League Rules | Origin of Fantasy | History of Scoring | Keepers & Salaries | Auction Drafting| IDP Strategies | Fantasy Definitions | Standard Scoring System | Fantasy Football eBook
As fantasy football has grown in popularity, so have variations of the way the game is played. Every year, more and more fantasy enthusiasts try to recreate the action on the field to the game they play at home. Because of this attempt to broaden the depth of the game, Individual Defensive Player (IDP) leagues are becoming more and more prevalent.
IDP leagues are one of the closest reflections to the actual game since participants must draft players on both sides of the ball. The standard for most leagues is for each fantasy owner to carry 2-5 defensive players at any position – with a starting lineup consisting of 3 defensive players per week. Some leagues are so sophisticated in that you must start at least 1 linebacker, 1 defensive back
and 1 defensive lineman, which severely limits which players an owner must carry.
Patrick Willis was a fantasy monster during his rookie year with 174 tackles.
Do not fear these leagues, however. If you want to try the experience of expanding your cheat sheet to several more positions, and enjoy watching action on both sides of the ball, IDP leagues are for you. Once you decide to jump in, the correct strategy is needed for drafting and managing this part of your roster, because it is different than owning offensive players.Tackling the Stats
Almost anyone can properly research and rank offensive players considering their statistics are splattered everywhere from sports tickers to Sports Illustrated. Individual defensive players in fantasy football are an entirely different animal.
Strategies may range from person to person, but there are two basic rules:
- Use tackles as the single most important stat to rank players.
- Draft only linebackers or go linebacker-heavy, if possible.
Linebackers are far and away the most consistent fantasy football players on this end of the ball. They are the running backs of defense and will carry owners on most weeks. Even a stud linebacker with a mediocre day can get 5-8 FFP, which is sometimes more than a #2-3 WR.
As for tackles, most leagues only count solo tackles for points, so make sure when you look for a player’s total tackles it doesn’t include assists. Also, because solo tackles are better indicators than total tackles, that statistic carries more weight in determining a player’s potential.
Draft Strategy – Time Your Blitz
Come draft day, individual defensive players should not be touched until at least the 7-8th rounds. Realistically, try hold out until the 10-11th rounds pending the amount of roster spots you have available.
You could almost treat defensive players like TEs when it comes to your draft. Top TEs usually start to get taken in rounds 3-5 with the lesser tier players going primarily in the mid-rounds, and the remainder filtering down into the
late-rounds.
Resist the temptation to jump in when the run on defensive players starts to roll. You will be much better off getting a quality #3 RB/WR or a #2 QB, who could produce 15 FFP a game, instead of a defensive player, who will average
11 FFP a game, at best.
Hitting the Wire & Finding Trends
Individual defensive players are another one of those positions where the waiver wire can come into play in a big way. Watch the trends by seeing which defensive units are playing better than expected, and target the players that are the
force behind them. A good example of this from 2007 is Carolina’s LB-Jon Beason (140 tackles), who was inserted into the starting lineup when injuries hit the team.
Another trend to look for is to find defenses that are on the field longer than the league average. This means that the unit must defend an above-average amount of plays, therefore accumulating more tackles. LB-London Fletcher-Baker
is a perfect example of this situation, which is how he won Fantasy IDP Player of the Year in 2006 with the Bills by having 104 tackles. LBs-DeMeco Ryans (HOU) and Ernie Sims (DET) are also good examples.
Ball Hawks in the Secondary
The knee jerk reaction for most will be to go after players who are ball-hawking defensive backs, although this is not the best route. DBs can be counted on for moderate tackle numbers and several INTs, which may turn into TDs, but those occurrences are rare and cannot be predicted or relied upon on a weekly basis.
For example, the 2004 DBs that led the league in INTs were Ed Reed, Tory James, Nate Clements, Andre Dyson, Chris Gamble, Ken Lucas, and Dunta Robinson. In 2005, DBs-Ty Law, Deltha O’Neal, Darren Sharper, Bailey, and Nathan Vasher
led the league.
Then in 2006, DBs-Asante Samuel, Bailey, Nnamdi Asomugha, Walt Harris, Rasheen Mathis, and Charles Woodson were tops in INTs. And finally in 2007 the leaders were Antonio Cromatie, OJ Atogwoe, Ed Reed, and Marcus Trufant. Notice anything? Only Bailey and Reed made a repeat appearance over the last four seasons. If that is not inconsistency, I do not know what is.
The guys to target in the defensive backfield are the strong safeties. They’re the ones that are brought up to the line of scrimmage for run support, thus allowing them to rack up more tackles than corners and the free safeties who are playing centerfield in the secondary. Guys like Bob Sanders (IND), Troy Polamalu (PIT), and Laron Landry (WAS) are good examples of this.
The Big Guys in the Trenches
As for defensive lineman, they’re best when they get hot with sacks, but since a player’s sack numbers can drastically change from year to year (even more than INTs), they are risky bets. DTs are not tackle magnets, either. You would be hard pressed to find a top 10 IDP stud that plays along the line. Miami’s Jason Taylor is the exception to this rule (56 tackles, 11 sacks, 1 DTD) and proved it by being named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2006. But more often than not, defensive linemen are eating up space and
taking up blockers, so the stud middle LBs behind them can make the tackle.
In many ways, leagues that include the drafting of individual players are a throwback to the early years of fantasy football, because it’s all about digging into the stats deeper than what is being reported – just like the old days.
Related posts: