Updated IDP Rankings for Fantasy Football Drafts: Top NFL Defensive Players - T.J Watt, Devin White, Micah Parsons, Nick Bosa

September 4, 2022

Updated IDP fantasy football rankings as of August 29th. Top individual defensive players for the 2022 NFL season at linebacker, defensive line, defensive back.

Welcome back to more of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings for your 2022 drafts prep. Today we're looking at our revised 2022 fantasy football IDP rankings, specifically focused for IDP formats, as of August 19th.

Three of RotoBaller's lead fantasy football IDP analysts - Pierre Camus, Chris Gregory, and Mitchell Blatt - have put together their individual 2022 IDP rankings, which we have aggregated into a consensus ranking. For anyone who may not be familiar with fantasy football IDP leagues, this type of league format requires that individual defensive players (IDP) get drafted by fantasy football managers. Linebackers, defensive linemen, and defensive backs all rack up fantasy points for their defensive stats including tackles, sacks, interceptions, touchdowns, etc. If you need a scoring system for your IDP league, consider using Rotoballer Standard scoring.

In addition to these IDP draft rankings, be sure to also 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 Rankings Analysis for Fantasy Football

My name is Mitchell Blatt. I'm a veteran IDP player and the commissioner of my own IDP league. I will be writing weekly IDP waiver wire and injury update columns for Rotoballer. I am glad to join the team. I will be presenting the rationale for our consensus IDP rankings.

There was a lot of consensus at the top of the board, particularly with playmaking linebackers. Each of us ranked T.J. Watt, Roquan Smith, and Micah Parsons in the top seven. Watt and Parsons are guys who can generate a sack and forced fumble on any play. The fact that you can start them at DL (or LB) is a cheat code; they score much more than pure DL who line up in the three-point stance.

Jordyn Brooks, Eric Kendricks, Darius Shaquille Leonard, De'Vondre Campbell, Blake Martinez, Bobby Wagner, and Logan Wilson are all three-down leaders of their respective defenses who will rack up triple-digit tackles.

One LB we had different evaluations of was Eagles MLB T.J. Edwards. I ranked him as my #1 defensive player, while he is #42 in our consensus average. I think he is going to pick up where he left off. Last season, he took over as the full-time starter in Week 9 and was on the field for over 90% of the snaps in the last eight games he started. He averaged 10.6 combined tackles in those games; over 17 games, that's 180 tackles in a season. He's a steal, any way you cut it. He's currently going at IDP #91 ADP in Sleeper drafts, but each of Rotoballer's IDP experts ranked him in the top 71.

Updated IDP Fantasy Football Rankings

Rankings table below was last updated on August 29th, 2022. Don't play in IDP leagues? You can also find our updated Best Ball rankings, PPR rankings, Half-PPR rankings, Non-PPR (Standard) rankings, Dynasty League rankings, and 2022 NFL Rookie rankings.

#1 Defensive Back - Derwin James

The Chargers safety and defensive play-caller has made over 100 combined tackles, multiple interceptions, and multiple sacks every season he's been healthy. He's a do-it-all safety who brings athleticism, high snap volume, and guaranteed production.

Most Polarizing Defensive Back - Jamal Adams

After setting the record for most sacks by a defensive back with 9.5 in his first season in Seattle, Adams went blank in the sack column in 2021 when Ken Norton changed the defensive scheme. Now a new defensive coordinator, Clint Hurtt, takes over and wants to get more out of his stars. If Adams can get more opportunities as a pass rusher again, he might return to IDP greatness. Our rankings show the wide possible variance of outcomes between #8 IDP, #21, and #74.

#1 Defensive Lineman - Myles Garrett

Garrett has had four straight years of double-digit sacks while hitting the quarterback more than 17 times each of those seasons. And, as PFF will make sure you remember, he has a higher win rate and pressure rate than T.J. Watt. If you are playing in a true position league, he's the #1 DE.

Biggest IDP Steal for Fantasy Football

Giants inside linebacker Blake Martinez recorded over 140 tackles each season from 2017 through 2020 before tearing his ACL in Week 3 of 2021. He took the field in preseason, and he looked like his old self. He's Rotoballer's consensus #12 IDP, but he's going as the #28 IDP in Sleeper drafts.

Even if his snap count decreases somewhat this year in light of his injury (and his not being the green-dotted play-caller anymore), he is still playing for a basement-dwelling team that is likely to face a high volume of rushing plays (good for tackles). His production in the past is a good margin better than that of some linebackers going ahead of him like Patrick Queen.

Worst IFP Value for Fantasy Football

Ravens LB Patrick Queen won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020 based on his 106 combined tackles and two forced fumbles. He did almost the same in 2021, with just a small drop-off in production. He's a great talent, but the Ravens rotate linebackers in and out, and Queen tops out his snap count at 80%.

He's being drafted as the #12 LB on Sleeper, but he's the #50 LB in our consensus rankings.

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