4 Tips for IDP Fantasy Football Leagues

We all love fantasy football. If you’ve been playing as long as we have here at Faceoff Sports Network, you’ve probably looked into expanding your horizons. Finding ways to make your fantasy football leagues more fun can be done in a number of different ways. You can try new formats, change your scoring settings, join a best ball league, or perhaps get into IDP leagues.

What is an IDP Fantasy Football League?

IDP stands for Individual Defensive Player. An IDP league is where you start defensive players instead of team defense. For defensive positions, most leagues have DL (DE/DT), LB, and DB (CB/S) slots. Many IDP leagues will have traditional settings including quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends. However, some may just be strictly IDP. If you’re looking for a way to spice up your fantasy football leagues, adding an IDP Flex position can help with that.

Now let’s get into some tips and things to keep in mind when playing in an IDP fantasy football league.

#1 Know Your League Settings

This goes for IDP scoring and settings unique to the platform your league uses. For scoring, you need to know if your league favors players with high tackles or if it favors big plays such as sacks, forced fumbles/fumble recoveries, and/or interceptions. A scoring system that has become popular is IDP123 which is explained in detail here.

The fantasy football platform that you play on can matter as well. The Sleeper platform has T.J.  Watt and Micah Parsons labeled as LB and DL. This is can be a major advantage because some IDP league’s DL players will often score less than LB players. So when you have a player like Watt and Parsons who have both DL and LB eligibility it gives you flexibility in your lineup with injuries and bye-weeks. It also is a huge advantage when you can put a player who scores like a high-end LB in your DL slot.

#2 Identifying Top Scorers

Identifying the top scorers can sometimes be tricky. One thing you want to look for is a player’s snap percentage and the number of overall snaps. The more snaps the more opportunities to score points. For linebackers tackles are key so look for players on teams with bad offenses as they will see a lot of snaps and tackles especially when teams have a lead and run the ball. For defensive linemen sacks are key so you want to look for players who consistently get high sack numbers. For defensive backs, one thing you can look for are players on teams with high-scoring offenses as this will provide more opportunities for tackles, pass defended, and interceptions. Another thing to keep in mind is cornerbacks that are considered shut-down corners are not always high scorers or good for fantasy because teams will try to avoid throwing their way.

#3 Rookie Drafts: When to Draft IDPs

There are a few factors that have a big impact on when you should draft IDPs. One factor is whether your league is 1QB or Superflex. Another is your scoring for IDPs and the number of IDP starters.

If your scoring is based on the IDP123 or another high-scoring system but you are starting fewer than six IDPs you might wait until the mid-late 3rd round in 1QB and early-mid 4th round in Superflex. If you are starting six or more IDPs then you might draft them in the early 3rd round and as soon as the middle of the 2nd round if you are starting nine or more IDPs and it is an elite defensive prospect. However, if your scoring is lower than the IDP123 system then it is likely not worth drafting them at all unless your rookie drafts are five rounds or more.

#4 Startup Drafts: When to Draft IDPs

Similar to the rookie drafts, 1QB or Superflex, scoring, and the number of starters has a big impact on when to draft IDPs. In a 1QB league with IDP123 scoring and at least six starters, the top few IDPs can go in the 5th round and as early as the 3rd round if you start nine or more IDPs. If it is a lower scoring system for IDPs and/or fewer than six starters then they could go much later.

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