IDP One-Man Mock With Multiple Personalities

June 25, 2020

Chris Gregory runs through a one-man mock fantasy football draft including IDP (individual defensive players). He adapts various team "personalities" to provide insight as to draft strategy for 2020.

For those of you in fantasy football IDP leagues (Individual Defensive Player), it can be hard to find content that helps you decide when you should draft defenders in your drafts, and when you should expect others to select them. To help you through this process, we are going to conduct a one-man mock with IDP players included.

However, a simple one-man mock won't give you the best idea of how your draft will go. One man drafting for every team with one strategy for all will not give you a realistic feel for how a real draft with various personalities and draft strategies will go. That is why this one-man mock will be a little different than others.

Meet the Squad

In this one-man mock, one analyst (me) will be putting on a different personality for each of the 10 teams drafting. Those different strategies/characters are as follows:

1. The Steady Eddies- This team will embody your old-school analyst views on drafting. That means they won't usually invest in risky players or a lot of rookies. Think of ESPN's Eric Karabell as the captain of this ship;
2. The Mavericks- This is one of two unpredictable risk-takers participating in this mock. They do not shy away from injured players, streaky players, or boom-or-bust types;
3. The Hype Trains- This team will be prone to hype, big names, and hyperbole;
4. Zero RB 4 Life- This team employs the zero running back theory;
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 goes running back heavy early;
7. The Basic B's- This team prints off an analyst's draft rankings and they draft from that almost exclusively;
8. The Wild Cards- This is The Mavericks' twin. They are also risky and unpredictable drafters. There is always one, if not two, of these types in any draft;
9. Jack Reacher- Reacher will always try to get his guy, often a round or two higher than expected;
10. The Trend Setters- This team will start runs at positions like QB and TE. They will value securing the best player(s) at a position, whether those positions are deep or not.

With our various personalities explained, let us note that the offensive scoring and roster setup in this mock league is traditional. That means this league will start one QB, two RBs, two WRs, one TE, two FLEX, one DL, one LB, one DB, and one IDP-FLEX. This league also uses the 'standard IDP scoring' system, which awards one point for a solo tackle, a half-point for a half tackle, two points for a PD or FR, three points for a sack, and four points for an INT or FF.

With all of this established, let us get to the picks.

Rounds 1 & 2

One note worth making in these first two rounds is that both Pat Mahomes and Lamar Jackson are likely to go much earlier than most analysts, including myself, would advise. If you play with people who like to get the "best player at his position," know that they are prime candidates to take Mahomes or Jackson in the top-20 picks. Don't buy into that trend, even in super-flex and dynasty leagues, however. Sit back and let others make these moves. Focus your attention on elite RBs and WRs early.

It is also worth noting that Dalvin Cook's holdout has him sliding into the second round of most fantasy drafts right now, and this mock reflects that. Cook's fall is an understandable trend, as his injury history and potential holdout are worrisome in both redraft and dynasty leagues. Do not overestimate how far Cook should fall, however. It is June, and there is still plenty of time for the Vikings to come to an agreement with the player they have repeatedly identified as a franchise cornerstone. If you can get this FSU product in the late first or early second round, you should jump on him. He is risky, but he was also the second-best fantasy back in 2019 when healthy. That kind of potential rarely falls outside of the first round.

Rounds 3-5

Even if his best blocker (Brandon Brooks) is out for the season, Miles Sanders is going to go high. How high should he go, though? Remember that Sanders' touches and efficiency, both at the goal and elsewhere, were all over the place last year. He is a talented player, but the loss of Brooks, the history of Doug Pederson backfield timeshares, and Sanders' inefficiency near the goal are all reasons to fade him out of the top-25 picks. He may go in the top-20 picks of your draft, but you should think twice about being the person that makes that pick. Picks 23-30 are a better range for his risk/reward profile.

The Steady Eddies get excellent value at the end of the fourth in James Conner, even if he isn't going amongst the top-40 picks in most current drafts. Pittsburgh's history of using one primary RB and Mike Tomlin's offseason comments about Conner being that lead tells us this Pitt Panther is a prime bounce-back candidate in 2020. While the Steelers' primary back is going behind rushers who carry just as much risk as he does (see David Johnson and Le' Veon Bell), Conner could end up the better player in redrafts and dynasties. Conner's age, upside, and blocking are all more attractive than Bell or Johnson.

