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Fantasy Football IDP Rankings for 2023

Who Will Be the Top IDP Players This Season?

I’m glad you’re here.

Because that means you’re like me, that you want to play full fantasy football. Let the pretenders stop at offense and act like they’re serious players.

Knowing even just the top IDP players gives you a better understanding of football. It makes you pay attention to both sides of the game.

That said, even those who do play in IDP leagues don’t always give that side of the ball enough attention. And that’s why you’re here.

Make IDP Rankings Work for You

Good IDP rankings can still give you a serious advantage, even more so than the best offensive fantasy football rankings.

The right IDP rankings reveal IDP sleepers that your league mates won’t know about until it’s too late. They let you know where you can afford to wait without sacrificing upside. And they tell you when to jump on a top performer.

We should know. The Draft Sharks IDP rankings have twice won the industry’s top award for preseason accuracy.

Of course, IDP fantasy football settings vary widely by league. So rather than trust a single set of IDP rankings, you should customize your own cheat sheet.

If you’re new to IDP fantasy football, this article will explain all the basics and reveal some of the best IDP strategy.

Setting Up the IDP Rankings

These rankings will differ from what you’ll see on our rankings pages:

• IDP Rankings – DL
• IDP Rankings – LB
• IDP Rankings – DB

And it’s for a good reason: scoring system.

They vary wildly across IDP fantasy football leagues. And the smallest tweaks can mean big differences in player values.

That’s why I created a Draft War Room specifically for this article and tried several different setups to try to get the best set of rankings for this exercise. Here’s what I landed on:

• Solo tackle = 1.5 points
• Assist = 0.75
• Sack = 4
• INT = 4
• Fumble forced = 2
• Fumble recovered = 2
• Pass DEF (PD) = 1.5
• Tackle for Loss = 1

The number of starters by position will matter as well. I set three starters apiece at DL, LB, and DB – plus one flex – just to try to balance the rankings.

The IDP Rankings Will Surprise You

I’m always surprised by something when I create a Draft War Room after inputting my IDP projections for the coming season.

Why? Because the DWR knows how to value players against each other and across positions better than I do. That’s why I use it. (And why you should, too.)

This time, I was surprised by just how high the LBs run. That will differ some by scoring system. But unless you devalue tackle scoring vs. pressure stats well below the norm, then you’re likely to find the same in your War Room.

Why?

Well, we’re getting fewer full-time LBs in recent seasons. So the fantasy value runs out more quickly at the position than it used to.

Conversely, there are lots of strong DL options. Aidan Hutchinson and Brian Burns are a couple of hot names who didn’t even make the list of Top 15 D-linemen you’ll find below.

Add This Scoring Setting to Your League

I made sure to include tackles for loss in the scoring here for a couple of reasons.

1. It helped boost the DL group to a worthwhile range for these rankings.
2. It’s a high-value stat that goes overlooked in IDP leagues.

Your league includes regular tackle scoring, right? Well, we can agree that tackling a ball carrier behind the line is worth more than tackling him 10 yards downfield … right?

Of course. So let’s credit that and boost the players making the highest-value tackles.

In addition to the D-linemen, that stat altered the LB rankings. Panthers LB Frankie Luvu climbed quite a bit. His 19 TFL tied for second in the league last year, 11 spots ahead of the nearest off-ball LB.

Including TFL scoring caused Packers LBs Quay Walker and De’Vondre Campbell to flip ranking positions.

Below you’ll find the Top 50 combined IDPs by the scoring system above, as well as the Top 15 at DL, LB, and DB. What surprises you?

IDP Rankings: Top 50 Overall

1. Roquan Smith, Ravens (LB)
2. Foyesade Oluokun, Jaguars (LB)
3. Nick Bolton, Chiefs (LB)
4. T.J. Watt, Steelers (Edge)
5. C.J. Mosley, Jets (LB)
6. Derwin James, Chargers (S)
7. Frankie Luvu, Panthers (LB)
8. Nakobe Dean, Eagles (LB)
9. Alex Singleton, Broncos (LB)
10. *SLEEPER* Troy Andersen, Falcons (LB)
11. Jalen Pitre, Texans (S)
12. Shaquille Leonard, Colts (LB)
13. Bobby Wagner, Seahawks (LB)
14. Bobby Okereke, Giants (LB)
15. Micah Parsons, Cowboys (Edge)
16. Nick Bosa, 49ers (Edge)
17. Myles Garrett, Browns (Edge)
18. Cole Holcomb, Steelers (LB)
19. T.J. Edwards, Bears (LB)
20. Eric Kendricks, Chargers (LB)
21. De’Vondre Campbell, Packers (LB)
22. Danielle Hunter, Vikings (Edge)
23. Haason Reddick, Eagles (Edge)
24. *SLEEPER* Kyle Hamilton, Ravens (S)
25. Azeez Al-Shaair, Titans (LB)
26. Logan Wilson, Bengals (LB)
27. Maxx Crosby, Raiders (Edge)
28. Christian Wilkins, Dolphins (DT)
29. Josey Jewell, Broncos (LB)
30. Dre Greenlaw, 49ers (LB)
31. Quay Walker, Packers (LB)
32. Richie Grant, Falcons (S)
33. Jaquan Brisker, Bears (S)
34. Jordan Poyer, Bills (S)
35. Jeremy Chinn, Panthers (S)
36. Matt Judon, Patriots (Edge)
37. L’Jarius Sneed, Chiefs (CB)
38. Jamin Davis, Commanders (LB)
39. Cameron Heyward, Steelers (DL)
40. Alex Highsmith, Steelers (Edge)
41. Jack Campbell, Lions (LB)
42. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Steelers (S)
43. Divine Deablo, Raiders (LB)
44. Budda Baker, Cardinals (S)
45. Grant Delpit, Browns (S)
46. Antoine Winfield Jr., Buccaneers (S)
47. Aaron Donald, Rams (DE)
48. Zaire Franklin, Colts (LB)
49. Fred Warner, 49ers (LB)
50. Devin White, Buccaneers (LB)

