The 10 Biggest IDP Deep Sleepers of 2025

Every IDP manager wants to find a Sleeping Beauty.

As everyone knows, in the classic tale, Sleeping Beauty is cursed to 100 years of being trapped on the San Antonio Brahmas of the UFL by an evil Buddy Ryan. Then, the brave Vic Fangio breaks the curse. Sleeping Beauty goes from grossly misused part-time edge-rusher to full-time off-ball linebacker, goes off for 150-plus tackles, and helps win a Super Bowl. Then, in a fit of jubilant rage, blows down two houses and eats the inhabitants before meeting his demise at the hands of a structural engineer.

Or something to that effect.

(Terrible) joking aside, "sleeper" is quite possibly the most overused word in fantasy football. Every year, all the articles ever are written about them. Often, the same player is the subject--who is hardly a "sleeper" if everyone and their evil stepmother are raving about them.

But no one is immune to the siren's song. We must...have...sleepers.

It's understandable, because "sleepers" are essentially just grossly undervalued players--late-round lottery tickets that sometimes pay off like a slot machine full of 7's by becoming viable (or even high-end) IDP starters. For every one of those a fantasy manager can hit on, it's another earlier pick that can be spent on offense. Or another spot on the defense.

Or compensation for a whiff earlier. Hear it happens.

Value wins leagues. And there's no better value than an IDP who is essentially free, becoming Zack Baun of the Philadelphia Eagles.

None of these players is a sure bet--if they were, they wouldn't be "sleepers." And there's no way to know for certain exactly where they will be drafted--reliable Average Draft Position data for IDP leagues are harder to find than Little Red Riding Hood's grandma (poor Granny).

But when the latter rounds of your IDP drafts roll around, it's a good idea to keep an eye on these players. Each has the potential to be the kind of bargain who saves your season from being shoved into an oven by two delinquents who wandered away from home and broke into yours.

Yes, that's a real movie--Although I'm sure Jeremy Renner wishes it wasn't.

Deep Sleeper Defensive Linemen

EDGE Nolan Smith Jr., Philadelphia

It's a season of great change on the Eagles' defensive line. After blasting the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, Philadelphia watched as edge-rusher Josh Sweat and defensive tackle Milton Williams got massive paydays from the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots. That means it's time for the likes of tackle Jalen Carter and Smith to see much larger roles in 2025.

The first-round pick of the Eagles in the 2023 draft flashed last year--over 40 tackles and 6.5 sacks on a 55 percent snap share. Smith also turned it on down the stretch--from Week 13 to Week 17, Smith logged 18 total tackles, three sacks, and was quietly eighth in fantasy points among defensive linemen in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring. 

Smith isn't being drafted at his IDP floor. He's being drafted in the basement.

EDGE Chase Young, New Orleans

It seems a little odd to call Young a "deep sleeper". There was a time not that long ago when Young was supposed to be destined to be the next big thing at edge-rusher in the NFL. But after winning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2020, Young tore up his knee--and was never the same. In his first season with the Saints last year, Young amassed 31 total tackles and 5.5 sacks. Um, yay.

To be fair, the three-year, $51 million extension the Saints gave Young this offseason was just dumb--especially when you factor in over $30 million in guarantees. But while Young's sack numbers weren't great last season, per NFL Next Gen Stats, he was sixth in the league with 73 pressures. He's still just 26 years old. And Young has reportedly been all but unblockable in camp in Brandon Staley's new defense.

EDGE Malcolm Koonce, Las Vegas

At this point a year ago, Koonce wasn't a sleeper--he was a breakout candidate. Two years ago, Koonce was one of the most effective edge-rushers in the NFL on a per-snap basis--over 40 total tackles and eight sacks in just 44 percent of his team's snaps. But that breakout ended before it ever began--Koonce injured his knee in the preseason and didn't play at all in 2024.

Koonce's 2023 accomplishments were enough to keep the 27-year-old in Sin City, albeit on just a one-year, $12 million "prove it" deal. Koonce will be a full year removed from his injury when the season begins, and he has reportedly impressed in camp. His sack-to-snap ratio back in 2023 was--giggity. And playing opposite Maxx Crosby should mean a steady diet of single-teams. 

DT Keion White, New England

It wasn't easy to find bright spots in a dismal season for the New England Patriots in 2024, but the play of second-year pro Keion White was a glimmer of hope amidst the poo. White posted 56 tackles, added five sacks, and forced a couple of fumbles--stats that were good enough to sneak the 26-year-old inside the top-10 fantasy defensive tackles. 

The kicker is, White did that damage playing most of his snaps as an edge-rusher. True story.

That has cost White his eligibility as a DT with at least one IDP provider. And the Patriots added big-money talent inside and out in Milton Williams and edge-rusher Harold Landry III. But Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has already said he intends to move White around this season, and if you have watched him play, you know White just wrecks stuff sometimes. Don't underestimate his ability to do that--especially with better talent around him now.

Linebacker Deep Sleepers