While the first set of rankings were more youth-oriented these are more draft-oriented. Dynasty and keeper leagues are still the focus, but you’ll notice that some of the studs have been included. Still, these are NOT redraft rankings.
Know your league scoring, as that affects a player’s value and ranking. Even start-up leagues usually list a player’s scoring from last year based on the parameters for that league.
Defensive lineman who might be operating as an OLB are noted by an asterisk. Our previous IDP Rankings update can be found here.
Updated Last: 5/13/09
1. Mario Williams, Hou
2. Osi Umenyiora, NYG
3. Jared Allen, Min
4. Jullius Peppers, Car
5. Trent Cole, Phi
6. Terrel Suggs, Bal *
7. Justin Tuck, NYG
8. Chris Long, StL
9. Robert Mathis, Ind
10. Gaines Adams, TB
11. Justin Smith, SF *
12. Dwight Freeney, Ind
13. Adewale Ogunleye, Chi
14. John Abraham, Atl
15. Will Smith, NO
16. Darryl Tapp, Sea
17. Cliff Avril, Det
18. Aaron Schobel, Buf
19. Mathias Kiwanuka, NYG
20. Shaun Rodgers, Cle
21. Albert Haynesworth, Was
22. Elvis Dumervil, Den *
23. Andre Carter, Was
24. Dewayne White, Det
25. Darnell Dockett, Az
25. Kyle Vanden Bosch, Ten
1. Patrick Willis, SF
2. Jon Beason, Car
3. Barrett Ruud, TB
4. DeMeco Ryans, Hou
5. Demarcus Ware, Dal
6. James Harrison, Pit
7. D’Qwell Jackson, Cle
8. Karlos Dansby, Ari
9. Jerod Mayo, NE
10. Jonathan Vilma NO
11. D.J.Williams, Den
12. Lance Briggs, Chi
13. Kirk Morrison, Oak
14. Stephen Cooper, SD
15. Nick Barnett, GB
16. Stewart Bradley, Phi
17. Curtis Lofton, Atl
18. Brian Urlacher, Chi
19. Aaron Curry, Sea
20. James Laurinaitis, StL
21. Paul Posluszny, Buf
22. Justin Durant, Jax
23. London Fletcher, Was
24. Ray Lewis, Bal
25. Bradie James, Dal
1. Eric Weddle, SD
2. Oshiomogho Atogwe, StL
3. Gibril Wilson, Mia
4. Roman Harper, NO
5. Charles Tillman, Chi
6. Bob Sanders, Ind
7. Antoine Winfield, Min
8. Troy Polamalu, Pit
9. Kenny Phillips, NYG
10. Adrian Wilson, Ari
11. Michael Lewis SF
12. Yeremiah Bell, Mia
13. Nick Collins, GB
14. Cedric Griffin, Min
15. Brandon Meriweather, NE
16. Kerry Rhodes, NYJ
17. Richard Marshall, Car
18. Bernard Pollard, KC
19. Quintin Mikell, Phi
20. Chris Harris, Car
21. Chris Horton, Was
22. William Moore, Atl
23. Chris Hope, Ten
24. Michael Griffin, Ten
25. Chinendum Ndukwe, Cin
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Nice work Tavaner!
Very Nice Tav, I notice no Tatupu listed at all in the top 25. And I know Stephen Cooper missed the first 4 games last year. But he seems a little high to me at 14. Wouldn’t a healthy Merriman hurt Cooper’s stats some in a 3-4?
Hey BTFJ,
The defensive line is a concern, not the talent. From what little I saw teams were able to get lineman on him consistently enough throughout a game to wear him down last year. A healthy Red Bryant and the addition of Colin Cole (from GB) will help this year but those concerns were enough for him slip below the arbitrary 25 player ranking.
Another factor is the declining number of sacks (over the years) and solo tackles for the past two years. A 10 tackle difference is insignificant. A drop of 24 solos within two years (while statistically insignificant) is enough to drop him to mid/low LB2 territory.
You could easily slot him below Urlacher in the rankings and few would object, though as it stands now, I believe they’d be disappointed as the year wore on.
well, I think Tatupu makes a comeback to a certain extent. Brandon Mebane should move to undertackle, and one would assume Kerney and Tapp will provide some solid benefit to occupy some of the OL. I don’t think he makes it to LB1 by any stretch, but I think he could hit upper LB2.
Some other general commentary:
Most of the DL stuff I agree with, although I think KVB will do a bit better than you predict. This is also an “odd” season, so Peppers will have a cruddy year.
LB – Ruud will take top honors this year I think. Switching from the T2 to a more MLB-oriented 4-3 is going to send his tackles sky high. No way does Ware break 20 sacks again. Without the sacks, he’s a LB2. Harrison will probably be in the teens again, but his issue will be that he probably wont’ play on special teams as much anymore, so he’ll lose a good 12-18 tackles, which will drop him to upper LB2 I believe. I’m also looking at big drops for Kirk Morrison. The slow-mo read-and-react that he’s going to be in this year killed Tatupu, it’ll kill him (and Howard with him). DQJackson also will be a case of water finding it’s way back downhill where it belongs. He’s not an elite talent, he doesn’t belong in the group. 2008 was an anomaly. Solid calls on Durant and Lofton. 3-down MLBs with upside like those guys make great value picks. Also, before drafting Curry, there’s talk that he’ll be SLB, not WLB, and that Hill will end up as WLB.
DB – Weddle and Wilson will see HUGE drops in production I think. Weddle is a solid tackler, but a healthy Cooper and especially a healthy Merriman will remove a lot of Weddle’s tackle opportunities. Wilson has to contend with Yeremiah Bell. Neither of those guys will break 75 solos. There’s only so many tackles to go around after Crowder gets his 80-85ish. I think Rhodes might have some issues getting tackle opportunities simply because NYJ now have Harris AND Scott in the middle. Love seeing Marshall up there, and Oshi at 2 is spot on, if not #1. Dude flies under the radar but is insanely talented. I’m interested to see how Witherspoon does back at WLB where he belongs. Also, I wonder if the drafting of Chung means a reduction in tackle ops for Merriweather.
cool stuff Tav, love discussing IDP!
yeah
no idea why i mentioned Witherspoon in with the DBs. duh….
HeyKeth,
Solid points but the rankings aren’t based on this years production. Otherwise, Fletcher is a top 5/6 LB. Curry as a dynasty LB2 is pretty good value, imo, as I don’t see how Seattle can keep him out of the middle in a couple of years.
You have it right about Curry being a SLB this year (as it stands now), same goes for Cushing and Maualuga. In each case that allows the coaching staff to start their three most talented LB’s. However, Cushing will have to beat our Diles in Houston and I’m not convinced that’s a given, though, if you follow the money it’s implied.
Tatupu is considered an LB2 by most but he’ll show up as an LB3/4 when the rankings expand. He could come back as Seattle goes to more cover two, helps out the safeties and is freed to make plays. But last year, when Seattle blitzed to compensate for Kearney’s injury, he came up with goose eggs for sacks, passes defensed decreased and his tackle numbers fell again, suggesting he could not run the play down. Maybe it was the scheme, maybe it was Seattle’s 29th ranked pass D, but that last point is a concern.
Speaking of Kearney, he has been injured 2 out of the last 3 years – not a good thing in a passing division. They’ll be depending on Redding and Lawrence to step up as it may be mid-season before Kearney is fully back, good luck with that.
I’ll try to get some re-draft rankings up in the next 10 days or so.