The 10 Most Undervalued IDPs in Fantasy Football

All across the NFL, training camps are getting underway in earnest. On July 31, the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers will kick off the 2025 preseason with the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. Before you know it, IDP draft season will be banging along at full speed.

And that means it's time to train. Time to start pumping iron. Doing some road work. Maybe some sparring. Get the Eye of the Tiger prior to draft day.

I pity the fool who isn't prepared for their IDP draft.

The goals of this preparation are twofold. One is to avoid selecting busts--overvalued players who will fail to live up to their asking price on draft day. But the primary goal is to find that most magical and wonderful of concepts in fantasy football--value.

Simply put, value is the left hook that will send your opponents to the canvas. It's what wins championships. Assemble a roster of IDPs who outperform their draft slot, and odds are good that you'll be in the thick of the championship chase.

Of course, value can be more difficult to find in IDP--and the hunt for it more subjective. Until fantasy managers put on the gloves and mix it up in some drafts, it can be difficult to get an accurate feel for where defensive players are being drafted. Average draft position data for IDP leagues is like a referee in a Rocky Balboa flick--even if he's there in theory, he isn't exactly reliable.

Just ask Apollo Creed.

Still, get an early draft or three under your belt and examine some consensus rankings to identify players you are higher on than most, and fantasy managers can assemble a list of potential values--defensive players to target when fight night rolls around. Training for that big fight.

Montage time!

Or, those same fantasy managers can just use this list of the most undervalued IDPs in 2025. It's guaranteed to be 100 percent correct--unless it isn't.

But seriously--what are the chances I'm going to be wrong?

That's rhetorical--no need to get mean.

The Most Undervalued IDPs in Fantasy Football

EDGE Harold Landry III, New England

It's reunion time in Beantown, with head coach Mike Vrabel and Landry both joining the Patriots as part of New England's offseason overhaul. Landry played the first six years of his career under Vrabel in Tennessee, including his lone Pro Bowl season in 2021, where the 29-year-old amassed 75 total tackles and 12 sacks on the way to a DL5 fantasy finish in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring.

With the exception of a 2022 season lost to a torn ACL, Landry has surpassed 70 tackles and logged at least nine sacks in each of his past three campaigns, including 71 total stops, nine sacks, and a top-10 finish in IDP points among defensive linemen a year ago. Not only does Landry offer fantasy managers DL1 upside with a DL2 price tag, but his propensity for solid tackle numbers offers an appealing IDP floor.

EDGE Jonathon Cooper, Denver

After setting career-highs in tackles (72) and sacks (8.5) two years ago and logging 5.5 sacks over the 2024 season's first nine games, the Broncos handed Cooper a four-year, $60 million extension--not bad for a former seventh-round pick. By season's end, Cooper made that deal appear to be money well-spent, finishing second on the team with 10.5 sacks and adding 58 tackles.

The IDP community is more bullish on batterymate Nik Bonitto, and after his 13.5-sack 2024 season and DL2 finish, there is reason to be so. But Cooper's tackle numbers were better last year, and the fifth-year pro from Ohio State posted top-15 fantasy numbers in his own right. Another high-end DL2 finish is closer to Cooper's floor than his ceiling--he's a great target for drafters who want to take advantage of the added depth that "True Position" has created on the defensive line.

EDGE Byron Young, LA Rams

The star of the Rams' young front-seven a year ago was edge-rusher Jared Verse--the 19th overall pick in last year's draft racked up 66 total tackles and 4.5 sacks on the way to being named the Defensive Rookie of the Year. But while Verse was getting accolades, Byron Young was quietly having arguably an even better second season--62 toal stops and 7.5 sacks. Young finished the season 23rd in fantasy points among defensive linemen.

Young hasn't posted gaudy numbers (yet), but he has been remarkably consistent--as a rookie the 6'2", 258-pounder tallied 61 tackles, eight sacks and ranked 24th among defensive linemen in fantasy points. All the young (see what I did there?) talent up front in L.A. keeps opponents from focusing their attention on any one player. A top-20 finish is a genuine possibility for Young, and he'll be available late in many drafts.

LB Kaden Elliss, Atlanta

Elliss was a part-time player over his four seasons with the New Orleans Saints, never playing more than 56 percent of the snaps in a season. But much like Zack Baun of the Philadelphia Eagles, once Elliss left the Big Easy, his statistical production took off. Elliss was on the field for at least 95 percent of the snaps in both of his seasons in Atlanta, putting up at least 120 total tackles both times.

In 2024, Elliss truly came into his own--in addition to the sixth-most tackles (151) in the NFL, Elliss also added five sacks--his third straight season with at least four. Only two linebackers (Baun and Zaire Franklin of the Colts) had more fantasy points among linebackers in 2024, but the 30-year-old Elliss is available in more than a few drafts outside the top-15 linebackers. If you hit the D-Line early and need a value LB1, Elliss is your guy.