Individual Defensive Player (IDP) leagues are still a pretty small subset of fantasy leagues, but really fun for players who are looking for something a little different. I played in my first IDP in 2012 and have a few things to share for those interested in transitioning from a team Defense/Special Teams (DST) format.
This 16-team league (27 roster spots each) is ridiculously deep and we start two defensive backs, two linebackers and two defensive linemen. Let’s take a look and see how our large IDP league shook out over the course of the season.
Scoring in this league is a little more conservative than ESPN Standard Scoring and is as follows;
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1 point for every Solo Tackle
4 points for every Interception
2 points for every Sack
2 points for every Fumble Forced
2 points for every Fumble Recovered
4 points for every Safety
6 points for every Defensive TD
4 extra points for every Defensive TD of 80 or more yards
2 extra points for every Defensive TD between 40 and 79 yards (inclusive)
1 point for every Pass Defended
Here is how the top 10(ish) at each position broke down, along with their overall ranking of all players in our league.
Defensive Backs
| Player | Team | Points | Overall Rank |
| Charles Tillman | CHI | 143 | 134 |
| Richard Sherman | SEA | 132 | 159 |
| Janoris Jenkins | STL | 119 | 179 |
| Tim Jennings | CHI | 118 | 182 |
| Harrison Smith | MIN | 116 | 193 |
| Stevie Brown | NYG | 115 | 195 |
| Eric Weddle | SD | 115 | 195 |
| Cortland Finnegan | STL | 114 | 199 |
| Morgan Burnett | GB | 111 | 208 |
| Ronde Barber | TB | 111 | 208 |
You can see a pretty big drop off between the top two performers and everyone else. Also keep in mind that the #200 overall player for this league season was BUF WR Donald Jones (41 rec, 443 yards, 4 TD), so you probably aren’t going to spend a early round pick on a DB, even in a large league.
Linebackers
| Player | Team | Points | Overall Rank |
| Daryl Washington | ARI | 140 | 141 |
| James Laurinaitis | STL | 134 | 155 |
| Paul Posluszny | JAC | 133 | 157 |
| Luke Kuechly | CAR | 126 | 168 |
| Derrick Johnson | KC | 126 | 168 |
| Lavonte David | TB | 125 | 170 |
| Russell Allen | JAC | 118 | 182 |
| Lawrence Timmons | PIT | 118 | 182 |
| Zach Brown | TEN | 117 | 187 |
| Von Miller | DEN | 117 | 187 |
| London Fletcher | WAS | 117 | 187 |
We see a distribution pretty similar to the DBs, so the same strategy would apply; wait until the later rounds to load up on linebackers.
Defensive Linemen
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| Player | Team | Points | Overall Rank |
| J. J. Watt | HOU | 137 | 150 |
| Charles Johnson | CAR | 76 | 366 |
| Carlos Dunlap | CIN | 75 | 371 |
| Jason Pierre-Paul | NYG | 75 | 371 |
| Greg Hardy | CAR | 74 | 377 |
| Cameron Wake | MIA | 74 | 377 |
| Geno Atkins | CIN | 73 | 383 |
| Rob Jackson | WAS | 72 | 389 |
| Elvis Dumervil | DEN | 72 | 389 |
| John Abraham | ATL | 72 | 389 |
Wow. J.J. Watt out performed his peers by a drastic margin; nearly doubling up the #2 lineman. Another frame of reference is that the 16th best kicker, Adam Vinatieri, scored 119 points. It is safe to say that defensive linemen (outside of Watt) are completely disposable and your season won’t be won or lost because of which guys you started.
I have long been a fan of waiting until the final round of a draft to pick a DST squad and with the exception of a few top flight cornerbacks, some tackling machine linebackers and J.J. Watt, waiting to draft IDPs is a sound strategy.
In the end, my co-owner and I stumbled upon J.J. Watt (#1 DL), as well as Richard Sherman (#2 DB), and finished with a decent enough season, just missing out on the playoffs.
What have you noticed in your IDP leagues? Please feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
