Fantasy Football Mock Draft: One-Man IDP Mock with Individual Defensive Players (2025)

Chris' 2025 fantasy football mock draft for fantasy football IDP drafts with individual defensive players. His fantasy football draft strategies and tips.

While many spend their entire spring and summer preparing for the NFL Draft and their dynasty rookie or startup drafts, August is firmly redraft territory. This is the season where veteran values match those of youthful sprites, if the older players don't exceed them. It's also the time for us to get together with friends and conduct our "home league" drafts.

Home leagues are filled with old friends from high school, work buddies, and family members. These are the leagues where varying levels of commitment and interest may be found; when your uncle may not know any rookies, but your best friend since middle school watched every college game last year. So, the skill levels and habits of members can vary.

With this in mind, every year RotoBaller has me conduct my annual "One Man, Multiple Personalities" IDP mock. In this mock, you will see where you should expect both offensive and defensive players to be drafted this year, while factoring in the various tendencies and habits of "non-experts" whom you might draft with at home. Be sure to also check out our updated IDP fantasy football rankings.

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
• Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
• Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
• FLEX fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

The IDP Mock Draft Personalities

For our purposes, the personalities/teams I will adopt are as follows….

1. The Steady Eddies - Steady Eddies will usually draft safe known entities over rookies or risky players, because they fear risk… or just don’t know the rookies very well;
2. The Mavericks - Mavericks aren’t afraid of injured players, and they don't pay much attention to roster needs. They draft “their guys” regardless of position or value;
3. The Hype Trains - These ‘hype’ oriented managers are the managers who overreact to big news or a couple of preseason games;
4. Zero RB 4 Life - Those who utilize the ‘Zero RB’ strategy will wait to draft a running back until round five or later, preferring to load up on talent at other positions;
5. The Best Players Available - This team will traditionally draft the best player on their board, regardless of position;
6. Half-Back 2 Da Future - This team utilizes a heavy running back style of drafting;
7. The Basic Bs - Basic drafters are the types who don’t pay super close attention to the offseason, instead choosing to draft big names and people who date Taylor Swift;
8. The Wild Cards - A Wild Card manager, like the Mavericks, will often ignore handcuff options or safe players and instead gravitate towards high-ceiling risks;
9. Jack Reacher - Jack Reacher will reach our players… duh;
10. The Trend Setters - This team likes to start the runs on positions like QB and TE, valuing the ability to “win positions” instead of chasing higher scoring receivers;
11. Voodoo Veterans - This team is like the Basic Bs, but by choice. They know the rookies and the hot names, but will often ignore them for safe veterans;
12. Chalk Blockers - This team will stick closely to their app’s ADP (average draft position) and rarely deviate from an app's recommendation for who to pick.

Fantasy Football League Rules

With that covered, it's also important for you to understand that we will be mocking/drafting in the most common and shallow IDP formats here. The league rules we will be using are as follows….

1. This league will start one DL, one LB, one DB, and one IDP Flex;
2. Our IDP scoring for this mock consists of the following:
   1. 1 point per solo tackle
   2. ½-point for a half-tackle
   3. 3 points for sacks
   4. 2 points for safeties/PDs/FR, and
   5. 4- points for forced turnovers (i.e., INTs and FFs).
3. This will be a redraft format, not dynasty;
4. This league will start 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, 1Flex, with five Flex spots.

If you've made it through that explanation, we can finally get on to the fun stuff! So, without further ado, let's get to the picks!

Rounds 1 and 2 - IDP Mock Draft

Travis Hunter’s IDP Value Depends on Format/Website:

Hunter’s value is muted in Premium IDP Scoring leagues. This is because Premium Scoring purposefully juices rewards for INTs, sacks, and tackles so that defenders score as much as offensive stars. In that format, Hunter should just be treated as a WR and not a defensive cheat code.

Rookies You NEED to DRAFT for Every Round of Fantasy Football

R1: Ashton Jeanty
R3: Omarion Hampton
R4: Tetairoa/TreVeyon
R5: Travis Hunter 👀
R6: RJ Harvey
R7: Kaleb Johnson
R8: Egbuka/Warren
R9: Colston Loveland
R10: Jayden Higgins
R11: Burden/Wardpic.twitter.com/HRnrftWjtj https://t.co/eAGMxReevA

— Dynasty Dad (@DynastyDadFF) August 9, 2025

On fantasy apps where Hunter cannot be used as a DB, or in leagues that won’t allow him to accrue offensive points when he is in your DB slot, his IDP value is also muted. Those leagues are specifically set up so Hunter cannot break the mold. Thus, you should treat him like a WR prospect and not a defensive star in those formats/apps.

