBs.

Always load up on offensive players early, even when owners in your league start making runs on defense. That's your opportunity to solidify your team for the entire season. Take every quality offensive back-up and sleeper you can get your hands on in rounds 1-9, then take a premier DE or two before getting right back into the offensive picture, before rounding out your draft with LBs, and defensive backs - whom we haven't covered yet.

Most IDP leagues require that two defensive backs (either safeties or corners) are part of your starting line-up. While some are better than others, very few are consistently better than others. Given the fact that just about every year, seven out of the top 10 defensive backs emerge from the waiver wire, it's extremely risky to invest a high pick on a DB. Some will suggest taking safeties like Carolina's Chris Harris or Indy's Bob Sanders due to their higher tackle volume, while others will suggest snagging CBs with big play potential, like San Diego's Antonio Cromartie or New York Jets former first rounder Darrelle Revis. The bottom line is that you can pretty much choose any DB that you know will be on the field a significant amount. Guys like Minnesota's Antoine Winfield, Oakland's DeAngelo Hall and New York Giants safety Sammy Knight are always regurgitated via the waiver wire, while sleepers like Tennessee's Cortland Finnegan and Kansas City's Bernard Pollard will really emerge in 2008, as some do every year.

Not to demean IDPs in any way, but they're simply not as valuable as offensive players. Get your core offense first, then treat DEs like RBs, LBs like QBs and DBs like...well...kickers.

Paul Hickey is a regular contributor and consulting editor for Athlon/Grogan's Fantasy Football and operates the web site www.nooffseason.com, a 365-day resource for obsessive fantasy owners who eat, breathe and sleep fantasy football...While the site appeals to all fantasy heads, there is a special emphasis on dynasty formats and individual defensive player leagues.