IDP The Guru and the Godfather: Week 1

John Norton ("The Guru") and Gary Davenport ("The Godfather of IDP") are two of the most experienced and knowledgeable IDP analysts in the fantasy football industry. 

The 2025 season is here, and it started for IDP managers in the most Week 1 way imaginable. When Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected before ever playing a snap this year?

Yep. We’re in it now.

As fantasy managers try to collect themselves after a weird game filled with defensive duds, The Guru and the Godfather are already locked in and ready to help you shake off Sanborn Syndrome and get the season started off with a ‘W.”

That “W” might stand for Wild Turkey. But hey, no plan survives contact with reality—or something to that effect.

Shiny New Toys

Plenty of IDP-relevant rookies will be getting their first true test of the NFL this week. Which first-year defender are you most interested in seeing play his first game as a professional?

Guru: Now and then, a player comes along who has a special skillset. One that a defensive coordinator creates a special role for. When those players excel, other teams want to copy, so they look for players with a similar skillset to that end. Kyle Hamilton was one of those players, as was Brian Branch. Now we have Nick Emmanwori in Seattle. He will have one of those “special” roles as a rookie, moving around the formation, potentially lining up at all three levels over the course of a game. I am very interested to see how that works out. Especially considering that both Hamilton and Branch eventually moved into somewhat more traditional roles.  

Godfather: Emmanwori could be quite the IDP asset—maybe even more so than Hamilton (I love the latter as an NFL player, but I worry he’ll be asked to spend too much time making Baltimore’s secondary unbad and less tackling people. It happens at defensive back).

This is low-hanging fruit, but Browns fans don’t get much to be happy about, so sue me. Carson Schwesinger has looked the part of an every-down inside linebacker from the moment he arrived at the Factory of Sadness, and he’s earned “green dot” duties heading into his first professional game. Schwesinger is going to be a top-10 IDP asset at some point. That point could be 2025.

Oh Yeah!

Red Meat Time. Which high-end defensive lineman is most in danger of the dreaded Week 1 donut? Which lower-end IDP starter has the best chance to come crashing through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man?

Guru: There are three good reasons to be concerned about Micah Parsons this week. He is new to the team and not familiar with the scheme. If that were the only issue, I would have no fear. He doesn’t have to know the defense inside and out to rush the passer, though the lack of familiarity could limit the calls. The bigger issues are his sore back and the opponent.

Parsons is expected to play but may do so with the aid of a pain-killing epidural. Masking pain does not make it go away completely; it only makes it tolerable.  Then there is the Lions' offensive line that does a great job of keeping Jared Goff upright. Detroit allowed just 33 sacks last season. Parsons is a beast when everything is right, but he might have a slow week one.

I am excited about Yaya Diaby at the start of his third year. He had seven sacks as a rookie in 2023 but was light on the tackle end. The tackle totals were way up last season, but he managed only four sacks. What many overlook about his 2024 performance is that Diaby was top ten in pressures. It seems that every year, there is a player who is around the quarterback a lot but underproduces in the sack column before turning some of those pressures into sacks the following season. This was the same storyline followed by Maxx Crosby. I think Diaby gets off to a fast start.

Godfather: I have two shares of Parsons. Starting him in one league, sitting him in another. Saying that about a guy I still think can be the No. 1 defensive lineman overall in 2025 is weird, but so is fantasy football.

In the league where I’m sitting Parsons, it’s because I have Byron Young of the Los Angeles Rams ready to pinch-hit. Banged the drum for the third-year pro all summer. Have kept on banging it this week. The Houston Texans allowed 54 sacks a year ago, and that was with one competent tackle. Now, the Houston line is ranked dead last in the league by most. Young and Jared Verse will both get home against C.J. Stroud this week—maybe more than once.

The early part of the season always features fantasy managers freaking out about edge-rushers who get off to a slow start. It won’t be all that surprising if Aidan Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions is a member of that group this year. Hutchinson will be fine—he’s another player with the potential to be the DL1 overall this season. But he’s had a long layoff, and the Green Bay Packers allowed the fewest sacks in the NFC last season.

All Hail the King

Linebackers are the kings of most IDP leagues—this is not news. Which linebacker ranked outside the top-30 in Footballguys’ Weekly Rankings will open 2025 with a regal performance? Which top-12 option is most at risk of becoming the court jester?