However, Hunter is an absolute cheat code in Standard IDP Scoring leagues that allow him to accrue offensive points from the DB spot. In those formats, Hunter projects to outscore all other DBs by at least 159%. In those leagues, playing a WR in your DB slot is a massive advantage that merits a top 20 selection in redrafts.

You Should Wait on QB Again:

Josh Allen has finished top-two at the QB position in fantasy ppg and total points for five years straight, so it makes sense he's the top one drafted. Unfortunately, the top quarterback drafted (per FantasyPros ADP) has failed to finish as QB1 overall for 12 straight seasons, and the gap from QB2 to QB8 is 2.4 ppg.

While Allen is the picture of consistency, history suggests he is unlikely to finish as QB1 overall. If he finishes as QB2 or lower, then the likely advantage you get taking him at 22^nd overall (his current ADP) over Bo Nix at 77^th overall is a mere 2.4 ppg. Are 2.4 points worth passing on Drake London or Chase Brown to sew up Allen in the second?

Making a Mountain into a Hill:

Tyreek Hill had an uncharacteristically bad season in 2024, aided by injuries to his wrist and his quarterback. Most analysts blame his decline entirely on the injuries, which is why his ADP and rankings are still so high. However, there are reasons for concern beyond his nagging wrist and Tua’s concussions.

One of those reasons is his age, as Hill turned 31 this spring, and that is an age where many receivers lose a step. While Hill may still be fast, the human body is not immune to dwindling health and a gradual loss of skills. We may have seen that decline last year… or maybe he's healthy and the reports of his conflicts with teammates are to blame?

Worse for Hill, the offense seemed to trend conservative after Tua returned from injury last year. That resulted in a decline in deep passes, which are Hill’s bread and butter. That conservative offense could get worse with Terron Armstead now retired, since Miami’s front office failed to replace their best offensive lineman this offseason.

Rounds 3-5 - IDP Mock Draft

Risky Rice:

By setting Rice’s disciplinary hearing for the middle of the season, the NFL has injected even more doubt into his 2025 projections. While it's possible Rice and the NFL could negotiate a compromise before the season and negate the need for the hearing at all, we could also see the judge level an eight-game mid-season suspension.

Don’t shy away from drafting Rashee Rice because you’re afraid of him missing a few games with a suspension.

WR1 for Patrick Mahomes. It doesn’t get better than that‼️

When healthy for week 1-3 last year, he was the WR2 overall while averaging 22.8 FPPG
pic.twitter.com/FLH4aUWYEj

— PPRFantasyTips (@PPRFantasyTips) August 12, 2025

Were Rice’s suspension known and set to start in Week 1, then drafting him would be easy. Bye-weeks do not start until Week 5, so you would have a full and mostly healthy roster to replace Rice if he misses time early on. However, a mid-season suspension would mean injuries and byes could decimate your ability to replace him on the fly.

Of course, Rice's upside when he is on the field makes it hard to fade him too hard, even with the lingering suspension. Before his injury last year, Rice was on pace to finish as WR2 in fantasy ppg. Better yet, he was on pace to be WR6 overall during his final 14 games (2023-2024), and camp reports indicate he is still Patrick Mahomes' top target.

Overall, analysts dropping Rice into the eighth round because of the suspension drama are overreacting. There’s no way James Conner, who misses games every year, should go three rounds ahead of Rice. However, there will be some in your home leagues who don’t pay attention or like the risk and take him in the top 50 picks, which is too high.

Rounds 6-9 - IDP Mock Draft

Judging Judkins:

The range of outcomes for Quinshon Judkins is massive, considering he missed all of training camp, and he has yet to sign his contract. This has led to Judkins’ ADP dipping to 88^th overall, and there are real concerns over whether Cleveland will even sign him before the NFL finishes its investigation.

However, Judkins was a highly touted prospect and the third running back drafted in this year’s NFL Draft for a reason. The Browns spent big on the Ohio State alum with plans on making him their lead back. The potential of that happening by Week 9, just in time for a fantasy playoff push, makes the rookie worthy of an eighth-round flyer.

Quinshon Judkins will not face any charges and is free to sign with the Cleveland Browns.

