IDP Positional Rankings for 2021 (Pre-Training Camp)

Chris Gregory provides his top 30 rankings at linebacker (LB), defensive line (DL), and defensive back (DB) for IDP fantasy football leagues before 2021 NFL training camps get underway.

NFL Free Agency and the Draft are both done, and teams are finishing up OTAs now. That means we are entering the dull part of summer where there’s not much going on in the world of football, which gives all of us a lot of dead air we need to fill with arguments and conjecture.

Given the absence of events coming up in the NFL this month, we felt it was a good time to unleash some IDP Positional Rankings goodness on the lot of you. Hopefully, these ranks will provide you with insight, intelligence, or simply something to read while you’re on the toilet at work.

So without further ado, here are our Pre-Training Camp IDP Positional Rankings. Feel free to read them at your leisure, but please… if you’re printing these rankings off, try not to use them as toilet paper when you’re done. Printer paper doesn’t flush nearly as well as you might think.

Editor's Note: Stay on top of your draft prep with RotoBaller’s fantasy football rankings, featuring expert analysis, ADPs, and draft insights for both PPR and non-PPR leagues.

Pre-Camp Top-30 Fantasy Defensive Linemen for 2021

Projecting Stardom: Chase Young, Washington Football Team

Chase Young averaged a pressure once every 10.4 pass-rush snaps last year. While that average falls short of the rate most elite pass-rushers pressure the passer (Myles Garrett averages one per 9.01 snaps & Haason Reddick one every 7.8), Young accomplished this during a rookie year marred by COVID and injuries.

The Ohio State product's pressure rate should markedly improve as a sophomore. This year he will have a full offseason. Plus, the addition of two-plus pass defenders in Jamin Davis and William Jackson III should give all Washington pass rushers more time to get after opposing quarterbacks. Couple those benefits with a clean bill of health and Young’s massive potential, and you have the recipe for a top-five fantasy defensive lineman.

Underrated Unit: Carolina Panthers Pass Rushers

As we already addressed in our Post-Free Agency IDP Stock Report earlier this offseason, Haason Reddick is a fascinating fantasy asset. While many assume that his elite sack production from last year was a flash in the pan, he has actually been a consistently good pass rusher for his entire pro career.  Reddick only saw his sack totals blow up last year because his pressure-to-sack conversion rate regressed to the mean and because Arizona blitzed him far more often. There was less luck involved in Reddick’s breakout last year than many think, even if his sack totals are bound to decline some.

In addition to Reddick, the Panthers have second promising pass-rusher in Brian Burns. We touted Burns' fantasy value last year and he delivered a DL2 caliber season, but there’s still more juice to squeeze from that fruit.

Burns and Reddick should both benefit from Carolina’s addition of rookie cornerback Jaycee Horn, who is a very aggressive man-cover corner. While Horn will definitely draw flags as a rookie, and he may not have much fantasy value himself, his aggressive style of play should stifle opposing receivers and buy Carolina pass-rushers time to get after the quarterback.

Pre-Camp Top-30 Fantasy Linebackers for 2021

Most Confusing Unit of 2021: Dallas Cowboys Linebackers

The Dallas Cowboys have five good linebackers on their team, but they’ll only field two or three of them at a time. That means someone is going to be sitting a lot of the 2021 season on the bench. Expect rookie Jabril Cox and converted safety Keanu Neal to ride the pine when Dallas is in their base 4-3 scheme, while Leighton Vander Esch shouldn’t see the field on any obvious passing downs.

Of additional concern to fantasy managers should be the fantasy compatibility of Dallas’ two full-time starting linebackers, Micah Parsons and Jaylon Smith. Most true LB1 options in fantasy football are the only alphas on their team, which allows them to suck up fantasy stats like a Hoover. Parsons and Smith are both alphas, however.

When there are two leaders in the linebacker room, it usually means you’ll see the stats split between them. That split could lead to some fantasy inconsistency with Parsons and Smith, which is why they both fall outside of our top-10 rankings. Parsons is an elite dynasty option, but he and Smith are LB2s in redraft.

Don’t Underrate This Rookie LB Class

This 2021 rookie linebacker class could prove to be one of the better groups to hit fantasy in a long while. Micah Parsons is too talented not to list as a top-20 option despite the crowded spot he landed in, while Jamin Davis, Zaven Collins, and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah are all talented prospects in their own right. There are at least five fantasy-relevant rookies in this class, with the potential for more.

Of particular interest in this group is Jamin Davis, who is competing for the starting MIKE position on Washington’s defense. Jon Bostic made himself fantasy relevant last year by manning the middle of that gifted defense, and Davis is far more talented than Bostic ever was. If the rookie can win that starting position in camp, he immediately becomes fantasy-relevant. Don't be surprised if Davis leads all rookies in tackles and curries favor for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

Pre-Camp Top-30 Fantasy Defensive Backs for 2021

Curbing Cravings for Curl

While we have raved and boasted about the IDP potential on Washington’s defense throughout this article, there is one particularly concerning problem associated with this unit right now. Namely, we might be watching Ron Rivera and company tank the fantasy value of Kamren Curl.

As a rookie, Curl shocked the IDP world when he stepped in for an injured Landon Collins and thrived despite his seventh-round pedigree. The Arkansas product proved to be nearly as good in run support as Collins while showing better instincts, more speed, and looser hips in coverage. Based on the film from last year, Curl looked to be the better and cheaper option for Washington at strong safety, so there was little reason to doubt the rumors that Collins would be moving to linebacker in 2021… until the veteran gave us reason to doubt them.

When meeting with reporters this past week, Collins unequivocally denied that he was moving to linebacker. He clearly stated that he is a safety, not a linebacker. That denial took on even greater weight when reporters later spotted Curl taking snaps at nickel corner during OTAs, an obvious admission that the former Razorback was looking for a new position.

Ron Rivera's choice to experiment with Curl at corner tells you the team wants him on the field, but it also tells you they don't want him in Collins' place. Pay close attention to what Curl does in camp and pre-season games. If he wins the free safety spot, both he and Collins will maintain fantasy value. If the sophomore moves to corner, his fantasy value will tank.

Derwin James… Still?!

Look, I get why you may think our ranking of Derwin James may be generous. It’s completely logical and valid to place James behind healthier and more consistent performers like Jeremy Chinn, Jordan Poyer, and Jessie Bates III. If you have any of those players ranked over James, it's probably the safe move, and I won't argue against it.

With all of that said, there is no more physically gifted safety in the NFL than James when he’s healthy. If you watch his film from Florida State and during his rookie year with the Chargers, he simply jumps off the screen. A healthy James has the speed to close in and pick off passes, he has the size to collect tackles in run support, and he has the burst to collect sacks off the edge. He’s the complete package in terms of NFL talent and fantasy upside.

The only thing holding James back is his health, and that’s a big problem. He’s logged only five games in the past two seasons, and his health was a question in college as well. Anyone who doesn’t want to invest in a guy with that kind of track record cannot be blamed. There’s a definite risk here… but given where he’s being selected, there’s also massive upside. James is worth his current ADP, and he has top-overall DB upside if he remains healthy all year.

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