IDP Position Primer: Linebackers

In most IDP leagues, linebackers are king--and have been for a while.

Thanks in part to the fact that the scoring in the majority of IDP leagues favors tackles, linebackers are both the most consistent and the highest-scoring players on the defensive side of the ball. They are the bedrock of success in IDP. The foundation for a solid defensive roster. It's not an exaggeration to say that most IDP teams will go exactly as far as their linebackers take them.

Unfortunately, linebacker is also the shallowest position in IDP. With the advent of True Position, 3-4 outside linebackers, such as Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt, have (rightly) been reclassified as defensive linemen or edge rushers.

See other IDP positions: Defensive Linemen | Defensive Backs | Tackles and Corners

It also doesn't help that the number of three-down off-ball linebackers (players who stay on the field in passing subpackages) has decreased as well. With the nickel now the de facto base defense across the NFL, the days of three linebackers on a team all seeing high snap counts are done. Some teams have a pair of linebackers who see snap shares north of 75 percent. Others still have just one.

And for linebackers, snaps equal opportunity. Opportunity for fantasy production.

Add that scarcity of quality options to the importance of linebackers to IDP success, and there isn't a trickier defensive position in fantasy football.

Linebacker Draft Strategy

There's one word that sums up how fantasy managers should approach the linebacker position in IDP drafts. And that word, my friends, is Macarena.

No, it's not. I'm just a terrible person.

The word is actually aggressive.

As was already mentioned (By me, just now--don't judge me. I have the attention span of a goldfish.), linebackers are both the most consistent and highest-scoring defensive position. The consistency is born of the tackles elite linebackers tally on a weekly basis. And since (again) most IDP scoring systems lean toward being tackle-heavy, linebackers are generally the kings of IDP.

The Huddle IDP Expert League is a league that John Norton and I have been competing in since the days when people actually used AOL. The scoring was recently updated to increase the value of big plays. Even with that adjustment, 80 percent of the top-20 defensive players in 2024 were linebackers. Even in the King's Classis Dick Butkus Division, where the scoring is more balanced across defensive positions, three of the top four IDPs in 2024 were linebackers.

The first defensive player drafted is almost always a linebacker. You don't have to be that person. But when the first big IDP run hits shortly thereafter, linebackers are going to start flying off the board. You do not want to be frozen out of that run.

Assuming a standard IDP setup in which you can start three or four linebackers (any "flex" spot in your league should likely be filled with a linebacker) and scoring that isn't ridiculously big-play-heavy, at least two of your first three defensive picks should be linebackers. Three of your first four. Maybe even four of the first five.

League scoring and lineup requirements matter. Draft flow matters. So does building a solid defensive line. And it goes without saying (or should) that the offense can't just be ignored. However, if there is one IDP position you absolutely should not be passive about, it's linebacker. And once more, fantasy managers should target every-down linebackers who don't leave the field often--especially if that linebacker wears the "Green Day."

No, wait. It's the "Green Dot."

Every team has one defensive player who is the defensive signal-caller. A few teams use safeties in that role, but the vast majority of NFL clubs use a linebacker. That linebacker doesn't leave the field--essentially ever. And that gives him value for IDP managers.

Personally? The Godfather wants at least one of my top five or six linebackers entering a draft. A pair of linebackers from the top 15 or so. And a third linebacker from my top 25. At least. Of course, fantasy drafts go totally according to plan exactly never, and sometimes that just isn't feasible.

That's where tiers come in.

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 LB1 by the end of Tier X. Your LB2 by the end of Tier Y, and so on and so forth.

Allow me to demonstrate.

Are three videos too much?

It's rhetorical. I don't care.

Tier 1: The Three Kings

These linebackers are the best of the best. Barring injury, odds are all three of these players will rack up tackles and fantasy points this year. Roquan Smith might be the best off-ball linebacker in the NFL. Zaire Franklin has been a tackling machine over the past three years, topping 165 total tackles each time. Zack Baun broke out in a massive way last year, topping 150 total stops and adding five forced fumbles on the Eagles' march to a win in Super Bowl LIX.

Tier 2: The Rest of the LB1

Rolling into Week 1 with one of these players as your top linebacker isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the sooner in the tier you get him, the better. Last year's disappointment aside, Foyesade Oluokun has a history of posting massive tackle numbers, with two years of over 180 total tackles. Fred Warner also has a long track record of elite play, while Jamien Sherwood parlayed his breakout 2024 season into a fat extension with the Jets. Any of the linebackers listed in this tier have the potential to crack the top five, but the chances of a bust are also slightly higher. Also, don't be surprised if Chicago's T.J. Edwards and Terrel Bernard of Buffalo drop a bit in some drafts--steady veterans short on sizzle give some IDP managers the yawns. Smarter ones see value in their high fantasy floor.