This article is part of our IDP Analysis series.
This will be the first of a three-article series that will run before August to help IDP owners find outstanding values on draft day. Obviously, IDP drafts come in all shapes and sizes, so players ranked in the Rotowire season-long positional preseason rankings with standard scoring are featured. Then, the players who we have ranked well above their preseason ADP are listed as the best players to target in drafts. Obviously, if there are specific players who you must have, like Aaron Donald or Khalil Mack, you'll be using a premium pick to acquire them, but the purpose of this article is to help you determine when you can focus on other positions, such as offense, before adding productive IDPs to your roster.
Please note that even though this article is separated into defensive ends and defensive tackles, ADP data is taken for all defensive linemen together, so we will also use the player rankings from the site that combines all defensive linemen as well. The same players should be values regardless of how individual leagues are set up.
Defensive End
The great news is that if you don't want to pay up for the most expensive IDPs on the board, you can wait quite a while and still get one of two players we project as top-eight options. Coming in at sixth in our rankings is Calais Campbell, who has a positional ADP of 14, but an almost equal value can be had if selecting Trey Flowers
This will be the first of a three-article series that will run before August to help IDP owners find outstanding values on draft day. Obviously, IDP drafts come in all shapes and sizes, so players ranked in the Rotowire season-long positional preseason rankings with standard scoring are featured. Then, the players who we have ranked well above their preseason ADP are listed as the best players to target in drafts. Obviously, if there are specific players who you must have, like Aaron Donald or Khalil Mack, you'll be using a premium pick to acquire them, but the purpose of this article is to help you determine when you can focus on other positions, such as offense, before adding productive IDPs to your roster.
Please note that even though this article is separated into defensive ends and defensive tackles, ADP data is taken for all defensive linemen together, so we will also use the player rankings from the site that combines all defensive linemen as well. The same players should be values regardless of how individual leagues are set up.
Defensive End
The great news is that if you don't want to pay up for the most expensive IDPs on the board, you can wait quite a while and still get one of two players we project as top-eight options. Coming in at sixth in our rankings is Calais Campbell, who has a positional ADP of 14, but an almost equal value can be had if selecting Trey Flowers (ranked eighth) who is typically the 19th defensive lineman off the board.
If you either need depth or if you choose to wait later to address this position, it is recommended to draft Jonathan Allen or Olivier Vernon, who are our 13th and 14th-ranked linemen. Allen's value is great, as his positional ADP is 27, but Vernon has ridiculous value as the 38th lineman typically selected.
In many leagues where not much depth is drafted, owners should be in good shape with the players listed above, but if you still need more roster spots filled, Justin Houston, Carlos Dunlap and Sam Hubbard are all ranked between 19th and 24th, but they have respective positional ADPs of 26, 33 and 51.
For those who need to go even deeper at this position, Ezekiel Ansah, Ben Banogu and Brandon Graham are ranked between 31 and 35, though they are taken outside of the top-60 in average drafts.
To wrap up the defensive end position, Alex Okafor, Robert Quinn and Charles Harris typically go undrafted in most leagues, but each is ranked in our top-50.
Defensive Tackle
The best value for a top-end tackle this year appears to be Damon Harrison, who we have just inside the top-12 of all defensive linemen, though the fantasy community isn't quite as bullish on him, as he's typically taken outside the top-20 at defensive line.
There's a great opportunity to load up on high-level depth, as Cameron Heyward, Jurrell Casey and Daron Payne all rank between 16 and 20, and while Heyward and Payne have a positional ADP right around 30, Casey isn't getting any respect as the 47th player typically taken among defensive linemen.
The next tier of players is comprises Linval Joseph, Sheldon Richardson and Kawann Short, each of whom is ranked between 26 and 30, and the best news is that each of these linemen have an ADP no higher than 54th at their position.
Finally, a trio of players who typically go undrafted (Shelby Harris, Maurice Hurst and Harrison Phillips) are squarely in our top-50 defensive linemen, so whether you need depth or wait too long to fill out some final roster spots, there should be solid options remaining.
With plenty of values at each of the defensive line positions, there are a number of strategies that can be effective in your IDP draft that will allow you to roster undervalued players who could end up competing with the majority of top players at their position. Next week, we'll use the same formula to identify values at the linebacker position.
