The Only IDP Playoff Fantasy Rankings You Need to Survive

Can Your Defense Win a Championship?

So, who’s gonna win this year’s Super Bowl?

That question represents the biggest difference between playoff fantasy football and the regular-season version. Usually, we’re focused on collecting the best roster of players. But now a modest performer who gets three or four games could blow away the score of a one-game stud.

The playoff IDP rankings below combine player quality and team expectation. But you also don’t need to make every pick fit your pre-determined playoff expectations.

Sometimes grabbing a strong player who gets just two games -- or even one big one -- will help you more than reaching for a schlub on a 1-seed. And there will almost always be surprise teams.

Consider hedging your playoff choices -- when and where it makes sense -- by selecting a high-level IDP overlooked because of his unexciting team.

Top 50 NFL Playoff IDP Rankings

Keep in mind that formats will vary widely. These rankings assume a fairly balanced scoring approach. You might need to refer primarily to the positional rankings below, though.

LBs lead the list here because the quality drops off much more quickly at that spot than the others.

1. Ernest Jones, LB, Seattle Seahawks

2. Nate Landman, LB, Los Angeles Rams

3. Foyesade Oluokun, LB, Jacksonville Jaguars

4. Zack Baun, LB, Philadelphia Eagles

5. Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Chicago Bears

6. Will Anderson, Edge, Houston Texans

7. Danielle Hunter, Edge, Houston Texans

8. Byron Young, Edge, Los Angeles Rams

9. Nik Bonitto, Edge, Denver Broncos

10. Jared Verse, Edge, Los Angeles Rams

11. Quay Walker, LB, Green Bay Packers

12. Kamren Curl, S, Los Angeles Rams

13. Quentin Lake, S, Los Angeles Rams

14. Nick Emmanwori, S, Seattle Seahawks

15. Kamari Lassiter, CB, Houston Texans

16. Cooper DeJean, CB, Philadelphia Eagles

17. Julian Love, S, Seattle Seahawks

18. Montez Sweat, Edge, Chicago Bears

19. Josh Hines-Allen, Edge, Jacksonville Jaguars

20. Jalyx Hunt, Edge, Philadelphia Eagles

21. Robert Spillane, LB, New England Patriots

22. Nakobe Dean, LB, Philadelphia Eagles

23. Devin Lloyd, LB, Jacksonville Jaguars

24. Alex Singleton, LB, Denver Broncos

25. Kevin Byard, S, Chicago Bears

26. Jalen Pitre, DB, Houston Texans

27. Talanoa Hufanga, S, Denver Broncos

28. Azeez Al-Shaair, LB, Houston Texans

29. Terrel Bernard, LB, Buffalo Bills

30. T.J. Edwards, LB, Chicago Bears

31. Edgerrin Cooper, LB, Green Bay Packers

32. Drake Thomas, LB, Seattle Seahawks

33. Tuli Tuipulotu, Edge, Los Angeles Chargers

34. T.J. Watt, Edge, Pittsburgh Steelers

35. Leonard Williams, DL, Seattle Seahawks

36. Jaelan Phillips, Edge, Philadelphia Eagles

37. Demarcus Lawrence, Edge Seattle Seahawks

38. Jordan Davis, DT, Philadelphia Eagles

39. Jalen Carter, DT, Philadelphia Eagles

40. Austin Booker, Edge, Chicago Bears

41. Kobie Turner, DT, Los Angeles Rams

42. Byron Murphy, DT, Seattle Seahawks

43. Jonathon Cooper, Edge, Denver Broncos

44. Zach Allen, DT, Denver Broncos

45. Nahshon Wright, CB, Chicago Bears

46. Devon Witherspoon, CB, Seattle Seahawks

47. Riley Moss, CB, Denver Broncos

48. Kamren Kinchens, S, Los Angeles Rams

49. Reed Blankenship, S, Philadelphia Eagles

50. Xavier McKinney, S, Green Bay Packers

Note: Players in bold italics (throughout these lists) carry injury questions. If you need to draft your team before we get any injury updates on Patriots LB Robert Spillane, for example, you might want to move him further down.

