Happy holidays, everyone. Football is back and America's productivity at work is about to take a hit. If you're new to individual defensive players (IDP), I'd like to congratulate you on taking the next step to being a fantasy addict. IDP leagues are the best because all that extra research you put into starting guys actually pays off. In other words, it's extremely rare for an owner to spend extra time on their fantasy team and not make the playoffs. That lucky guy that added Victor Cruz last year and doesn't even know what 4-3 means doesn't have much of a chance.
IDP Fantasy Football Rankings, Week 1: Linebackers, Linemen & DBs
Check out Week 1 IDP rankings for linemen, defensive backs and linebackers on one easy-to-read page.
Before we get to IDP rankings, let me just take a second to explain to the new folks on how you should manage your roster.These rankings are highly matchup-based and there's a chance that an absolute must-own guy might be outside of the top 20 for the week. For example, Kamerion Wimbley is ranked 26th in the DL rankings this week. That means I wouldn't be starting him 10- or 12-team league. Now that doesn't necessarily mean you should be cutting Wimbley to pick up someone like Kyle Vanden Bosch because I have Wimbley as the ninth-best DL for the season. Under most circumstances, you're going to just have to bite the bullet and start Wimbley because there's no real reason to have an extra DL on your bench in the early part of the season. There's more value in stashing backup running backs than backup defensive players, especially linemen.
There are a lot of IDP formats out there, so you can ask me a league-specific question on Twitter @MikeSGallagher.
For more fantasy info, check out the SB Nation Fantasy War Room 4-8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday.