The Hype Trains take a risk by passing on Amari Cooper (who was a top-10 WR last year) for Calvin Ridley. In doing so, the Hype Trains buy into the narrative that Ridley will see elite usage this season, and some of your league members will buy this hype too. This Crimson Tide star is a former first-round draft pick who was on pace to be WR16 in PPR settings and WR14 in standard leagues before injuries hit him last year. WR15 may be the ceiling for Ridley, however. Remember that Julio Jones will still get 160 targets from 'Matty Ice' while Russell Gage, Hayden Hurst, and Todd Gurley are all receiving buzz about their roles in this offense. That competition for targets could keep Ridley as a low-end WR2 in 2020, and his week-to-week inconsistency could continue for a third straight year.

Rounds 6-9: Defenders Appear!

FINALLY, we see some defenders come off the board!

Darius Leonard is the only defender worthy of a top-75 fantasy selection. The Colts' star defender may even be worth taking even higher than that. One could easily argue that Leonard's lead at the top of the LB position is more established and substantial than the edge CMC has on his fellow top-tier RBs, or that Michael Thomas has on the WR group.

Joey Bosa and Cory Littleton are defenders who join Leonard and Bobby Wagner as reasonable top-90 selections in this mock. Jack Reacher secures them both thanks to his willingness to spend prime picks on players he doesn't want to miss out on by waiting. While it is not a reach to select Bosa and Littleton in this range, many will prefer to grab offensive players like CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy, and Noah Fant before they take their first defenders.

One general lesson to learn from this early run on defenders is that defenders in IDP are not the same as your standard D/ST units. Smart owners usually wait until the later rounds to draft even the best D/ST units, but IDP defenders are different. Elite defenders are worth taking higher than you would expect. Project the Trend Setters, Jack Reachers, and Wild Cards in your leagues to start runs on defenders in these rounds.

It is also worth noting the recent news that Deebo Samuel broke his foot, as that the injury could sideline him through all of camp. This injury has him falling out of the top-55 picks in this mock, but a variety of factors could influence his draft position come August. If the reports are accurate that Samuel could be back by Week 1 and in great shape, he may deserve to go in the top-50 picks. However, if the former Gamecock re-aggravates his foot or shows up out of shape, he could fall out of the top-70 selections in redrafts. Keep an eye on Samuel's recovery and his conditioning. Remember that South Carolina Head Coach Will Muschamp warned the 49ers about the receiver's lax conditioning habits during the 2019 draft process.

Rounds 10-13

Rounds eight through eleven are where you can expect to see smart drafters considering rookie receivers like CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy, and Justin Jefferson in IDP redrafts. Mind you, these rookies carry significantly more value than this in dynasty leagues. Concerns about target shares, depth charts, and various other issues are enough to drive these rookies' stock out of the first 80 picks in redrafts, however.

Myles Garrett falls to the late tenth here, but he merits discussion in the same breath as Joey Bosa and Cory Littleton in your IDP drafts. He was on pace to be one of the most productive fantasy defensive linemen in 2019 before his suspension, and he could pick up that pace again in 2020. Expect him to finish as a top-four DL in 2020, or higher.

Public perception has Derwin James' fantasy stock falling, even in the risk-taking eyes of the Jack Reachers and Wild Cards in this mock. The consensus amongst experts and fans is that Budda Baker, Jamal Adams, and Landon Collins are better fantasy assets than James, due to his injury concerns and lack of production last season. This perception will probably force James down boards during your draft, where you could get a bargain as the Mavericks did at pick #119.

Finally, notice here that the Trend Setters drafted a second LB at pick #111. The IDP-FLEX position should almost always be filled with an LB, at least when playing in standard IDP scoring leagues. That is why the Trend Setters made this move for Jaylon Smith. They can now start two of fantasy's best LBs, giving them a weekly edge at both the LB and IDP-FLEX spots.

Rounds 14-18

You will notice that teams like the Steady Eddies and the Hype Trains waited to fill a lot of their defensive needs until late in this mock. Expect some of your more practical drafters, or those who draft based on headlines, to wait on defenders until later. It is a common belief amongst fantasy players, and not an entirely false one, that individual defenders are nearly as replaceable as kickers and D/ST units. You can often get some solid defenders late in your draft. However, these later round defenders will usually carry limited ceilings or a boom-or-bust nature with them, making them significantly inferior options to the Bosa brothers, Budda Baker, or Darius Leonard.

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