NFL Playoff DL Rankings

1. Will Anderson, Edge, Houston Texans

2. Danielle Hunter, Edge, Houston Texans

3. Byron Young, Edge, Los Angeles Rams

4. Nik Bonitto, Edge, Denver Broncos

5. Jared Verse, Edge, Los Angeles Rams

6. Montez Sweat, Edge, Chicago Bears

7. Josh Hines-Allen, Edge, Jacksonville Jaguars

8. Jalyx Hunt, Edge, Philadelphia Eagles

9. Tuli Tuipulotu, Edge, Los Angeles Chargers

10. T.J. Watt, Edge, Pittsburgh Steelers

11. Leonard Williams, DL, Seattle Seahawks

12. Jaelan Phillips, Edge, Philadelphia Eagles

13. Demarcus Lawrence, Edge Seattle Seahawks

14. Jordan Davis, DT, Philadelphia Eagles

15. Jalen Carter, DT, Philadelphia Eagles

16. Austin Booker, Edge, Chicago Bears

17. Kobie Turner, DT, Los Angeles Rams

18. Byron Murphy, DT, Seattle Seahawks

19. Jonathon Cooper, Edge, Denver Broncos

20. Zach Allen, DT, Denver Broncos

21. Greg Rousseau, Edge, Buffalo Bills

22. Joey Bosa, Edge, Buffalo Bills

23. Uchenna Nwosu, Edge, Seattle Seahawks

24. Derrick Brown, DT, Carolina Panthers

25. Travon Walker, Edge, Jacksonville Jaguars

26. Alex Highsmith, Edge, Pittsburgh Steelers

27. Cameron Heyward, DL, Pittsburgh Steelers

28. Harold Landry, Edge, New England Patriots

29. K’Lavon Chaisson, Edge, New England Patriots

30. Khalil Mack, Edge, Los Angeles Chargers

NFL Playoff LB Rankings

1. Ernest Jones, LB, Seattle Seahawks

2. Nate Landman, LB, Los Angeles Rams

3. Foyesade Oluokun, LB, Jacksonville Jaguars

4. Zack Baun, LB, Philadelphia Eagles

5. Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Chicago Bears

6. Quay Walker, LB, Green Bay Packers

7. Robert Spillane, LB, New England Patriots

8. Nakobe Dean, LB, Philadelphia Eagles

9. Devin Lloyd, LB, Jacksonville Jaguars

10. Alex Singleton, LB, Denver Broncos

11. Azeez Al-Shaair, LB, Houston Texans

12. Terrel Bernard, LB, Buffalo Bills

13. T.J. Edwards, LB, Chicago Bears

14. Edgerrin Cooper, LB, Green Bay Packers

15. Drake Thomas, LB, Seattle Seahawks

16. Patrick Queen, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers

17. Daiyan Henley, LB, Los Angeles Chargers

18. Matt Milano, LB, Buffalo Bills

19. Christian Rozeboom, LB, Carolina Panthers

20. Dre Greenlaw, LB, Denver Broncos

21. Henry To’oTo’o, LB, Houston Texans

22. Denzel Perryman, LB, Los Angeles Chargers

23. Jack Gibbens, LB, New England Patriots

24. Omar Speights, LB, Los Angeles Rams

Where are the 49ers?

If you’re playing in a league deep enough that you need to reach beyond this level, then you’ll be grasping at a group with more questions than upside.

You might have noticed no 49ers LB appearing above. That’s because HC Kyle Shanahan said that both Tatum Bethune and Dee Winters came out of Week 18 with injuries that might cost them the playoff opener. And even if Bethune is ready and the Niners win, Fred Warner has a shot to return later in the playoffs.

In case you do just need a prayer pick, Garret Wallow and Eric Kendricks wound up leading San Francisco LBs in playing time in the regular-season finale.

NFL Playoff DB Rankings

1. Kamren Curl, S, Los Angeles Rams

2. Quentin Lake, S, Los Angeles Rams

3. Nick Emmanwori, S, Seattle Seahawks

4. Kamari Lassiter, CB, Houston Texans

5. Cooper DeJean, CB, Philadelphia Eagles

6. Julian Love, S, Seattle Seahawks

7. Kevin Byard, S, Chicago Bears

8. Jalen Pitre, DB, Houston Texans

9. Talanoa Hufanga, S, Denver Broncos

10. Nahshon Wright, CB, Chicago Bears

11. Devon Witherspoon, CB, Seattle Seahawks

12. Riley Moss, CB, Denver Broncos

13. Kamren Kinchens, S, Los Angeles Rams

14. Reed Blankenship, S, Philadelphia Eagles

15. Xavier McKinney, S, Green Bay Packers

16. Derwin James, S, Los Angeles Chargers

17. Jaquan Brisker, S, Chicago Bears

18. Tre’von Moehrig, S, Carolina Panthers

19. Marcus Jones, CB, New England Patriots

20. Jaylinn Hawkins, S, New England Patriots

21. Coby Bryant, S, Seattle Seahawks

22. Cole Bishop, S, Buffalo Bills

23. Antonio Johnson, S, Jacksonville Jaguars

24. Evan Williams, S, Green Bay Packers

25. Christian Benford, CB, Buffalo Bills

26. Malik Mustapha, S, San Francisco 49ers

27. Jalen Ramsey, DB, Pittsburgh Steelers

28. Brandon Jones, S, Denver Broncos (on IR)

29. Christian Gonzalez, CB, New England Patriots

Update: C.J. Gardner-Johnson OUT

The Bears have ruled their slot man out for Saturday's opener with a concussion. That basically knocks him out of roster consideration, as far as I'm concerned. The Bears head toward the weekend as slight underdogs and might get original slot CB Kyler Gordon back from his injury.

Beware of the Joneses

Broncos S Brandon Jones doesn’t just carry an injury that needs watching. He’ll remain on IR through at least Denver’s first playoff game, with a pectoral issue. Add that to a first-round bye, and he’s probably not worth your time.

Patriots CB Marcus Jones could be. He sports as much big-play ability as just about any DB on the list. But the playing time for the slot man can be highly unpredictable.

I actually started him even lower in these rankings after three straight games of sub-40% snap shares. But I think that was more bad matchup luck than a decreased role. The past three weeks featured (in reverse order):

• the diminished Dolphins
• the Jets
• and the Ravens (with Lamar Jackson leaving early).

Opening with the Chargers should mean a better spot, as would Round 2 matchups with either the Jaguars or Texans.

Next Up

NFL Playoff Fantasy Rankings: Best Players to Draft for Postseason Contests

Next Article  

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.