IDP Rankings for 2025 Fantasy Football Drafts (Individual Defensive Players) - Travis Hunter, Micah Parsons, Jessie Bates, Zaire Franklin, Jared Verse

August 25, 2025

Updated 2025 fantasy football IDP draft rankings for individual defensive players - rankings for linebackers (LB), defensive linemen (DL), defensive backs (DB).

It officially feels like fantasy football season, and at RotoBaller, we cover all formats. Today, we will review our NFL team's updated 2025 fantasy football IDP rankings (top 150) for IDP formats. For anyone unfamiliar with fantasy football IDP leagues, this type of league format requires you to start individual defensive players (IDP) such as linebackers, defensive linemen, and defensive backs.

RotoBaller lead fantasy football analysts Chris Gregory and Matt Donnelly have put together their individual 2025 IDP rankings. These IDP rankings have been put together after the NFL Draft, so they will contain the 2025 NFL rookie class. Let's see where players such as Travis Hunter, Micah Parsons, Jessie Bates, Zaire Franklin, and Jared Verse stand among the rest of the top 150.

In addition to these IDP draft rankings, be sure also to check out our team's fantasy football articles and analysis -- they discuss draft sleepers, busts, players to target and avoid, rookies in the best landing spots, and so much more. Most importantly, our brand new free mobile app is a must-have -- download it and configure your notifications. We deliver all the top NFL news, injuries, and fantasy analysis 24x7 with our free push notification alerts.

IDP Fantasy Football Rankings

Bookmark our PPR rankings, Half-PPR rankings, and standard (non-PPR) rankings 

Fantasy Football IDP Player Outlooks

Zack Baun, Philadelphia Eagles

Many of us have been waiting for a Zack Baun breakout since his rookie year, and it finally happened in 2024. In his first season with the Eagles, the Wisconsin alum earned an All-Pro honor, a big new contract, a Super Bowl ring, and the most important distinction of all… LB2 overall in IDP Standard Scoring. While some may see Baun as a one-year wonder, the reasons for his breakout are repeatable. The Wisconsin alum struggled with the Saints because they used him improperly, deploying him primarily as an edge rusher.

Philly played to Baun's strengths, deploying him as a standup linebacker who moved all over the formation. That usage allowed Baun to finish third in the NFL in solo tackles, sixth in total tackles, tied for second in forced fumbles, and tied for sixth amongst interior linebackers in sacks.

With the Eagles signing Baun to the NFL's fourth-largest contract for an inside linebacker, it is clear that the All-Pro should remain in the same role on an elite defense for the foreseeable future. Thus, he should be one of the first two true linebackers off the board in IDP drafts.

Abdul Carter, New York Giants

As blasphemous as it sounds, Abdul Carter is a better prospect than Micah Parsons was coming out of Penn State. Let that sink in, because Parsons and Carter share eerily similar profiles as freakishly athletic converted interior linebackers coming out of Penn State. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Carter is the fact that he is still so raw on the edge, yet he dominated Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff with one arm. His speed, bend, and burst off the edge are prolific, and his history as an interior linebacker means he has more run support potential than your average edge.

In fact, Carter has the physical ability to challenge for the single-season record in sacks someday while also contributing 70+ tackles as a standup edge in New York's scheme. The fantasy potential in this player is truly elite, making him a top-five dynasty DL in startups. The only real concern about Carter is in the short term, considering he has just one year of experience as an edge rusher and joins a relatively deep pass rush rotation in New York. Expect the Giants to bring Carter along slowly at first, but he is destined for stardom once he is fully unleashed.

Jared Verse, Los Angeles Rams

For some of us, Jared Verse was the top-rated defender in the 2024 NFL Draft. He rewarded that optimism with a surprisingly efficient rookie year, as he immediately translated power into pressure against professional left tackles. As a rookie, Verse finished top ten in PFF's pass rush grades, first in quarterback pressures, and 11th in Pass Rush Win Rate. Despite many calling the defensive rookie class of 2024 a "down year," Verse was tops amongst all defensive linemen and edge rushers in creating quarterback pressure as a rookie.

An analysis of his film backs up these metrics as well, with the Florida State alum coming within a hair of a sack countless times. In fact, against Chicago, Verse had a burst of three quarterback pressures (and near sacks) in the span of just four plays.

All of those near misses should help fantasy managers feel better about the "meager" eight sacks and the DL33 ranking that Verse finished with in Standard IDP Scoring. Every metric and piece of film suggests Verse will collect more sacks and fantasy points in his sophomore campaign and that he is mere inches from becoming a superstar.

Zaire Franklin, Indianapolis Colts

Zaire Franklin led all fantasy linebackers in both Standard IDP points per game and total points last year. He did this largely with tackles, which are the most consistent and reliable statistic in Standard IDP Scoring leagues. The roots of this performance are consistent and reliable, as the Colts' defensive leader has consistently finished at or near the top of the total tackles board in each of the past three seasons. However, there are reasons to believe Franklin will experience a minor step back from this LB1 overall finish last year.

The primary concern would be his big play rate. In 2024, Franklin registered two INTs and five Forced Fumbles. For context, 66.6% of Franklin's career interceptions and 56% of his career Forced Fumbles came in 2024. This was a massive spike, considering he had just one INT and four FF in his previous 50 games combined.

With the sample size we have on Franklin, it is safe to project he will only force two turnovers in 2025 while still registering 175 total tackles and two sacks. Those numbers keep him in the top-five of our LB ranks, but put him a notch behind Zack Baun's upside in Philly.

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