Player Notes

New LBs

Nakobe Dean and Troy Andersen are set to take over starting jobs with their respective teams. Dean was wearing the green-dot helmet at Eagles spring practices. That generally shows us which LB is most likely to stay on the field in all personnel packages. More playing time obviously means more chances to score fantasy points. Dean barely played last year but was an instant and lasting contributor at Georgia.

Andersen is pretty freakin’ intriguing. The guy was Big Sky Conference freshman of the year as a running back. Then he moved to QB … and earned first-team all-conference honors with his rushing prowess there. Then he starred at LB, including 25.5 TFL and 15 passes defensed over his final two seasons.

Shaquille Leonard

The Colts star might well move up these rankings if we get a fully healthy summer. The nagging injuries of the past two years have been his only issue.

Kyle Hamilton

The former first-round pick played a limited role as a rookie, but he’s in for full playing time this season. Hamilton was a multi-category producer in college, including 8 INTs and 16 total passes defensed.

Top 15 Defensive Linemen

1. T.J. Watt, Steelers (Edge)
2. Micah Parsons, Cowboys (Edge)
3. Nick Bosa, 49ers (Edge)
4. Myles Garrett, Browns (Edge)
5. Danielle Hunter, Vikings (Edge)
6. Haason Reddick, Eagles (Edge)
7. Maxx Crosby, Raiders (Edge)
8. Christian Wilkins, Dolphins (DT)
9. Matt Judon, Patriots (Edge)
10. Cameron Heyward, Steelers (DL)
11. Alex Highsmith, Steelers (Edge)
12. Aaron Donald, Rams (DL)
13. Joey Bosa, Chargers (Edge)
14. Josh Allen, Jaguars (Edge)
15. Kayvon Thibodeaux, Giants (Edge)

Top 15 Linebackers

1. Roquan Smith, Ravens (LB)
2. Foyesade Oluokun, Jaguars (LB)
3. Nick Bolton, Chiefs (LB)
4. C.J. Mosley, Jets (LB)
5. Frankie Luvu, Panthers (LB)
6. Nakobe Dean, Eagles (LB)
7. Alex Singleton, Broncos (LB)
8. Troy Andersen, Falcons (LB)
9. Shaquille Leonard, Colts (LB)
10. Bobby Wagner, Seahawks (LB)
11. Bobby Okereke, Giants (LB)
12. Cole Holcomb, Steelers (LB)
13. T.J. Edwards, Bears (LB)
14. Eric Kendricks, Chargers (LB)
15. De’Vondre Campbell, Packers (LB)

Top 15 Defensive Backs

1. Derwin James, Chargers (S)
2. Jalen Pitre, Texans (S)
3. Kyle Hamilton, Ravens (S)
4. Richie Grant, Falcons (S)
5. Jaquan Brisker, Bears (S)
6. Jordan Poyer, Bills (S)
7. Jeremy Chinn, Panthers (S)
8. L’Jarius Sneed, Chiefs (CB)
9. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Steelers (S)
10. Budda Baker, Cardinals (S)
11. Grant Delpit, Browns (S)
12. Antoine Winfield Jr., Buccaneers (S)
13. Jalen Ramsey, Dolphins (CB)
14. Jayron Kearse, Cowboys (S)
15. Kenny Moore, Colts (CB)

How Do You Determine Player Value?

Pursue value above all else.

That's the lead principle in our fantasy football strategy. It's at the core of everything we do.

You might think "value" is nebulous, or open to interpretation. But we calculate it. For every player. And vary it by format.

That's what DMVP represents, and those player values power the Draft Sharks tools.

Learn more about DMVP in this short video ...

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.