Initially, the plan was to list 20 players for each position but with so many leagues going to two defensive players at each position a list of 24 seemed logical based on 12 teams per league. Eventually the list was doubled to account for leagues from 8-20 teams. Instead of making the rankings easier it probably tripled the level of difficulty. Drawing from eight different sources I’ve come to one conclusion…no one agrees on anyone, ever, any place. Oh, Jared Allen, Mario Williams, Patrick Willis and DeMeco Ryans led off each of their respective positions but after them it is truly a free for all. So the rankings here are a stew of all contributing sources, not an average from all the sites though a players ADP was included.

As the year progresses I encourage any IDP manager to pay as close attention to the injuries around their IDP players as they do to the injuries to their WR1. Just as much as offensive players, IDP players depend on the players in front of and around them. I’ve tried to note situations to monitor in a number of cases but now that training camps are beginning more changes can be expected. These lists at least offer a baseline.

I encourage you to ask questions if you want to know why a player is ranked lower, higher or is off the list. I’ll get to all of them and while that doesn’t mean you’ll be any happier, you will know some of the info that had to be left out . Lastly, when I mention big plays I mean interceptions and sacks.

Let the discussions begin!

Defensive Lineman Rankings

My advice is to grab at least one plug and play DL for your team. The pickings get increasingly slimmer the longer you wait.

1. Jared Allen, Min - What needs to be said? Joins the best 2 DT’s in the game which will give Allen more chances to produce. (ADP 8.04)
2. Mario Williams, Hou - May be a bit inconsistent as he was in the first half of 2007 but with this defense opposing teams can’t focus on him. (ADP 10.03)
3. Osi Umenyiora, NYG - Didn’t go consecutive weeks without a sack. Tackles should increase from last year. (ADP 10.10)
4. Trent Cole, Phi - He has worn down after Nov due to lack of DL depth and his size. This year, more depth = more sacks/less tackles but more consistency. (ADP 13.08)
5. Derrick Burgess, Oak - An injury held him back until the sixth week. 35 sacks over 3 years. Should match those numbers and still average 3+ tackles a game. (ADP 23.09)

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This is my first year doing IDP, and as usual, I jumped in head-first. I’ve done 4 IDP drafts thus far, 3 tackles and 1 balanced. Here’s some observations that I’ve had.

In the 4 IDP drafts that I’ve done thus far, Paul Pos has gone earlier, usually as a LB1. He broke his arm, and people are not really considering him an injury risk.

Some other “rumblings/comments” that I’ve heard - GB is expected to blitz a bit more this season, especially early, so both Barnett and Hawk might go a little earlier in big play and balanced leagues

James Harrison went undrafted in the 3 tackles-heavy IDPs I drafted in except for the guy who also drafted Shawn Merriman in the same tackles-heavy draft. My guess is that a lot of people were seeing him as having a career season last year (pretty outstanding season at that)

Lofa went EARLY. Real early. LB1 in all 4 leagues of mine. Not sure if it was one of those coincidences or not, but he is a pretty popular dude. I think people aren’t paying attention to how stilted his big plays were and looked more at his final season totals

Zach Thomas was drafted in only 1 or 2 of my drafts, and at that, he was a late dude. He’s either going to be a bust or the sleeper of the year in Dallas.

Vilma went early in all 4 drafts, I suppose because he’s out of the Jets’ 3-4 and back to a 4-3 in NO.

Gibril, Trufant, Nate Clements and Sean Jones all went early in all 4 drafts.

Now, some questions for you Tav.

1) Does bringing Smith in help Willis? Willis had to fight through a hopeless DL to get his tackles last season. It’s pretty obvious he should “come down to earth”, but Smith should gobble up a blocker a lot more often, leaving Willis to do his thing, perhaps?

2) Does Cromartie’s season last year improve Jammer’s prospects this year as teams stay the hell away from Cromartie?

3) By the same token, does DeAngelo Hall become a bigger play due to teams simply avoiding Asomugha entirely?

I’ve got a couple of updates:

MOVING UP:

Thomas Davis, Car ~ This converted safety has been moved to WLB in training camp, after this article was written. He’ll get you 80+ tackles and handful of INT’s or sacks (combined). Low 20’s, high 30’s ranking.

Paris Lenon, Det ~ is working as the starting middle linebacker at the beginning of training camp. This puts him on the list, late 30’s. 100+ total tackles/80 solos but not many big plays. Keep an eye on this, if he gets moved to SLB look for better options.