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;

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

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.

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