IDP Position Primer: Defensive Tackles and Cornerbacks

In most IDP leagues, defensive linemen are not separated into defensive ends (or edge rushers) and defensive tackles. Defensive backs are not broken down into safeties and cornerbacks. That, generally speaking, relegates corners and big uglies to IDP irrelevance.

However, in hardcore IDP leagues like Deathmatch and the King's Classic Butkus Division (or the Fantasy Football Oasis IDP Brouhaha, which is for a good cause and open to all who wish to join), Defensive linemen are split into edge-rushers and interior linemen. Defensive backs are broken down into cornerbacks and safeties. At least one starter is required at cornerback and defensive tackle every week.

Both positions are equal parts volatile and unpredictable--especially cornerbacks. But any position IDP managers have to start players at is an opportunity to gain an advantage--an edge that could mean the difference between a win and a loss. Between the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

Um, ouch.

So, as we put a bow on the 2025 IDP Position Primer Series at Footballguys, let's attempt to avoid winding up with a faceful of snow (at least) by taking a look at cornerbacks and defensive tackles--the smart strategies for drafting them and the top options at each position.

See other IDP positions: Defensive Linemen | Linebackers | Defensive Backs

Defensive Tackle Draft Strategy

For quite a few years, there was one prevailing draft strategy where taking tackles was concerned--"99 or Nothing."

For a number of seasons, Aaron Donald of the Rams wasn't just the No. 1 defensive tackle. He was the top player at the position by a wide margin. IDP managers essentially had two choices--pay retail for the future Hall of Famer or wait for a secondary option. 

Now, however, the waters have muddied. There is no shortage of tackles who can wreak havoc in a game who draw a fat salary, but there isn't a clear-cut No. 1 option at the position. The first tackle drafted in the Butkus Division last year (Baltimore's Nnamdi Madubuike) led all defensive tackles in points in 2023--but finished 15th last season. The highest-scoring defensive tackle (Denver's Zach Allen) was drafted 12th among tackles in that same league last year.

Neither occurrence is especially unusual--whether it's the top option failing to match his draft price or an unexpected tackle claiming the top spot. It's also unlikely that Allen will repeat in 2025--the last time a defensive tackle posted back-to-back DT1 finishes was the aforementioned Aaron Donald in 2019 and 2020.

There also hasn't been a ton of difference between "elite" defensive tackles and low-end weekly starters in recent years--at least in many scoring systems. Last year, the difference between DT1 and DT12 in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring was less than 2.5 fantasy points per game.

Given that uncertainty, a certain amount of patience isn't unwise at defensive tackle in most IDP drafts. This isn't to say that managers should always be the last team to select a starter at the position--especially if your IDP league requires multiple ones. But going first is by no means a sure bet, and the advantage gained, even if you are right, probably isn't worth the risk you won't be. Never mind that the advent of "True Position" saw 3--4 ends (like Pittsburgh's Cameron Heyward) re-classified as tackles. The pool of available players is that much deeper.

Scoring can also have a sizable impact on the IDP value of defensive tackles. Tackle-heavy scoring benefits the likes of Christian Wilkins of the Raiders, who has just one season with five or more sacks but regularly amasses big tackle numbers. Big play-heavy formats help the likes of Kansas City's Chris Jones, who has tallied at least nine sacks five times. Or you can aim for a happy medium with a player like Allen, who has the potential for 60-plus stops and 6-8 sacks.

This analyst is all about that happy medium.

The Importance of Tiers

IDP rankings are great, but they can also be misleading. The drop from one player to the next isn't linear. There could be essentially no difference between No. 12 and No. 13, but a much wider difference between No. 20 and No. 21.

That's where tiers come in--grouping similarly ranked players together. Instead of targeting an individual, IDP managers target a group. Have your DT1 by the end of Tier X. Have your DT2 (if necessary) by the end of Tier Y, and so on and so forth.

Allow me to demonstrate.

Defensive Tackle Tiers

Tier 1: Elite DT1

If there is such a thing as a "safe" bet at defensive tackle, this quartet is it--even if their 2024 finishes don't really indicate it. DeForest Buckner is probably the best overall three-technique tackle playing in the NFL right now. Dexter Lawrence II was third in fantasy points per game among tackles last season. Leonard Williams had a fantastic 2024 season, recording over 60 tackles and 11 sacks. Two years ago, Brown topped 100 total stops. These tackles won't be drafted linearly--the position never is. But if drafters can get a Tier 1 tackle for a reasonable price, then, barring injury, they should be okay.

Tier 2: Decent DT1

This is an interesting tier--and evidence that fantasy managers can exercise patience at defensive tackle and still wind up with a starter more than capable of a top-five fantasy finish. There are questions on this tier, whether it's an injury-marred 2024 campaign for Wilkins and Minnesota's Jonathan Allen, disappointing numbers a year ago from New York's Quinnen Williams, or a marked decrease in sacks last year for Madubuike. Still, every defensive tackle in Tier 2 has shown they can produce at an elite level in IDP leagues.

