The Dirty Dozen: IDP Names You Need to Know in 2023

Photo: Brad Mills, USA Today Sports

The calendar has turned to August. The NFL preseason has begun. And that means that IDP draft season is underway in earnest.

It's go time, folks.

Any fantasy manager worth his salt knows that success on draft day lies in finding value. In drafting players who will outperform their asking price and avoiding IDPs who won't meet expectations. Those same managers are busily doing research to assist them in accomplishing that goal. Hopefully, you have already reviewed The Complete Guide to Dominating IDP here at Footballguys. You have also perused John Norton's excellent Eyes of the Guru review of all 32 NFL teams and checked out our IDP rankings.

All are excellent sources of information on strategy, values, and potential busts. But sometimes, you just want a list of players. A list of IDPs to target on draft day who are set for big things in 2023. A list of IDPs who likely won't live up to their draft slot this season.

Sometimes, you just want some red meat.

So, let's throw some steaks on the IDP grill—with 12 players who (for one reason or another) you should know in 2023.

I promise I won't mention Tennessee Titans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair again—although you really should target him on draft day.

Just saying.

DE Matthew Judon, New England Patriots

Hey, I never said I wouldn't mention Judon again.

If you've read my work this year at FBG, you know that Judon is one of my absolute favorite defensive line values. In each of the past two seasons, Judon has logged 60 total tackles, posted at least a dozen sacks, and finished the year as a top-10 defensive lineman.

The best part with the 30-year-old Judon isn't just that he's been consistently productive since joining the Patriots. It's that he's available outside the top-15 at his position with some regularity. If you're a fantasy manager who wants to attack the linebacker position before addressing the defensive line, Judon offers DL1 upside at a DL1 asking price.

DE Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders

Crosby was the unquestioned star of fantasy defensive linemen last season, finishing the year with more fantasy points than any other player at the position. Not only did Crosby amass a respectable 12.5 sacks for the Raiders a year ago, but also compiled a whopping 89 total tackles—a staggering amount for a defensive lineman.

However, that's rather the problem.

The 25-year-old is a talented player coming off an amazing season. But Crosby had only six more tackles in 2020 and 2021 combined than he did last year alone. That kind of ridiculous tackle production is going to be difficult to back up. Maybe impossible.

Some tackle regression is likely in 2023. The only question is how much.

DE Josh Sweat, Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles piled up a staggering 70 sacks as a team last year, and four Philadelphia players hit the double-digit mark in sacks. That included Sweat, who parlayed career-highs in total tackles (48) and sacks (11) into a DL16 finish in fantasy points.

Despite that career year, Sweat is being overlooked in quite a few IDP drafts. In a recent industry draft I recently participated in, Eagles edge-rusher Haason Reddick was the 10th defensive lineman drafted, coming off the board in Round 10.

Sweat was drafted outside the top 40 linemen—a dozen rounds later. Now that may have been an oversight, and it's possible that last season's numbers were Sweat's ceiling. But as an inexpensive DL2 or depth option, IDP managers could do a lot worse.

DE Will Anderson Jr., Houston Texans

In that same industry draft I mentioned, Will Anderson was selected as the eighth defensive lineman off the board—ahead of the likes of Judon, Reddick and Aidan Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions.

With all due respect to the analyst who selected him, that was a mistake in a redraft format.

It's not a matter of talent—Anderson was a force at Alabama, piling up 51 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss and 10 sacks last year. There's a reason why the Texans moved up to draft the 6'4", 253-pounder third overall.

But even the best rookie edge-rushers like Hutchinson, Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers, and Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns tend to have relatively pedestrian statistical seasons as rookies. It takes a while for edge rushers to acclimate to the NFL.