IDP fantasy football rankings for 2025

Playing in Individual Defensive Player (IDP) leagues adds another layer of enjoyment to fantasy. Maybe not for everyone, but if you like keeping tabs of the defensive side of the ball, it makes perfect sense to add some defensive players to your lineups.

How those players are added to your lineups is critical in figuring out who to draft and when to draft them. For the most part, IDP leagues have a handful of IDP slots, while the rest go to the offense. This is where you need to be clear on the scoring and number of starting positions. The higher IDP scoring is pumped up and the more starting slots there are, the earlier you need to start taking defensive players in your fantasy drafts.

For the most part, the average IDP league has around 3-4 starting slots with defensive line (DL), linebacker (LB), and defensive back (DB) as the positions. As you get into deeper IDP leagues, those positions are expanded while adding more starting slots. When you get into the weeds of IDP leagues, things get much tougher.

You can’t rely on sacks and interceptions week to week, so you want a steady stream of tackles from your top guys. Usually that means grabbing a top DL and top LB. I usually look to go DL first, as the studs are often harder to come by and then go LB, as they are easier to find on waivers if your picks don’t work out.

Linebackers with the green dot on their helmets are going to stay on the field, as they are the defense’s quarterback, relaying alignments to the team.

Safeties get more tackles, while cornerbacks get more interceptions. Tackles are much easier to predict from week to week, so go the safe route with safety. If you do have a slot just for corners, you can still wait on them, as you can find usable ones on waivers throughout the season.

Hunter is a WR/CB, so if you have a CB slot, he becomes a free card at the position due to him accumulating points as a receiver as well as corner. If you have a DB slot, Hunter is still a great pick, but you aren’t getting quite the separation from a top safety as you would from a corner.

Defensive schemes and playing time are seemingly in constant flux for defenses, so be ready to pounce on a player on waivers who has found himself in a great circumstance to put up numbers. The best time to do this is after the first week or two, as playing time comes into focus. And if your league happens to have just a couple IDP slots, you can live off the waiver wire, as there are just too many strong plays sitting there from week to week.