Tier 3: Living on the Edge

If managers don't have at least one tackle rostered by the time Tier 3 rolls around, it's time to do so. Because by the time it runs out, it's dart-chucking time. That there's still significant fantasy upside present here is obvious--four Tier 3 defensive tackles cracked the Top-10, and the other two are proven veterans who have surpassed 10 sacks in a season. IDP managers can wait until this group to select a DT1 and be fine. But after this? Things start getting weird.

Tier 4: Here Come the Questions

And here we are. Welcome to Downtown Maybeville. Population: Everyone. That isn't to say that all hope is lost if you don't have a starter rostered by this point--three Tier 4 defensive tackles cracked the top-12 in 2024, and one made his way into the top-10. But for every positive about a player once you hit this point, there is a potential negative--and from this point on, that can be said about everyone. Will a breakout come from this group (or the legion of tackles that follows)? Yep. Good luck figuring out which one.

Cornerback Draft Strategy

Even more so than with defensive backs as a whole, cornerbacks are two things. The first is plentiful--with teams running the nickel predominantly, there are well over 80 corners who are essentially "full-time" players on a weekly basis. 

The second is wildly unpredictable. Last year's No. 1 cornerback (Minnesota's Byron Murphy II) was an afterthought in most IDP drafts and undrafted in more leagues than not. The year before, DaRon Bland of the Cowboys' record-setting season vaulted him from nowhere to the No. 1 spot.

At no IDP position to players go from the outhouse to the penthouse and back again faster. One year, a Superstar.

The next. Everything that happened to Molly Shannon after that.

It makes the strategy at cornerback easy--wait. And then wait. And then wait some more. The allure of players like Indy's Kenny Moore II is understandable--the number of corners who have shown some ability to consistently produce in multiple seasons is low. But the bust rate, even with those players, can be unnervingly high, as evidenced by Bland's 2024.

When you do target a corner, don't look for interceptions. Look for targets. Receptions allowed. The tackles that come after them. There's the floor. The consistency. Big plays are gravy. Get the potatoes first.

There could be a massive caveat to all the rules at CB this year--Jacksonville's Travis Hunter. This writer has been over this topic at length, but if the rookie has cornerback eligibility with your IDP provider, his 2025 impact could be seismic. The No. 1 CB in points per game last year in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring was Paulson Adebo of the Saints, who averaged just under 10 fantasy points per game. That would have ranked 57th among wide receivers in PPR points.

Hunter is not only the most valuable cornerback, assuming he's mostly a wide receiver in 2025, he's the most valuable defensive back and potentially the most valuable IDP overall. With DB-eligibility, Hunter is a cheat code.

There's also the matter of the "rookie corner rule." Even elite CB prospects have been known to struggle in the NFL as rookies--and if they do, opposing quarterbacks will not hesitate to target them. Washington's Mike Sainristil was drafted by exactly no one last year. He ended his first season seventh in fantasy points at the position. Tarheeb Still of the Chargers was 10th in points per game.

Stream the position with matchup plays. Be ready to pounce on the every-week starter who emerges on the wire, be he a rookie or a veteran. But unless you're willing to pay retail for Hunter, fade this position so hard the only guy drafted later is your kicker.

Cornerback Tiers

Tier 1: If You Must

Again, The Godfather of IDP (or so they call me) doesn't recommend expending the draft capital it takes to land a Tier 1 CB. Still, IDP managers are forever looking for that mythical edge, and these are as close to a "high floor" option as it gets at the position. In addition to Moore and Adebo, there's the NFL's most consistent big-play corner in Baltimore's Marlon Humphrey and Tennessee's L'Jarius Sneed, who has shown 100-tackle upside in the past.

Tier 2: If the Price is Right

As the name of this tier indicates, there are multiple cornerbacks in this tier who could be excellent values--at the right price. But that's the key. And there's no clear-cut answer for what that right price is--other than, "as late as humanly possible." That's the thing with cornerbacks--the draft variance from one to the next can be staggering. There are a pair of corners in this tier who posted top-10 numbers last season. Multiple others who could do the same in 2025. Keep an eye on Green Bay's Nate Hobbs, who has 70-plus tackles in three of four pro seasons.

Tier 3: Behold the Abyss

It's okay. Don't be afraid. The cornerback this guy will be targeting in the last or next-to-last round may not even be in this tier. But even if you need multiple starters at cornerback. Wait this long. At least. The less savvy IDP managers have invested at cornerback, the easier it is to say "meh," cut bait, and swap him for a guy who scores, you know, points. More seasons than not, that's exactly what is going to happen. 

Don't worry about missing. Take a youngster late with a prime Week 1 matchup. Roster him until he's not productive. And then hit the waiver wire and do it all over again.

Corner the Market.

Ugh. That's so hokey. I'm legit sad for myself.

Gary Davenport ("The Godfather of IDP") is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow him on Twitter (Can't make him call it X) at @IDPGodfather.