10 IDPs Who Will Make or Break Leagues in 2025

There was no better IDP asset over the last quarter-century than J.J. Watt.

Back in 2012, this writer was one of the inaugural managers in the Jim Day SiriusXM Dynasty League. I decided to take a chance in the middle rounds on the promising second-year defensive end for the Houston Texans. That season, Watt won his first Defensive Player of the Year Award, logging 81 total tackles, 20.5 sacks, and a mind-blowing 39 tackles for loss.

My team was made, baby.

My IDPs spent the entire season Stone Cold-Stunning people.

That was the beginning of a four-year rampage by Watt. He surpassed 75 total tackles all four years. Never had less than 10.5 sacks and piled up at least 17.5 three times and over 20 twice--the only player in NFL history who has accomplished that feat. Watt was the highest-scoring fantasy defensive lineman three times and finished in second place the other year. Watt was a golden god.

And then...there was no more disappointing IDP asset over the last quarter-century than J.J. Watt.

In 2016, Watt was drafted as the No. 1 IDP overall in every league. There was a rational argument for taking him in the first round of mixed drafts right alongside elite running backs and high-end wide receivers--the edge he offered was that massive. But that season was a disaster--just three games played and 1.5 sacks before a back injury ended it. The next year was even worse--five games and exactly zero sacks before Watt broke his leg.

The same folks who had been dropping Stunners were Tombstoned into the IDP basement.

That's the thing with make-or-break IDPs. Sometimes fantasy managers want to see that league-winning season coming so badly they ignore the warning signs of potential disaster. Watt originally had back surgery in July of 2016. But IDP managers wanted 2015 J.J. Watt. So they said, "Meh. He'll be fine."

He was not.

This isn't to say that make-or-break players always disappoint--Watt at his best carried quite a few IDP squads to championships. 

But it's important to know going into a season that with some players, if things go well, they can go incredibly well. But if it goes sideways?

Your fantasy squad can get dropped on its head.

Make-Or-Break Defensive Linemen

EDGE T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh

Might as well come out swinging.

Watt has done his level best to try to outdo his older brother in the NFL. The 30-year-old has posted at least 11.5 sacks in six of the last seven years. In 2021, he tied the NFL's single-season sack record with 22.5. In his age-30 season, Watt surpassed 60 total tackles, logged 11.5 sacks, forced six fumbles, and finished fourth in fantasy points at his position in the Godfather's Default IDP Scoring.

However, those numbers are, by T.J. Watt standards, just OK. Back in 2022, Watt not only missed seven games with injury but also had just 5.5 sacks in the games he did play. At this point in what will be a Hall of Fame career, Watt has achieved the same mythical status his brother once had. But the more mythical the status, the higher the draft-day price tag. And the higher the price tag, the higher a bar Watt will have to clear to return value in 2025.

It's not to say he won't. But it won't be easy.

EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit

Hutchinson was the second overall pick back in 2022, and he hasn't disappointed. As a rookie, it was 52 total tackles, 9.5 sacks, and top-20 fantasy numbers. In 2023, Hutchinson upped the ante to 10.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and a top-10 finish among defensive linemen. Last year, Hutchinson was on a rampage to open the season--7.5 sacks in five games and more fantasy points per game than any player at his position.

A gruesome broken leg ended that 2024 rampage, and while reports from training camp have been glowing of late, it can sometimes take a while for players to get back to 100 percent following that kind of injury. Make no mistake, as much as it pains this writer to say it about a former Wolverine, Hutchinson's IDP ceiling is the No. 1 spot overall among D-linemen. But we have yet to see Hutchinson make a genuine, season-long run at that title--and he's being drafted as though he has.

EDGE Andrew Van Ginkel, Minnesota

Van Ginkel didn't get the run last year that Zack Baun did (funny what winning the Super Bowl does for one's profile), but his story is similar--albeit in reverse. Whereas Baun was miscast as an edge-rusher in New Orleans before thriving as an off-ball linebacker in Philly, Van Ginkel was a reserve linebacker in Miami two years ago who took off once he was moved to the edge when a meteor hit all the Dolphins' pass rushers.

OK. Meteorite. Fine. It still happened. Saw it on YouTube.

In his first full season as an edge-rusher with the Vikings in 2024, Van Ginkel posted a gaudy 79 total tackles and 11.5 sacks--numbers that were good for the top spot among all defensive linemen. If Van Ginkel can back that season up, he'll win titles again for the folks able to land him as a low-end DL1. But he's a 30-year-old with one big year coming off draft boards among the top-five linemen at times--and that's a considerably riskier play.

DT DeForest Buckner, Indianapolis 

In IDP leagues that require the position, the defensive tackles used to be like tight end--with Aaron Donald of the Rams doing his best impression of Travis Kelce in his heyday. But with Donald now "retired" (retired people don't look like this), there's a power vacuum at the top of the position, with three or four interior defensive linemen with some legitimate claim to the top preseason spot.

For many pundits (including this idiot), that No. 1 tackle is Buckner, who has shown both 80-total tackle and double-digit sack upside over his nine years in the NFL. However, while the upside is there, the risk is as well--Buckner is a 31-year-old who missed a handful of games last year, who doesn't get a lot of help from his edge-rushers in Indianapolis.

It may well be better to draft the fifth defensive tackle in 2025 than the first.

Make-Or-Break Linebackers