Judkins was the 3rd RB drafted in a historically strong class. What round are you taking him in drafts now?

pic.twitter.com/9DRFvzFe3Y

— PlayerProfiler (@rotounderworld) August 15, 2025

Defenders Start to Go:

The first “true” defender off of most boards will likely be T.J. Watt, whose name value and reliable history of fantasy production still have him atop the minds of most casual IDP managers. However, Watt's dominance at the position dipped with his age last year, and he is no longer worth taking this far ahead of the pack.

You can afford to wait on defenders not named “Travis Hunter” this year. The difference between Watt and other pass rushers is more likely to shrink than it is to grow, making him a fine fantasy asset who won’t offer the same positional advantage he used to.

Steady Veterans are Perfect for Zero RB:

As of this writing, Joe Mixon is still struggling with an injury and is unavailable for the Texans. However, reports suggest he could play in Week 1, and he is coming off the most efficient rushing season of his career. That could make him the ideal Zero RB target in the seventh round.

Joining Mixon in the underrated veteran running back tier, David Montgomery’s ADP is in the sixth round as of this writing. That is tremendous value for a Zero RB drafter, since the former Bear finished last year as RB11 in fantasy ppg. While the Lions have too many mouths to feed, Montgomery’s price and safe floor are a dream for this strategy.

Rounds 10-13 - IDP Mock Draft

Backup QB Run:

There are limited bench spots in this mock non-Superflex league, so taking multiple quarterbacks doesn't make a whole lot of sense… but it's incredibly common in your average home league. ADP overwhelmingly shows that the average fantasy draft sees most teams drafting two quarterbacks, at a minimum.

With so many managers loading up on backups who may only play one game per year for their fantasy squad, you can gain a significant advantage by passing on a backup QB and using that extra bench space for another offensive weapon. Odds are, if your starting QB gets hurt, you can easily replace him on waivers or by trading that extra bench weapon.

Risk Worth Taking:

Do not expect Edgerrin Cooper to be one of the first linebackers off the board in most IDP leagues, but he could very well end up at the top of the rankings by season’s end. Once he became a key starter on the defense, Cooper averaged a whopping 10.5 Standard IDP ppg, which would’ve made him LB4 over a full season.

Edgerrin Cooper’s gonna be a special player for a lonngggg time#Packers pic.twitter.com/DZaxgJyZlK

— BGPG (@BleedGreenPGold) July 9, 2025

However, it is worth noting that Cooper's profile bears a strong resemblance to Ivan Pace Jr.'s last year. Both are athletic playmakers who see inconsistent playing time, making them enthralling fantasy gambles who could bottom out if their team doesn't increase their playing time.

Let the Defense Begin:

Given just how close the top of this year’s defensive group is, savvy managers will wait to draft any defender (not named Travis Hunter) until the value is there. Given that strategy, you should expect defenders to start flying off the board in Round 11 this year, when the offensive starters and key backups are already drafted.

Please note, the value of defenders varies greatly based on league setup and scoring. This mock is set up with the most common defensive rosters and scoring, but IDP settings vary greatly. If your league is Premium Scoring or starts at least eight defenders each week, then you will want to draft defenders earlier than in this mock.

Rounds 14-16 - IDP Mock Draft

 ALWAYS Put Linebackers in Your Defender Flex:

You’ll notice a heavy run on linebackers to close this draft. This is for two reasons.

First, managers in shallow IDP leagues will often wait to fill their defensive positions until their last picks. This typically means the Defensive Flex position is filled in the last round of drafts.

Second, the Defensive Flex position should always be filled with an LB in Standard IDP scoring. This format favors tackles and consistency over everything else, and linebackers are twice as likely to collect this stat as defensive linemen and defensive backs. You don't want to use a second-tier pass rusher or defensive back in your D-Flex.

Passing on Defense is Viable in Shallow Leagues:

While you should never completely neglect your defense on draft day, there is a viable strategy in leaving one or two of those spots empty at the end of your draft.

The theory behind this strategy is that defenders are a dime a dozen in shallow Standard IDP leagues, much like kickers or D/ST in more common formats. Since you can find quality defenders on waivers in many of these setups, why not leave your D-Flex or DB spot empty and stash another offensive weapon on your bench until Week 1?

Those utilizing this strategy plan on overfilling their bench with offensive players in the draft, then waiting to see if injuries drive up the value of those players. If that happens, you can trade one of those assets. If not, you can cut them and pick up defenders to fill your lineup in Week 1.

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