I was recently asked how you choose who to start week-to-week in IDP. I'd first recommend you read all of my IDP reports over the last two years—I'm not joking. I drop gems all over the place and it's hard to boil down my expansive IDP knowledge. I don't often puff my chest with any sort of seriousness, so that's a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I've been playing fantasy football since 1996 and I've been playing IDP and dynasty IDP since 2000. Pat Tillman (RIP) was on one of my teams—that's how far back I go—and he was a beast at the time. He was a top-five tackle guy across all positions, not just at safety. Point being, there are too many boxes rattling around this ol' mental attic o' mine to synthesize it all down in one sitting.
I would generally recommend that you abandon the idea of player loyalty in IDP. There are maybe six defensive linemen, 10 linebackers and 10 defensive backs that I would consider untouchable must-starts in any given year. Beyond that, you should be churning for who is producing the most points right now with a focus on what produces points in your league format while understanding tackles are more repeatable than big plays. If you're adding the guy who had a two-INT game, try to understand that he's probably not Deion Sanders. He probably just got lucky and you should be focusing on tackle-heavy options.
So you should not only check who's performing well in the last few games, but also who is averaging the most over the past month or so. Between bye weeks, injuries, playing time shifts and luck of the draw, the IDP landscape is always in motion.
Gene Lower/SI
Shaquille Leonard went from IDP staple to afterthought to injured reserve and Zaire Franklin took his place and his stats. Blake Martinez went from LB1 to dropped by his team, back at the forefront to retired over the last three months. That'd be like if Alvin Kamara was cut a couple weeks before the season, wasn't re-signed, played for two weeks in the middle of the season and then retired. IDP is its own animal and presents its own unique challenges.
But how do I determine who to start? Follow the points. "What have you done for me lately?" is the mantra. IDP legend Bobby Wagner was a top two or three LB for me coming into the season and I thought he would find a second wind with the Rams. He hasn't been bad but he's barely in the top 25, meaning he's a LB3/flex most weeks and shouldn't be thought of as a stud. I liked Mykal Walker at the start of the season, but it turns out Rashaan Evans was the top dog in Atlanta. Be flexible and pivot as the numbers bare out. If there's something like a coin-flip decision when deciding who will start, I will typically choose the linebacker or defensive back playing against a good offense, since good offenses stay on the field longer, which generates more tackles and more opportunities for that particular IDP. For defensive linemen, I look at playing time and which option is playing against the offensive line that allows the most sacks. When in doubt, you can always hit me up on Twitter and check the FantasyPros IDP weekly consensus and rest-of-season rankings.
If you have any IDP waiver or lineup questions, I'm happy to help and you can contact me on Twitter @mattkdelima. Before I offer the latest IDP information, please go back and check the names on the Week 10 IDP waiver wire list.
The wide variety of IDP leagues makes it difficult to pinpoint roster percentages, so not every recommendation may be a good fit for your league. Generally, if you play in a shallow format with a total of 24 or fewer IDP starters across the league (two per team), these recommendations are at least a layer too deep for you. For specifics, it's always best to consume a lot of IDP content to get a feel for the landscape from multiple points of view.
Note: For each player, I provide a rest of season (ROS) ranking and their percentage of defensive snaps played in their most recent game. For example, Derwin James would be a DB1+, meaning a defensive back ranked 1-12 (DB1) and the plus sign meaning on the high-end (1-4). DL3- would be a defensive lineman ranked 25-36 (DL3) and the minus means on the low-end, specifically 33-36.
NFL Game Books (PDF): ATL VS. CAR | SEA VS. TB | MIN VS. BUF | DET VS. CHI | JAC VS. KC | CLE VS. MIA | HOU VS. NYG | NO VS. PIT | DEN VS. TEN | IND VS. LV | DAL VS. GB | ARI VS. LAR | LAC VS. SF
